The acquiring of spiritual nourishment is fueled by the partaking of physical food. This is especially true in Haiti. We spent part of the last week conducting a theological seminar on the Old Testament books of Joshua and Ezekiel. Each day we were able to provide a lunch meal for the thirty or so students who came. They gratefully partook of both the physical and the spiritual food.
As you can imagine, food is very important in a country where people are not always eating three square meals a day. We are thankful for the efforts of Madame Pastor Delfils and her ladies who prepared the food for us. They all take a great deal of pride in the food they prepare including the way it is presented. They not only prepared the lunch meals for the seminar but were also busy preparing for a the congregation coming to church on the Sunday following.
The ladies also took a great deal of effort to prepare a meal for the 3rd anniversary celebration at the Port-au-Prince church. The food included beans and rice, salads and the little bread cones filled with a delicious concoction. All done by hand as you can see from the picture. It was all gratefully consumed and while the ladies prepared for 150 people, we ended up having over 200 at morning worship. Despite this everyone got something to fill their stomach after feasting on the spiritual food of a great sermon.
Ultimately, while people need physical food, our goal is to provide the spiritual food that comes from the hand of the Savior. The men and women who came to learn about the books of Joshua and Ezekiel were fed. It is always encouraging to see them understanding that the Old Testament is not just a history filled with interesting stories, violence and the multitude failings of a people, but points to Jesus Christ. Pray that the people of Haiti would seek not just food that fills their stomach for a moment, but the spiritual food and drink that leads to eternal life.
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