A street in Port-au-Prince
Acts 18:9: "Do not be afraid."
In some countries the secret police are given total freedom to do anything they
need to do in the fulfillment of their duties. According to locals in Haiti (at
least in 1980 when this story happened!), their secret police had such
unrestricted freedom. Rumor had it that people were often arrested and never
seen again. Some even said the missing people would become crocodile bait!
While serving as a relief missionary in Haiti, I had the "privilege" of meeting
some of these secret police. In fact, I even had the "privilege" of being
arrested by them! Here is how it happened:
The father of one of our student missionaries from Canada had come for a visit.
While in Haiti, this gentleman planned to spend a considerable amount of money
on local artistry, but in order to fulfill his goal, he needed two things: A car
and an interpreter. The car was generously provided by a local, and the
interpreter-well, that's where I enter into the story!
Happy to have the freedom of riding in a automobile for once (what a difference
from the local cramped transportation called Taptaps!), we drove into
Port-au-Prince and parked our borrowed vehicle. But we hadn't even opened the
car doors when we found ourselves surrounded by men in uniform: The Tontons
Macouts, the Haitian secret police!
"May I see your papers?" one of them asked my Canadian friend.
He handed him his passport.
"Canadian, eh?" commented another. "Do you have permission to drive this car?"
Fortunately, we had been given a note from the vehicle's owner. My friend handed
it to them and they examined it solemnly. Then they said: "Follow me!"
We had no choice but to obey, and with our uniformed escorts, we were brought to
one of their offices. We were told to sit in a corner, and there we waited for
at least an hour before we were even told why we had been arrested. Apparently
foreigners are NOT allowed to drive cars belonging to Haitians. We were being
held on suspicion of espionage!
I tried to explain that we were innocent, and I suggested that they call the
owner of the car. To my astonishment, they agreed, and fifteen minutes later, he
appeared at the front entrance of the building. After several minutes of loud
discussion, we were finally released; but only on the condition that we would
NEVER drive a local automobile again! They even kept my Canadian friend's
passport and refused to return it until he was boarding his flight back to
Canada!
The owner of the vehicle told us we had been lucky, as no one was ever released
that easily from the Tonton Macouts! It could have only been by the hand of God
that disaster was diverted. And believe me, I spent some time praising Him
afterwards! Becoming crocodile bait was NOT on my "to do" list for the summer!
I am amazed about how many times the Bible tells us to "be not afraid". God's
Word assures us that we have an ally, and because of Him, we do not need to
fear. His name is Jesus, and He has promised: "surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age." (Matt 28:20).
With such a powerful ally on our side, why should we be afraid? Rom 8:39 says:
"neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God is
faithful and will NEVER abandon us, not even when we've been arrested by the
Tontons Macouts! Our choice is to either trust in ourselves or trust in Him.
What will your choice be?
"May I see your passport?"
Rob Chaffart
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