What can you buy for $250 a month?

A feeding station for 300 children in Pot au Prince, thats what!

Last week I wrote about a dinner guest we were having Tuesday night, Pastor Cange from Haiti. I wanted to tell you more about him and his ministry today. Pastor Cange lives and ministers in Port au Prince. He grew up in Haiti in a house that practiced voodoo, was converted by his best friend as a teenager, and went to Bible school in Jamaica.

It was very sweet to hear him talk about his friend that led him to Christ. In a nutshell, he said what affected him the most was his friend's attitude on life. He was always happy and joyful even though they were dirt poor and pretty much starving. His friend was always talking about Jesus and Pastor Cange began to realize it was Christ in him that made his friend so special.

He and his family survived the earthquake with minimal damage to their home. He told us his story and I cannot even imagine going through anything like that. For about 8 hours, he had no idea if his wife and children were alive.

Currently, he has church under tarps on an old soccer field that does not belong to him. He also has 5 feeding stations around Port au Prince. Each feeding station feeds 250 to 300 children!!

Some of the children have parents, some live with friends or family, and some have no one.

A Bible lesson is provided with the meal and I think some of the stations actually do school lessons. It might be all of them, but I am not sure. Pastor Cange is able to do this through coordinating with other pastors. He provides the food and materials and they pass it out. Sadly, he has to make "surprise" visits to make sure all is running smoothly because some of the pastors were keeping the food for their own families. It sounds horrible that a pastor would steal, but that is the reality in a fifth world country.

I wanted to share some pictures so you could see what he does. (I did not take these)

The first three images are from his feeding stations. The picture above is Pastor Cange preaching at his church. My father in law and some other men built the frame back in March.

I think it is amazing what he is doing. He could pack up his family and move to America for a "better life" . Instead, he is obeying God's calling, changing lives, and proving hope.

When we ate dinner the other night, we asked him to bless the food. It was a simple blessing but it was very moving for me. He thanked the Lord for the food, our family, and asked Him to bless our home. But, he also prayed that God would remember all those who did not have any food and provide for them. For this man, it is the cry of his heart and a reality. It is what he faces everyday. It was a very humbling and convicting moment for me. How many times have I prayed that, but it was more like a duty. Something to make me feel better about myself because I said my "prayer".

I struggled that night and shed some tears the next morning thinking about all that we have. It was hard when we came back from Haiti but it was harder the other night. I don't know how to explain it, but having this man in my home and knowing where he had been only hours before really got me. Thinking of how many times I have thrown out food, complained about our carpet, or even the silly fall arrangement in my fireplace made me want to crawl under a rock. I went from having a conversation about feeding starving and fatherless children to tripping over my child's excessive amount of toys in about one minute. Does any of this make sense?

Please don't think that I am preaching or pointing my finger at you and I did not write this to make anyone feel guilty. I also realize that there are children in my own city who are hungry and living in obscene conditions. I just know that I have to find a balance in my life and I am struggling right now.

My in laws and their church are working with Pastor Cange to help him reach his goals in regards to his ministry. He is an amazing man, doing incredible things for his country. Please keep him and his ministry in your prayers.