"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17
I recently went to a place that reminded me of my story(and more than likely your story too) as a follower of Jesus Christ. Phaeton, Haiti, is a remote village located in the Northeast part of the country that has a history that seems to fascinate, bother and excite me all at the same time. As you walk across the desert-like terrain and enter a village that has no electricity, running water, grocery store, market, starbucks or mcdonalds, one has to wonder why anyone would choose to live in such a place. The only thing to eat is what they fish out of the bay that backs up to the community. As you walk a little further, the incredible story begins to unfold.
Once upon a time, a man from New York decided to build a rope factory in an area of Haiti that backed up to a bay (later known as Phaeton). His factory brought many Haitians to this community looking for work and a better life. That is exactly what they found. At one point, the rope factory was amongst the largest sources of income in the entire country of Haiti. The community had electricity, homes for the workers built by the factory owners, plantations built for the owners and managers of the factory that were surrounded by pools, tennis courts and a beach along the beautiful bay waters. As I try to picture Phaeton in the mid-1900's it almost seems like a dream place to live and work. Life was good and the village of Phaeton was important to the world because the world needed what it had to offer. In return, Phaeton found it's identity in their contribution to the world. Then, decades later, after the factory was sold multiple times, the workers showed up to work one day only to find that work didn't exist anymore. The doors were shut, the owners were gone. The world didn't need Phaeton anymore and the people of the once thriving community were left with absolutely nothing. They were forgotten. Identity lost.
In a place that seems to have no purpose, no hope, no reason to exist, there is a ray of light that has been alive for quite some time now. Lucner, the pastor of the Christian church in Phaeton, grew up right there in the community and his parents worked at the rope factory. A man that has committed his life to the Gospel in a community and country that once pronounced voodoo as it's primary religion, stands firm in his faith with great plans to restore hope to a village that has lost everything. G.O. Ministries has partnered with Lucner to start building a new foundation and a new life in Phaeton. Already, we have found water for the community and built a temporary church to replace the old, damaged, roof-less one. Soon, there will be a feeding center, a new church, farm land, recreation facilities, cattle...all centered around the hope of a revival that Phaeton will find a new identity; one that lasts for an eternity and understands that the world desperately needs what it has to offer. An identity that brings life to the lifeless, hope to the hopeless, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, healing to the sick and a home to the lost. An identity in the Creator of all things, God the Father Almighty.
I had never known a place like Phaeton before going there, but it sure did remind me of myself and all of those that have chosen to follow Jesus. I don't miss the moments when I seek to find my identity in the world and what it can provide for me. I love knowing that Jesus has a plan for my life. I don't miss the feelings of expecting the world to sacrifice for me because I have a Savior that died on the cross for me. I don't miss the times that I need to be affirmed for who I am in this world because I know that I have a Heavenly Father and Friend that loves me unconditionally for who He created me to be.
I had a moment where I felt like weeping for Phaeton for what it once was. But then I found myself getting so excited for who Phaeton is becoming because Jesus is alive and moving amidst it's brokenness. My time in Phaeton taught me to rejoice in my brokenness, because without it, I would continue to live in my own glory. Then the world would forget about me and I'd be left alone again and again without a true identity. Praise God that when we finally decide to stop searching for our place in the world and die to ourselves, we then become a new creation in Jesus Christ; the old has gone and the new is here!! The old Phaeton is gone and the new is here!
