Haiti (MNN) — Protesters filled the streets last Monday when Haiti's Rene Preval refused to leave office at the scheduled end of his presidency.
"The president promised five years ago that he would give the power to another government on February 7," explains Robenson Gedeus with Kids Alive International. Despite Preval's promises, the president plans to stay in office until May, after a loophole was discovered in the law, and since Haiti's November election process has yet to be completed.
The demonstrations following Preval's bold decision have only added to the wear on ministry.
Schools were closed on Monday during the protests, including Kids Alive's own school in Haiti. Gedeus says the ongoing political turmoil in Haiti has kept students from school and invoked anxiety in many children.
"They heard what people say on the news. They heard crazy things, and they talk about that also. They are stressed, and also there are some problems when they study. They care for the future of the country–their future also," notes Gedeus. "It affects the ministry a lot."
Ministry slows when students cannot go to class and are constantly fretting over the future. Gedeus says the continued unrest in this burdened nation has at least given Kids Alive staff an opportunity to teach their children what it means to trust in the Lord.
"We tell people in the community–and also our children–that the only hope we have now for Haiti is God," says Gedeus. "God is our only hope. We need to constantly pray for the country, and God will do the rest."
Pray for Kids Alive to be a beacon of hope, love and Good News. Pray that many–kids and adults alike–would learn to wait and depend on the Lord.
Despite all of these challenges and setbacks, Kids Alive has certainly been growing. Since the January 2010 earthquake, the ministry has opened new houses for orphaned children and has taken over a ministry to street boys which now reaches 85 boys. Kids Alive continues to find favor with the government, and clearly with God. Praise the Lord for His goodness, and pray for continued provision.
