On Wednesday March 10th I met a woman and her daughter on a bus ride to Port-Au-Prince. This is a testimony of one of the many ways God has been moving here in Haiti.
It was an early afternoon on Tuesday, January 12th when Vanie Toussaint, a Christian woman and mother of four departed her house to resume her job in downtown Port-Au-Prince. As she made her way into the marketplace the smell of aging vegetables hung in the air. The sound of pedestrian traffic and small motorbikes increased as she made her way into the market. When she arrived to her merchandise stand she opened shop and began her afternoon selling clothing and other types of apparel. As usual she carried on conversation with nearby vendors as she waited in between customers.
At 4:55 p.m.the ground began to shudder beneath the city of Port-Au-Prince. A 7.1 earthquake was shaking the capitol. The initial earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds, followed by an aftershock carrying just as much force rippled throughout the city for 30 more seconds.
The force of the earthquake was so powerful that it knocked Vanie and many others to the ground. During those 60 seconds, Vanie watched as the buildings around her began to crumble and take damage. The sound of tearing concrete and collapsing buildings could be heard throughout the city. When the quake subsided, the cries of terrified and distraught Haitians rapidly filled the air.
Vanie sat on the ground in a suspended state of shock. When she was able to bring herself together she began to pray to God out of confusion for she was unsure of what was happening. Although Vanie had never experienced an earthquake before, she was not afraid for she knew God was with her. She then remembered she had left her 10-year-old daughter Chadnitha alone at the house while her other three children were with the neighbors. With this realization she pushed herself back onto her feet and hastily made her way back to the house. As she approached her home she saw from a distance one of her neighbors pulling her daughter Chadnitha out from under a door that had fallen on her during the quake. Not long after Chadnitha was rescued the house collapsed leaving everything buried and inaccessible. Nothing could be salvaged.
Although Vanie’s home was destroyed, the house where her other children were staying was not. As she approached the rubble where Chadnitha lay in the arms of her rescuer, Vanie quickly rushed to her daughter’s side. When she pulled Chadnitha into her arms she noticed something was wrong. Chadnitha could not move her legs. When Vanie realized her daughter was badly injured she decided to take her family to her sister’s place in Arachaie, a town just north of Port-Au-Prince.
When they arrived to Arachaie they remained there for nine weeks with her sister. During their stay in Archaei, Vanie was not able to get her daughter into a hospital. For those nine weeks, Chadnitha remained paralyzed, suffering with pain that could not be treated. On March 8th Vanie was contacted by her aunt in Saint-Marc. Her Aunt told her that there was a clinic in Saint-Marc called New Beginnings Clinic that had professional doctors that could possibly help Chadnitha.
On Monday March 9th Vanie hired a moto-taxi and traveled, with Chadnitha in her arms, to the city of Saint-Marc.
As the taxi pulled up to New Beginnings Clinic they were seen by Doctor “Doc” Doe, a private practice doctor from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and a few other medical volunteers. When Vanie and her daughter stepped off the moto-taxi they were taken inside to receive a medical evaluation of Chadnitha’s condition.
When Doc saw a large protrusion at the top of Chadnitha’s spine he recommended Vanie take her to the hospital in Saint-Marc to have an X-ray done. So Vanie took her daughter to the hospital. When the radiologist came to Vanie with the results of her daughters X-ray she was shocked to discover that a vertebrate in her daughter’s upper spine had been broken, causing the protrusion in her upper back. The damage done to her spine had taken away her ability to walk and she was unable to hold herself upright.
The radiologist told Vanie that there was nothing they could do for her daughter, that Chadnitha needed immediate surgery. The radiologist also expressed that they did not have the means to perform such a task there in the hospital due to an overflow of patients. With a hopeful heart, Vanie went back to New Beginnings Clinic hoping the doctors there would be able to help. When she arrived back at the clinic Doc took a look at the X-ray and said that there was nothing they could do for her daughter at the clinic. He immediately informed her that there was a bus from YWAM leaving for an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince that Wednesday morning and would be able to drop them off at the University of Miami mobile hospital in Port-Au-Prince. On Wednesday morning, Vanie and her daughter boarded the bus with Doc, myself and a few others. The bus then began its journey to Port Au Prince. During the drive Doc sat himself next to Chadnitha as she lay in her mother’s lap. He placed his hands gently on her chest and forehead and began to pray. As he was praying he felt a sudden pop in her chest. At that moment he was unsure about what had happened, so he continued praying before moving back to his seat.
A couple hours later the bus arrived to Port-Au-Prince. Once we pulled up to the gate of the U.S. Military base where the hospital was, our driver spoke to security and they waved us in. The bus pulled up alongside a medical tent and Doc stepped off to meet with a neurologist just outside the bus. After reviewing the X-rays, the neurologist told Doc with sincere and frustrated words: “The surgery cannot be done. We have been turning away almost all cases needing surgery due to the high risk of infection, which could then make things worse.” He handed the x-ray back to Doc and dreadfully said “I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do for her, the only thing that can save her now is a miracle.” When everyone on the bus heard those words, a long pause of silence filled the air and the sound of sniffling and sobbing could be heard from Vanie’s seat. The hope of her daughter being able to walk again and be normal had been crushed. A sense of hopelessness lingered in the bus as it started up and began its journey back into the city.
I remember sitting in my seat thinking to myself, “This is unreal, this can’t be happening to them.” I continued to stare out my window muttering prayers to God, hoping to hold back my tears. As we made our way through the city, the bus remained silent as though we all suffered a loss. The bus approached the orphanage where a few volunteers were waiting to be picked up. We entered through the gate and parked the bus. Freeman, our driver and staff member with YWAM Saint-Marc gave us an hour to eat and stretch before heading back onto the road.
While we were resting, Vanie and one of the nurses who was on the bus with us took Chadnitha to the restroom to get her cleaned up. While they were in the restroom they noticed that Chadnitha had moved her foot, but were unsure in their disbelief. Meanwhile, the rest of us were regrouping and starting to load the bus with luggage. When Vanie and the nurse returned to the bus they placed Chadnitha in her seat and shared their experience with Doc. Doc then knelt down beside Chadnitha and in French asked her if she could move her foot, but she couldn’t. So Doc, the faithful intercessor that he is, called us all to gather around this young girl and pray for her. Some climbed into the bus to lay hands on her and others gathered outside the bus to lay hands on her through the window. As we prayed and prayed for Chadnitha to be healed, Doc noticed one of her feet started to move. “Her feet, they’re moving! Keep praying, keep praying!” Doc shouted with excitement.
After about twenty minutes of prayer Doc continued asking Chadnitha to move her feet. As Doc crouched beside her with everyone watching and anxiously waiting, she began to move her left foot … and then her right. As I watched this girl, recently paralyzed, begin to move her feet, I couldn’t help but stand in awe and amazement. I was dumb-founded as God answered our prayers before our very eyes.
Doc then decided to bring her outside and try to have her sit in a chair to lift her legs. When Doc placed her in the chair she sat herself straight up, as if there wasn’t any pain in her back at all! A large gasp swept across the crowd. While she was sitting she was able to raise her right leg and with encouragement from her mother was able to raise her left. She continued that pattern a couple more times. When Doc was convinced that she was regaining movement in both legs he asked Shawn, a volunteer from Hawaii, to help her stand up. With the help of Shawn she was able to stand up and walk. She took a few steps forward without showing any pain. Since her muscles had grown weak over the past nine weeks she was unable to stand for very long. The emotion of such a miracle hit everyone in different ways. Some cried, a few chuckled with joy and others shouted out to God giving thanks. Vanie stood there with tears in her eyes as she watched her daughter take steps she thought she would not see again. As the emotion settled and time was becoming a constraint we climbed into the bus and began our journey back to Saint-Marc.
Vanie and Chadnitha are now living at New Beginnings Clinic in a hoop home tent just outside the clinic. Chadnitha now has a physical therapist who is working with her daily to help rebuild the muscle tissue in her legs. She carries a smile just like any other child. Vanie’s other children are living with her aunt in Saint-Marc.
The prayers of the righteous avail much. God had heard the call of His children and responded with a miracle, a miracle that is continuing to grow and is restoring hope and strength to a family that have literally lost everything.
“…I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use my name…ask using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy”. –Jesus Christ (John 16:23-24)
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