The following letter is primarily an abbreviated report I received from a dear friend who leads a ministry in Pennsylvania. He sent me an e-mail that he received from a missionary in Haiti on Saturday, February 13. I honestly do not know how representative this account is in the nation or how widespread the movement is. I have no reason to question its accuracy. And subsequent reports from another Haiti missionary confirmed the work of God taking place.

But, regardless, it sure sounds like some measure of wind is blowing, and the president of Haiti helped by setting some sails to catch the breath of God. I hope you read the following with the same sense of enthusiasm that I did. I've put some of the words in bold so we don't miss what the Lord may have for us as we consider the mission of revival.

Dear Ministry Friends,

I think that I will remember this day as one of the most significant in my life, not because of what I did, but for its meaning. In fact, what I did today was insignificant, and may have even distracted from me fully engaging in the day.

Today was the one-month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake.

About three days ago, the Haitian president announced that there would be three days of no work for the purpose of fasting and prayer. This is absolutely historic. If you have ever been to Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined this pronouncement? Could you imagine such an announcement from the U.S. president?

This morning I saw a young Haitian-American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the Americans could not understand the incredible importance of this day. They wanted to go about business as usual. Remember, it was only about six years ago that a former Haitian president called the nation to come together to rededicate the nation to Satan (which didn't happen, by the way, as the Christian churches and Radio Lumiere set aside several days to fast and pray for their country at that time, also).

Whatever the president might have intended, this [call] became a real commitment for the Haitian people. As I sit here this evening, I can hear the preaching coming from a nearby church. Services have been going on all day.

I just read a news story that was forwarded to us about an official service with President Preval outside of the broken-down palace. The author may have accurately reported the story as he saw it, but he only saw the surface. His highly biased hatch job totally missed the significant story of what was happening in Haiti today.

Peniel and I had planned an inspection trip up to the Artibonite Valley today. Right or wrong, we went ahead with the trip since it was the only opportunity we'd have. As we left the guest house about 7:30 a.m., we were met by throngs of dressed-up people headed to various churches. The sounds of Christian music and worship filled the air everywhere.

The next observation was that there was NO traffic. Port-au-Prince streets are always clogged, overflowing with bumper-to-bumper traffic. This morning there were only a few vehicles on the roads, a few small buses, some UN and military vehicles, and a few private cars. We had clear sailing through town. The same was true of foot traffic. Usually the streets are full of people walking. Today there were only a few, and many of them dressed for church. The only places we encountered traffic blocks were in front of several churches where the congregations had overflowed the buildings, the yards, and out into the streets.

The next observation was that EVERYTHING was closed! We could not find even one business or gas station open. There were no inter-city buses running. Whereas the sidewalks are usually shoulder-bumping full of street vendors, we only saw a few here and there. The huge outdoor market near the wharf, where thousands work each day and spread out to cover most of the street, was EMPTY.

Where were all the people? They were in churches and makeshift meeting sites. I didn't see any Voodoo, Islamic, or Buddhist  services, but every Christian church ... had services going on, almost all of them overflowing into the streets. Beside broken-down churches, services were taking place outside. In homeless camps, there were services. Everywhere, the nation was gathered to worship and pray. This scene was repeated in every town and hamlet we passed during the day.

Tonight, Pastor Ignace, who is sharing the room with me, asked this question: "Can people still say that Haiti is a voodoo country?" What has been happening and is continuing to happen in Haiti did not happen because of the earthquake. It has been happening because Haitian Christians know how to pray. This is a tremendous outpouring of God's power as the result of prayer. Twenty years ago, I started praying for the Gospel to change the Haitian culture. I think that I am seeing God do that work.

The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation that has long been under Satan's domination is turning to God with commitment and power, our nation, founded on godly values, has rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget He even exists. Let us pray for revival in America.

Someone asked me if it will take a similar catastrophe in America for us to genuinely seek the Lord. I like what this missionary stated: It was the prayers of God's people that caused God to come in their midst more than the tragedy. Paul said that the goodness of God should lead us to repentance. I pray we won't have to face the suffering, but we also need to be willing to face it for the greater good of His glory!

The big question is whether or not we are willing to pray. "Whatever it takes, Lord, whatever it takes; send Your presence and glory to this nation once again."