Ted has put a lot of time into fine-tuning the visual aspects of the prayer guide for this week's upcoming Days of Prayer. The guide is now available to download here. You can also sign-up to receive each day's prayer to your inbox for the week.

Here is some intro text for the campaign, and a little background information we wrote to help orient you to this ongoing, controversial crisis.

''In the Dominican Republic, thousands of Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent stripped of their citizenship are living in fear of deportation because of recent, harsh changes to immigration laws. An estimated 66,000 people have already fled the Dominican Republic and entered Haiti, and many are struggling to rebuild their lives in drought-stricken communities with few means to aid their reintegration.

''We invite you to join us for a week of prayer and advocacy for our brothers and sisters facing an uncertain future. From August 31 to September 6, we'll share resources to help guide you and your church as we ask the Lord to provide for the suffering, protect those living in fear, and bring about reconciliation between these two divided countries.

Here is some further background information.

In the prayer materials, you will read brief stories and see photos that capture the lives of some of the victims of the recent deportations and threats of violence taking place in the D.R. against Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent. Here is a ''sneak peak'' of some of the photos you'll find there.

Andre Joseph, his wife, and son

Darlene and her son

Ketlen, and her 6-month-old baby

We are glad that MCC has been able to begin responding to the crisis. Learn about all of this and more through the Days of Prayer campaign starting this Monday. God bless.

Elections update, and more prayer.

A voting center at a school in Fond-Parisien. This is a commune near the border with the D.R., where MCC is now providing relief to families living in tent camps (read a little further.)

Election results have been posted.

Though the results did not come on the same evening I wrote our previous post, they did come the following day. And miraculously, the streets of Port-au-Prince saw no major disruptions, none of the usual post-election protests and road blockades.

The runners-up for senators and deputies were announced, and, partly because there are 100+ political parties represented in these legislative elections, it seems there weren’t any "losers" with enough pull and influence to cause the oft-anticipated mayhem.

Another positive aspect of the results: the electoral council announced that the first-round elections will have to be redone in 25 constituencies due to enough recorded instances of fraud and violence. That's right; this means that the electoral council responded to the vast accounts of irregularities seen with elections, instead of writing them off as the international community did by saying elections went "well enough.'' (The majority of Haitians disagreed.) Since voting day, a slew of candidates have also been disqualified for being involved in the election-day violence. Several more have been ''sanctioned,'' but not disqualified. 

The same concerns about the irregularities with elections remain. The electoral council continues to release its plans for how to improve the next round. On October 25, not only will second-round legislative seats be voted on, but local elections for mayors, kaseks and aseks will take place, in addition to first-round presidential elections!

Thank you for your concerns, interest, and prayers for Haiti.

Days of Prayer for the Displaced campaign via MCC

And speaking of prayer. Another issue that is just as relevant and pressing in Haiti today is the unfolding migration crises within and between Haiti and its neighboring country, the Dominican Republic. In other posts, we have discussed some of the recent policies in the D.R. that have stripped hundreds of thousands of people of their Dominican citizenship, an act that is illegal by international standards. In addition, migrant workers in the D.R. are facing uncertainty and deportations are becoming more frequent due to shifting immigration policies. Because of a major outflow of people from the D.R. to Haiti over the past two months - 66,000 people at least - tent camps are sprouting up along the Haitian side of the Haiti and D.R. border.

MCC is responding with material aid for vulnerable families. For the past few weeks, Ted and I have put a lot of time into planning for the Days of Prayer for the Displaced campaign. Through this campaign, we hope to encourage individuals and churches in the U.S. and Canada to spend time each day, for one week, lifting up a different aspect of this crisis in prayer.

It starts this Monday, August 31. If you are interested, please sign up through the links above, or look for our posts on social media starting on Monday. We are confident that prayer makes a difference, and we are excited to be sharing these materials with you guys.

Look for future posts on our recent trip to the border to visit a tent camp, or find photos and stories from our trip in the prayer guide.

Elections: an occasion for prayer for Haiti

Tonight would be a good time to send out a prayer request for Haiti. This evening, we expect the election results – the first election results in over four years - to be announced for all eagerly awaiting parties. These are the first-round legislative election results, tallied from voters’ choices two Sundays ago, August 9.

On that day, Ted and I participated in elections monitoring with a longtime MCC partner and a top Haitian human rights organization, RNDDH. RNDDH trains and mobilizes hundreds of elections monitors to disperse throughout Haiti’s ten departments, keeping a close eye out for irregularities in voting procedures. With RNDDH team leaders and drivers, we each traveled throughout the Port-au-Prince region, checking in with fixed elections observers at dozens of voting centers and reporting information back to RNDDH headquarters.

Our 15-hour day, roving around localities as diverse as Fond-Parisien, to Leogane, to Cite Soleil, felt like a major initiatory experience into the political process in Haiti.

Our fearless team leader, Minerve (on the right) with our driver/experienced observer/co-boss of MCC Haiti, Kurt (left)
(Not pictured: our third team leader, Nixon Boumba.)

The feedback from Haitian elections monitoring teams after the fact was unequivocal: the elections proceedings were rife with irregularities and instances of corruption. Of 1,500 voting centers in the country, 54 had to be closed on elections day due to violent disturbances. (We visited one such site after it had closed. Ballot boxes were toppled and torn ballots spread everywhere.) And just because a voting center was not closed does not mean there weren’t clear problems with how voting proceeded. Lack of voter confidentiality, intimidation, and general disorder within voting centers was documented at centers all over the country. An estimated 6 individuals lost their lives. Some groups felt that the results from this first round of elections should be disregarded, but that option has since been thrown out the window by Haiti’s electoral council.

The explosion of political parties since Haiti’s last election is one factor that led to so much chaos on election day. Candidates represented over 100 parties, and each party technically had the right to have an elections mandataires in place, to prevent fraud at voting stations. Instead, what we saw, is that squabbles among party mandataires kept many voting centers from opening up on time, and party representatives were very active in campaigning for their candidates within voting center boundaries. From several accounts we heard, the elderly were especially targeted in this way. (At one center in far, southwest Haiti, young men working for political parties offered to drive elderly folks to the voting center if they would vote a certain way.)

Entering a voting center - see all the campaign posters on the gate that aren't supposed to be there.

I don’t share all this detail to discourage people – though I will say the experience was profoundly discouraging, mostly so for our Haitian co-workers and colleagues at RNDDH – but to paint a picture of what this means for further elections planned for this year, and even for how it implicates international donors.

These first-round legislative elections were funded by international donor countries, and the next two rounds planned for this year (October 25 and December 27) will also largely be funded by foreign bodies. It’s a large investment by outsiders, but it cannot be forgotten that this is Haitian business and should be determined primarily by Haitians. When international donors and monitoring groups like Organization of American States - who sent a couple dozen representatives to observe elections - said that things went “well enough,’’ or “as best as could be expected,” it felt like an insult to Haitians, who have seen something better. The general feeling was "why set the standards so low?" when, clearly, these irregularities would cause much more concern and consideration if they occurred in richer countries. 

Of course no one wants the elections to have to be re-held. It would jeopardize the plan to hold second-round elections, first-round mayoral, and Presidential elections later this year. But Haitians also want to see a process that makes sense, that doesn't just pass as "good enough."

No results announced this evening could please everyone. Obviously, with 100+ political parties, quite a few people are going to be disappointed either way. Some amount of protests and roadblocks are expected in the streets – it’s just a matter of how many.

Please pray tonight: 

--For safety in the streets as results are announced; for no violence or targeting of parties.
--For peace, for minimal disruption of people's lives.

--For results that are somehow beneficial and  truly helpful for the country moving forward. 

--For good governance, international partnerships, and the participation of the population in further election activities. 

--That people would trust the potential good in the process enough to continue voting and working for the good of their country.

A finger being marked to indicate a completed vote.

I personally admit that prayer in light of big, complex processes can feel simple or inadequate at times. But it's a major way to deepen our engagement, to demonstrate love, and affirm Hope, isn't it?

Post/cards {4} Luminous

{Notre-Dame Cathedral, Old Montreal} Taken 8.1.15

Luminous. The Notre Dame Cathedral is Montreal's most famous. Can you see why? I had never seen a cathedral like this before. The ornateness, the luminous blues and purples, the shocking quantity of memorial statues - almost all in wood - many honoring female Canadian saints who started religious orders in this "New World." A long pause and rest inside the Notre Dame Cathedral yesterday broke up our morning in Old Montreal. After a near two weeks of unrelenting work-related stops in North America, Ted and I are pausing for three days in Montreal, to soak up some culture that has long intrigued us, and also to recover from some nasty head-colds before returning to Haiti.

Post/cards {3} Commitment

{Bridge over Canal Rideau, Ottawa} Taken 7.29.15

Commitment. Our MCC colleagues in Ottawa treated us to a great introduction to the city, as well as useful meetings with several MP's offices. On our first afternoon of two in Canada's capital, we strolled from our hotel towards the downtown district, crossing this charming canal (In winter, the entire canal freezes over; people ice skate on it and some even ice skate commute to work!) I hadn't known of the famous tradition on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, where newlywed couples would fasten locks to the bridge's railings to signify their betrothal. While the weight of the Parisian bridge became too much to support more locks, it looks like couples in Ottawa are just starting up the tradition!

Post/cards {2} Brightness

{High Line Park, NYC} Taken 7.28.15

Brightness. Bright colors popping amidst the grit, brick and steel of New York City. Last week we spent two and a half days in the most packed city in the U.S., after a  week at Mennonite World Conference. The purpose of our visit: to participate in meetings with UN officials through MCC's UN Office. After work hours, we explored bits of the city, such delights as the High Line Park in Manhattan's Meatpacking district. We came across this gem after turning one of the park's many unexpected corners. Though my feet were killing me after long strolls in the city, treasures like this one made those few extra steps worth the journey. 

The Harsh Law v. Christ: Haitian Criminal Justice Up-Close

Inside the court room

When setting foot into the Palais de Justice in Les Cayes, Haiti, I am greeted by bold words Nicholas Nickleby might have copied from the walls of Dotheboys Hall: Dura Lex, Sed Lex, the law is harsh but it is the law. On its own, not the most surprising maxim to find in a courtroom. What makes me stare is that beneath it is a crucifix.

I nudge the Haitian lawyer next to me. “Is this display common in Haitian courtrooms?” He assures me it is.

The room bustles. Lawyers don their long black robes and law students natter and clerks huff and passersby with wide-open afternoons settle into back benches to be entertained. As I take my seat I puzzle over Christ and the Harsh Law and their meaning, intended and otherwise. Bells ring. We rise. We sit. I take out my pen, my notepad. I observe.

The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) is a Haitian human rights organization representing a trio of victim’s interests in a civil lawsuit against five men accused of violent crimes, including murder. BAI invited trial observers to help encourage fair proceedings and protect victims from reprisal. As the lawyers’ verbal sparring picks up, the language is either in French or a barrage of Kreyòl too speedy for my mind to match. The temperature increases and I pull at my necktie. I find my observing eye stray, taking in details around the courtroom.

Met Mario Joseph of BAI with the victims and supporting witnesses

First, there are the victims. Back in 2007, they were attacked by Jean Morose Viliena, the local magistrate, and a group of his supporters in the town of Les Irois. One victim lost his eye. One lost his leg. Another lost his brother. For bizarre procedural reasons—the court secretary didn’t take notes or they were lost, so the high court set aside the original guilty verdict and ordered a re-trial—all of the victims were there in court, repeating their testimony, hoping for justice. I am impressed by their composure.

Second, there are the accused. The five men sit on a bench, looking tired, sad, or plain absent. Their ages vary from their late twenties to one man in his sixties. They’ve already been incarcerated for over seven years in Haitian prison while proceedings have stretched on. One of their cohort died during this time, and Jean Morose Viliena, their leader, reportedly absconded to the U.S. to avoid trial. I am struck by how very ordinary these men charged with so much harm appear.

Third, there are the lawyers. The prosecutor—calm, imperious—does most of the questioning. The opposing sides have deep benches of lawyers and they approach the lectern in turn like tag-team wrestlers.

There is a theatricality to the defense’s questioning that irks me. Imagine recreating a trial eight years after the initial crime, with no court transcripts, police reports, or physical evidence, just the testimony of the victims and their bodies, the accused, and a collection of witnesses. Though I don’t doubt the guilt of these accused, I wonder about the imperfect justice this system is known to churn out. I compare what I’m seeing to trials I’ve watched in U.S. criminal court and I sit in a place of judgment. But then I scold myself. Racially-disparate outcomes; money meaning the difference between guilt and innocence; wrongful convictions; pressuring innocent defendants to accept harsh plea bargains. The American brand of justice just hides its seams better.

The afternoon wears on. Another bead of sweat slips down my face. My eyes wander.

They return to Christ on his cross. Why is the crucifix even here? If I understand correctly, the maxim and the crucifix lack a shared, cumulative meaning. But I can’t escape them in this space together.

Jesus’ face happens to be inclined toward the accused. Jesus, the all-seeing, all-knowing. Jesus, wounded for the sins of the world. It brings to mind Calvary itself, when Jesus invited the repentant thief to enter into Paradise. I wonder if these men, likely to be condemned, are repentant.

Ah, the law is harsh, and it is the law, and I am for justice, but I am for grace. Not impunity, but a grace big enough to meet and cover the villainous wrongdoing of those men on that bench who very likely maimed and murdered. A grace able to temper that harsh law.

Outside the courthouse