Haiti Trip 2016 Update #2

Lakeside Team over looking Lake Azuie

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 ESV)

Bear Much Fruit

Today’s devotional was about how God has chosen us to not just “bear fruit” but to “bear much fruit.” We had a great time talking about how we can get satisfied with mediocrity, but God has called us to so much more. On a trip like this, there are opportunities for the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) to be displayed abundantly. I thank God for His faithfulness to produce these fruit in our lives, especially on this trip.

Love

Today I saw our team love children in the name of Christ. This is not your typical teen story. In spite of the mountains of barriers that could have derailed this team, they chose to love like Christ would. They did not use the language barrier as an excuse. They did not allow the cultural differences to be an excuse. No, they embraced the children from Valley of Hope with open arms.

Joy

Today we traveled up to the village of Chambone and attended the Valley of Hope church. This is the same church we attended last year. Again, we were paraded to the front of the church for the service. It is very awkward to be sitting up front facing the rest of the church for a service that is in a different language.

However, it provided an opportunity to observe the local congregation throughout the service. It is truly a joyful occasion to worship the Lord with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Pastor Maceau was not present this year so we did not have an interpreter for the sermon. Still, seeing the fervency in which the worshiped, the genuine expression of faith they shared and the passion in which they praised was a blessing.

Peace

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3 ESV)

I love this verse for international travel. The roads and traffic today are not what we are used to. Some of the team sat up on the roof. But God gave us peace in all of our travels.

Patience

In our devotions time I asked, “how have you seen God produce fruit in this trip so far” and “patience” became a repeated theme.  Patience while trying to communicate in broken English. Patience when giving a gift to one child and 20 hands appear from out of nowhere. It could have been easy to get frustrated, but it was a joy to see our team patiently and lovingly work through these situations.

Kindness

I think of one little girl who Daisy carried back from the river. Daisy showed kindness to this lovely little girl while she allowed her to braid her hair on the walk back.

Goodness

I observed several team members give up some of their food, whether chip or cookies, so that the children could eat with us.

Faithfulness

I am thankful for Mark and Phyllis’ faithfulness to the Lord’s call to be on this trip. I know it takes sacrifice for adults to take off work, use vacation and participate. I am thankful they have. It’s been great getting to know them better and watch how God is using them on our team. You may think Mark is quiet, but give him a chance and he really talks!

Gentleness

Many of our team sat around and did finger nail painting with the children. It takes patience, kindness and gentleness to achieve this.

Self-Control

In Haiti it is hot and humid. There is little if any escape from the heat. So we don’t sleep as well. It drains you of energy and leads to dehydration easily. When you are hot and tired it is easy to have a bad attitude or not respond well. I am thankful for God giving our team strength to have self-control and preserver today.

It was a blessing to see all this and more, I could keep on typing about all the fun things we learned. There is more about Chambone and Haitian culture on last year’s post (Haiti Trip Update #2 Sunday, July 12 2015).

But I was very excited to see Amchel Dorce, the young man I met last year. When I saw him I excitedly said, “Amchel it is so good to see you!” He replied with a big smile, “ah you remember my name!” What a joy to reconnect with him.

Tomorrow Prayer Requests

We will be heading to the OK in the morning to do some painting and light construction work. Pray for safety as we work.

In the afternoon, we will be going to an orphanage. I hope to pass out the dresses and shorts we brought. Pray that we can encourage the children and staff tomorrow. Pray that we will have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts that will embrace these children as we learn about their situation.