I have taken a long time, almost a year, to begin to write about my experience in Haiti during our March 2012 trip. It was an emotionally overwhelming experience and thought I better give myself some time to separate from the emotion before I shared the experience. I never dreamed it would take almost a year to get myself back on track.
We partnered with a wonderful nongoverment organization, Mission of Hope (MOH). They are located north of Port Au Prince and were direct recipients of the injured, orphaned and homeless from the earthquake. The continuing story of how God prepared and transformed this Christian based orphanage and school into a fully functioning resource center for victims of the quake can be followed directly at their homepage, www.mohhaiti.org . God is blessing through this group.
Our group has never partnered with such a large organization. The week we served, we were joined by several hundred volunteers from all over the US and Canada. Our basic work was to paint homes, pray and share with earthquake victims who are living in temporary shelters and to rejoice and play with a new integrated (hearing and nonhearing) village being established just north of Mission of Hope.
We were scared and frightened by the huge spiders living in the new homes as well as touched, saddened and emptied emotionally by the ongoing suffering of those in the recovery process from the losses sustained in the earthquake. Fear among the people in the temporary housing outside the Mission of Hope compound continued to be an ongoing concern. Fear the earth will shake again, fear about losing what remains of their families, fear of not ever being able to work, laugh or engage in life again. Tears were a normal part of our days.
Our bus driver and interpreter shared their personal stories of loss and how God led them to reengage in living in Him and for Him through service to others. I was struck that even the hopeless gained hope by sharing their lives with others and at the same time, helped themselves move forward. Faith was their foundation and the knowledge that despite the horrors that overtook their lives, God was there in their suffering working to save them, literally and spiritually.
We laughed as well. Jesse brought an American football with her and she and Brady had a great time teaching area children how to throw it and send it sailing back. We played "keep the balloon in the air" with large groups of children. Colleen read to children in small groups and had mothers leaning in to hear the stories. Traci brought along a jump rope and it turned into a universal language with adults and kids. So, with tears also came smiles, lots of them.
We attended a church on the Mission of Hope campus that has a congregation in excess of 2,000 people from the commutable area. It was awesome! They had a big screen, musicians, a great sound system and shouts of joy in worship.
Cassey, a very sports minded women, brought lots of sports equipment to donate and we ran a sports clinic one afternoon for the orphans living at MOH. They were excited to have baseball gloves and new soccer balls. Some of us, ended up playing card games with a few children when it became obvious that athletics was not in the "cards" for us.
MOH went out of their way to take us to a beach resort area on the north coast. I was dreading the adventure because I felt it was wasted time when we could be working in the area camps with survivors. They insisted we need to go. I am glad I did for two reasons. It helped me to see that little by little, the tourist trade is trying to revive in Haiti. They need it to grow to improve their economy through job creation. Secondly, it help me to detox from all the stories and tears of the previous days and enjoy the beauty of Haiti.
It is hard to face such devastation daily and not lose hope that the country of Haiti can and does have a future. With good leadership, educated and skilled workers, investment in business and lots of prayer, Haiti can create a stable and healthy place for the children to grow and learn. It will not happen overnight. But it will happen. God is good and I know He is working in Haiti. I just need to pause and look around me to see the improvement from visit to visit.
We partnered with a wonderful nongoverment organization, Mission of Hope (MOH). They are located north of Port Au Prince and were direct recipients of the injured, orphaned and homeless from the earthquake. The continuing story of how God prepared and transformed this Christian based orphanage and school into a fully functioning resource center for victims of the quake can be followed directly at their homepage, www.mohhaiti.org . God is blessing through this group.
Our group has never partnered with such a large organization. The week we served, we were joined by several hundred volunteers from all over the US and Canada. Our basic work was to paint homes, pray and share with earthquake victims who are living in temporary shelters and to rejoice and play with a new integrated (hearing and nonhearing) village being established just north of Mission of Hope.
We were scared and frightened by the huge spiders living in the new homes as well as touched, saddened and emptied emotionally by the ongoing suffering of those in the recovery process from the losses sustained in the earthquake. Fear among the people in the temporary housing outside the Mission of Hope compound continued to be an ongoing concern. Fear the earth will shake again, fear about losing what remains of their families, fear of not ever being able to work, laugh or engage in life again. Tears were a normal part of our days.
Our bus driver and interpreter shared their personal stories of loss and how God led them to reengage in living in Him and for Him through service to others. I was struck that even the hopeless gained hope by sharing their lives with others and at the same time, helped themselves move forward. Faith was their foundation and the knowledge that despite the horrors that overtook their lives, God was there in their suffering working to save them, literally and spiritually.We laughed as well. Jesse brought an American football with her and she and Brady had a great time teaching area children how to throw it and send it sailing back. We played "keep the balloon in the air" with large groups of children. Colleen read to children in small groups and had mothers leaning in to hear the stories. Traci brought along a jump rope and it turned into a universal language with adults and kids. So, with tears also came smiles, lots of them.We attended a church on the Mission of Hope campus that has a congregation in excess of 2,000 people from the commutable area. It was awesome! They had a big screen, musicians, a great sound system and shouts of joy in worship.
Cassey, a very sports minded women, brought lots of sports equipment to donate and we ran a sports clinic one afternoon for the orphans living at MOH. They were excited to have baseball gloves and new soccer balls. Some of us, ended up playing card games with a few children when it became obvious that athletics was not in the "cards" for us.
MOH went out of their way to take us to a beach resort area on the north coast. I was dreading the adventure because I felt it was wasted time when we could be working in the area camps with survivors. They insisted we need to go. I am glad I did for two reasons. It helped me to see that little by little, the tourist trade is trying to revive in Haiti. They need it to grow to improve their economy through job creation. Secondly, it help me to detox from all the stories and tears of the previous days and enjoy the beauty of Haiti.
It is hard to face such devastation daily and not lose hope that the country of Haiti can and does have a future. With good leadership, educated and skilled workers, investment in business and lots of prayer, Haiti can create a stable and healthy place for the children to grow and learn. It will not happen overnight. But it will happen. God is good and I know He is working in Haiti. I just need to pause and look around me to see the improvement from visit to visit.
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