Day 4 - Healing Haiti Mission.
Our day started early, a 5:30 wake up call for church services at 6am with a wonderful Haitian Pastor. What a truly moving experience to see how the Haitians worship. The setting was a giant warehouse with folding chairs, benches and overhead fans. The music was blasting and God was present....everywhere. The active worshipping and singing was contagious. I have never witnessed such passion and dedication to our Lord. To start everyday this way would be a blessing. My way of prayer and worship seems to pales in comparison, the Haitian people are teaching me so much.
Our next stop was 45 minutes away to Grace Village, an orphanage, community school, medical clinic, and church operated by Healing Haiti. I can not begin to describe the feeling of walking into a beautiful courtyard with brightly painted buildings, with children of all ages running around in their school uniforms, and the children of God with gleaming smiles.
Because it was exam time for grades 1 through 12, we quietly toured the school, feeding center then the aquaponics facility and the medical clinic. What a breath of fresh air to see such hope for the children who live there, the students of Titanyen who are educated there, and for the elders who are provided one meal a day by them. What a contrast to other orphanages that we have visited. It was a small slice of Heaven to witness it all.
The highlight of the day for me was visiting the "Elders" who are sponsored by Healing Haiti donors and are provided one meal per day. Our team of 18, visited four elders and washed their feet, prayed with them and sang with them. I can not put into words how loving and pure this experience was for me. When we asked one of the Elders what we could pray for her, she asked if we could pray for her to "love God even more". WOW!!!! She was not praying for a single material item, in a world where she has nothing. I am learning more and more each day about how much more work I have in my walk of faith.
Sheryl Beyersdorfer
Even more hope came after we left Grace Village and went onto our elder visits. When we asked the elders for prayer requests, instead of the answers that we expected, like prayers for health and shelter, they asked for prayers about loving God more and having Jesus present. This experience opened my eyes to how powerful the people of Haiti truly are. Americans sometimes think that Haitians are somewhat hopeless and depend on missionaries for Joy, but while in Haiti, we found that they find joy in the Lord, and not material things like we depend on in America. It was very impactful to see that even in harsh conditions, the people of Haiti stay stronger in their faith and joy than the majority of Americans that I have ever seen.
After our visits to Titanyen, we returned to Port Au Prince and hung out with the Haitian neighborhood boys that live near the guest house. There was one boy, almost like the leader of the group, that was beaming with joy and love. When we brought the children to a session of praise with us, he knew more words, in English, to some of the songs than all of the people in the mission group. This boy, loving all of the people in the group, showed me that when we think that hope is gone, is typically when it is the most prevalent. Seeing all of these signs today, I am filled with joy and hope for the future of Haiti and the future of faith throughout these fellows lives.
Americans sometimes feel like we are the heroes while in Haiti, but if you look deep into how you are impacted while on this trip, you see that you may be impacted even more by the people that you are serving. Seeing all of the signs of God throughout our trip, I feel moved by the strength that flows like a river throughout this entire country. The unity binds everyone together, and creates a bond that we lack in America. A bond that is broken by dependence on material needs and unnecessary drama. A bond that is created by the love for each other and the love of the Lord.
John Ose
Our day started early, a 5:30 wake up call for church services at 6am with a wonderful Haitian Pastor. What a truly moving experience to see how the Haitians worship. The setting was a giant warehouse with folding chairs, benches and overhead fans. The music was blasting and God was present....everywhere. The active worshipping and singing was contagious. I have never witnessed such passion and dedication to our Lord. To start everyday this way would be a blessing. My way of prayer and worship seems to pales in comparison, the Haitian people are teaching me so much.
Our next stop was 45 minutes away to Grace Village, an orphanage, community school, medical clinic, and church operated by Healing Haiti. I can not begin to describe the feeling of walking into a beautiful courtyard with brightly painted buildings, with children of all ages running around in their school uniforms, and the children of God with gleaming smiles.
Because it was exam time for grades 1 through 12, we quietly toured the school, feeding center then the aquaponics facility and the medical clinic. What a breath of fresh air to see such hope for the children who live there, the students of Titanyen who are educated there, and for the elders who are provided one meal a day by them. What a contrast to other orphanages that we have visited. It was a small slice of Heaven to witness it all.
The highlight of the day for me was visiting the "Elders" who are sponsored by Healing Haiti donors and are provided one meal per day. Our team of 18, visited four elders and washed their feet, prayed with them and sang with them. I can not put into words how loving and pure this experience was for me. When we asked one of the Elders what we could pray for her, she asked if we could pray for her to "love God even more". WOW!!!! She was not praying for a single material item, in a world where she has nothing. I am learning more and more each day about how much more work I have in my walk of faith.
Sheryl Beyersdorfer
This was my second time coming to Haiti, and it was incredible to see all of the new hope throughout where we served. At Grace Village, some of the members of our group met a very interesting boy from Titanyen. He was 17 years old and knew many different languages. He told us all about life in Haiti and his hopes and plans for the future. We found out that he worked at Mission of Hope and loved art. He said that he painted and made bracelets. He told us that he wanted to attend school in the United States, preferably California because it was warm, and also said that he wanted to be either a engineer, pilot, or artist. He even said that he wanted to be the mayor of Titanyen. Seeing this hopeful and motivated young man amongst a country of destruction was incredible. Even more hope came after we left Grace Village and went onto our elder visits. When we asked the elders for prayer requests, instead of the answers that we expected, like prayers for health and shelter, they asked for prayers about loving God more and having Jesus present. This experience opened my eyes to how powerful the people of Haiti truly are. Americans sometimes think that Haitians are somewhat hopeless and depend on missionaries for Joy, but while in Haiti, we found that they find joy in the Lord, and not material things like we depend on in America. It was very impactful to see that even in harsh conditions, the people of Haiti stay stronger in their faith and joy than the majority of Americans that I have ever seen.
After our visits to Titanyen, we returned to Port Au Prince and hung out with the Haitian neighborhood boys that live near the guest house. There was one boy, almost like the leader of the group, that was beaming with joy and love. When we brought the children to a session of praise with us, he knew more words, in English, to some of the songs than all of the people in the mission group. This boy, loving all of the people in the group, showed me that when we think that hope is gone, is typically when it is the most prevalent. Seeing all of these signs today, I am filled with joy and hope for the future of Haiti and the future of faith throughout these fellows lives.
Americans sometimes feel like we are the heroes while in Haiti, but if you look deep into how you are impacted while on this trip, you see that you may be impacted even more by the people that you are serving. Seeing all of the signs of God throughout our trip, I feel moved by the strength that flows like a river throughout this entire country. The unity binds everyone together, and creates a bond that we lack in America. A bond that is broken by dependence on material needs and unnecessary drama. A bond that is created by the love for each other and the love of the Lord.
John Ose
Awesome post - thank you for sharing your experiences! I can see God's hand in all you have experienced. Will continue to pray for all of you and all those you meet.
ReplyDeleteWOW...what an incredible post and so cool to hear about the pure JOY in the Haitian people, how amazing that their prayer requests are to love God more...so true that they are the real heroes and will be when we ALL stand before God! Prayers and blessings, Joelle
ReplyDeleteWhat a great sharing of what you have experienced! Thank you! How amazing of a trip that you are all having and experiencing. Prayers for each of you! Thank you for your stories.
ReplyDelete