HAITI 3

So here is yet another Haiti post, this blog is not all about Haiti but it's about my high school experiences and this has kind of been a really big part of my life so I don't see a problem with having just one more post about Haiti. Here it is:

The second hardest part of my trip to Haiti was the journey. I was so excited to get there and to start learning about these people and their culture, but I had to sit on a plane and be patient (because for some reason throwing tantrums in the middle of the airport is frowned upon). The plane ride was actually pretty short, it could have been much longer, and we didn't have to wait long for our connecting flight. When we flew into Port Au Prince we were a little worried because at first all that we saw was a little shed and we were just kind of like, is that supposed to be the airport. "Um, excuse me, pilot guy, I think you missed the airport..." Thankfully, that was not the case, the airport just happened to be out the other window. The airport consisted of three gates (as far as we could see). Then we proceeded to baggage claim. If you have ever traveled in America you know that people WILL NOT take your bag off the carousel (even if you are obviously struggling to pick it up because you are made up of exactly .23% muscle). So, imagine our surprise when half of our bags are already off. Then we found "big boss" who got our bags and took them out to the Pastor Don's truck.

            Doesn’t seem like such a hard task, but the hardest part was significantly more difficult for me. The absolute hardest part of my trip to Haiti was the most cliché of them all, leaving. The first few days are hard, then it gets easier because you get acclimated to the weather, sleeping conditions, language and even the schedule. But then it all gets ripped out of your arms. I started to fall in love with the place. How can you not, when it looks like this:

           I didn’t want to leave, I really felt like I had found my niche. A place where I really fit in. At first I said that I left my heart in Haiti, but I didn’t. I carry my broken heart with me. I feel it every day when I wake up and think about all that I could be doing. When I think about the precious children who don’t have the things that I have. My dream is to show God’s peace. With every fiber of my being I believe that God is big enough to bring peace to this entire world. But it’s our job to bring it. GIVE, GO, PRAY. I can’t stress how powerful these three things are.

(Give: http://acts29missions.org/get-involved/boots-on-the-ground/help-supplies

Go: Contact your church about upcoming Missions Trips or go to http://acts29missions.org/get-involved/boots-on-the-ground/missions-trips?view=Events&layout=eventlisting&html=1&page=1

Pray: We all know how to do this, and don’t lie, you have time. Put a reminder in your phone to pray for the world, not just Haiti. There are people hurting everywhere. There is NO excuse to not pray.)

Have you ever wished that you could be a part of something bigger than yourself? After such a long time dreaming of getting to go on a missions trip I finally made it. Growing up in church (at least my church), I heard a lot of missionaries speak. They all talk about how much they love what they do, how sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's dangerous, but, in the end, they love their job. Through the years I have created this image, and honestly, I had it all wrong.

Some misconceptions about Haiti:

1.      “They’re stupid.”—This one really bothers me, nobody comes right out and says it, but for some reason many Americans think that the ‘Merican way is the only way. I was blown away by some very intelligent people, (who by the way, can speak more languages than I, and are eager to learn new cultures, rather than impose on others’). No matter what you think, speaking English, being rich, and having the “best”, are not signs of intelligence. We weren’t called to spread the “American Tradition” we were called to spread the word of God. If you can’t separate the two, I suggest finding the really checking your heart line before embarking on a journey to expand God’s kingdom.

2.      “They’re different.”—I came to Haiti and I thought that it was going to be hard to relate to these people. I had the wrong mindset, I thought that their struggles were somehow more than my own. How can I relate to someone who has nothing? In order to answer this question I had to realize that they do have things. What they lack in the tangible they make up for in the intangible. One way that you can always count on being like another human is our fear of being alone. “Man is by nature a social animal” (yes, I stole that from Aristotle), it means that we all need people, everyone longs for people to accept them whether they acknowledge it or not. That is just one example of how we are similar.  

3.      “They weren’t called”—I honestly believe that so many Americans that go to other countries forget that the bible applies to everyone. Yes, we are called to spread the word of God, but so are they, so teach them what they need to do in order to spread the gospel. When I was younger, I would go to kids church and my pastor would break it down, ‘Can you imagine what would happen to the world if everyone in here brought two friends to church, then the next week your friends brought two more people, and the cycle just continued forever?’ NO, I couldn’t imagine, because people don’t spread the word. But when I went to Haiti and I watched as Haitians, who statistically should have nothing to do with God, shared the gospel with their friends. I watched as those same Haitians taught the next generation. This is what missions is supposed to be about. Harry Truman once said, “It is amazing the things that you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

PEACE AND BLESSINS.

P.S. Don't forget that you can give to Acts 29 Missions at http://acts29missions.org/get-involved/support-acts29

HAITI 2

Dearest Peeps,
There are 7 billion people in the world, which is an extremely large amount of people, but let's break it down.
In the US there are 318 million people. Texas, which is the second largest state is home to 26 million people, and Houston has 2 million citizens. I live in Houston, Texas the fourth most populated city in America. I am insignificant in this huge world. I have feared that I would drown in this huge city, I thought I would become just another person, and that scared me. I want to do great things, there are a lot of goals that I have set for myself and I don't really want to look back at my life and realize that I didn't reach for all of them. Before I went to Haiti I thought that my biggest fear was getting lost. But I didn't realize until half-way through my trip that I was already lost. I was so lost that I didn't even realize I was lost.

I think that in our walk as a Christian we are met with more than one "redemption". We are saved when Christ comes into our lives, but then we get lost again. We go through the motions of religion and we lose our passion for obeying God's word. This second redemption isn't saving us from Hell, but from a life of obscurity. God has a purpose for us all and until you find that purpose you won't really understand what it means to have a purpose. As you search for what God is calling you to I want you to remember Jeremiah 29:11-14
¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

This scripture is so powerful when you are searching for God's answer. Everyone likes to stop at verse 11, but when you go on, you see that although he has a plan for you, you are the one that has to put the plan into action. Does he, or does he not say, YOU seek, YOU search, YOU call upon, YOU pray. Stop focusing on God's side of the bargain, and focus on what he says you need to do first.

One of my favorite quotes was uttered by Mahatma Gandhi, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

The story of how I found my calling actually starts about a year before I went to Haiti. It was at Youth Camp and the minister (who spoke extremely fast) was talking about a missionary and I really thought that the story was pretty cool. I didn't really feel that it had anything to do with me, but I felt like I was supposed to go up front when he finished his message. He spoke all about missions and even his alter call was for people who thought they were being called into the missions field. So, it was really strange for me to walk up to the front, kneel down and pray to God. I was confused because I didn't really understand. Looking back, I believe that my walking up there had everything to do with the people around me seeing it, because there was no way that I was able to see what God was doing in me. Pastor Ruben pulled me aside and he told me that I have really awesome and big things in my future and that I need to fight through all of the hard things that will happen in my life. Which, at the time was really scary (because everything was great). He told me that when you have such a great calling that the Devil will do everything that he can to stop you, that things get rough, and being prayed up and read up (on the bible, not Twilight) is so important. I got so excited after that, I was just so ready to get back home and start fighting the Devil. Even though I had no clue what my calling was. There were some hard times, and I wont deny that. This has been a crazy year, but it has also been an amazing year. I have had so many opportunities thrown at me, the greatest being Haiti.

As of August 1, 2014 I had NO CLUE what was going to happen in Haiti, and to tell you the truth I probably still don't know everything that happened in Haiti. What I do know is that God showed up. I want you to keep in mind that I am still trying to wrap my mind around what my life is supposed to be, I still feel like I have only a sliver of what God has planned.

The third or fourth day we were in Haiti I had a really tough day. I was kind of angry, but I wasn't sure why at the time. I was getting frustrated with people for no real reason. Now, I know that it was the Devil's plan to get me off-track, so I wouldn't realize what God was trying to do in my life that evening. Ruben pulled all of the youth aside this same night and he told us that God had been speaking to him, and he had just realized that it was actually a word about all of us. We all had a good talk about stepping up to what we are being called to do. We were all excited, but so many of us still didn't know what it was that we were supposed to do, but I think I was beginning to figure it out.

"The Conversation"
So after our awesome talk we went on with our night, and I actually thought it was over. But then, Ruben called me over to talk about my little attitude that I was having. Long story short, my heart was broken and I am better for it. I hadn't been angry all day, I had been saddened, I was brought to reality, and put in my place. I am certain that of three things: Philosophy is stupid, God is real, and I was called bring Christ all over the world. I can thank Haiti for opening my eyes to the last one. I live with so much more fervor now that I realize what I am supposed to do. There is something so rewarding about knowing that you aren't going to drown in a sea of people, I have something that will make me stand out, GOD. Please don't ever let anything deceive you in your walk with Christ. If you are sure of nothing else, be sure that God has a plan for you, he has plans of lasting joy, your cup will run over.

I leave you with a scripture that we should all be living in our day-to-day lives.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 Matthew 28:16-20 (NKJV)

PEACE AND BLESSINs!