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