During my 10-day trip to Haiti there were many opportunities
to minister and encounter God. I visited two different IDP camps there and was
able to ask lots of questions, which I hope will benefit my time in Kenya’s IDP
camps. I visited an orphanage, attended a church youth meeting, saw earthquake
damage and prayed for people in their homes. These were the sorts of things I
anticipated doing while in Haiti.
It was wonderful to participate in some of
the ministries I’d been praying for this summer and see the staff in action.
Encouraging the summer staff was another way that the Lord used me on this
trip. A summer in Haiti is defiantly not for wimps! I admire their willingness
to serve in such a challenging place. I was blessed to spend time with the
people I’d been praying for and see the impact they have made in Haiti as well
as in the lives of participants who come to Haiti for a week.
A third area of ministry, that I had not really expected,
was to the participants. Each week, groups of adults or youth groups come to
Haiti for a short-term mission trip. The week I was there I got to spend some
time investing in a young adult team of 6. I did not anticipate the ways God would use me in this role.
On the second day, I watched as one of the women from the
team waited to introduce herself to the church youth. My discernment was
telling me that there was a spirit of bitterness on her. Later that evening, we
ate dinner together and she quickly confirmed my perception as she explained
how upset and unhappy she was here in Haiti. Later that night on the rooftop,
during prayer she angrily expressed that she felt God did not speak to her. She
had faced many challenges in her life and it seemed she had felt like God was
being distant. Both Steve and I felt the need to pray over her. As we prayed
together, the Lord directed my words. I prayed truth over her and claimed her
identity in Christ. Simultaneously, God was directing Steve’s prayers and it
was clear that the Lord was at work through us.
It wasn’t long before Steve got a phone call from the team
leader to share that this woman had had a dramatic change. Her attitude was so
transformed that all of her teammates took notice. She went from hating it in
Haiti to joyfully leading children in songs at VBS. Later in the week, she was
baptized in the Caribbean Sea and claimed freedom from the fear she had lived
in for so long. God never ceases to amaze me!
