I never did formal missionary work before the World Race (with the exception of my trip to London which was a vacation turned into a missions trip) so I did not have a lot of expectations about what it meant to be a missionary. I did, however, have a lot of expectations about life in Haiti and the Haitian Church. I picked September 2014 World Race Route 3 because Haiti was the first stop, and the country was such a mystery to me. Many people whom I’ve met that have done short-term missions trips have passed through Haiti a time or two and they seemed to love it. I will say it was not what I expected…
I LOVED Haiti. It was very hard for me to leave. But Haiti did call into question a lot of my beliefs about discipleship, missionary work, humanitarian aid, charitable giving, my life as a black woman, and what it means to be an American citizen in a foreign land. The first week in Haiti was difficult. I had no trouble adjusting to my living conditions (we were blessed to stay in the upstairs of our host’s home and were given beds!!!), or the food (AMAZING), or living in a place where I didn’t know the language. The difficulty came due to my superficial identity as a black female American Christian and my having the mindset of a humanitarian rather than that of a disciple.
Let’s begin with I’m an African American female. This is completely possible in the minds of everyone in the United States and even in the minds of people I have met in Africa, Mexico, and the U.K. In the minds of the people of Montrouis (Mo-wi), Haiti however, it is not possible to be black and not be Haitian. I received a lot of hostility my first week because I was assumed to be a Haitian traitor that had forgotten my people and didn’t care enough to learn the language of my ancestors. I was lectured on more than one occasion about how I should know Creole (the official language of Haiti) because I am black therefore must be Haitian. It took a great deal of effort and time for people to understand that I nor my parents, nor grandparents are Haitian and therefore my being black, living with White and Asian Americans, and only knowing English was not a personal assault against them. Eventually my being black worked to my advantage. In some ways I think my color allowed me to build relationships more easily with the Haitian adults, especially the females, on the ministry staff. I will truly miss them.
The biggest hurdle all of us had to overcome was the perception of American missionaries. When we walked down the street the first day, (we lived on a pretty crowded market street) people held their hands out to us and said in English, “Give me, food, your bracelet, your shirt, etc.” When we said no, they seemed unbothered and continued about their day. They viewed short-term American missionary teams as people there to give them some material good that would only help them get through the day or the next few weeks but nothing sustainable. I hope we helped to change that view or least help our host family build stronger community ties.
What saddened me the most was the state of the Haitian Church. To go to church in Haiti, a person must being wearing their Sunday best. (I suspect that this idea was introduced by missionaries that communicated the law without effectively communicating the spirit of the law.) Most Haitians can’t afford and therefore do not have nice clothing. Haitian culture that is practically law prevents most people from being able to attend church. Even worse, many of those who did profess to be Christian, didn’t know the Gospel story, had been told that the Holy Trinity doesn’t exist, or practiced dilute Christianity mixed with voodoo.
One day, while doing ministry in Haiti I understood the mistake a lot of us make when trying to help others we deem to be less fortunate. We think our biggest assets and offerings are our material goods and our skills. God used Street Care Ministry and the overall state of Haiti after so much humanitarian aid had been poured in, to show me how wrong that perception is. Street Care is a ministry that involves going through the streets of Montrouis and seeking out the ill and spiritually alienated, and bringing them medicine and the Word of the Lord. One morning my teammate and I went with Dan (a nurse from Pennsylvania), and an interpreter named Alex (a Haitian who came to Christ and discipleship through Together We Can Haiti www.twchaiti.org/ ) to take part in Street Care. We again were met with the barriers of being American, and the policy of not being able to speak the word or attend church without proper dress. However we were able to minister to one man name Danielo who seemed to long so much to have a place at the Lord’s table. While his companions laughed, argued or ignored us, Danielo allowed us to take him off to the side and bring Church to him. It was beautiful. We ministered to him from Acts 3, demonstrating that we are offering something greater than money, and from James 2, to let him know that God has no respect of persons and doesn’t care about his clothes during worship. I told Him the abridged version of the creation story all the way through the resurrection of Christ and His promise to come again so that we can live in God’s presence, face-to-face once more. We ended by giving him a Creole Bible (though we only had 3 copies) because he craved to know more about Jesus in our absence. It was in that moment that I saw what God has for my life. I always thought that I needed a trade or skill to be a missionary in the United States and overseas, like teaching or being a doctor. I walked into Haiti with a humanitarian mindset rather than the mindset of a disciple. After doing Street Care, I realized that while it is useful to have a trade, no human skill is as important as a willingness and commitment to sharing the true Word of God. Dan, is a nurse, but he admitted that while he does treat people’s bodies, he spends most of his time treating their souls with the Good News and hope found in the true story of Christ. That’s my calling too. While I still believe that the Lord has called me to be a medical doctor on the missions field, He had to show me that the greatest service I will do in this life to honor Him and help His people has nothing to do with any degrees on the wall. In fact, they are not even necessary. The greatest service I can do is to preach, live and be the Gospel of Christ. That’s what will sustain His people until His Kingdom comes.
Thanks for your support! I will be uploading pictures very soon from my ministry in Haiti which involved, teaching, farming, building, and working with the most wonderful children in the world at the Agape House Orphanage! Send me any prayer requests and please continue to pray for the work and encouragement of the World Race 3rd generation J Squad! I love you all!!!!
