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Sweatingprofusely in my tent, I couldn’t fathom how God was going to work
everything out for World Race setup in Haiti. It was March 8th that I
arrived in Haiti to Pastor Christian’s house and I was already feeling
the heaviness and pressure of getting things done. This was my second
trip to Haiti and I had recently been asked to coordinate our World Race
relief efforts for the upcoming summer. Needless to say, there was
much to be done and not a lot of time to do it. It seemed as if
everything that I had planned to do during my month-long stay in March
was getting deterred. I would meet with pastors and feel like we had a
clear understanding, only to realize later just how big a spirit of
confusion consumed that place. I was discouraged, frustrated and alone
as I just sat there soaking in that beating sun.
Throughout my
stay in the spring, God had allowed me to live and work alongside our
Short-term Missions department who was also coordinating relief efforts
for short-term teams in Haiti. There were several key players who were
instrumental in mobilizing hundreds of people into Haiti. At the onset,
it was rough and chaotic (no fault of AIM, but the climate kinda lent
itself to that). Cars breaking down, prices going up on items, and
rough living conditions made things very difficult. Fortunately, among
this STM staff, God had placed people to help me keep my sanity as
everything literally seemed to be falling apart. One of these people
was Tim Hannon.
Now,Tim is a fascinating guy to say the least. He has a wild and
adventurous spirit along with a “yes” attitude to go with it. He’s the
kind of guy that would build an ark if God asked him to. Throughout our
time camping alongside each other, I got to know Tim and hear a bit of
his story. He shared some very personal stuff with me and I was able to
be vulnerable with him. We got to know each other and really build a
solid friendship which I am extremely thankful for because of our given
circumstances. While teams were moving in and out of Haiti, I would be
asked to lead worship from time to time for the group. Tim was always
so encouraging and supportive. Without him knowing it, he was actually
prophesying some things over me concerning how God uses that gift and
ability. Tim was our supply coordinator. He would collect rice, beans,
oil, tarps and whatever else was needed for the teams to do their
relief work throughout the week so he was always out and about. Several
times on his return, he would bring back a Coke for me just because he
thought of me. I don’t know if you realize this, but that is a big deal
in an underdeveloped country. It meant so much to me that he had been
so thoughtful and caring. I think he must have known how hard of a time
I was having and how things were not going to “plan”. But then again,
maybe they were.
Tim had shared with me how his daughter Katie
was on the World Race. In fact, she was in Ghana where I had been just 3
months prior to this trip doing setup for her squad. Katie actually
contacted me through Skype because she knew I was down in Haiti and
wanted to check in on her dad. So that is how we first met. Miles and
miles away from each other but connected through having both been in the
same African country and now me with her dad. Crazy story huh? It
gets better.
Remember this blog: When You’re Lonely
. Katie had been squad-leading and staying with the same pastor that
had hosted me during my stay in Ghana. She recently re-read this blog
and told me that she had experienced that very same thing in her time
there. She had walked that dark trail leading to the hotel. She even
had little Joshua and Lelia holding her hands guiding her through the
dark as well. She felt what I felt and it was a shared experience that
we had without even knowing it.
So let’s fast-forward a bit to
October 2010. Katie and I had maintained limited contact throughout
those months as she was still on the Race and we were acquaintances at
best. I had recently finished my time in Haiti and had moved to
Gainesville in late September and she was done with her Race and
planning on moving to Gainesville to join the field support team. We
exchanged phone numbers as I found out she’d be living with two of my
good friends, Heather and Holland. We would laugh and joke around a
good bit in our brief conversations, but it was always kept lighthearted
and never went below the surface. In fact, we both laugh now at how
things progressed considering we had placed each other in the friend box
from the get-go. She thought I was too ADD and off the wall and I
thought she was too tall for me. HA!
We continued with our
friendship, maintaining the surface level until one day she stopped me
and said “I know there is a depth to you that you’re not allowing others
to see”. Yep. Very true. Call it jaded or “putting up walls” but I
had no intention of allowing many people to get close to me. Sure, the
guys at my house and maybe a select group of others but that’s it. So
that was the first thing that kinda stopped me a little bit. Does she
honestly think I would open up to her? You see, Katie picked up on
something that no one else had and that was intriguing to me.
Part II tomorrow
