One of my favorite parts about this month in Grand Goave, Haiti has been the MOHI beach property that we are blessed to be living at. The property is also referred to as “Militon” by the people here.
This place is amazing! I love the gorgeous view, feeling the breeze coming off of the ocean as I read or worship in the evenings, and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean waves. However, as much as these things make me smile on a daily basis, they are not the best part about this place. The best part is the community of inspiring people that we have been blessed to become a part of while staying here.
While staying at Militon, I have had the privilege to meet others staying on the property, or visiting the property, while they too are serving in Haiti. It has been a real blessing to me to be able to get to know some of these awesome people and to hear their stories of how the Lord has led them to do what they do and to come to understand what following God’s call on their lives “looks like” for them. Some are in Haiti long-term and some are just here short-term but they are all making an impact in this place and they all have a story worth telling.
These people and their stories are inspiring to me and I want to share a few of them with you. . .
- Kim Conrad, a 28 year old woman from Ohio, has made 7 trips to Haiti, 6 to MOHI, since December of 2009. On this current trip she is here for 3 months working with MOHI and living at the beach property, and while we are here she is serving as our host and organizing the work that we do as well as working alongside us. Her education/training is in aviation and she ultimately plans to serve in Haiti long-term using those skills to help the people of this community. (Her blog is @ http://kimconrad.blogspot.com)
- Travis, a 26 year old man from Pennsylvania, essentially moved to Haiti 13 months ago to serve. He lives 3 months in Haiti, goes back to the US for 3 weeks, and then returns to Haiti. His degree is in electrical engineering and he utilizes his skills to do electrical and alternative energy work through various missions & organizations that have a need in multiple cities in Haiti. He said that “God put it in his heart to help those in need, and after the earthquake Haiti is where he saw the need.” The most remarkable part to me is that he doesn’t raise support or charge for any of his services and depends solely on God to provide for his needs . . . and He has so far. God is faithful! (Check out his blog @ www.f1engineering.org/blog)
- Len Gengel, a contractor, husband, & father from Massachusetts is starting the “Be Like Brit” orphanage (currently still under construction) in honor of his daughter who lost her life at the age of 19, in the 2010 earthquake, while in Haiti for a missions trip. She had texted her family a few hours prior to the earthquake about her intention to return to Haiti after college to start an orphanage. Len currently spends 2 weeks each month in Haiti to oversee this project. His story is a beautiful example of honoring his daughter and bringing glory to the Lord out of tragedy. I encourage you to check out their website at www.belikebrit.orgfor more information.
- Angela, from Massachusetts, lives at Militon with her husband, Gama, and her 2 year old son, Nathan. She is a nurse and runs the clinic at MOHI which offers free healthcare to the people of the Grand Goave community. Her husband currently works as the “clerk of the works” for the construction efforts at the “Be Like Brit” orphanage. Once the orphanage opens (planned for January 2013), she and her husband will move to the orphanage and serve as the directors full-time.
- Emory, a retired contractor from Massachusetts, staying at Militon while helping with the construction efforts at the “Be Like Brit” orphanage on the tail end of a 1 month trip to work with another mission in Aquin, Haiti. He makes yearly trips to Haiti to help where he is needed and his wife, who has accompanied him in the past, holds yard sales at home to raise money for the efforts in Haiti.
- John is a general contractor in Florida, and a husband and father of 4. He and his wife work together doing home renovation work. He has made multiple trips to Haiti, sometimes accompanied by his wife, to serve as project manager of the construction site at MOHI. He and his family feel called to serve here in a more permanent capacity and are praying about the details of moving here to serve full-time on this and future projects in the community.
- Daniel, an engineer from Alaska, came to MOHI to work on construction of the building at the MOHI site on a 6 week short-term trip. He had a family connection to Lex and Renee and was aware of their mission and responded to the need. He made a sizeable contribution to the effort here during his stay.
- Angie, along with her husband Andrew and 1 year old daughter Faith, from South Carolina, moved to Haiti in June to serve as the site directors for the “Hands and Feet” orphanage (http://www.handsandfeetproject.org) in Grand Goave. They responded to the call to missions and the opportunity that the Lord made available for them here, even though this was not a place that they had originally considered serving. They are settling into their new lives here and embracing the plan that the Lord has for their family, which will have a new addition later this year!
Although I have barely touched the surface on the stories of only some of the remarkable people that I met here, I hope that it provides you a glimpse into the community that the Lord blessed me to be a part of during this portion of my journey. I have been both inspired and encouraged here. God is so good and I love all of the ways that he is reminding me of that on a daily basis!
