Recently I put up a blog and said I’d be going to Haiti soon, without much explanation. Well, here ya go…
I don’t remember where it started, but I think it was a conversation with someone back at AIM’s headquarters. They were telling me about AIM’s efforts in Haiti and wondered if I’d like to be a part of it. I said I’d committed to AIM and to the ministry here in Granada, but that I would pray about it. I don’t think it was even a day before someone else came to me saying they’d been talking about the possibility of me basically transferring to Haiti and asked me what I thought about it. About three others came to me that week and talked with me about going, so I committed it to prayer and careful consideration. Now, about a month and a half later, I’m going. It looks like I’ll be headed to Haiti around the middle of May.
Just to give you a basic idea as to what AIM’s plans are in Haiti, here’s a summary, taken from my dad’s blog:
AIM will focus on partnering American churches with Haitianchurches. We have large networks of both and the staff to serve them
well. Let me encourage you, you have a lot to gain by being involved. We
Americans and our churches need to experience the spillover of the
Spirit currently flowing through Haiti. Please read the
blog about this if you haven’t yet.
relief projects and set up several venues for future mission projects.
We’ve bought and delivered tens of thousands of dollars worth of foods
and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medicines. We’ve adopted a
couple of tent communities (like the one pictured here) and many churches.
of staff, a large number of volunteers, a base, and we’re hoping for
hundreds of church-to-church partnerships. We need people who
will go for any length of time – a week to six months to coordinate
relief efforts, pastoral relationships, community development, and
mission projects.
church as it follows God’s leading in the years to come. We are
preparing to make a long-term investment. We want to assist in
developing new communities and in growing the body of Christ in Haiti,
especially through discipleship ministries. We expect to see hundreds of
new churches planted as the revival gains momentum.
As for my involvement, I’ll be serving both sides of AIM in Haiti, the World Race and STM (Short Term Missions). The World Race sounds like they have at least two groups that will be doing relief work in Port Au Prince over the summer – one in June, the other in July. I’m not sure what my involvement will look like specifically yet. STM has at least one group per week going thru Port Au Prince and a team of trip leaders living in community. I’ll carry the role “Community Coordinator” along with my friend and covenant brother, Aaron Bruner, who’s been down there for the past month. It’ll be a pleasure to partner with him again. That means basically taking care of this bunch of leaders – pushing them and meeting their needs, both spiritual and physical. Community has been on my heart quite a bit over the past several months, so I’m thrilled to be doing this!
It’s also thrilling to be a part of what God is doing in Haiti. I’ve been reading reports and watching videos like the one below that ensure me God is REALLY doing something incredible, new and vibrant down there. What an honor to be a part of this nation’s transformation!
