The last few posts have chronicled the journey both physically and emotionally that I recently took to Haiti. While in Canaan, Haiti there were some takeaways that anyone going or thinking about going on a mission trip should consider. These are lessons that I wish someone had shared with me in detail before stepping on the plane. Mission work is for everyone – Whether you do work over seas or at home, we can all benefit from mission work. You not only help those you go to serve but in turn they help you become the person you were designed to be. You will never be the same – as cliché as that sounds it’s true. You will see and do things that will change you. You will have your heart-broken and rebuilt in a new way. The pure innocent joy through those you meet will change your mind and heart. The one that is served is you – sure you went there to make a difference. Maybe it was to build a school, share some clothes or food. Perhaps it was even the gospel,  whatever your purpose you will come away more blessed than you could ever provide to them. The children of Haiti only wanted to know that we cared. They are not as unhappy as you may think. – Just because they don’t have what you have. It doesn’t make them less, in fact it makes them more. They find pure happiness even in the simple things we all take for granted.  You will […]

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Spend some time with those that have little and you will find there are no orphans of God in Haiti. Once the ladies were done visiting the women’s ward in the hospital we were led to another ward in the hospital. We crossed the open courtyard to the infant ward, where there was a lady tending to the children. The first half of the room was full of cribs with young children that the woman, who we had found out was only a volunteer was doing her best to keep them from crying. Naturally the first instinct of many in our group was to want to comfort the children any way they could. In the back part of the same room in the ward there were a few family members gathered around their children. We had noticed that some of the children had no family, so we asked the volunteer. She shared with us that the children were dropped off by their parents, who since they could not afford the expense would not be back. The children in turn would remain at the hospital in the ward until they were fetched by the government and transferred to one of the many government-run orphanages. Looking into the eyes of one of the children in the cribs, my heart began to ache and tears welled up in my eyes. I told my wife I needed a moment and I stepped back into the open courtyard to get some air. The reality of the environment started to fill […]

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After experiencing Haitian worship in Canaan that morning anticipation of getting to go to church again was building. Rick, the co-founder of theVine.co had a meeting in Jerusalem, Haiti that evening so we were going to head to Philadelphia under the guidance of his wife Samantha. We all piled into another tap tap that our translators had secured for us. This time we were heading into Port-au-Prince at night. Being someone who usually is aware of their surroundings, that and I did research, I was prepared for the adventure or so I thought. We loaded up the remaining food from that morning along with some shoes that had been brought and headed to church. You could tell the air was different,  the excitement palatable. On the way through town we saw another side of the Haitian community. The streets were busier with more tap taps, motorcycles and pedestrians. About half way to church it began to rain. Normally not a problem, of course tap taps are somewhat open so we got a bit wet. Port-au-Prince at night, was a different side of Haiti, one full of energy and excitement as the people gathered in the streets. When we arrived at church,  much like in the morning they were already worshiping. They quickly escorted us to the front of the church where they had seats for us. Keep in mind this church was in a concrete building about the size of a convenience store with no a/c. Admittedly it was crowded and man was it hot. […]

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