Tomorrow will be six weeks since I got back from Haiti. There are not many days that go by that I don't think of the week I spent there or miss something about being there. I often replay over and over the conversations I had, the people I met, and the sights I saw that will forever be etched in my mind. I continue to share with everyone I know the stories of all that God is doing there and everything I experienced. What a blessing it was to be a part of something so amazing. Before I left, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that God had been leading me to go there for the past couple years and finally the time had come when it would come to be. The fear of the unknown along with stepping so far out of my comfort zone led to some anxiety in the weeks leading up to our departure. In preparation for this journey I specifically spent time addressing these issues in my time with the Lord.
One day as I prayed God asked me "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith"
(Mark 5:40) As I thought about this I was reminded of Psalm 56:3 - Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. I recalled God's faithfulness in the past and I realized that even in the unknown God would be by my side.
Excited and anxious all at the same time, the day came and I boarded the plane to Haiti! There I was surrounded by people who did not speak English and flying to a foreign land that even though is not far away from Florida, is a completely different world. We landed and were met at the airport by one of the Mission of Hope staff who would drive us to the main campus. I wish I could describe the city in a way that would give you an accurate picture but the words that come to mind don't really do it justice. Everywhere I looked there was people and stuff and cars and traffic. Honking horns and speeding vehicles filled the streets. It was so chaotic yet so interesting at the same time. It was definitely an overload to my senses to even try to take it all in as our driver sped down the road. The funny thing was though that in the midst of all this chaos I felt a deep sense of peace and knew I was exactly were I was supposed to be. As we drove God reminded me of another verse he had given me as I was preparing for the trip. Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. The peace of God truly is an amazing gift. As we continued to drive I began to notice the absolute beauty of this country which I certainly did not expect. God's artwork was breathtaking as I stared in awe at the mountains and bright blue waters. I've never seen so much beauty and so much poverty all intermingled together. It was so bizarre yet so beautiful all at the same time.
The purpose of this mission trip was construction. I was pretty excited about this because I don't often get a chance to do physical labor and I was happy to serve the Haitian people by helping in this way. God quickly showed me that this was more about building relationships than building houses, which is even more out of my comfort zone. It is way easier for me to serve people than to sit down and get to know them. If you know me, then you know that I tend to hold people at arms length and love them at a distance. Yes, I know its something I need to work on and that was an obvious lesson that God wanted to teach me on this trip. Working in Haiti is a lot different than working here in the US. Often times you find yourself having to wait for supplies or wait to see what the next project is. These were the times when the most amazing things happened. These are the times when I would actually sit and talk and it was in those times that God showed me so much. The Haitians that we had the privilege to get to know had so much faith. It wasn't us sharing God with them, it was them showing us what it truly means to walk by faith and to fully rely on God every day. There is so many stories I could share about the encounters I had while I was there but then this post would turn into a book :) This trip truly was a gift to me from God. One that I am so thankful for. Everyone said when you go on a missions trip it changes you and I expected that it would in a lot of ways. What I didn't expect was that I would leave a piece of my heart there. Who knew I would fall in love with this beautiful country and these amazing people? Oh yeah, God knew. I pray that this is the first of many trips that God would allow me to go on and that He will continue to reveal even more to me as the weeks and months pass. I'm missing Haiti but the memories will forever be engraved in my heart.