Month two was a crazy ride from beginning to end. I apologize for not keeping up with my blog this month. Haiti has truly been an exciting month, and I hope that as I try to catch you up on everything God has done this month, that I won’t leave out any of the good stuff.
The month started with our squad’s first debrief in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We spent 5 days reviewing and reflecting on our first month of the World Race. We had sessions and devotional time with our leadership team as they walked us through the ups and downs of the month and prepared us for the upcoming months. It was a restful 5 days before traveling to Haiti for our next ministry assignment. Our travel day from the Dominican Republic to Haiti started at 4:30 am and ended around 8:30 pm. Once in Haiti, our squad split up for our different ministry sites. My team went to Mission of Hope in Titanyen with one other team from our squad.
Gospel Girls doing face masks at debrief
Mission of Hope (MOH) is an absolutely incredible ministry that serves Haiti in almost every aspect you can think of. They do a lot of partnering in their ministry so that MOH is never able to be an idle or a sol-dependable source for the people. They have ministry sources that feed the hungry, shelter and educate the orphans, give shoes and clean water, provide medical resources, and so many other things that fill Haiti’s needs – and yet MOH is not the main source that people rely on. MOH does a great job of partnering with “village champions” who are Haitian Christians that connect MOH to the villages. Instead of directly handing out free resources, MOH gives the village champions (and thereby, the local churches) the resources to distribute to the community. They do this to avoid the “white savior complex” or the “North American savior complex”.
Gospel Girls at MOH in Titanyen, Haiti.
While at MOH, we lived in their dorms and got to eat some familiar food. We had PB&J as an option for almost every meal, which was such a refreshing taste from the daily rice and beans that we had in the Dominican Republic. The MOH interns thought that we came from surviving the jungle with how excited we got over having familiar food, bunk beds, free wifi, and other unexpected blessings. We absolutely loved the Dominican Republic, but our standards apparently were extremely low.
The opportunities that we had with MOH was village ministry. Monday through Friday they would take us out into a local village to go home to home, collecting data and information that helps the organization understand the needs and conditions of the village. We spent time getting to know people, asking them questions, praying for them, and asking if we could serve them in anyway. Several times we got to wash dishes for people, which was such an amazing opportunity to serve and love these people that don’t have much. I especially loved getting to meet some of the kids in the villages. Although we didn’t speak the same language, I would show them how to play a game and the kids would instantly become my friend. I played a lot of hand clapping games like “Red Hands” and “Patty Cake”. It was crazy how a simple, rhythmic clapping game brought the kids so much joy.
Gospel Girls in Titanyen, Haiti
About a week into our stay at MOH, they moved us to a partnering ministry in Fermathe. It was much cooler in temperature because it was up in the mountains, and the financial status of the people was different than in Titanyen. The ministry work we did was completely different than at MOH. Instead of village ministry, we served our new ministry host, Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM), through cleaning out inventory and doing some demolition and construction work. We cleared out items that had such a thick coat of dust that when we blew our noses we blew out dust. It was fun to do manual labor as a team though. We danced while we worked, and we got to work with some Haitian guys that we became good friends with.
While in Fermathe, the location where our dorms were made great opportunities to meet local people every time we left the front door. I would often leave the house for quiet time with the Lord and would be kindly interrupted by a Haitian that wanted to practice their English. Every person I met was friendly and interested in getting to know me and my team. Some of the friends I made live on the BHM property while others work for the organization. Everyday after work I would meet my friends in the park for card games and hanging out. Sometimes we would go on walks or go to the small zoo that was on the campus. On several occasions I got to tag along to their English class where I would study Haitian Creole while they studied English. We had many random adventures, but my favorite thing to do with my Haitian friends was to play basketball. Everyday, either before or after dinner, I would play basketball with these very athletic Haitians. They gave me a run for my money with how much energy they had, but over the span of the month I could recognize a significant change in my physical health.
My friend, Ferlando.
My friend, Fritho.
Some of the friends I would meet with at the park.
Sony and my teammate, Hannah
Overall, I absolutely loved my time in Haiti. The village ministry was eye-opening, and the friends I made are hopefully friendships that I will continue to grow past my time in Haiti. Month two was challenging for my relationship with God because I received news of one of my grandfather’s passing away back home our first week in Haiti. In the follow-up calls home I also learned that my younger brother was in a car accident and my grandmother (who just lost my grandfather) has cancer that may take her life in the next year. It has been hard to be separate from my family during this time, but I know my calling is to be in the field. My team has supported me, but my time with the Lord is different through this experience. I went through a stage of being angry with God because every time I called home there was more bad news from my family. I felt like He was punching me in the stomach with my family’s struggles, but then pulling me in for a hug as my Comforter. It’s hard knowing that the people I love most are going through trials (as well as myself) and not being able to be together. I can’t comfort my family, I can give them hugs, and I have no control over anything that is happening. I hear about all of these things God is doing back home and I’ve realized how much I have to surrender my family to God. Month two was a month of counting the cost of following Jesus. The cost is high, and now I must process through whether or not I still find it worth it. I will tell you that the cost dwindles when blessings are counted. As I move into South Africa, God is revealing the abundant blessings He has given me.
Please keep my family in your prayers as God continues to move in circumstances. Thank you!
So good to hear from you. Sad that your family has had a loss and an illness and a brother hurt. It is good you can remember Who is in control. As always you are in my prayers and remember Abby “breathe” Love you.
Great post Abby! Keeping you and your family in prayer!
Praying for you Abby. Thank you for taking the time to share and being vulnerable. The cost of following Him is high, but the cost of not choosing to follow Him is even higher.