GLOBAL OUTREACH - Haiti
But what I noticed is that the people were still the same, which is a good thing. Most of everyone we came across was happy, like they have always been. I think it's awesome that people can be so joyful with all of the devastation that they have been through. That is pretty impactful to me, because it shows me that you don't really need anything to be happy. All you need is God.
(Written by Tim Rodgers - Team Member)
Despite the heat and not having a building or the fact they have to climb a steep hill to get there, the Church was packed with people. The service was much like a service we would have here with singing, followed by preaching, and then more singing. One of the things that struck me was when they got to the weekly announcements at the end of the service. They announced that Monday was the women's Bible study and Tuesday they were going out to visit those who weren't at Church that day, and it seemed that they had something planned for each day that week.
This is a living, breathing body of Christ kind of Church. These people want to worship, they want to learn more about God, and they are excited about Jesus. This Church doesn't have air-conditioning, a fancy sound system, praise band, indoor plumbing, or anything. They don't even have a building! But they came to Church because of Jesus and the love they have for Him! And apparently Jesus is enough.
There were so many special moments all during the week. One of my favorite moments was during the last Vacation Bible Class. It was the story of Jonah and the Whale. You could tell the kids were really enjoying it, except for the little girl from the orphanage who fell asleep on my lap. At the end of the story Kay Rodgers did a marvelous job by walking the kids through a message of salvation. When she asked if anyone would like to accept Jesus as their personal Savior, a woman shot her hand in the air. It was like she was sitting on a spring just waiting for someone to show her the way. A total of eleven people came to know Jesus that day. (10 kids and 1 mommy)
Our team was Blessed by participating in so many activities during the week. There were the Kids Bible Schools, a food distribution, a shoes and clothing distribution, and the building of temporary houses are just a few that come to mind. But if I had to choose one thing that was the most special to me, it would be the "hut-to-hut" witnessing. It was wonderful talking with the people, praying with them, and in a few awesome instances, leading them to accept Jesus as their personal Savior. What can be better than that!
(Written by Kyle C. - Team Member)
I have a strong love for my brothers and sisters in Haiti. We need more committed people to go and help out. There are two things that I find out on every mission trip:
1. God's work is so important!
2. Before I can serve God, I have to move out of the spotlight so the Lord can shine in me!
I am not a member of Grace Point Church but this is the second year I have been part of the Haiti mission team. You at Grace Point, are very blessed to have John and Kay leading your teams in Haiti. They have a "true love" for the people in Haiti. Last of all, I would be happy to talk with your church as part of a "Mission Day" program about Haiti. I have already started the wheels turning for a trip in January. God's work in Haiti has changed my life. Please don't be afraid to let God's work change yours!
(Written by Leon B. - Team Member)
Haitians live in a community driven society. They take care of those without ... even the poor takes care of the poor! So a single family can push out the walls to their home to give them the ability to house family and friends. They live in tent cites so that they can all share things. And when it comes to food, one family may have rice and the other has beans ... and another has meat ... they pull everything together for one great stew.
Isaiah 54:2-4 says:
2 Make your tent bigger;
stretch it out and make it wider.
Do not hold back.
Make the ropes longer
and its stakes stronger,
3 because you will spread out to the right and to the left.
Your children will take over other nations,
and they will again live in cities that once were destroyed.
4 "Don't be afraid, because you will not be ashamed.
Don't be embarrassed, because you will not be disgraced.
I went to Haiti believing that I was going to help the Haitians ... and actually I learned so much from them about my Christian life. I learned to be satisfied with the gifts God gives me and use them to the fullest. I also learned the importance of working together as a group of fellow believers. God blesses each one of us with special abilities that he wants us to use to reach the world. The more we use those abilities the wider our reach is for Him. The more we reach out to the world the stronger we are!! The most important thing I learned is that our life is all about adding to God's kingdom!
(Written by Daina K. - Team Member)
The Grace Point Team would like to formally thank Norma and the Joy House team for all of their hard work while we were there the first week of August. Thanks for all the great food, comfortable accommodations, safe transportation, accurate translation, and great Christian fellowship. Even though you were all very tired from having non-stop teams for several weeks before our arrival, you went above and beyond the call of duty and were a vital part of all God accomplished through the Grace Point Team.
John
One experience that I want to share is a conversation that I had with a young woman who was only a few years older than me. She had two babies sitting on her lap, one of which shared my name. : ) I asked her what had happened to her during the earthquake, and it turned out that she was actually giving birth to her triplets in a hospital. She said that when the walls started shaking, she began screaming for Jesus to save her. Although one of her children didn't make it, she told me that Jesus had saved her other two children, as well as herself. Hearing that she had called out for Jesus and that she now gave Him the credit for saving her, I assumed that she had a relationship with Him. I told her that I was so happy to hear that God had saved them, and that I knew that He had a special plan for her two children. As I was getting up to leave, she began speaking to the translator, who then told me that she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart. She was trying to tell me that Jesus had saved them from the earthquake, and so she now trusted Him and wanted Him as her Savior. I had failed to ask her about her relationship with Jesus. I assumed, and it was the wrong assumption. Had it been only me, I would have walked away. Fortunately, it wasn't only me. God was there, and He impressed upon the woman what needed to be done. Despite my own failures, I have a new sister in Christ!
I thank God that he allowed me to experience this. Talking to people about God is one of the most intimidating things in the world for me to do. However, what I learned is that although God uses me, He doesn't need me. What I mean is that God wants me to go, to witness, to encourage. And I want to do these things more than anything in the world, but there are times when I'm going to fail. Thankfully, God is sovereign, and my failure is not His failure. Even if I mess up tremendously, like I did with this woman, God will be there. What I am praying for now is that I can take this with me to college. I don't want to let fears or timidness or insecurities block me from becoming a young woman who tells of her love for God. So please pray for me. I really don't believe that this mission is supposed to end quite yet! : )
(Written by Mindi F. - Team Member)
I wasn't prepared to see the small children living amidst the piles of garbage, to see them bathing in pot holes in the street –using dirty infected water for bathing and I certainly wasn't prepared for the children living in tents on the median – with cars flying by – smoke from burning plastic seeping into their tents along with exhaust fumes from vehicles. I wasn't prepared to see God's most precious children in such desperate need.
We met Madam Yvonne whose sister died in the earthquake and who now lives with her sister's five children along with her own three in what appeared to be a two person tent. It is hard to judge the age of children in Haiti because of malnutrition, but I would guess that these eight children were all under the age of 9. When asked what she needed most, Yvonne quickly said shelter for the children.
I also wasn't prepared for how happy these children are to see you, how much love they will offer you and how in such a short time, they will simply capture your heart. As we walked from hut-to-hut in Leagone – we had children happily chatting to us in Creole – holding our hands, arms and the wee little one with the big brown eyes who held onto my skirt because she was too small to reach my hand.
As I tucked my grand baby into bed last night, with his Land before Time movie and a glass of water, I thought of those small children in Haiti who have none of these items – most importantly they don't have the basic essentials – a dry place to lay their head – food – basic hygiene items – clothing.
I wasn't prepared to feel so helpless or for God to lay such a burden on my heart – these children will forever hold a piece of my heart. God has blessed me mightily by sending me to Haiti and I feel a great responsibility to continue helping in some capacity.
(Written by Mary B. - Team Member)
When we attended church on Sunday, I saw something you could never see in the States. Under boards and a tarp, 100+ people worshipped God for two and a half hours in the blistering heat. Mud from the rain the night before covered the children's feet. I wondered how far they had walked to get there, but their joy was inspiring. Everyone was smiling. I felt privileged to be there.
I saw the same joy in people's lives throughout the week. I could not understand why people seemed happy. I saw devastation, but everyone was content with the little they had.
My trip to Haiti changed the way I view my life. Could I be joyful in their situation? Honestly, I do not think I could. I went to Haiti to help the Haitians. I left thanking God for how they helped me.
(Written by Blake R. - Team Member)
I met Jin Johnny at the very end of our first morning of hut-to-hut witnessing in Leogane. My group was waiting on the other teams to finish when I saw a young guy watching us as he walked past. I called him over and began talking to him about his life. He is 21. His mom died when he was young and his dad died during the earthquake in January. He wants to be an engineer someday, but he is only at the 5th grade level right now. He said Haiti is a difficult place to live and he wants to move to the US or France, but he doesn't have the money yet. In turn, I told him about my life, and then, we discussed our relationships with God. He knew the Bible well and told me about his prayers and his church (about a 45 minute walk away). I encouraged him to be a leader around his family and friends and told him how glad I was that God led me to meet him. I saw him once more that afternoon at the bible study in Leogane, and we hated to say goodbye so soon.
In the few minutes that we talked, God showed me that I could just as easily have been me in Jin's shoes struggling to live my best for him in the situation he had been born into. But for no particular reason, God chose for me to be in a very different situation. I have both of my amazing parents. I have more material things than I could ever use. I have money in my bank account, and I know that when I get hungry, food will be waiting. I take a shower or two everyday. There is gas in my tank, and I sleep between clean sheets in a soft bed under a stable roof that I don't worry might collapse each night. After being in Haiti, it's hard not to feel guilty about having so much.
I know now that I have more resources at my disposal than I could ever use efficiently. I don't know why God chose to bless me like this, but I am learning through His love that I want to do everything I can to use what He has given me to bring Him more glory and to continue to share my life with people like Jin. Please pray for him and all of Haiti while the number of people that seek to glorify God daily continues to grow there!
(Written by Mac H. - Team Member)
Pastor Benito is one of those special people that we have worked with for the past six years. He has been our translator each trip, but the past couple of years we have worked with him to reach out to the people in the community surrounding his church. He is a very humble, quiet and gentle man, but he has helped us to proclaim the Good News of Christ with boldness.
A few weeks ago, Benito shared with us about a new church that he and another pastor helped start near Leogane after the earthquake. He asked us if we would be interested in working with him in this area. Of course we were excited at the opportunity.
We arrived at the "tent" church and Pastor Benito introduced us to Pastor Joshua. John and I had the privilege of sitting down with both of them and hearing their story of how this church began. Right after the earthquake, they had been preaching each night in the tent cities and several people gave their life to Christ. These new believers needed a church to help them grow in their relationship with Christ, so Benito and Joshua helped make that happen. This church began meeting in April and has been averaging 40 on Sunday mornings, and they have been meeting a couple of nights a week for prayer and Bible Study.
Before we finished, the four of us spent some time praying for our team, the ministries planned for the afternoon, and for the people of this church and community. This was one of the most incredible experiences of this trip for me. Benito and Joshua prayed in Creole, and even though I didn't understand every word they prayed, there was an overwhelming peace that flooded that tent. I knew that we were all one in heart and that God had great things in store for this church and its leaders. I thank God for a new friend and I pray His blessings on Joshua and his family. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing through this new church. Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Kay Rodgers
So here I am, walking with a little boy, hand in hand, on a dusty dirt road, thinking to myself, "This is what I've always wanted to do, and this is who I've always wanted to be." In my heart I've always dreamed of being someone who goes into the remote villages, tries to learn the language, and tells people about Jesus Christ. I almost came to tears on that road. God has made us all so different and with different giftings. If we were all feet, who would be the hands? If we were all eyes, who would be the mouth? God made me to be feet, and on our trip I truly was feet. Beautiful feet that went and shared the good news of Christ.
(Written by Kerrie B. - Team Member)
Jonah prayed and told God he would follow his will so God tossed him back on land and he went to Nineveh. So there's a little more to the story than that but this is my short version so you can understand what we talked to the kids about. I had felt a little like Jonah all week, being nervous about talking to people about God and praying a lot for courage and boldness and the right words to speak, which he always provides! That's why God placed me up there to talk to these people. I was honest with everyone about being nervous but stressed the importance of following Gods will and sharing Christ with others. We talked about how God wants to have a relationship with people and what that looks like. God is like a best friend. You talk to him through prayer, learn about him by reading the Bible, and spend time with him in church. Then Kay spoke about what Jesus did for us and how we can have a relationship with God.
That day 11 people made a decision for Christ. These hearts were healed and made clean and these people really are going from nothing to eternity. It is so exciting to know that those 11 people will never be the same, their lives are changed because they know God. They have the potential to change the people around them. 1 Timothy 4:12 says "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." These kids will set an example and I believe they will make a difference in many people's lives. Children set a great example of love, faith, and purity and I learned a lot from them while we were in Haiti.
(Written by Bridgett C. - Team Member)
(Written by Roxanne C. - Team Member)
Thank you for making a difference in the lives of many people who are struggling to put their lives back together following the largest natural disaster in recent history.
John & Kay Rodgers
But more and more I began to see how it impacted the mothers of these little ones as well. In a way it was a baby dedication for the mothers. The mom's whole expression changed from being excited about getting a free blanket, to realizing how important these little lives are to women in the United States who have never even met them. How women from another part of the world prayed for these little ones to make a difference in their lives. Something as simple as putting a little blanket together can express the unconditional love of our Lord & Savior.
(Written by Rita R. - Team Member)
Tent cities spread as far as the eye can see. Many people have built makeshift shelters in the median of an unbelievable busy highway, risking the lives of their family members in order to find shelter from the storms.
Joy House has an awesome opportunity for the foreseeable future. Another major Christian based ministry has agreed to provide materials for as many transitional homes as they have the manpower to build! Anyone interested in going to help with constructing these homes can contact me for further information.
Thanks,
John
Thanks for all your prayers.
John