Sometimes we ask the question, "Are we making a difference?" On our trip in May, God made it very clear to me that we are doing exactly what He has called us to do...
I saw a school with children inside getting an education. I saw teachers who have jobs and are able to get a paycheck. I saw students get a lunch, very excited to eat. I saw mothers with their children lined up on a bench waiting to enroll them in school. I saw a band gather together in the school with instruments to practice on. I saw kids running around with smiles on their faces hanging on to every minute they had with us. I saw the school turn into a church on Sunday with all of its seats taken and more people standing in the back. I saw over 100 kids gathered and singing in children’s church. I saw the same band that had been practicing take the time to play our American National Anthem.
My main goal for this trip was to build deeper relationships with everyone I came in contact with. God has a beautiful way of doing this even when we speak different languages. I learned so much about our boys, my sponsor child’s mother, all of the kids. We were invited into a home where lunch was cooked and provided for us. Stepping foot into a Haitian home doesn’t normally happen unless there is trust. This was a sacrifice for them; they chose to go without just to serve us. One of our drivers, who we met for the first time this trip, felt instantly like family. He was protective, helpful, kind, caring. He played games with the village kids and helped our team build chalkboards. Before we left, he gave each of our team members bracelets that his children had made just for us.
My prayer before and during this trip was for unity and to be Holy Spirit led. We fully experienced that during church on Sunday and it was beautiful. As the villagers were singing I am a child of God in Haitian Creole, we were singing it in English. It reminded me of when God sent the Holy Spirit for the first time and everyone was speaking in different languages (Acts 2). That moment in the church was when I realized that our color, language, culture, or location don’t matter - we are all children of God.
The people of Marmont call us missionaries just as we call them missionaries. The truth is, we are all called to love one another, just as God called us to do.
[Written by LHP Team Member, Brenda Stevens]
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