Having
been on several mission trips as an adult leader/coordinator for adults and youth, I relished the idea of having a new experience as a team member by going to Haiti
for the first time on a construction project.
Participating where God is already at work is always a fun adventure for
me, but as an added bonus this time, I was going with friends whom I have known
for over 30 years, who are seasoned veterans of many short-term mission
experiences. I expected to encounter God,
meet some new Haitian friends, and learn from my brothers. I was not disappointed on any of the counts.
Haiti
is situated to be a tropical paradise with rich resources for its people. I instead found a troubled, mismanaged
nation, considered to be the poorest in the Western hemisphere, and possibly
the world. Its population of roughly 10
million has an unemployment rate in excess of 70%, an annual average
income/person of $310 USD, a life expectancy of 62, and a religious history of
voodooism. Progress is being made on
several fronts, albeit challenging and somewhat slow. Foreign governments have infused the country
with large amounts of financial and material aid which is mismanaged and helping
only a portion of the population. The Christians,
meanwhile, have made tremendous efforts to evangelize the population, sharing
the Good News, teaching vocational skills, providing medical care, and openly confronting
voodooism to break its hold among the various people groups.
With
this as a background, our team of six (6) men from Tulsa, OK area churches
landed at the Port Au Prince airport and met our hosts and OMS Homes for Haiti
(H4H) project coordinator. We were taken
to the OMS Villa Ormiso, a walled compound where we would be sleeping and
taking our meals. The interior of the
villa had beautifully maintained gardens with tall mango trees where falling
fruit targeted every head that made its way from the bungalows along the perimeter
to the center dining facility around the edge of an empty pool damaged in the
earthquake. Yes, a pool had been
promised, but our team should have checked whether it would be filled with water. The villa’s staff and hosts were marvelous
and deserve the highest thanks for making our time most beneficial, feeding us
like kings with healthy delicious Haitian meals. Our hosts provided country briefings,
answering questions we had about history, governance, religious development and
current project status. A large map
adorned one end of our eating area where we found ourselves orienting, learning
about our surroundings, and project locations.
Our
project for the week was to complete one house and start a second one. Traversing Port Au Prince in the back of our
open 2-ton truck each day to the project site was always an adventure in unique
sights, sounds and fragrances that constitute a culture. We tried not to inhale, but were moved daily
to compassionate prayers for those struggling souls we passed through each day. Our first house was in the interior of a
city neighborhood and nearly finished (75%) except for the roof and ceiling
which we attacked with our portable generator’s circular saws and power nail
guns. I loved seeing my Tulsa brothers
acting as teachers for my Haitian brothers with whom we were working. I learned that power tools can be bridges to
faith. The shared work and effort
transcended language barriers to the extent of us sharing a laugh or
frustration without using our native tongues.
It’s a beautiful thing to relate and that we did. Each day we also got to share our Tulsa testimonies
with our Haitian brothers, explaining how we have experienced God in our lives. We also heard the testimonies of our Haitian
brothers and were moved to know the extent to which Jesus was working in their
lives and families. After a day and a
half, our team had the first house ready for dedication and began looking to our
second house.
On
an afternoon following our first house, our project coordinator provided us a
tour of the greater Port Au Prince area with a visit to the Baptist Mission in
the mountains above the city, a welcomed 15 F degrees cooler, than our capital
city 3000 feet below. It is a wonderful
example over the last 30 years plus of the faithful living out of our Baptist
brothers by teaching vocations that enable their students to succeed within the
context of their environment and culture.
The
location for the second house was absolutely stunning, a 5-star resort location
in the hills overlooking the capital’s bay.
Footings were dug and we bucket- barricaded the 40-50 pound cement
containers to their appointed locations.
We truly were exhausted over the next day and a half, but satisfied
knowing we made a difference in getting the foundation laid.
It
was time for us to depart and none of us, to a man, was anxious to leave. Short-term missions are like that. They often end before we feel that we have
fully given all we had to give, and find ourselves compelled to return.
Our
team resolve is to do the following:
- Pray for Haiti to break its spiritual bondages to the past. Voodoo continues to permeate all levels of society. The nation needs to find true freedom in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Pray that Haiti will find godly leaders who put the nation’s interests before their own.
- Pray that the influence of the OMS and other growing Protestant church efforts will continue and expand, offering the solution to the hopelessness and despair found throughout the country.
- Pray for Christian leadership training opportunities to expand for the local pastors to increase their effectiveness.
- Pray that OMS Homes for Haiti project can be a model for showing the love of Christ in a tangible, meaningful way to the peoples of Haiti.
