Sunday, January 21, 2018

EBC Day 6: Healing Haiti, Healing Us

Healing Haiti, Healing Us

Each new sunrise we watch from our porch seems to reflect the potential for hope and healing in Haiti, as day after day, we answer God’s call on our team to be the hands and feet of Christ. The power and presence of Christ is authentic and overwhelming in this beautiful country He created, which was created for a reason and with a purpose. But, why? Our group was challenged tonight to ask ourselves what God is teaching us in Haiti instead of why things are happening in Haiti. I believe it is safe to say that we all signed up for this trip with the intention of “healing Haiti”, unaware of God’s intention of Haiti healing us in return.

No matter rich or poor, white or black, human beings live in a broken world where they suffer and fail to thrive on our own. What we need is God. We need God when the sun rises. We need God to endure the day. We need God when the sun sets. We need God while we rest. We need God-given resources to bless others and ultimately glorify His name all the days of lives. Although most Haitians do not have many tangible resources to offer, they have the resources that can be found in having Jesus, if nothing else: Love, peace, joy, and hope. Today I read a related excerpt from my personal bible study lesson: “For God’s people, suffering is an opportunity to glorify God as we find He is all we need. His grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in our weakness.” In other words, Christ is enough.

So to answer the question, I think God is teaching us that we need Him alone to heal from our individual sufferings. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I believe God knew what both our group and the Haitians needed this week: To cross each other’s paths; to love, smile, and laugh together; and to heal each other in ways we did not know were necessary. While healing Haiti, Haiti has been healing us to ultimately bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, the master healer and creator of us all.

On a lighter note, below are highlights from day #5:

·         Eating monkey bread French toast for breakfast to start the day strong (with coffee, of course!!!)
·         Visiting the Mass Grave Memorial to remember and honor the 2010 earthquake victims
·         Loving on, playing with, and learning from the children at the Haiti Deaf Academy
·         Playing outside with the children at Grace Village
·         Enjoying pizza for dinner at Fleri Resto and having some healthy inter-team competition playing “bags” (with every intention to remain humble—my dad and I were the reigning champions)
·         Learning how to salsa dance from Healing Haiti’s Director (Jean)


Five days down, two to go. God continues to be so, so good and the mastermind of it all. 

Emily