So we reached the end of our week in Haiti and I prepare myself for the questions people may ask upon returning home…”So what did you do?” That list, in and of itself, included very simple things. We filled buckets of water; hugged toddlers; and let a tired child smile, sigh, and rest with a loving arm around them. The things we did were not that extraordinary—but what those actions meant in that moment in a challenged community, an environment with very few soft edges and with people needing happiness and love, I believe, was extraordinary. Hundreds of water buckets, countless hugs, some tears, and hundreds of smiles.
God planted a seed in each of us and we came to this place—we weren’t sure how or if it would grow. Were we nervous? Definitely. But then we figured out how to see through the eyes of God—not in some holier-than-thou sense, but through truly placing ourselves in service. Things began to sprout. We saw leaves of hope…both within the people we served and inside ourselves.
So when asked, “What did you do?”, we can say, “We changed.” Not only in the sense of helping in Haiti, but equally changing within. We’ve a deeper relationship with God, a renewed faith, and a sense of responsibility as a global citizen. Thank you and God bless.
-Dan
