As I sit at the table in the guesthouse, surrounded by my
teammates, I am grateful. I am grateful for the day The Lord has made and for
our ability to rejoice in it.
From the outside looking in, most people would see the least likely and the least equipped people heading out to this foreign land to serve…but, we know that we are soldiers in The Lords army fighting for the people of His kingdom.
From the outside looking in, most people would see the least likely and the least equipped people heading out to this foreign land to serve…but, we know that we are soldiers in The Lords army fighting for the people of His kingdom.
We have the best jobs on earth today: to love and serve with
not only open arms but also open hearts, to comfort and support those who are
in need, and to spread the message of God without even using words. Often times
we forget we have the ability to serve, not only when we are in Haiti, also
when are homes. Pastor Jeff regularly speaks of how you can carry the message with you anywhere, anytime.
The message can be shared at work, in the grocery store, or even over a
conversation on Facebook. We are able to serve God and others with open hearts
and open arms from the comfort of our home. Serving does not always look the
same. We have learned here that service comes in many different shapes and sizes. It
may be serving sandwiches with the Mission Team on a Saturday or heading out
to serve the elders at Covenant Village one afternoon. It might even be taking
off on airplane to Haiti and loving on orphans and elders. It easy to think
that in serving we are only giving, when in reality, we are also receiving so
much.
Today, I received many blessings. Starting at 6:00 AM church
service, I received the power of The Holy Spirit flowing over my body and
touching my heart in ways that I will never forget. Our eyes were blessed to
witness the love and joy the Haitian people proclaim to The Lord with no
limits. Next, our team was fortunate to
visit and tour a job creation facility called Papillon Enterprises. While
there, we had the opportunity to see beautiful pieces of art being created by
men and women who were once homeless and without work and now thrive in what
they do. I personally was blessed to see their hard work and dedication. With
the unemployment rate being 70% in Haiti, it was especially powerful to watch
each man and woman work so hard to be able to provide for their families. Just
to know they would have the chance to go home and spend time with their children
instead of being forced to put them in orphanages due to lack of money or food
was a gift in itself. We were a part of a great movement today. Haiti Teen Challenge followed. What an
amazing experience for our Serenity Village team. With so many of our members
being personally affected by addiction, it was refreshing to see the recovery
movement continuing in Haiti. We met with one of the leaders who graduated from
the first class in Haiti Teen Challenge 5 years ago. He was a great tour guide
around their facility and was so delighted to hear that we were familiar with
Teen Challenge back home. After meeting with some of the residents and taking
pictures in front of their large “Haiti Teen Challenge” sign, it was time to
move onto our next destination: La Pherre. La Pherre is the name of a man who
stated an orphanage some years ago from his home. Although he has children of
his own, he saw the need for those around him. With his loving heart, kind
soul, and complete reliance on God, he opened his home to 16 boys and girls ranging in ages from 4 to 17. Many
children who are placed in orphanages in Haiti still have mothers and fathers
who visit them while they are living in the orphanage. In situations like this,
parents most likely gave their children up in order for them to be cared for in
a manner they could not provide. While visiting La Pherre’s today, we had the
opportunity to play, sing, laugh, and fellowship with the children. I felt the
presence of God all around each and every one of us while we were there. The
joy we experienced was like nothing I could explain over the computer. (I can
try) We started by handing out the wonderful bookmarks that were created by
children from the River of Life church, and then went into lots of game
playing. Imagine this: 13 of us, plus 16 children, all trying our best to fit
into one large circle to play “Duck Duck Goose” (not grey duck). This game
lasted only about 10 minutes since it proved to be relatively dangerous and
extremely hot for our behinds to be on that concrete for too long. Next, we
played some form of “Monkey In The Middle” and, WOW, this was fun! Mainly
because us Americas were trying so hard and sweating profusely while the
children laughed at us. Once the kids had enough of our lack of sports ability,
they decided to sing for us. Have you ever heard a choir of angels sing? That
is what it sounds like when a group of children from La Pherre’s sing to you.
The pure joy and excitement on their faces said it all. The love we share with
these children is inexplicable. No one here could tell of how it feels to have
a child you just met share so much love with you. The trust they share with us is like nothing you could find at home. They believe in us and we in them. They
know when we are there we Jesus with us, and we know that Jesus was
actually already there when we arrived.
Today was a day of blessings. Today was a day of prayer.
Today was a day of peace. Today was a day of love. Today was truly a day filled
with Jesus.
Thank you Lord, for today.
Amen
Love,
Nikki
