DRM and WME were the primary sponsors of the effort and the purpose of the trip was two fold: Medical Relief and Evangelism. Both were accomplished dynamically and beyond that, the personal impact will mark me for life. I've had haitian friends most of my life, so it kinda felt like I had been there before through their stories. My parents had also visited twice on missions trips bringing back haitian art, memento machetes for my brother and I, and of course pictures/video. So I've had lots of exposure to the language, thoughts on culture etc. prior to going. With all this in mind, I was still blown away at what i saw, heard, felt and encountered.
Haiti's current state: Complete anarchy. Whatever governing state is in place is not seen or heard. It's non existent. It's reflected in simple things like their roads and driving conditions. There are no road lines. No stop signs. No traffic signals. It's literally survival at it's greatest. This is a great picture into everyone's mentality. You do whatever it takes to survive and there are no guidelines given to help you along. Majorities rule. Mobs push. Perception of the mob dictates. This boils their lives into either sitting and watching or jumping into the mosh pit of life and hope you don't get trampled under feet while doing so. It's life or death. There's limited thinking at work with the common man as instincts are the greatest tool of motivation. It drives the whole population to be self conscious and as a result it lends them to tearing down the success of others as to keep things socially "fair". It's very sad. Haiti does not need to be given more food and water. They don't need more of our money. They don't need more organizations on the ground (10,000 Registered ORGS are there now and yet Haiti hasn't changed). They need leadership. They're a generation of leadership away from pulling out of what has been years of misery, but that leadership needs to be the haitians themselves. The challenge is finding the strength to not have your spirit broken by the age of 25. I could type years of thoughts here on these specific topics. The need for education, ethics, engineering, family, honor, business are endless. God help Haiti. Send them ONE man who will lead.
Medical Relief:
We had a tremendous medical team with us. Armed with as many medical supplies that we could get on the plane, we had three clinical efforts prepared. These three efforts where each day long free clinics, setup in different places while in Carrefour. The medical team was led by Dr. Karl Bandlien. A talented Physician with a tremendous heart for people. Crowds of people waited each day and the numbers never went away. It seemed like no matter if you had seen 100 people that you hadn't put a dent into it. The hard part was turning those away at the end that we just weren't able to get to. It really breaks your heart. Infection seemed to the number one need. Over 80% of people were dealing with infection.
While the medical team was in place (sidenote: It was amazing meeting the medical team in the midst of our traveling, which was outside of their function and then watching them come to life the moment we hit the grounds of the clinic. It was like they were the medical Autobots transforming. :)) during the day, we had numerous missionary teams setup to work as well. We would rotate between praying over each person in the clinic for healing and also sharing the gospel message with them along with going out into the streets. Out in the streets we were driving people to the clinic who were in need and then as opportunities presented themselves, we would minister the gospel. One person at a time we were able to share the love of God. Numerous times I felt like Peter who when he encountered the cripple man told him that he didn't have any silver or gold to give him (the cripple was begging) but what he did have (the power of Christ!) he would freely give. We also would stop at each school or orphanage and ask if we could come in and connect with the kids. Skits and stories were prepared to offer and the kids responded with so much laughter. I pray that I'll always be able laugh no matter where my life is. Truly inspiring to watch. Many were touched in the streets and encountered the love of God for the first time as we took the message of the kingdom to those that were hurting and broken right to their doorstep.
Larger Format Evangelism:
Crusades were prepared for five nights and the city of Carrefour was literally rocked with the power of God. We setup in a huge field alongside the ocean. Stage. Halogens. BIG speakers for all of Carrefour to hear. The gospel was given each night followed by personal prayer for healings and some of the greatest celebration was seen. They love to sing and dance. They did that with all their heart every night. It's so funny how in America, we have boiled our musical experience in church down to observation. Not what God intended. These people sing and you'd think a host of angels had surrounded you and overwhelmed you with their voices. Nope. It's just the poorest people in the world still declaring the God is faithful, merciful and loving. They do it with great joy. Mindblowing.
Each night of crusades produced stories of God's miraculous power. I personally observed God heal the blind, visibly diseased, the lame, the deaf, and the oppressed. The details of the stories could run forever, but the short of it is this: we laid hands on these people in faith and God instantly was doing things. I remember one mother pushing her way thru the crowd that would have brought shame to Charles Barkley boxing out for a rebound. She was carrying her two year old daughter. This child could not see... until God touched her. I pulled the woman and daughter out of the crowd and numerous staff did series of test with the child. She could see! Praise God! There are so many encounters to share. Some are still soaking and needing perspective gained on, but nonetheless it extremely evident that if you are willing to put yourself in a place to be used of God, simply be willing with faith, there is nothing God can't do. Nothing. With the masses numbering close to 20,000 on the final night, it's undoubtedly known that those people all witnessed the goodness of God to do things no other god could do. Not voodoo, not medicine, not housing relief. Only the one true God. Other opportunities to minister included a women's and pastor's conference along with our team breaking up and speaking at numerous churches during their regular services.
Our efforts may have paled in comparison to the overall need. The first thought I had while driving from the airport and seeing the devastation was: "why are we here? and what can do that will actually have an impact that will last?". Our entire bus full of missionaries were emotionally and spiritually overwhelmed by the heaviness of their oppressive state. I felt like a speck of dust in the sand. How could we truly have an impact on a nation so full of need? We were there to deliver something so simple. Good News. I've had numerous experiences in my life that were acts of God in their timing and the people or circumstances related were never apart of my life again, yet they shifted my path and thinking. The power of what God can do in a minute far exceeds what we could plan to do during our lifetime. I pray the thousands of people who we encountered experienced just that. I know they were that for me. I'll never be the same.
