This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace. Colossians 1:6
This summer, a door to hope provided an opportunity for many individuals and Church groups to enter the country of Haiti and to experience Colossians 1:6 in real-life and in real-time. Through numerous summer trips, lives were changed, homes and relationships were built, and the work for God’s kingdom is bearing fruit. At the conclusion of each trip, as the plane leaves the Port-au-Prince airport and our view of Haiti fades from our eyes and lodges in our memory, we know that God is not finished with what has been done during the week.
We leave knowing God is the one responsible for the “growing” as we did our part in the “going”. It is so common to feel that we (the missionaries) have given so much of ourselves in our participation in a mission trip to Haiti. It is true that for those who have gone on a trip… time, energy, money, and so much more has been given. Surprisingly though, we come to realize that we actually have received so much. God moved us, used us, stretched us, challenged us, and taught us as we all stepped out in faith and trusted God in Haiti. Acts 3:6 in the Bible provides a clear image of our relationship to the Haitian people as it states, “I have no silver or gold but what I do have I give to you.” The Haitian people gave…..to us. We thought that we were participating in the trip to “give to them”.
The people of Haiti loved us, trusted us, taught us, prayed for us, and allowed us to observe how they lived life and how they stepped out in their faith to fully depend on God’s provisions for every moment and every part of their lives. They gave to us a snapshot of trusting God that we now carry with us wherever we go, and for that…. we are forever thankful.