As we drove through the city of Port Au Prince towards Mission of Hope, this verse resonated. The devastation and poverty were truly overwhelming, yet incredibly humbling. The thousands of Haitian people we drove by, need to know there IS hope and there IS a future for them through Christ Jesus. Here we are, five disciples anxious to settle into the Mission of Hope (MOH) compound, but yet all we do is ride along in a vehicle traveling 90 miles an hour and look around, ashamed. We were all close together in the vehicle, very sweaty, and with little AC, yet the heat of Satan’s distractions did not phase us.
As we were leaving the airport, it was as though we were entering another world. We drove by homes made from sticks and tarp, makeshift gas stations, destroyed buildings, and people simply looking for food and shelter. Small children played among the rubbish, some even without clothing. Much of the graffiti along the walls were in French Creole, but one English phrase among them tore at my heart: We Need Help. This is why we came- to be part of the change and to help these people. The ride to the compound was only a glimpse of what Haiti is and what still needs to be done.
Thankfully, we were greeted at the MOH compound with smiling faces and a warm BREEZE despite the hot temperature!!! The interns and staff here made us feel very welcome as they immediately served us potato/pasta salad and PB & J sandwiches. During our lunch, we were told that as of now MOH purchases 9% of their goods in Haiti. The goal by the year of 2020 is to be able to purchase 100% of the goods here in order to support the economy! Later on, we were able to walk around the compound some, see precious children, and get acquainted with everything. The compound houses 63 orphans right now whom we were able to observe playing the classic egg on the edge of a spoon game! How it always amazes us that kids can be so innovative with what little they have. The remainder of the day until supper time was spent unpacking in our non-air conditioned rooms, reflecting on our day thus far, and napping. Although there are plenty of plug in fans and about 5 ceiling fans in one large room, with no electricity, it is kind of hard to utilize these resources. haha One leader told us that electricity is typically accessible at 7pm and until early the next morning (5:45am). Expect blog posts later in the evening!
After supper, we had a brief orientation lead by Pastor Dave Fox from Indiana to explain the vision of MOH. He shared that their passion is to give life transformation to every woman, man, and child of Haiti. They are in the process of more than doubling the enrollment at the schools from 1,200 children now to around 5,000 children by September. WOW!! This would be a tremendous blessing for the children here in Haiti as only 2% of the children here finish high school. Pastor Fox also shared that the MOH serves meals to around 69,000 people a day. Abbotts Creek youth, imagine the meals you packed at Caswell feeding these people!!
Looking forward to a Creole worship service tomorrow morning at 9:30am. This service is expected to last around 2 1/2 hours!! What an amazing time of glorifying our Father with Haitian people this will be!!
Until tomorrow, The Blogettes
Our mosquito den for the week!
We take back our comment earlier about no duct tape on Spirit Airlines...
Gas station along the road.
Pastor Dave Fox
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