Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Mission of Hope...

Hello friends!! Thanks for checking out my blog!! As most of you know, I'll be leaving for Haiti in exactly 12 days! I can't believe it's actually happening......and how quickly it came up!



Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined myself traveling to two different third world countries in a year! If you would have asked me a year ago what I thought about traveling to another country for missions I would have told you, "I'm not interested", point blank, no hesitation. But it's funny how God can change your heart if you let Him. I could go on forever about how God has set a change in me this past year, but I'll spare the novel. lol......just let me say, don't doubt God's capabilities, because anything is possible. Anything.



I first experienced a taste of missions when I traveled to Honduras for 10 days in December 2009, with a group of friends from the college ministry I am involved in called Campus Focus. This was the first time I had ever set foot outside the country, and first time I experienced a whole world different from my own. I remember seeing pictures of third world countries in geography textbooks throughout my years of school, but actually being in a third world country is totally different. It gave me an appreciation for what I had, and truly opened my eyes to how much we as Americans take what we have for granted. I was angry at first, angry at how truly selfish and ignorant our culture has become. In Honduras, time wasn't defined by schedules and clocks and appointments, or what have you. Time was defined by people. You didn't have to worry about having to end a conversation with someone because you were worried about getting an important text message or phone call, or missing a TV show. Not once in the 10 days I was in Honduras did I look at my cell phone. That's something that I miss, and can't wait to experience again in Haiti.

When I returned from Honduras, my life was completely changed. The way that I viewed my life, my outlook on life, my purpose in life, etc. Something else in me changed too. My whole life I felt like I belonged in little ole' Ohio. I was quite content in just staying in Hartville, Akron, wherever, and figured that would be where I would remain my entire life. When I got back from Honduras, I knew that my heart belonged elsewhere. Whether that be Honduras or some other country, I'm not sure. All I know is, while in Honduras, I felt so much more accomplished in the sense that I felt like I was actually DOING something to help the world. I knew that my purpose in life was to help people, not sit behind a desk staring into a computer, and definately NOT retail (lol). I feel like I belong somewhere where life is simple, and people matter, relationships matter, showing people God is what matters.

So, when the earthquake in Haiti happened, I felt God tugging on my heart once again. I didn't necessarily feel like I was supposed to get up and go to Haiti right away. I knew that if I were to go down there, I would be completely helpless and probably useless. There was just so much chaos going on, I figured it was best if I just waited and see if God opened another door, like He did for Honduras. And sure enough......

There were several students from Campus Focus who felt like they were being called to go down to Haiti shortly after the earthquake. Over our spring break, a group of about 12 students, led by one of the interns of Campus Focus, traveled to Grand Goave, Haiti (about an hour and a half drive from Port au Prince), at a Mission of Hope base. They had sent out several emails to several different organizations around Haiti, searching for an opportunity where their skills could be of use. Mission of Hope was one of the first to get back to them, and so they planned their trip and headed down. While they were down there, they helped rebuild part of the orphanage that was destroyed by the earthquake, as well as hung out with the kids at the orphanage. They also did a good job of making it possible for other Campus Focus teams to return to the site in the future. I had several friends that traveled on this trip, and so when they returned, I couldn't get enough of their pictures and their stories. I had been praying, and felt assured that if another opportunity to travel back to Haiti were to arise, I was going to take it.

Shortly after the team got back, Kim, the intern who took the first team down to Haiti, started making plans to take another team down during the summer. I was so excited, because I felt like this was the door being opened for me to go to Haiti. I had several conversations with Kim about this trip, so she knew I was for sure interested in being part of the team this summer. So as the end of the semester started coming to an end, more people had expressed interest, until about 14 of us committed to going to Haiti this summer. Out of those 14, four of those people are from the spring break team, and will be returning to Grand Goave for the second time. While those four will be staying in Haiti for a month, the rest of us will be there for two weeks.

So there you go. That's basically a short version of how the whole trip came about. I just want to thank all of those who have supported me financially and prayerfully for this trip. Thank you for being a part of this trip with me. I'm not sure exactly if I will be able to post on this blog while I'm in Haiti, but I plan on journaling every day and then posting on this blog on a day by day basis when I return with pictures and what I experienced while in Haiti!!

Meanwhile.....here's a link of a video of some of the Haitian workers at the Mission of Hope site in Grand Goave and their families singing the "We are The World' song that was first released by popular artists for Haiti back in January. Enjoy!!!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=426414507322&ref=nf

(hopefully the link works)

Peace,

Sarah C

No comments:

Post a Comment