...of those who bring the good news! - Romans 10:15
The first week of May, the Reyes Academy and Comunidad Multicultural, a local Haitian/Dominican church, ventured together across the border to our neighboring country of Haiti. It was a crazy two nights and three days full of heat, sweat, and a lot of Jesus.
We took a bus from Santiago to Dajabon, a town in the north part of the DR. We crossed the border on foot, and we stepped into a whole new world.
Over the three days, God taught me that everyone is searching for love. When we were in the baby rescue center, there was a little boy who looked so sad. Christin asked if she could pick him up, and the workers said yes. She held him while I tickled and played with him. His face lit up. He was bubbling over in laughter. He wanted to be noticed. He wanted to be loved.
When we were at the orphanages, the older kids loved talking and connecting. The little ones loved holding hands and playing. What can you do to love the ones around you a little better today?
God taught me about stereotypes. I have heard that Haiti is dirty, hot, and like a desert. I was so surprised when I we were driving to the Citadel. There were trees everywhere. Looking out at the top of the mountain I could see mountains beyond mountains beyond mountains. They were all green and beautiful.
God taught me to lean on Him for strength. Climbing the Citadel was a huge task. The mountain was high and the walk never-ending. We started off singing as we were walking, but then we were so out of breath that didn't work. Eventually Christin and I took turns praying. We prayer walked up that giant mountain. We prayed for the trip, the ministries we met, our school, our students, our families, and for the country of Haiti. When we keep our eyes fixed on the problem or the mountain, we will fail. But when we fix our eyes on the LORD, He will help us.
God taught me about what heaven will be like. I loved serving on a team with people from different countries. We had Haitians, Haitian-Dominicans, Dominicans, Americans, and Dominican-Americans. It was a mixture of skin colors, cultures, and languages. And it was amazing. We would sing in English, Spanish, and French. We would lift our voices together in prayer in Creole, English, and Spanish.
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne before the Lamb." Revelation 7:9
I learned the power of communication. I never thought I would learn a third language, but I can have conversations in French and tell the story of the calling of the first disciples. Annie taught it to us before we left for our trip. We stopped at Fort Liberty to walk and pray with the people. We came across this little beach where people were bathing and washing clothes. A little girl came up to Christin and I, and we asked her if she wanted to hear a story. We shared Matthew 4:18-22 with her in French from memory. She actually understood us, and she repeated the names of the disciples back to us in French. Walking along the water, imagining what the story was like, I realized what it truly means to be a disciple.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." Matthew 4:19
I loved watching the boys interact and play with the kids at the orphanage. One of them asked to pray for a woman on the beach who was studying for a test. They washed plates, they hiked the mountain, they amazed me. It was incredible to see the fruit after two years working with them.
God, what do You have up Your sleeves next for me?
Con mucho amor.
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