On July 25, 13 wide-eyed Americans landed in Port Au Prince, Haiti for a seven-day mission trip. Our host was Mission Possible, a Findlay based organization that runs schools and churches in the Montrouis area of Haiti. Our plan was to visit five schools and do a 2.5 hour camp for the kids each morning. Then in the afternoon, we would do a little light painting at the school followed by a youth rally back at the mission center.
That was the plan. Now plug in the numbers! We saw at least 800 elementary students during the week at the five schools. That is an average of 160 kids per day. We played games, sang songs, had a mini soccer camp and trained kids in evangelism using the wordless book. At the end of the day, I was able to wrap up the morning by sharing the gospel with them. God is so cool! We shared the good news and over 60 kids received Christ! Along with that, all 800 kids are trained in how to share their faith! At St Marc school in the afternoon, the team painted shapes and colors in the preschool and kindergarten classrooms, so the little ones can learn their colors and shapes. The youth rally in the evening, which consisted of individuals ranging in age from 14 to 25 years old, was unbelievable. There was worship, preaching and small groups where they discussed that night’s topic. Yes, there was a language barrier, but God provided! In each of the groups, there was at least one student who knew enough English to translate. Each of the Americans stayed in the same group all week and by Friday they had created friendships with the Haitians. Friday night we prayed for the Haitians and they prayed for us - what an experience shared together.
We serve the same great big God, the same creator, the same Savior and we connected with the students. As one of the Americans said, “We came to serve and help the Haitians, but I think they helped us just as much”. This is a trip we will not soon forget.
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