Tom and Denise Dent have spent the last month as Temporary Managers on the ground in Haiti. They have been a wonderful blessing helping the team in the day-to-day logistics of the ministry. The Dent’s have both planted and watered seeds of development alongside Christian brothers and sisters for which they give God all the glory – Amen!

When Tom and I arrived in Haiti on Feb 5, we were given the keys to the guesthouse and everything else that was part of the Many Hands campus. And I’m talking a LOT of keys. The first day we got here to serve for a month as Temporary Managers (or TM’s), Tom was handed the keys and a stack of Haitian goudes and was told he was “in charge”. It was at that point that we looked at each other and said, “What have we gotten ourselves in to?”

We have been here a month now doing our best to fill in for Craig and Christi while they are on furlough in the States, as well as to support the rest of the staff who live here. During the past month, as well as being responsible for the many keys we were given, we have done many different tasks. And along the way, we have also learned a lot more about the organization and its operations.

While we have been here, we have lived in the guesthouse with the IMPACT teams who have visited, being responsible for orienting them to their new home and surroundings as well as making them feel welcomed and comfortable. Tom has helped out by doing the finances, filling in as chauffeur, building/repairing stuff, and making sure we are safe and have enough electricity for the day. Also, as the “Master of the Keys and Cash”, he has been constantly in demand.

As for me, I have helped out in the school a little bit, got the diaper program organized and did the quarterly staff meeting (as usual), but the main thing I have been doing this trip is helping Micah with our IMPACT teams. Tom and I have helped her by joining with her or leading team activities. I have even had several opportunities where I was the only one in the group who could speak Kreyòl, which was good because it forced me to step out of my comfort zone. Also, being in the position we were in this time (of having the keys and money), I have had to work closer with the staff, which has helped me to improve my language skills even more.

Living in the guesthouse, we have enjoyed getting to know a variety of people from Michigan, Iowa, Ohio and Tennessee over the past month who have come on IMPACT trips to our campus. Living together with them in the dorm for a week, we got to know them quickly. There were some great people who were here to support Many Hands and learn more about the organization and Haiti. They left their families and jobs for a week to come here and serve. They didn’t have “THE” keys, but they were all key to what we’re doing here at Many Hands.

The group which is here now is Cumberland University from Tennessee. They are here to put on a leadership conference for our staff. They have been talking to our staff about teamwork and having a shared vision. That got me thinking about the shared vision we have at Many Hands. And having that shared vision is how we are able to have so many different people coming down here over these six months to be TM’s, yet keep the organization moving forward. We all believe in the work being done here and support it in any way we are needed. We are willing workers who want to see the glory go to God the Father.

To paraphrase what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5-9, “one plants, one waters, but it is God who gives the growth”. We are nothing, only laborers whom God uses. And it doesn’t really matter who God uses to do what he wants done as long as He gets the glory. It’s a privilege to be used by God and when you have shared vision and purpose with others, you can see the fruits of your labor because God will provide the growth.

All the TM’s who have been here already and those who will be here over the next four months are willing to be those laborers, not for any pats on the back, but only to see the growth that God provides. The keys are being passed from one group of TM’s to the next. These keys are important to Many Hands and are only left with someone whom the organization finds trustworthy and responsible. We were honored to be asked to do this job and have found it a blessing to be here serving over the past month. To God be the glory! (And, happy to say, we didn’t lose any keys!)