by Tim Van Maanen, board member and trip leader for MH4H
Saying goodbye to Haiti is never easy. Each team forms a special bond while in country, and this trip was no exception. Some of the reasons these adventures are so adventurous include:
- Our electricity going out a couple of times per day and night.
- Role playing the story of the good Samaritan for Thrive for 5.
- Seeing Zali each day when we brought her food.
- O’Dennis bringing us a year’s supply of sugar cane.
- Tim, Bon-Pico, and Woody eating the year supply of sugar cane…
- The kids yelling, “Yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea,yea!”
- Bruises on our butts (You’ll have to ask one of us if you want more details on this one!)
- Shopping on Wednesday – If you ever come to Haiti, you can’t miss this!
- Real ice cream in Pignon.
I could go on and on, but the real reason Haiti is so unforgettable is because of the work God does on each of us. I dare say, no one is the same when they return home. In Haiti, God has a way of breaking your heart and then putting it back together again. God has a way to clear your eyes, so they see His world and His people the way He sees them. God has a way of using your hands to serve in the most unsuspecting places. God has a way to use your words that bring hope and healing to a broken world. God has a way to use your talents to make His name famous. God has a way to use your smile to communicate when languages won’t.
God has a way to do all this because He is God and we are not.
Thank you God for this great adventure called life. Thank you for involving us in your master plan. Thank you for memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you for changed hearts that will last eternally.
Bon-dye beni ou,
Tim
Want to hear more from this trip? Click here to read about the 8 year old boy they met who fell in a fire and couldn’t afford proper medical treatment, or click here to read about Elizabeth Clarke’s 30th birthday celebrated Haitian style!
This group flies out from Haiti today, as a new group of 14 flies in. Please keep both teams in your prayers. Ask that God gives them safe travels and that He uses their experience in Haiti to mold each person to be more like Him.
