Haiti Mission Trip - Final UpdateHere is final update of the Haiti Mission trip. God is doing some amazing things through these three guys. Even on a short trip, He can work in mighty ways! You will definitely be encouraged by this update... ~~~~ Hi Everyone, We hope you are well. We have had an amazing day of ministry here in Haiti. Our day started early as we rushed to get the food for our outreach before church. We were able to buy 2000 pounds of rice, corn meal, grits, sugar & cooking oil. We loaded one truck to take to the villages, and another truck load of supplies will be available tomorrow for pastors from the affected areas to come and get. Church was an incredible five hours; and I mean incredible. There were five hundred people who endured the rain & wind to make it to service. Worship was energized, the choir was angelic, and I had an opportunity to share with people who are so hungry to hear the Word of God that they were on the edge of their seats. Things are a bit more Pentecostal here than at Calvary, so I got quite a few "Hallelujahs!" and "Amens!". We then had communion with our brothers & sisters and I had my first drink of alcohol in about 12 years…that’s right folks, they use the good stuff here for communion; Kent’s eye were as big as quarters; we had a good laugh over that. After service was over, they had us come to the front so people could greet us on the way out; it was precious as all 500 people came to the front and gave us big hugs. They were so warm, heartfelt and thankful to all of you for sending us. After church they had the widows and orphans line up to receive some of the food we purchased. Seeing the smiles on their faces and the tears in the eyes of some of the women and children is hard to explain; "this is true and undefiled religion" pretty much sums it up. As we prayed about exactly where to distribute the food, Pastor Marcel realized that the relief efforts will be focused on Gonaive and the people in the mountain areas will be ignored. They do not have anyone to look after them; they may be the most needy in Haiti, so that is where we chose to go. Our travel to the village was difficult as the roads are so wet. We almost got stuck a couple of times, but God allowed us to get through. As we approached a single hut we were a little disappointed as we thought it was the only hut in the village. Then we crossed the ridge and were astonished at the scene…people are living in crumbing mud huts right next to the swelling lake; many of the children were unclothed, malnourished and sick. We decided to first visit all the huts to make sure we could safely distribute the food. The people approached us as if we had gold. As we walked, the children held our hands and rubbed our arms; they smiled and laughed as we showed them photos and video of themselves. The adults were transparent and genuine greeting us with “Bonjor” and a hug or hand shake. Hanging on a bush we noticed thin bad smelling meat. I also noticed one thing that I have never seen in my mission travels: a large quantity of stray dogs. I am pretty sure these people are surviving on dog meat. As we started to pass out the food, the people were orderly and cooperative. This is not what not what we expected from people living in such difficult conditions. We shared the Gospel and many people received the Lord; there were at least a couple of hundred people. Kent, Zack and I each spent time wandering off thanking God through tears for His goodness and the compassionate loving people who have provided for those who are hurting. Thank you Calvary Chapel WestGrove, Tru Hope International, and Promise Child for making a difference in the lives of these forgotten people in Haiti. Today, they have received a gift that will never go away - the gift of love. With grateful hearts, Haiti Mission Team (Pastor Brent, Zack & Kent) ~~~~ "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 106:1 God bless, Karissa Continue to the Nepal and India Mission Trip
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