The first time I went to Haiti I saw the hard stuff. I saw destruction and despair. I saw the trash covered beach and people living in empty graves in the cemetery. I saw witch doctor huts and slaves to voodoo. I saw men and women with hungry, sad eyes lining the streets without work. I saw bullet holes in the walls of a facility built to provide relief to the people. I saw needs so great and a land so barren and hot I marveled that anyone could survive it.

Though I signed up for our church’s trip to Haiti, I was hesitant to go back. Not because I don’t believe in the work being done there. And I am not afraid of going to hard places. In fact, God wired me to love doing work in hard places. But I wasn’t sure if I felt called to Haiti or what exactly God would have me do on this trip. I prayed and confessed my apprehensions to God. And I heard Him clearly whisper His response into my heart.

“This time, I want you to see the people.”

God had a good point. I hadn’t really had the chance to interact much with the people on my first visit to Haiti. I’d spent much of my time drenched in sweat, assisting in surgery in a Haitian hospital operating room with no AC. I loved the work and had a great trip, but I remember feeling a little envious of a non-medical team member. She spent the week sitting beside the people while they waited for clinic and just got to know them. She was full of joy and I smiled whenever I saw her doing her thing.

So I determined to see the people on this go-round. And God gave me the perfect set-up. This was going to be the first time I didn’t have to lead, teach, see patient after patient, or build something on a missions trip. My job was pretty simple: I was assigned a group of fourth grade students to follow from station to station at the day camp we were running. It didn’t seem like much for a “doer” like myself but I welcomed the change.

And this trip turned out to be radically different than the last. Not because Haiti has changed. But when I focused on the people … these people who God so deeply loves … the landscape was completely different.

I saw light. I saw joy. I saw celebration. I saw Hope.

It was a week of dancing and laughing. Of singing songs, playing card games and hand jiving. It was going out for pizza and to a beautiful beach to experience the beauty and support the economy of Haiti. It was worshiping with the Haitian people in church. It was meeting the parents in their homes and seeing their love for their children. It was a week of getting to know the 54 students at ANA School as well as their wonderful teachers and staff. It was chatting with our translators and hearing their hopes and dreams for Haiti. Oh I saw the people. And they are beautiful.

I might have gotten misty a few times. Just a few.

And it wasn’t just about the Haitian people. It was a week of watching my team members use their unique gifts to reach out to kids living in hard places. It was having my pastor humble me to tears in his sermon to a 2500 strong Haitian church with a reminder that the only hope for Haiti is Jesus. It was watching my daughter get down and play with kids who flocked to her all week long and never hearing her utter a complaint about the heat, the long days, or the new foods. It was seeing the Kozefo director deeply love each and every child she encountered. Our people are beautiful, too.

God loves His people. And we reflect Him when we love each other. It doesn’t require special skills. It simply requires us to pay attention to each other. We can do this in our own communities or afar. We can look at the negative or we can see the beauty. We can spend our time doing or we can slow down and focus on the people we are called to do things for. I know what I will strive for. And I am grateful for the reminder from an ocean away.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF KOZEFO? 

Forty-two new students registered for the opportunity to attend ANA School but they need sponsors. Check out www.kozefo.org and sign up to sponsor or donate.

The kids in these pics have hopes and dreams and are the future of Haiti. Its the best money you’ll ever spend.

We can’t wait to sponsor sweet Michaella.

Sorry, but Jim is already sponsoring James Bond.