What we are up to in Haiti

My first few days in Haiti have been amazing. The journey here was tiring but eye-opening.  Looking out the window of the van and seeing children flying kites in a landfill and others picking through the garbage on the streets of Port au Prince broke my heart. However, upon arriving at Haiti Arise’s compound, I can see that God is surely present and working here in Haiti. The faith of the people is so strong, vibrant and inspiring. They sing, praise and dance with such passion and there is a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.  It truly reveals the difference God has been making in their lives and how trusting they are of Him. Many of them do not have much, but they do have God. They have such a sincere joy, hope, and love, and it is so wonderful and encouraging to see.

The language barrier was difficult to work around at first, but the longer we’ve been here, the easier I’ve been finding it to talk with many of the Haitians. Being able to worship together, they singing Creole words and us English, has been a beautiful experience. It has shown me that there are no racial or cultural barriers in God’s kingdom; we are all fellow brothers and sisters in Christ despite the different languages we speak. I’ve also been able to spend time playing games with some of the children and even though we can’t carry out a complete conversation, we are still able to understand each other and have had a lot of fun together.  

It has been great to see the many projects Haiti Arise has been doing here. They have a Children’s Village that provides homes and Christian families for orphaned children as well as an elementary school, technical school, and medical clinic. We are off tomorrow morning to Merger to help with the completion of a church building and I am looking forward to getting off the campus and visiting the people of this community. I’m excited to be here and to be Christ’s hands and feet and am hopeful that our work and efforts would continue to be an example of His love.

Bondye beniw (God bless),

Erin