One of the very first stories were heard – and watched – was
that of Brad and his wife talking about one of their mission trips to Haiti,
before MOH was even an idea. Similar to our mission trip, they had gone into one
of the villages and gone into peoples’ houses and just generally interacted.
They were walking through one day when they came to a house where a large crowd
of people were clustered around a sick baby. Brad and his wife had never seen a
baby so sick. They decided to take the baby to the nearest clinic (which I
believe was like a half hour away, don’t quote me on that though) so Brad, his
wife, a driver and the father with the baby jumped into a truck and were off.
When they got to the clinic, it was closed and they were crushed. But just as
they were staring at the building, they heard a noise – a noise they would
never forget: the baby’s last breath.
So they have to take this dead child back, the father
mourning as any man would, to a mother who thought that the white people could
fix her baby. Later they came to find out that the girl had starved to death
because her parents had sold everything they had to a voodoo doctor. The family
came to realize the error of their ways, converted to Christianity and were
able to have another child. As far as we know, they are all well and healthy to
this day.
Then there was the story about Jr. Brad went to an orphanage
without his wife one day and was pretty uncomfortable with the kids. He ended
up just sitting in the middle of the floor and waited for them to approach him.
Humorously enough, the one child that approached him was the kid without pants.
We witnessed a good number of kids like this in Haiti, and they are just like
the other kids when it comes to being picked up. They want attention just like
anyone else. So Brad was holding the kid, much to his distress, but he heard
the voice of God whisper in his ear, “This is your son.” Brad didn’t think too
much about it, but knew his wife was going there without him the next day and
told her, “Whatever you do, don’t pick up the little boy without pants on.”
Sure enough, she came home the next day with the baby in
tow. He had had a fever, and she wanted to get him proper care. And that’s the
story of their first adopted baby!
So many other crazy things were revealed in that video. I
found out the first 20 or so acres that make up the main campus was traded for
a grand piano, the army built the first school and promised to build more if
MOH could make something out of it, and the entire nutrition program started
with the hiring of one woman and the nailing of a peanut grinder to a tree.
You see, when they first opened the school, the teachers
were freaking out because the kids would just keep falling out of their seats,
feinting. They also had swollen bellies from worms and orange hair from
malnutrition. To fix this problem, a woman was hired to grind all day to make a
peanut paste. The kids were then given a piece of bread with the peanut paste
and a juice for every meal. The results were astounding. They became healthy!
Just all the things that had to line up perfectly, and the
ease with which they did is a true testament to God’s power. I loved the video
and it was awesome to see how the ball got rolling. But I also realized how
much we take for granted on a daily basis. I’m complaining to Mom because I can’t
find the remote when there are people starving and living without decent
shelter. It’s crazy. Those are God’s babies too. Why aren’t we doing more as
brothers and sisters?
After the video, we had team time. Everyone shared and it
was awesome. We went around the circle to tell our highlight of the day:
Kathie loved
listening to the translators in the church.
I couldn’t get over the little boy that got so much joy from taking
one picture with my camera.
Kevin thought
it was awesome to be the source of amusement for the Haitian construction
workers. Apparently none of the guys could do anything right.
Dave Verville loved that there was
always joy here.
Tami thought it was amazing to get to spread the word in the
village, especially the way the translators did it.
Ed enjoyed locking arms with the fellow group members and laying
the foundation (both literally and abstractly) for the pastoral college.
Dave Vanepps loved how the
village champions were so on fire for Christ.
Lexi was having a blast doing handshakes with all the little girls
all day.
Katie loved washing clothes
with the three sisters that she met. She also thought it was funny that they just
laughed at her poor creole, but were able to teach her a song.
Paige loved the King of the Roads
getting stuck and then getting to see the view. It was awesome for her to see
God leading and being in control of the situation like that.
Kristin felt the hope for change in Source
Matelas and thinks it’s so cool that we get to actually watch things happen,
like the walls being put up, WHILE we’re here.
Macy also liked it when the car got stuck and enjoyed the hike up
the mountain, as well as seeing all the people in the village that were happy
to see us and getting a chance to hang out with the kids in the park.
Anna shared about how she got to talk
to one of the translators in Spanish about how and why they know Christ.
Haley got to have the same experience
but with a little girl, and really got to know her.
Mike reflected on how many people are going to learn, get loved on,
and praise God in the very building they were helping to create.
Geary shared about how God really
showed up when we got stuck today and also loved getting a chance to meet each
of the young men that were a part of the organization and learning their
stories. He also couldn’t forget to mention the father with the nine kids and
all the animals and how humbled he was by the man’s total trust in God.
Brian talked about laying the foundations
for where future people are going to be taught about God. This was especially
important to him because of his personal struggle over determining whether or
not seminary was the thing for him to do.
Haven
liked when we played soccer and also loved the beautiful view from the top
of the mountain.
Naomi joined in
with the crowd favorite and commented on the hike up the mountain.
Throughout
the day, Bruce enjoyed being with
his fellow men and pointed out their transformation from the three stooges to
the seven dwarves… apparently the looks on the Haitians’ faces when they were
bucketing water was priceless.
Tim liked
bonding with the fellow workers in Christ through labor, camaraderie and just
overall building relationships with fellow Christian men.
Chip liked playing volleyball and talking to another ‘camper’ from
a different group who was strong in the faith.
Abby commented on how awesome it was that language didn’t seem to
separate us from the Haitians; the way we played soccer together… physical
language just worked.
Emily talked
about the woman in the park who spoke English and how they shared their stories
and got to know each other.
Danni told
a story about a little boy who wanted her to take a picture of him and thought
it was so cool afterwards when he got to see it. She also mentioned a little
girl who was just THRILLED with a mechanical pencil. The simple pleasures…
Finally, Tim Morton talked about
Wildem (no guys, I do not know how to spell these names). He was a translator
that he met at church on Sunday who remembered and hugged him, and even greeted
him by name! Later Tim got to hear his story.
As you can tell, it was a great day for everyone. But it
wasn’t over yet! Tim had homework for us! Check it out in the following blog!
-Katie Coming to You from Haiti
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