Haiti

January 2006

A Missions Outreach by Grace Mission, Inc.

By Troy Sides

This past January I embarked on my second trip to Haiti in as many years. Memories of last year’s first trip were too good to pass up (plus Jake kind of egged me on as well), and so I signed on in early December to be a part of this team heading to Haiti to set up solar panels for the Barkman Center (which was finished recently). And while my first trip (January ’06) obviously bore many similarities to this trip (January ’07), there were also many distinct differences. One of the major changes to this year’s trip from last year’s also turned out to be the highlight of the whole trip. Last year, most of our time in the country was spent working in and around the Barkman Center. This year, while we did do much work in the church and the orphanage, we also did some hopping around. About midway through the week, most of team packed their overnight bags and hopped into the truck, which then carried us deep into the Haitian mountains. We were going to stay for two days in this remote mountain village called Savont-Curie (I probably butchered the spelling of that name). During our first day in Savont-Curie, The team divided into 3 or 4 groups, each with 3 or 4 people, including an interpreter. We then, armed with our Gospel Cubes (ingenious little paper boxes that fold in and out revealing different visuals of the step-by-step process of salvation), headed out into the village to share the gospel to these half-naked, dirty, smelly, tooth-gapped peoples. I have shared the gospel with the Kree Indian children in northern Saskatchewan, Canada before, but Haitians are a whole different animal altogether. The first person I shared with, an elderly lady who had just finished gardening, never even looked at me or the interpreter in our group, but instead turned her back to us and when she spoke (to the interpreter only) she glanced slightly over her shoulder toward him, and when she was finished speaking, her eyes shot right back to the ground in front of her. Most of the people we talked to were shy or distant, perhaps not to this extreme, but in various ways. Some people continued working while we shared. Others ignored us altogether. We did have many people who were open and happy to talk to us, and with most of these people we found that the people had mixed ideas of God and salvation, brought on most likely by the multiple congregations that gathered in the nearby Haitian churches. Despite the obstacles and complications we faced as we shared, that Saturday afternoon in Savont-Curie was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Many people were receptive to what we had to say, and although we couldn’t understand what they were saying, we could see the fire light up in their faces as they heard the good News poured out before them. Our interpreter, a wonderful man named Bernadin, was passionate and fiery as he translated for both sides, a real fire for God. Several people we talked to already knew the plan of salvation well and claimed to be children of God, others didn’t know and accepted, while others rejected what we had to say (like the Voodoo priest we chanced upon, who said he could not accept Christ because he served only Satan). I personally had the glorious opportunity to share with a group of children who had been following us most of the time, which was a blessed experience. Because of my experience with kids in Canada, this opportunity was right in my ballpark. Haitian kids, I discovered, pay much better attention than Kree Indian kids! The rest of the week following the Savont-Curie experience consisted mostly of finishing up solar panel work and the Barkman Center. Most of the supplies needed to complete the work did not arrive until the late afternoon of our last day of work (Wednesday). We therefore found ourselves working as late as 2:00 AM on Thursday morning trying to get everything done. It was frantic work but very fun as the darkness of the night threw another wrinkle that we were able to work around. The whole week was, as last year’s trip, a very blessed and rewarding experience for me that I shall never forget (and, yes, we were finally able to make to the beach and swim on Wednesday, a perfect way to cap off the week). I cannot thank God enough for His help and guidance as we traveled and worked safely and in harmony throughout the week. If it is His will I will no doubt be returning for a third campaign in January of ’08.