In the past 6 months our team has become a group of nine individuals who are uniquely gifted. We have a few who work in education, a couple who are musically talented, a couple athletes, one great photographer, a technology guy, a few of us who love to organize and one pastor (can you guess who that is?) I am looking forward to seeing how God will use each of these personalities on our trip for His glory. Meet the team! (or atleast most of us- Galynn is not pictured and Kyle is taking our photo.) Back row from the left is Chad and his daughter, Tiffany Williams, Dave Highfill, Ron and his son Turner Russell. In the center is Jan, Dave's wife, and I think you know the girl on the end there. ;-)
As a team we have been meeting regularly to prepare for cultural differences, ministry effectiveness, and just to get to know each other better. We have learned so much! This last training session seemed to brim with energy as we talked about our plans for while we would be in Haiti. It has been an incredible blessing to see this group of individuals gel together as a team, learn about who they are and the talent they possess, and watch as they have become completely bought in to the the vision of this trip. I can say for sure that all of them have a heart for serving the Lord. They are just a good natured bunch!
And as we talked plans and packing supplies, we also discussed what it meant to be on mission with God. Being on mission with God is about keeping the big picture in mind when going on a short term mission trip. And that big picture is that God is already at work in the hearts and lives of the people of Haiti. He is already moving in the missionaries, pastors, churches and individual lives of any country. We are called to join Him in that work.
We simply offer our gifts and talents, uniquely given to us by God, back to Him for the joy of joining what He is already doing!
The significance of this is a change in perspective. We do not go to "save" Haiti. Indeed they already have a Savior! But as workers of the harvest (Matthew 9 says that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. The harvest refers to those who do not know Jesus loves them dearly and wants a relationship with them) all Christians are called to act on their faith to share the love of Jesus. But instead of thinking we have that tremendous task to do all on our own, we recognize that God is already drawing people to Himself. We simply offer our gifts and talents, uniquely given to us by God, back to Him for the joy of joining what He is already doing!
And what are we going to to do there? I'm glad you asked! We are making preparations to hold music classes, teach English, do some painting projects, and plans to hang out with children in the community (games/crafts). Another way we will be serving is by taking supplies. One of the main ways Mission of Hope International gets supplies is through teams like ours. So we are planning to each pack one full bag of supplies. We are holding a drive for specific items like peanut butter, tylenol, and school supplies, but intend to take more than those things. If your interested in giving any supplies, check out MOHI's website for a list of Items For Mission Use:
http://www.mohintl.org/items-to-pack
We've got boxes set up at the Evangelical Free Church of Atlantic and Sweet Joys in Atlantic. And of course you can mail us stuff too! (For you long-distance folks!)
Part of being on mission with God also means being flexible with plans as well as open to God's leading while there. We recognize that these plans we are making are to be held with an open hand, to be offered in service when needed or let go of as we follow the Lord's leading and trust the full-time missionaries judgment on what is most helpful.
In the end, we surrender our plans to God's, recognizing that he is orchestrating every note of this endeavor. Something I am very thankful for!
