Guest Post from Ben about his mission trip to Haiti…

Thank you so much for keeping my team and me in your mind and in your prayers while we were in Haiti. The trip went very well, and God answered all our prayers. Only one person on the team was sick while we were in country, and then only for one day. Also, while the heat was intense at times, we had plenty of water and energy. We interacted and spent time with many children and adults, and passed out food and hygiene kits at several locations. In addition, we had enough energy to assist the missionaries we were staying with by removing rubble from the earthquake so they could complete the re-building of the walls around the compound.

A typical day in Haiti begins with the sunrise, or just before it, when the birds begin calling. After breakfast, we would go to a “tent city” (an area of people living in tents because their homes were destroyed). The children gathered to watch us sing to them, enact stories from the Bible, and teach us some songs. We played games with them, gave them piggy-back rides, and kicked soccer balls around. After we passed out lunch to the kids, we went back to the missionary compound we were staying at (the missionaries we were working with were David and Beth Watters, who work for World Hope International). Some days we helped them out by clearing rubble so they could finish rebuilding the wall around the compound for security.

Other days, children from the nearby fishing village came over to play with us. Many of the children we saw were under-nourished or worse, but they all had a great deal of joy, even in the midst of destruction and poverty. One of the things that touched me the most was the enthusiasm the kids had to help us out when we were working. They had an energetic work ethic that motivated us to work even harder. At the end of each day, we were tired, but gathered together to reflect on the day and on what God was teaching us.

“The people here don’t need your pity; they need your love.” In addition to sharing her inspiring testimony, Beth shared the above wisdom on how best to serve the people of Haiti. Please pray for the children we spent time with, that God would provide for their needs and protect them. Please pray for David, Beth, our translators, Wilner and Wilson, and all the other workers in Haiti who are trying to show love to everyone around them. And please pray for the country, that God would begin to turn things around and the people would get the aid they need.

NOTE: See more photos when you visit our family’s online photo albums. Visit this earlier post to learn more about what God is doing in Haiti.