Another blessing from God has been able to come to Haiti for a mission trip. This mission trip has made an impact in my life to be able to trust in God and to rely on God’s power and not my own strength. On this trip it has been my first time fasting and praying to God. The compound had been waiting almost a month for containers that we needed to continue to build this ministry. As a miracle from God, the containers arrived in two days after fasting. God is so powerful and unexplainable how God provides. I knew to always pray to God but did not realize what it means to rely on God for everything, even my life.

These weeks have been full of relationship impact. From meeting the Haitian people, Haitian students who we work with, and team three to be united to worship God. Sharing our life together and getting to know one another allows me to understand different backgrounds from my own. It has been amazing to be able to relate and to make connection on how we can grow in our faith and to serve the Lord. The support of our leaders in investing in our lives to grow in God’s words has allowed me to grow in submitting my life to God in serving. I never imagined the blessing in serving God in a mission trip in Haiti. This trip has made me a stronger individual to trust in the Lord no matter how many times I may fail because GOD IS THE VICTORY OF ALL KINGS.

Indescribable.  That is the word that describes the experiences I have had in this beautiful country of Haiti.  I cannot imagine being back in Minnesota in a few short days and having people ask me, “How was Haiti?”  I do not know how to answer that question other than saying…indescribable.

In the few short weeks that I have been here, I have grown more in my relationship with God that I ever have thus far.  I have been tested physically (Back in Minnesota, we don’t have this kind of heat…I am still adjusting to it and we only have 3 days left here!), emotionally and spiritually (James 1:2-3).

God has shown me his beauty in this broken country.  Going into this experience, I thought that every IDP camp we visited would be a sobering experience because every person there has lost their homes and someone close to them from the earthquake six months ago.  But, this is not the case.  Even if this may be the place where they spend the rest of their lives (in a tent), they are SO joyful and hopeful in the Lord.  He has been working in the hearts of the Haitian people long before we came here.  The IDP camps have been such positive experiences and have left me so encouraged to keep trusting in the Lord.

The earthquake killed over 200,000 people and displaced over 1.3 million people.  As an American, I can look at this two ways.  I can look at the hopelessness this situation has caused and have pity on this country because they will never have even the smallest of luxuries we have, or I can get to know these people and realize that they are SO much more joyful than the typical American family.  These people are rich, while we are the poor.  They may suffer from having no money, but we suffer in the opposite way: we have too much money.  Life is not about money!!!  It is about Jesus and how he died for our sins so that we may spend eternity with our Father in heaven.

If I have learned anything from being here, it is that I will never be able to comprehend how much God loves his children.  He loves the poor just as much as the rich and he loves me just as much as my Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ.  His love is extravagant.

God has really been working in my heart.  While I do see desperation here, I turn around and see so much hope.  God can do anything and he has a purpose in this situation.  Learning how to share the gospel here has been something God has been putting on my heart.  I now see why.  We in America need Jesus just as much as anyone here, and I need to become more active in reaching those around me back at home and at college.  He has allowed me to become comfortable sharing here, because I know it will be tough back home.

I am learning how to trust in the Lord with ALL my heart, have patience and live out my faith in everything that I do. 1 Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

Saturday was our fun beach day. We had about a 2 hour bus ride to a resort on the beach – the ride was a bit scary considering there aren’t really any traffic laws, at least none that are strongly enforced – but the Lord helped us to arrive safely and we had a wonderful time. It was beautiful and the water felt perfect! It was a little cloudy, but it protected us from the normally scorching sun and it didn’t rain! We had an amazing lunch, got to go snorkeling (which was probably my favorite part of the day), and we got some souvineers.

I found out later, Ji Young made a friend while we were there. He was selling souvineers on the beach and he could speak English. He was the oldest sibling in his family, so he was working to support them. Ji Young shared the gospel with him and he accepted Christ! Also, on the way back, Maggie realized she left her camera, so since we were only about 5 or 10 minutes into the drive back, the smaller bus turned around to go back to get it and we stopped to wait for them on the side of the road. We stopped in a town, so there were several locals around. There were 2 high school aged boys who could speak English, so Ray and Tom got off the bus to talk to them. One of them was a Christian but the other was not, so Tom shared the gospel with him and he accepted Christ! How awesome to see God work in us even on our “off” day.

It made me realize that no day is free from sharing the gospel or sharing the love of Christ. Every day of our lives should be treated as though we are on a mission trip. We don’t have to actually be missionaries to do that. Please pray for the countless people that we have seen come to Christ since we’ve been here. Pray that they will grow in their relationship with the Lord and be able to share the love of Christ with others. God is doing amazing things in Haiti and I can’t wait to share more stories!

I can’t believe there are only 5 days left here. God has shown me so many things..about Him and myself. Haiti is not spiritually dead, it’s alive and blossoming. The people here are so warm welcoming and affectionate, the kids here are so joyful. Here are a couple of things that stick out to me the most.
1) The drive through Port Au Prince..I have no words, I think I experienced every single emotion I could while on that bus. Yet the same time I was numb.
2) I shared the gospel for the first time, this is something I’m not used to doing especially with the language barrier.
3) The church experience..these people love to worship and have no shame in doing so. They have such a strong faith and so much joy and it is evident in their worship.
4) I was able to parcipate in a skit and perform it in a village called Chambrun, It was a challenge for me because I don’t like to be infront of an audience. It was also a very humbling experience.
5) I was able to share my testimony at a Christian High School..overwhelming.
6) Seeing people’s reaction to the Jesus Film it really touched my heart.

This place is not all rumble and ruins…it’s green with beautiful beaches, mountains the sunsets are beautiful. The nights are calm and peaceful and sometimes hot. Regardless you see Jesus in this place

I have been involved in sharing the Gospel to Haitians in all sorts of circumstances. Most of the time, we are in an IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps, sharing with Haitians in there own environment, sometimes we are invited into their tent and other times we will talk outside or on the ground. The local town nearest to us, about half a mile up the road, is called Chambrun. We go there and share a couple times a week, and talk with people in their homes, on the soccer field, in the street, or on our own Nehemiah Vision Ministries Campus. We also shared the Gospel at a high school, and at the beach. This group of Campus Crusade for Christ students have a strong evangelical mindset, and it has pushed me to be open in sharing the Gospel with everyone we meet. Whether we bring it up sooner or later in conversation, it has always come up. If we encounter believers, we will pray with them and affirm them in their walk with the Lord. So, I thank all the students here for their courage and ability to share truth with anyone and everyone they meet. I have been running with some students and leaders too, and that has been an absolute joy. Haiti has brought my heart to a new place- a place of comfort and satisfaction. Never thought I’d say that, but this country and it’s wild-minded people are a blessing to my life. I swear women in this country can carry more on their head (without using hands) than I can with both arms.

I’d also like to tell my family members that I have been driving a forklift around the camp here, and I think it’s funny because I drive one at home for about 30 hours a week. Wherever I go the warehouse follows me.

Mom, Dad, Tyno, I love you very much and have received your texts, also I have checked my email. I miss you, and am praying for you. Don’t worry about me please (Mom) because the circumstances here are very good. We are blessed with beds and a roof and good food. I love it here. I might not come home, just kidding, but maybe. Alright, God bless everyone.

We prayed before we walked over, and asked the Holy Spirit to go before us. He did. Because what came out of our brief time at the clinic was only an act of God. We started out making conversation with the people sitting in the waiting room. there were about 15 I would say, women, men, children, and babies. I ended up sharing the 4 chapter Gospel story to the entire waiting room while Gabrielle translated, they were kind and receptive, like all Haitians, but one guy…he really wanted it, there was a light in his eyes, a hunger, a longing for something more. I did a terrible job sharing, so it had to have only been the Holy Spirit working on his heart that did it…he had a child on his lap, i think a few months old and his girlfriend was also with him.

He expressed to Gabrielle how he would like to pray with us after they were seen by the doctor.( a lot more went on in the waiting room which i will share in another entry because it would make for a very very long story) but to sum things up God gave us the opportunity to share more with this family after they were seen by the doctor. they told us that they had lost everything in the earthquake and that’s why they couldn’t/didn’t go to church anymore. we told them that Nehemiah Vision has a great service and that there are usually donation that they can get when they are here. The guy prayed to accept Christ and we prayed over their sick baby as well. The experience was like, i was there, but not quite there. everything was happening so fast. words that were not my own were coming out of my mouth, truth and requests that we were making before God on their behalf were welling up and coming out. it was only a divine appointment, and to HIM goes all the glory honor and praise. we were just the vessels, but truth and healing was spoken into this young couple, they were in church this morning. and we got the opportunity to love on them and their beautiful baby, an outpouring of what Christ has done for us.

This story is to be continued. please pray for this young couple and their child, Gabrielle has their names, but they are searching and seeking out the will of God in their lives. I don’t know where they are living, but the conditions are not good. pray that all their hope will lie in the One who can do all things, redeem,heal,transform,renew,

hold,protect and provide. God is good all the time. He is faithful even when we are not. and He can use even the most ill-equipped,and skeptical person (me) and then leave me reeling wondering what happened, my only answer is that Jesus was in that waiting room.

Heather Libdan

From experience, I know that soon, people will soon begin asking me, “How was that trip to Haiti?”

I’ll say something like this, “Haiti was fantastic, but this was an unusual trip for me.”

If they are really interested, they’ll say something like, “How so?”

And I’ll say, “This trip was different for me, because, for me, being in Haiti wasn’t the key factor.  The Haitians were wonderful, kind, welcoming people, who, as Holly observed, made eye contact and kept it.  The real key factor for me was the 60 students and staff who let me tag along.  These college graduates, undergraduates, and one pre-college student, and Campus Crusade leaders, were among the finest bunch of people with whom I have ever associated, and I have been at it for 60 years.  They were enthusiastic, considerate, encouraging folks.  A pretty large group of them were even enthusiastic for prayer!  Go figure!

They sweated night and day in the dusty, hot, humid environment; they rode a bus for two hours in the heat, they didn’t complain and continually looked for opportunities to minister.  They sought out kids to play with, and on one occasion carried kids over two miles to and from Flamingo Lake.  They happily met for hours on end, they waited, they sang, they prayed, they played, they ate, and a few would even sleep a couple of hours at night.  They seemed to even enjoy talking to the staff!

I was blessed to be among them, to watch them interact, and to learn from them.  We could have been in Alabama, or Texas, or anywhere, and the trip would have almost as good for me.  Just being around these folks has done a lot to make me want to be a better Christian.  So I guess I was just one of the many folks to whom they ministered.”

Thanks, Team 3, for being an inspirational group!

Phil Bishop, Professor

A group of happy peppy people getting ready to head to a Christian high school in PAP!

In the front–Haitian high school students who responded to the Gospel and who are now our new brothers and sisters in Christ!

Playing games at the school…

including the Holie Pokie!

And the gift of a sunset to end the day…

First off, Haiti is beautiful. I love waking everyone morning to a clear blue sky and gray mountains that are not far from the complex where we live. It truly is a sight. God’s goodness is so evident in this place. He created this gorgeous, beautiful country for His glory, and one day it will be fully restored to that glory.

On Monday, our team went to an IDP (internally displaced person) camp to share the gospel and minister to the Haitians. Tents were organized in rows that seemed to go on and on, and we were told about 2,000 Haitians lived in the camp. My group of four got off the bus and began walking around the camp. The first woman we talked to showed us so much hospitality and love. The tent where she lived was smaller than my bedroom at home but she welcomed us in with open arms. She made room for us to sit down even though she only had one chair. All that she had was ours. I began sharing the gospel with her and she confirmed she had already put her faith in Jesus. Though her circumstances seemed grim, she had so much hope and kept talking about how thankful she was that we had come from the U.S. to minister to her. What joy this woman had. A joy that could only come from the Lord!

The last Haitians we got to talk to at the camp were so hungry for the gospel. More than any people I’ve ever talked to. Our translator (and amazing brother in Christ!) Jimmy talked to them for at least 20 minutes about some things that were holding them back from accepting Jesus into their lives. It turned out many had lost all their clothes in the earthquake and didn’t have anything nice to wear to church and no shoes. It struck me then that these people have such a reverence for God. People in America rarely are concerned about what they wear to church if they go at all. I know that God is not concerned with what we wear to church. He’s more concerned with the hearts of those who worship him. But these Haitians made it clear they understood that God is not like us. He is holy and set apart and worthy to be praised. I want the same high view of God that these Haitian believers have. Though it is easy to turn away from God when things are rough or uncomfortable, they are resolved to trust God. God is bigger than our circumstances and His love never fails.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39