Haiti (Part 2)

Hi again! 

I’m keen to share with you about the other 3 districts that the 12:7 Team served in during our remaining time in Haiti. :)

Lower Artibonite was a special district for one of us in particular – it was Absolu’s district! It was awesome to be in St Marc, the city that Absolu lives in when he studies. We stayed with the district superintendent, Pastor Pierre Antoine. Big guy, big family, big heart. :) During our time in Lower Artibonite, we got to be part of church services (which involved lots of dancing!) and it was great as well to work with members of the church to do evangelism. We also presented Sex, Lies and the Truth to the youth there, and I think it was our best presentation yet! Anther great moment in this district was one night when we had a time of worship with Pastor Pierre and his family. It was amazing to be singing songs to God in 3 different languages – English, Spanish and Creole. We were very blessed by our time with Pastor Pierre and his family in Lower Artibonite!

Our next district was South district. Again, we presented Seven Practices of Effect Ministry, Maximum Mission Sex, Lies and the truth here. We’ve realised that SLT is actually a really important presentation for Haitian youth. Unlike we were always taught in school, many of them never went to high school and were never taught about the consequences of not waiting until marriage. So our message about abstinence is almost a controversial one. Something awesome about our time in South district was that Gary Hartke, the global NYI director, came and spent time with us! It was really fun to have him there, and he gave us many words of wisdom. What an honour, thank you Gary!

Also in South district we were able to do Project GOL, which is a ministry where you use soccer to build relationships with youth, and also tell them about Jesus. Here is a picture of AJ telling a group of youth about Jesus using the colours on the Project GOL ball!

Our final district in Haiti was South East! What a busy two days it was. We worked with lovely Philome, who was the NYI for that district, and her father Pastor Samarite. We were able to spend Easter Sunday with the church in Bleck, which was special for us. :) We joined with the church to do evangelism one afternoon, and we also did a workshop on discipleship, which was really appreciated by the members. It was also fun to spend time with the children and youth there, there were so many of them, and so full of energy! The church services in Haiti are so lively, with many guest choirs and special songs - for example, a 70 person choir sang on Sunday morning! Another great time we had was one morning where we went and painted the town square and did a cleanup. This was definitely a great way to serve the community and also make the church known in Bleck. We were blessed by Pastor Samarite and his family during our time in South East District. 

The awesome choir!

The town square after we did the clean up!

With church family from South East District :)

So there you have it, our time in Haiti complete! Like I said in my previous post, I’m still trying to process what I have seen in Haiti. The people of Haiti are so beautiful and joyful! Although they have gone through devastation and loss, their hope is in the Lord. This is something that we need to live by – no matter the circumstances, our God is faithful.

Some thankyous that I need to make:

Colson, our amazing driver! You are more than just a driver. I was so blessed by your joy and enthusiasm for whatever we were doing. Pastor Ornan, for looking after our whole schedule during our time in Haiti, and being our support. Amanda and Steve, for giving us valuable advice and always being there if we needed anything. Elysie and Asnaf, for making amazing food when we were at the seminary! And to each district leader, for serving us with all of your hearts.

Me and Pastor Ornan

Me and Colson our amazing driver!

So au revoir Haiti! I will never forget you. Bondye ben ou, que Dieu vous benisse, God bless you.

See you all in Dominican Republic!

On the journey, 

Dani