Wow! This week has been a blur! With a late start because of a missing truck driver, we headed out to Marouge for our last take with the youth there. They’ve been absolutely inspiring, asking tough questions and challenging us in our knowledge of the Bible. We did the “Everything” skit today for them, and I felt like they really understood it, especially when they saw the last character in the skit, representing voodoo.
When we broke out into small groups (I with the teen boys) they started out asking for a detailed explanation of the skit, what each character represented, and so on. After much dialogue, the day old question was brought up; a question we had been asking ourselves all week: why were we there? Why did we come out to this small village? And though they said they absolutely love visitors, why drive out 2 whole hours just to have a bible study with the community? All to which we pointed to the great commission, where Jesus challenged his followers to go out into the world and spread love of God. The responded with stating they were satisfied with our answers to their questions.
We talked about how the community felt about us doing fellowship with the youth, vs. what they thought. They said they loved that we were there, and though many of the parents were upset we didn’t bring food or snacks for them, as had been done by previous missionaries, they were thankful we came at all. They said they weren’t looking for snacks, though they would appreciate them, but if they could as for anything, it would be that we would teach them English. English? Of all the things one could bring this village, they were seeking more knowledge?
At the ages of 16, motivated to learn. This was foreign to me! Their argument for learning was simple, you could bring a community fish to eat so they don’t starve, but after a day, the fish will be eaten, and they will still be hungry. Teach a community to fish, however, and they will feed themselves and leave a legacy of fishing for generations to come, therefore fixing the hunger problem.
So they wanted to learn. Inspiring. These “rebellious teenagers” – as we all were at one time – wanted to learn. This brought joy to my heart, yet sorrow to my soul. To answer their hunger for knowledge, all we could offer these teenagers was a ‘maybe’, to which to them meant probably not. We could inspire these boys to seek the Lord, but we can’t teach them English. As you all can imagine, I was a little bummed. Though they understood why we said what we did, that there was not much we could do, I digress.
Before we left, they pointed out that we had never actually introduced ourselves! Whoops!! So on our way out we went around and gave our names, where we worked, that we went to school, and so on! When I said that I worked at Cabelas and sold guns, their eyes got huge! Haha! Guess it’s a bit different culture here…
So to answer that day old question I spoke of earlier, the answer is obvious, equally as obvious as the boys desire to learn English, was to show these people the love of Christ, to show them that though it may be hard, that following God may not make sense all the time, that following God even when you’ve given up on everything else, is the most important thing; more importantly, to love God, and Love your neighbor.
I pray that these trips to Marouge have made a HUGE difference in these teens life. Actually, I’m sure it has. Anyway, we’re currently watching Lady and the Tramp with the orphans, back in the Mole (insert Mole joke from Austin Powers because that is a wonderful movie) and when that’s over, we spend the next 9 hours bouncing around in a tricked out bus to get back to the airport. From there, back to the Americas!
Prayer requests: for safe travels, that the bus doesn’t break down, and for this absolutely beautiful island we are leaving, that the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior is brought to all parts of the country.
In Christ,
Josh Rogers
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Wow! I have to keep this short because we leave to go on the bus soon. I can’t believe how awesome God has been on this trip. Whether it is going to the different villages in Haiti, the people here have been nothing but inspiring. We have only been here a week, but the work we’ve done has been life changing.
I helped a man accept Jesus Christ into his heart, made friends with orphans, and prayed my butt off for Haitians. However, it is not only about me, but my mission team too. Our team relentlessly pursued to make an impact on Haitian lives. Through Vacation Bible School, Construction, Evangelism, and Nursing, we made a difference in Haiti.
Our team will not take any credit, because it is the Holy Spirit working through us. From my perspective, this trip was a life changing experience. I am not going to go back to my dorm and complain about every single thing, but rather be thankful in the little things. All I can say about my experience in Haiti is that I can’t wait to change lives next year!
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Please feel free to leave comments. HOWEVER – we can’t read them at dinner as the team headed to Port-au-Prince tonight on the bus! We weren’t able to get many pictures from the team tonight as they were soaking in their last minutes here with the orphans & packing for the bus.
