Even now that I am an adult I still feel that calling. I serve where I can am I am active in my church, but that hasn't quelled that pull to become a missionary. I keep telling myself it is impossible. I wouldn't know where to start. I'm so flawed and I have a child with life threatening food allergies and autism.
I am so excited that I have an opportunity to go on a mission trip with my church to Haiti. We will be leaving in June and will travel to Saint Marc. I have been searching for opportunities to serve in Haiti. I've looked at Medical Missions an several other excellent options. One night I happened to find YWAM. One of my Facebook friends did a discipleship training school in Australia through YWAM and I followed her blog and her experiences so I knew they were a great organization.
I texted my friend from church about it and she said that they had been looking into going with their kids. So it all fell together.
MY PERSONAL CONNECTION TO HAITI
I was very blessed when I was younger to go on several cruises in the Caribbean with my Dad. One of my favorite destinations was Labadee, Haiti. It was the most beautiful place I had ever scene. I can only imagine that Heaven will look like that.
Labadee is a private island in Haiti owned by Royal Carribean.
This place was my Heaven on Earth, I didn't know the desperation of the people just over the hills.
I remember eating all this food and looking up and seeing children watch us from the rocks. It was hard to eat after that. Before we left my new found Nirvana, we had an opportunity to go to the market. If you have never been to a market in the Caribbean it can be very intimidating and when you are a child as I was it was scary. People are very aggressively trying to get you to purchase their wares.
The Market in Labadee Haiti
I was drawn to this one guy who was sitting on the ground with these beautiful hand made dolls all around him. His words still haunt me. He said "I will give you these dolls if you bring me some hot dogs". I bought two dolls from him but I did not bring him food because we were told not to by Royal Caribbean. To this day I wish I had took him food. That moment stayed with me. The children and the man. I pray that RC gave them the leftover food.
My dolls looked like voodoo dolls and they are now locked in a trunk somewhere because they terrified me to have them in my room. I want to go back to Haiti and help the people the way I felt I needed to that day. A short term mission trip is what I need to get some insight into over seas missions and to learn more about what they do and how I can help. If God leads me I will go. I know he will prepare a way for me. I am so excited to be sharing this experience with my church family. I know we will be blessed for going and I pray that God will use us as his living vessels to bless others. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. Maybe those of us who feel like we are not welcome, lonely, out of place are made to feel that way so we move. God doesn't want the Jonahs of the world to be comfortable. I don't know...just a thought.
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