Yesterday (Sunday) we headed to the Valley of Hope for church. As always, it was an incredible experience. Although, this time I would also label it as an adventure .. . The day started by climbing into the back of the “big tap-tap” with all of our girls. It was such a treat for them to be able to come with us. Rides in the truck are usually bumpy, but I do believe that I acquired more bruises from this one than any other. It was so fun though. The girls sang, and giggled most of the way there. Miss Jesuala sat my lap, and thoroughly enjoyed my small shrieks as we all bounced around. We stopped for fuel about half way through the journey. I have been with Serge before when he has fueled up, but this time we went into the convenient store. It was very nice, and clean. We all bought a little snack, along with candy for the girls (which St. Therese got for them), and headed on to “the Valley.”
We got there around maybe 11:15am, and the service was already in progress. Following the worship, a man prayed, then sang a song, which was followed by more praying and singing. Our girls, and St. Therese sang next. This was the best part of the service to me. The girls sang something in Creole that I couldn’t ever understand, but I immediately recognized St. Therese’s song. She sang “Because He Lives.” To hear a Haitian women, who has survived more than I can ever imagine, sing these words brought tears to my eyes. The Haitian’s dedication to Christ always amazes me. They know that simply because He lives, they can face anything, and come out of the other side standing.
Then Pastor M. went to the front, and asked Mr. Donald and our team to come forward to share. I believe that he spoke for another minute, and then Pastor Danielle came to speak. Next it was Pastor Riley’s turn to preach. I love Creole, but I was so thankful to finally be hearing English! Following his sermon, there was another mini-sermon from a gentleman I didn’t know. He also presented Mr. Donald, and Pastor M with a beautiful wood-carved name plate as a celebration of one year since the church was dedicated.
After the service, we had sandwiches and fellowshipped with the people. When we got back to My Father’s House (after another interesting, bruise creating ride) we rested for a few minutes and then headed to see the girls one last time. Its always so hard to say goodbye. Today (Monday) I am going back to the States. Please pray for safe travels.
Thank you all for your prayers, love and support throughout this trip. God has done great things. I will share more about all of this in a recap, that I’ll post later. I don’t want to go into detail now, but let me just say that God is an awesome God.
Love and Blessings,
Han
Monday, March 12
Sunday, March 11
Haiti: Day Three
Haiti: Day Three
I know that I said yesterday was Day One, and now I’m randomly jumping to Day Three. Ah, it must be the heat getting to my brain. We had a great day yesterday (Saturday) with the girls. The day actually started with my favorite Haiti breakfast – French toast! It was delicious, as usual. We headed to the girl’s home about 9:30am. After a few minutes of play time, we gathered them and began writing letters to their sponsors. This is always a long process, because we like the girls to write their letters in English. After completing the task, the girls went out and played soccer for a while. They always seem to have so much energy!
After their play time, we gathered them again, and did a lesson on dental hygiene. I purchased toothbrush cases from Walmart, and brought in some stickers for them to decorate them with. The girls share (almost) everything at the home, so we thought it would be a good idea to give them their own toothbrush case with their name on it. Smith and I read a book about a Lion that never brushed his teeth. It was cute, and I think it really helped the girls understand. After they decorated their cases, we passed out brand new toothbrushes.
Following the toothbrush activity, we really just hung out when them. Sarah brought bubbles and chalk (two of their favorite things). So, that kept them entertained for quite a while. A part of the team went back to the house, which just left Sarah and I with the girls (and, of course, Smith). We were just sitting talking with them, and listening to some music. Anaika grab some finger nail polish and started to paint my nails, next she motioned for me to take my shoe off. I am so paranoid about people touching my feet. Especially in Haiti, when they are (honestly) nasty. I let her paint one toe. She was please, and moved on. I did feel special that she would even be willing to do that.
We came back to the house for dinner. After dinner we had an amazing devotion! I really felt the presence of the Lord. After devotion, we had a little fun. It began to rain, so Mr. Gerritt and a few of us slid across the floor on the deck. Not something I would normally do, but it was a blast.
Today (Sunday) we are heading to the Valley of Hope for church! I am so excited.
Blessings,
Han
I know that I said yesterday was Day One, and now I’m randomly jumping to Day Three. Ah, it must be the heat getting to my brain. We had a great day yesterday (Saturday) with the girls. The day actually started with my favorite Haiti breakfast – French toast! It was delicious, as usual. We headed to the girl’s home about 9:30am. After a few minutes of play time, we gathered them and began writing letters to their sponsors. This is always a long process, because we like the girls to write their letters in English. After completing the task, the girls went out and played soccer for a while. They always seem to have so much energy!
After their play time, we gathered them again, and did a lesson on dental hygiene. I purchased toothbrush cases from Walmart, and brought in some stickers for them to decorate them with. The girls share (almost) everything at the home, so we thought it would be a good idea to give them their own toothbrush case with their name on it. Smith and I read a book about a Lion that never brushed his teeth. It was cute, and I think it really helped the girls understand. After they decorated their cases, we passed out brand new toothbrushes.
Following the toothbrush activity, we really just hung out when them. Sarah brought bubbles and chalk (two of their favorite things). So, that kept them entertained for quite a while. A part of the team went back to the house, which just left Sarah and I with the girls (and, of course, Smith). We were just sitting talking with them, and listening to some music. Anaika grab some finger nail polish and started to paint my nails, next she motioned for me to take my shoe off. I am so paranoid about people touching my feet. Especially in Haiti, when they are (honestly) nasty. I let her paint one toe. She was please, and moved on. I did feel special that she would even be willing to do that.
We came back to the house for dinner. After dinner we had an amazing devotion! I really felt the presence of the Lord. After devotion, we had a little fun. It began to rain, so Mr. Gerritt and a few of us slid across the floor on the deck. Not something I would normally do, but it was a blast.
Today (Sunday) we are heading to the Valley of Hope for church! I am so excited.
Blessings,
Han
Friday, March 9
Haiti: "Official" Day One.
Technically, this is my second day in Haiti. We didn’t do much yesterday, besides travel and hang out with the girls for a while. This morning we ate breakfast, and then headed out to see a few new things. Our first top was the TLC Barefoot School. I’ve heard so much about this school, and I couldn’t wait to actually get to see it. Ms. Linda had given us a few directional pointers before we left, so I felt very confident that we would easily locate it. She gave us the name of the street, and the color of the gate (two very important things to know in Haiti). As we were walking along, I said “Wait, how do we know the street names?! I don’t see a sign.” Well, this mission team (or at least that is what I assume they were) were sitting beside us in the back of a truck. They all started laughing, and then asked what street we were looking for. Turns out we were like 100 steps away from the school. The Lord always guides our steps.
The school was amazing! We walked up on the chapel service, which was so neat. Then Mr. Nixon (the principal) gave us a tour. The students were very polite to us, and the classrooms were beautifully decorated. They even had a very large library, and a computer center! My favorite part was the murals that were painted in the area where they eat lunch. I have pictures of them.
Next we visited the Apparent Project, which is a place where Haitians work to make necklaces (among many other things) like our girls do. It was very neat to see what the production looks like on such a large scale. The director of the Apparent Project was very nice, and she showed us all around. It was an incredible experience.
After leaving the Apparent Project, we travelled to an orphanage that is actually very close to My Father’s House. I was amazed that I had walked by it so many times, and yet never knew what lied behind that gate. There were 3 babies, a 3 year old with brittle bone syndrome, and what we think was a 7 year old with serious medical/mental problems. We all sat down, and started playing with the children. A little boy named Claudine and I instantly clicked. I held him for a while inside, and then we moved outside so the children could get some sun. This was honestly one of the best experiences I have ever had in Haiti. It was so wonderful to just be able to love on him. At first he was steady looking around, but after a while, he would just lay his head on my chest. It was such a peaceful moment. I found out before we left that he was HIV positive, and that just breaks my heart. Hopefully, I will have some time tomorrow to visit with Claudine again.
We came back to My Father’s House for lunch and relaxation before the girls got home from school. We headed to HUG A Child around 1 o’clock. While we were there, a team member did health checks. It is always such a blessing to have someone from the medical field with us. Next we made crafts for the girl’s sponsors, and then we basically just played together. I love just spending time with them. Ms. Fran brought out some educational games, and they had a blast with those. Mrs. Sheila sent some of those “punching” balloons with me, and the girls absolutely thought they were great! A balloon isn’t that big of a deal to me, or probably to many of you, so as I watched them chase these 8 balloons around like they were the best toy ever I had a major reality check. What we often take for granted, is such a treat to them. Next time I am bringing stuff to make balloon animals. That will be so much fun!
Tomorrow we are spending most of the day with the girls. I have several projects for them to do. It should be a great day!
Blessings,
Hannah
The school was amazing! We walked up on the chapel service, which was so neat. Then Mr. Nixon (the principal) gave us a tour. The students were very polite to us, and the classrooms were beautifully decorated. They even had a very large library, and a computer center! My favorite part was the murals that were painted in the area where they eat lunch. I have pictures of them.
Next we visited the Apparent Project, which is a place where Haitians work to make necklaces (among many other things) like our girls do. It was very neat to see what the production looks like on such a large scale. The director of the Apparent Project was very nice, and she showed us all around. It was an incredible experience.
After leaving the Apparent Project, we travelled to an orphanage that is actually very close to My Father’s House. I was amazed that I had walked by it so many times, and yet never knew what lied behind that gate. There were 3 babies, a 3 year old with brittle bone syndrome, and what we think was a 7 year old with serious medical/mental problems. We all sat down, and started playing with the children. A little boy named Claudine and I instantly clicked. I held him for a while inside, and then we moved outside so the children could get some sun. This was honestly one of the best experiences I have ever had in Haiti. It was so wonderful to just be able to love on him. At first he was steady looking around, but after a while, he would just lay his head on my chest. It was such a peaceful moment. I found out before we left that he was HIV positive, and that just breaks my heart. Hopefully, I will have some time tomorrow to visit with Claudine again.
We came back to My Father’s House for lunch and relaxation before the girls got home from school. We headed to HUG A Child around 1 o’clock. While we were there, a team member did health checks. It is always such a blessing to have someone from the medical field with us. Next we made crafts for the girl’s sponsors, and then we basically just played together. I love just spending time with them. Ms. Fran brought out some educational games, and they had a blast with those. Mrs. Sheila sent some of those “punching” balloons with me, and the girls absolutely thought they were great! A balloon isn’t that big of a deal to me, or probably to many of you, so as I watched them chase these 8 balloons around like they were the best toy ever I had a major reality check. What we often take for granted, is such a treat to them. Next time I am bringing stuff to make balloon animals. That will be so much fun!
Tomorrow we are spending most of the day with the girls. I have several projects for them to do. It should be a great day!
Blessings,
Hannah
I have now survived the Haiti airport FIVE times!
My official fifth trip began at 7pm on Wednesday, when Kelly and I hit the road for Ft. Lauderdale. I wouldn’t dare say that it was the longest 9 hours of my life, but it definitely felt like a very long trip! There were a few trials, the first was going through the FL turnpike, where we had to pay a toll. This was a problem, because I had zero change, and at midnight the lady wasn’t too happy about it. After we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, we set out to find a Walgreens to buy toothbrushes. The problem arose when we realized that not all Walgreens were open 24hrs. After 3 tries, and at almost 3am, we finally found one! Whew. On the way back to the airport the GPS (or maybe I) got us really lost while trying to find the economy parking. When I say really, I mean like a good half hour of literally just riding in circles. We finally found it, waited for the tram, and then headed to the actual airport. Check in was simple, but then we discovered that our flight had been delayed 2 hours. This wasn’t a huge disappointment to me, but this is when I realized that I would not be getting in a nap before the “Haiti day” began.
We arrived in PAP around 11:30. Everything went smoothly with immigration and claiming our baggage, but then came the dreaded “cat walk.” I told Kelly to hang on to the top of the luggage cart, and I just pushed through the sea of Haitians. Thankfully, my faithful Serge was waiting for us at the end! When we found him, he asked if I wanted to sit in the truck or if I wanted to stand and wait for Sarah. I, of course, thought waiting was the better idea. Serge placed us in a shaded location, and then left us with the luggage while he went to look for Sarah. In the meantime, Mr. Donald and his crew arrived. Sarah arrived maybe an hour after that. I had to laugh because God chose for me to spend my first two hours in the place in Haiti that I dislike the most! It actually wasn’t bad at all though.
When we arrived at My Father’s House, we took a few moments to settle in and then headed to see the girls. Seeing them for the “first” time each trip is always such a treat. They were doing homework, but we were able to interact with them a little bit. We headed back in time for dinner, which was amazing, as usual!
Blessings,
Hannah
We arrived in PAP around 11:30. Everything went smoothly with immigration and claiming our baggage, but then came the dreaded “cat walk.” I told Kelly to hang on to the top of the luggage cart, and I just pushed through the sea of Haitians. Thankfully, my faithful Serge was waiting for us at the end! When we found him, he asked if I wanted to sit in the truck or if I wanted to stand and wait for Sarah. I, of course, thought waiting was the better idea. Serge placed us in a shaded location, and then left us with the luggage while he went to look for Sarah. In the meantime, Mr. Donald and his crew arrived. Sarah arrived maybe an hour after that. I had to laugh because God chose for me to spend my first two hours in the place in Haiti that I dislike the most! It actually wasn’t bad at all though.
When we arrived at My Father’s House, we took a few moments to settle in and then headed to see the girls. Seeing them for the “first” time each trip is always such a treat. They were doing homework, but we were able to interact with them a little bit. We headed back in time for dinner, which was amazing, as usual!
Blessings,
Hannah
Saturday, October 8
Haiti - Day Two and Day Three.
Yesterday morning I realized that there was a time difference. Is it sad that it took me almost a whole day to realize this?! I think so. In Haiti right now it is 10:01, but in the States it is 11:01. Is anyone wondering how I figured this out? Hope so, because I am about to tell. I set my alarm for 8am. No need to wake up early for breakfast, since there weren’t any other team members to eat with. After I woke up at 8, I decided to “snooze” until 8:30. Ms. Linda came in soon after that, and told me that Sophie was beginning breakfast. I laughed and said “Well, this is the first time I have gotten to sleep past 8 in Haiti, so I guess I don’t need that snooze time.” She then laughed back and said “Well, no, you didn’t sleep until after 8. You lost an hour when you got to Haiti.” I had to laugh.
I had breakfast, and then organized some things until Mr. Donald and Ms. Fran arrived. They got here around lunch time, and we had egg salad sandwiches. After they settled in for a while, we headed to see the girls. Once we got there, we did free play for a while and then sat then down to teach them a few songs. This was so much fun! I have some great videos to post, but the internet here is so slow that I can’t.
We came back to the house around 5 and my favorite Haitian meal –Haitian spaghetti and fried root- was sitting on the table! Yummmyyyy! Nothing tops the fried root dipped in the goat meat sauce. I know it sound strange, but it is divine.
This morning (Saturday) I woke up at 5am to write a paper. This was the first time I have ever written a paper while being serenaded by a rooster. Thankfully, I finished it and the connection was good enough to submit it to Blackboard. We had bagels and fruit for breakfast. Mr. Donald left shortly after breakfast with Pastor M to do Evangecube training in Karfu. I’ve never been to Karfu, but I hear it is one of the “grossest” places in Haiti. Although, around here the term “gross” is used a lot.
Ms. Fran and I spent the entire day with the girls. She worked with Smith and some of the girls on educational projects, while I worked with them on the necklaces. I am so proud of them, because they completed over 30 necklaces today! We came back to My Father’s House for lunch, and then organized the “necklace shop” downstairs. When we got back to the girl’s home, the social worker showed up so our plans had to be delayed for about an hour. After she left, we just played music and danced around with them. It was a blast! Those girls bring so much joy to my life.
Tomorrow we will be going to Kisqueya church, and will be bringing the girls with us. After church, and lunch .. I am going back to the girl’s home to take fresh photographs of then for the HUG brochures and we are also going to play Jenga. It should be a fun day!
Please keep Pastor M’s son, Samuel, in your prayers. He was taken to the hospital today after have “fits of shaking.” I am not quite sure what this means, but it all that Pastor M knows right now. They plan to keep him in there until Monday. I assume they are running tests. Pastor M and his wife (Ann) really need to be lifted up right now, because I know it has to be hard on them to be so far a part during this time of uncertainty.
Blessings,
Hannah
I had breakfast, and then organized some things until Mr. Donald and Ms. Fran arrived. They got here around lunch time, and we had egg salad sandwiches. After they settled in for a while, we headed to see the girls. Once we got there, we did free play for a while and then sat then down to teach them a few songs. This was so much fun! I have some great videos to post, but the internet here is so slow that I can’t.
We came back to the house around 5 and my favorite Haitian meal –Haitian spaghetti and fried root- was sitting on the table! Yummmyyyy! Nothing tops the fried root dipped in the goat meat sauce. I know it sound strange, but it is divine.
This morning (Saturday) I woke up at 5am to write a paper. This was the first time I have ever written a paper while being serenaded by a rooster. Thankfully, I finished it and the connection was good enough to submit it to Blackboard. We had bagels and fruit for breakfast. Mr. Donald left shortly after breakfast with Pastor M to do Evangecube training in Karfu. I’ve never been to Karfu, but I hear it is one of the “grossest” places in Haiti. Although, around here the term “gross” is used a lot.
Ms. Fran and I spent the entire day with the girls. She worked with Smith and some of the girls on educational projects, while I worked with them on the necklaces. I am so proud of them, because they completed over 30 necklaces today! We came back to My Father’s House for lunch, and then organized the “necklace shop” downstairs. When we got back to the girl’s home, the social worker showed up so our plans had to be delayed for about an hour. After she left, we just played music and danced around with them. It was a blast! Those girls bring so much joy to my life.
Tomorrow we will be going to Kisqueya church, and will be bringing the girls with us. After church, and lunch .. I am going back to the girl’s home to take fresh photographs of then for the HUG brochures and we are also going to play Jenga. It should be a fun day!
Please keep Pastor M’s son, Samuel, in your prayers. He was taken to the hospital today after have “fits of shaking.” I am not quite sure what this means, but it all that Pastor M knows right now. They plan to keep him in there until Monday. I assume they are running tests. Pastor M and his wife (Ann) really need to be lifted up right now, because I know it has to be hard on them to be so far a part during this time of uncertainty.
Blessings,
Hannah
Friday, October 7
Haiti - Day One.
Well, Haiti .. I’m home! Nothing like a cold shower to welcome me back with. I flew out of Myrtle Beach this time, so I left good ‘ole Cottageville around 3am to catch my 8am flight. Luckily I had been well “prefueled” with orange juice, and other various dishes at the Smoak house the night before. When I got into the car, I put the address to the airport in my GPS hit “GO” and didn’t think anything of it. That is, until it told me to get on I-26. Thankfully, I didn’t follow it because it was taking me to my Mom’s house. I must not have actually hit “GO.” Woops.
I got to the airport around 6:15am, and signed in for my flight. All of the flying went very smoothly, and Serge was waiting on me when I arrived in PAP. The traffic was horrible! The worst I have ever seen it, yet everyone was moving out of the way when Serge was coming through. I mention it to him, and he claimed that everyone was moving out of the way because “the queen was back in town.” Hahaha. He also took me to his house to pick something up. He lives up a very tight spiral staircase, which was interesting. As I was coming down, I noticed this Haitian looking up as I was coming down so I mentioned to Serge that nobody better be looking up my dress. He then told me that an American might do that, but a Haitian never would. I’m not quite sure if that is true, because Serge said something to a man under me and he apologized several times. What an interesting first Haiti memory.
I got to the house, and settle in around 3pm. I then took a nap until around 6pm, and then awoke to eat dinner. We had beans and rice. It was very good, per usual. I took a shower, and started Skyping with Mom when Ms. Linda came in to tell me we were going to have some visitors to look at the house. Around 8pm three men arrive from Texas to take a look around. It was fun doing a My Father’s House tour. They stayed for maybe twenty minutes, and then left. Their experiences were very interesting. There was one man who came over right after the quake. It amazes me to hear stories from that time. Even though there was complete destruction, I am still reminded of how faithful our God is in the midst of any storm.
I then read for a while, and went to sleep.
Mr. Donald, and Ms. Fran will arrive tomorrow. Please pray for their safety.
Blessings,
Han
I got to the airport around 6:15am, and signed in for my flight. All of the flying went very smoothly, and Serge was waiting on me when I arrived in PAP. The traffic was horrible! The worst I have ever seen it, yet everyone was moving out of the way when Serge was coming through. I mention it to him, and he claimed that everyone was moving out of the way because “the queen was back in town.” Hahaha. He also took me to his house to pick something up. He lives up a very tight spiral staircase, which was interesting. As I was coming down, I noticed this Haitian looking up as I was coming down so I mentioned to Serge that nobody better be looking up my dress. He then told me that an American might do that, but a Haitian never would. I’m not quite sure if that is true, because Serge said something to a man under me and he apologized several times. What an interesting first Haiti memory.
I got to the house, and settle in around 3pm. I then took a nap until around 6pm, and then awoke to eat dinner. We had beans and rice. It was very good, per usual. I took a shower, and started Skyping with Mom when Ms. Linda came in to tell me we were going to have some visitors to look at the house. Around 8pm three men arrive from Texas to take a look around. It was fun doing a My Father’s House tour. They stayed for maybe twenty minutes, and then left. Their experiences were very interesting. There was one man who came over right after the quake. It amazes me to hear stories from that time. Even though there was complete destruction, I am still reminded of how faithful our God is in the midst of any storm.
I then read for a while, and went to sleep.
Mr. Donald, and Ms. Fran will arrive tomorrow. Please pray for their safety.
Blessings,
Han
Tuesday, July 19
The Call.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
At the team meeting before my first trip to Haiti in October 2010, Mr. Donald passed out a book for each of us to read titled Radical. I hate to admit it, but I did not read the book. In many ways I did not want to read this book. I knew that it would shake up my way of thinking, and I was not sure I was ready for that. It is amazing to me how God knows what we need when we need it. I needed to read Radical after our June trip to Haiti, which is exactly when our college ministry was doing a study based on Radical.
Usually coming back to America is not a big adjustment for me, but this time it was different. I flew back from Haiti earlier than the rest of the team. As I was standing in line waiting to board a plane, where I was the only American around, I began to wonder why God had chosen me to live such a blessed life in comparison to the world that was around me. Or even why He had chosen me to go to Haiti. I am by no means an evangelist, and I am not very bold in sharing my faith with other adults. I’ve never thought about being “called” to missions. I am just a nineteen year old college student, who enjoys volunteering to work with the children at my church. I’m not anywhere near special enough to be “called” by God to missions.
On page seventy-two of the book Radical there is a section titled “I’m Not Called.” Again, how perfect is God’s timing? I am going to quote what David Platt says because it is so powerful.
“But where in the Bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church? We have just seen that we were all created by God, saved from our sins, and blessed by God to make His glory known in all the world. Indeed, Jesus Himself has not merely called us to go to all nations; He has created us and commanded us to go to all nations. We have taken this command, though, and reduced it to a calling – something that only few people receive. I find it interesting that we don’t do this with other words from Jesus. We take Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations, and we say, “That means others people.” But we look at Jesus’ command in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weak and burdened, and I will give you rest,” and we say “Now, that means me.”
Hearing about all of the incredible things that God is doing through the Evangecube training in Haiti has really enforced this for me. People are coming to Christ by the hundreds because of ordinary people in Haiti who are spreading the Gospel using the Evangecube. Ordinary people, who have accepted the call that all of us have. Ordinary people, who are not ashamed and who are bold enough to share the Gospel with those around them. I’m using the word ordinary, because often times I think we associate spreading the Gospel with needing to have a “special calling” but as David Platt explained in Radical that is not the case. There is no difference in the ordinary people of Haiti, and the ordinary people of America. We are all called to spread the Gospel.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is mine, and your, calling to missions! There is no “special calling” that you must have to share the Gospel. The Great Commission was not directed at a select group of Christians. Jesus has not merely suggested that we spread the Gospel, but He commands us to do so. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, and act upon The Great Commission. God will go before you, and prepare the way for you to share the Gospel with others; you just have to place your trust in Him.
Blessings,
Han
At the team meeting before my first trip to Haiti in October 2010, Mr. Donald passed out a book for each of us to read titled Radical. I hate to admit it, but I did not read the book. In many ways I did not want to read this book. I knew that it would shake up my way of thinking, and I was not sure I was ready for that. It is amazing to me how God knows what we need when we need it. I needed to read Radical after our June trip to Haiti, which is exactly when our college ministry was doing a study based on Radical.
Usually coming back to America is not a big adjustment for me, but this time it was different. I flew back from Haiti earlier than the rest of the team. As I was standing in line waiting to board a plane, where I was the only American around, I began to wonder why God had chosen me to live such a blessed life in comparison to the world that was around me. Or even why He had chosen me to go to Haiti. I am by no means an evangelist, and I am not very bold in sharing my faith with other adults. I’ve never thought about being “called” to missions. I am just a nineteen year old college student, who enjoys volunteering to work with the children at my church. I’m not anywhere near special enough to be “called” by God to missions.
On page seventy-two of the book Radical there is a section titled “I’m Not Called.” Again, how perfect is God’s timing? I am going to quote what David Platt says because it is so powerful.
“But where in the Bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church? We have just seen that we were all created by God, saved from our sins, and blessed by God to make His glory known in all the world. Indeed, Jesus Himself has not merely called us to go to all nations; He has created us and commanded us to go to all nations. We have taken this command, though, and reduced it to a calling – something that only few people receive. I find it interesting that we don’t do this with other words from Jesus. We take Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations, and we say, “That means others people.” But we look at Jesus’ command in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weak and burdened, and I will give you rest,” and we say “Now, that means me.”
Hearing about all of the incredible things that God is doing through the Evangecube training in Haiti has really enforced this for me. People are coming to Christ by the hundreds because of ordinary people in Haiti who are spreading the Gospel using the Evangecube. Ordinary people, who have accepted the call that all of us have. Ordinary people, who are not ashamed and who are bold enough to share the Gospel with those around them. I’m using the word ordinary, because often times I think we associate spreading the Gospel with needing to have a “special calling” but as David Platt explained in Radical that is not the case. There is no difference in the ordinary people of Haiti, and the ordinary people of America. We are all called to spread the Gospel.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is mine, and your, calling to missions! There is no “special calling” that you must have to share the Gospel. The Great Commission was not directed at a select group of Christians. Jesus has not merely suggested that we spread the Gospel, but He commands us to do so. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, and act upon The Great Commission. God will go before you, and prepare the way for you to share the Gospel with others; you just have to place your trust in Him.
Blessings,
Han
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