I went in that room with a lot of questions on my mind and in walked a man who had served as a missionary (or "international worker" as they would like to be called now) in Haiti for 12 years!! Denny immediately hugged me, dubbed me Haitian Sarah and told all about Haiti and his time there. It was great to hear real stories and truth rather than stories that are sometimes sugar-coated. Having him sit near me during the weekend calmed my fears and questioning.
Friday evening was full of a lot of information. I had gone into this journey with some doubt about how God could clear the path of student loans for me to be able to get to Haiti. I know that God is SO MUCH bigger than any circumstance, but my little pea brain thinks about the details. The first session was full of verses that calmed that and below are two that stuck out:
Psalm 138:8- The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for You made me.
Philippians 1:6 - Be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
As if that wasn't convicting enough, we talked about how God works through us. The speaker warned of international workers making ministry more about themselves and personal glory rather than giving all that glory to God. Wow! When I got home, my roommate asked how the first night went and I broke into tears. Was I romanticizing living in Haiti? Was I staying focused on God's glory? As I reflected on my calling and the last few weeks, my stories had a lot of "I" and "me" and not enough GOD. He's the real reason I want to go to Haiti. I want to make the name of Jesus famous in a land of voodoo, not to make my family proud or be the first to bring clean water or female education to a village.
Day two was even more eye-opening. We started the day out with singing praise a capella as natural sunlight filled the tiny room. It was really beautiful to hear 20 people sing to the God we were willing to go to the ends of the earth to serve. Our first session was on "the call" and if it was a real thing. I know I was called at the age of 15 to ministry so this was a challenging session. We talked about how EVERY Christian has a call to spread the good news (The Great Commission), but some are called for specific purposes/places. I have always struggled with how to answer the question, "how do you KNOW that you were called to missions and to Haiti of all places?" My answer of "I just know because the Lord told me" has always been met with strange looks. haha But this conference provided a fabulous response: "Like a stone in their shoe, it is ever on their minds no matter where they go or what they do." PERFECTION!
Throughout the day, we talked about church connections, the role of an agency, what it means to make disciples and how to choose an agency. My favorite part of the day was the time with mentors where everyone could ask questions and talk openly about their desires and concerns. This is when Denny and I huddled up and spoke more about Haitian life, food and service. He was so excited to share his experiences and I was eager to learn all I could. After searching endlessly for Haitians in the Dallas area, I had found two within two weeks and Denny told me of a group of eight that attend the seminary. Wow!
In our last session, the speaker spoke about our challenge as Christians and international workers. He flashed different products from all over the world on the screen. Some were unrecognizable because they were just in one or two countries, but then a Coke bottle popped up on the screen. Of course everyone knew that product. Did you know that 94% of the world has access to Coca Cola? Yes, even the areas where water is unavailable or in tribal villages. Did you know there are also 2.9 billion people who have NEVER heard the name of Jesus and the Gospel? Coca Cola has gotten something right that Christianity hasn't: universal availability. It made me sick to my stomach to hear that. The conference finished up with the challenge to die to self every day and to make the Gospel known across all nations.
The weekend was very filling and convicting. It ended with me proclaiming my next steps of talking with an elder from Watermark about my decision, learning Creole from the people I have met and researching agencies that send to Haiti. I also have a new accountability partner in Denny and he is excited to walk through this process with me. If you would also like to walk through this process with me, continue to check this blog for updates and you can personally contribute to this process here:
This is the Go Fund Me page where I am raising funds to go on a trip to Haiti in June. Thanks for reading and for your support!!
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