One Afternoon . . . (Part One)
Last week we completed our first mission trip with a mission group in Haiti. Nineteen people (all full-time Life Teen missionaries) came to be our guinea pigs as we led them on mission for nine days. I was terrified that we wouldn't have it all together, that we would fall flat on our face, that we wouldn't have enough for them to do, or know enough of the language to be effective, but God provided for all of our weaknesses, and we experienced a beautiful mission trip together. We worked, painted, prayed, visited houses, played basketball & soccer, danced, went to prayer meetings, and hosted a procession and XLT that over 200 Haitian teenagers attended. Because I can't tell you everything, here are some stories and thoughts from one impactful afternoon that I experienced.
"I think they want me to go pray with their friend who is sick." I said to Fr. Louis as more than a few 10 - 15 year old Haitian girls began pulling my arms to get me to follow them. This was the beginning of a very complicated afternoon. My heart was about to be pulled in many different directions as we encountered different types of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. Luckily, a few other missionaries were with me, one of them being a nurse, but I was the one who spoke the most Creole.
First we went to Kimberley's house. She had been vomiting for five days, had been to the clinic to get medicine, but couldn't keep her medicine down because of her vomiting. In a mixture of French & Creole, we were able to talk with her mom and advise her to take her back to the clinic. Then we prayed with her. This was the beginning of praying with a few different people for physical healing. In the past, praying with people for such things has seemed so small to me. My attitude was, "Well we are missionaries, so we have to pray for them." Almost as if it was a stamp on the end of our trip, or just something that you check off on a home visit. Being in Haiti though, my ideas on this have changed. In Haiti, many people go to voodoo doctors when their kids are sick and aren't getting better. It is a "quick fix" for them, but has many ramifications spiritually as people invite other spirits that are not God to heal them and to be a part of their lives. While I am still learning about this, we have already seen some of the effects that this can have on people, and I am convinced that it is not something to mess with, and definitely something that we need to be committed to keeping Haitians away from.
The beautiful thing about Haitians is that they are very spiritual. Someone recently said that there is no such thing as atheism in Haiti. They all believe in God, but there is a question of whether or not they will stop cooking on sundays in order to go to Mass. Is God important enough to pause your day for? (This is something many people struggle with in America as well.) In Haiti, believing that there is a God is cultural. When you ask a Haitian to do something for you the next day, they will often reply, "Si Bondye vle." Which means, "If God wants." However this cultural spirituality can cause problems if it is not directed in the right way. It is beautiful that Haitians are looking for something bigger than themselves to fix problems. I believe it represents something in our human hearts that knows deep down that there is a God, and that we are only human. However, what I have realized is that it demands that we, as Christians, are really able to bring them Christ and not just ourselves. My faith in God has to be strengthened. Do I really believe that God can heal Kimberley? Do I really believe that my God wants to heal her, because He is good, because He is Father? Do I believe it enough for this family so that they will not take her to a voodoo doctor as well?
I was very thankful that day that Kimberley's friends had trusted me enough to bring me to her house to pray for her. But I also recognized the huge responsibility that this gives us as missionaries, to pray boldly with faith. Most of all though, it is our responsibility to teach people here about God and His love. God may sometimes heal our sickness, but sometimes He may also allow us to suffer. The important thing to remember is that His love for us is constant whether we are sick or not. Some of the greatest saints have suffered from sickness, and used it to pray and unite their sufferings to Christ's. Our own savior suffered and died for us, and so we cannot look to God for a "quick fix". He is our Lover and Savior, and Father. And yes, he is our Healer. But it is our responsibility that we seek the Healer, that we seek out Jesus, and not just the healing that He offers. When we truly love God and have a relationship with Him, it does not matter if we are sick. What matters is that He is with us.
"I think they want me to go pray with their friend who is sick." I said to Fr. Louis as more than a few 10 - 15 year old Haitian girls began pulling my arms to get me to follow them. This was the beginning of a very complicated afternoon. My heart was about to be pulled in many different directions as we encountered different types of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. Luckily, a few other missionaries were with me, one of them being a nurse, but I was the one who spoke the most Creole.
First we went to Kimberley's house. She had been vomiting for five days, had been to the clinic to get medicine, but couldn't keep her medicine down because of her vomiting. In a mixture of French & Creole, we were able to talk with her mom and advise her to take her back to the clinic. Then we prayed with her. This was the beginning of praying with a few different people for physical healing. In the past, praying with people for such things has seemed so small to me. My attitude was, "Well we are missionaries, so we have to pray for them." Almost as if it was a stamp on the end of our trip, or just something that you check off on a home visit. Being in Haiti though, my ideas on this have changed. In Haiti, many people go to voodoo doctors when their kids are sick and aren't getting better. It is a "quick fix" for them, but has many ramifications spiritually as people invite other spirits that are not God to heal them and to be a part of their lives. While I am still learning about this, we have already seen some of the effects that this can have on people, and I am convinced that it is not something to mess with, and definitely something that we need to be committed to keeping Haitians away from.
The beautiful thing about Haitians is that they are very spiritual. Someone recently said that there is no such thing as atheism in Haiti. They all believe in God, but there is a question of whether or not they will stop cooking on sundays in order to go to Mass. Is God important enough to pause your day for? (This is something many people struggle with in America as well.) In Haiti, believing that there is a God is cultural. When you ask a Haitian to do something for you the next day, they will often reply, "Si Bondye vle." Which means, "If God wants." However this cultural spirituality can cause problems if it is not directed in the right way. It is beautiful that Haitians are looking for something bigger than themselves to fix problems. I believe it represents something in our human hearts that knows deep down that there is a God, and that we are only human. However, what I have realized is that it demands that we, as Christians, are really able to bring them Christ and not just ourselves. My faith in God has to be strengthened. Do I really believe that God can heal Kimberley? Do I really believe that my God wants to heal her, because He is good, because He is Father? Do I believe it enough for this family so that they will not take her to a voodoo doctor as well?
I was very thankful that day that Kimberley's friends had trusted me enough to bring me to her house to pray for her. But I also recognized the huge responsibility that this gives us as missionaries, to pray boldly with faith. Most of all though, it is our responsibility to teach people here about God and His love. God may sometimes heal our sickness, but sometimes He may also allow us to suffer. The important thing to remember is that His love for us is constant whether we are sick or not. Some of the greatest saints have suffered from sickness, and used it to pray and unite their sufferings to Christ's. Our own savior suffered and died for us, and so we cannot look to God for a "quick fix". He is our Lover and Savior, and Father. And yes, he is our Healer. But it is our responsibility that we seek the Healer, that we seek out Jesus, and not just the healing that He offers. When we truly love God and have a relationship with Him, it does not matter if we are sick. What matters is that He is with us.
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