Crosspoint joined together with Luke and Pam Brochu, founders of Haitian Ministries for its annual church mission trip. With just a duffel bag each weighing in at less than 35 pounds this team headed out of Bangor, Maine on December 29, 2014. Some team members were on their first mission trip outside of the USA.
We had eleven “Mainers” seven females, four males. We had strengths in child evangelism, pastoral studies, and medical. Some important ingredients noticed in the team were flexibility, the ability to laugh, vulnerability, and a desire to serve God in whatever capacity He put before a team member on any given day.
The Pastor’s in Haiti are thirsty for good, solid spiritual teaching. Pastor Mick delivered a two day pastoral conference for Pastors throughout Haiti. Not only did this opportunity fill their spiritual hunger but also they were able to physically fill their bellies. With the money donated by BBC the pastor’s conference was completely funded and provided two solid meals for each pastor both days! We heard from more than one pastor on separate accounts on how God used the conference to lift them up from the depths of despair and encourage their hearts not only on a pastoral level but on a very personal level. They were going to use the material learned from the conference in their own churches.
We also witnessed team members stepping out of their comfort zones, and we also saw God take our words and use them to touch hearts and lives. The team was able to practice and perform a powerful skit at the conference on the condition of a person’s heart and Pastor Steve Keib and Gabby were able to minister in music to these wonderful men and women of God.
Pam and Luke Brochu do an amazing job establishing relationships in Haiti with pastors and also through their Haitian field director Max. While Pam and Luke are in the states Max is building relationships in villages throughout Haiti bringing the good news of Christ, along with medical treatment & counsel as needed. It is because of these relationships and Haitian Ministries that we are able to bring a short- term missions team into Haiti.
Many days, the team would drive into a community and immediately an impromptu clinic would be set up with our very own Dr. Sarah Stewart. While her assistant (student) Tory Rollins did triage, Dr. Stewart would assess skin infections, rashes, mal-nutrition, etc. We were able to provide individualized care and in some villages our doctor made house calls. While the medical staff was providing medical care, our child evangelism team was put into action!
To create less chaos around the medical and triage, Pastor Steve and his team with Kevin & Lisa would gather the children and begin a vacation bible school that would include songs, a Bible story, games and candy!! While, the children were being taken care of with the love and attention that they so much desire, Gabby, Kathy and Alison would head out into the village with an interpreter and visit from home to home. This was to bring encouragement to the ladies of the community. They brought them a gift of soap and a wash cloth and talked with them about Jesus. Many of these ladies were believers but they are living difficult lives. They were very encouraged that we were there, and taking time to get to know them by writing their names and prayer requests and joining hands in prayer with them. We also met many who did not have a personal relationship with Christ and it was here that we would take the time to plant the seeds and tell them how much they are loved by their Creator. We also had the greatest blessing of leading three women to the Lord during this time.
This is an account of one of those very touching visits:
“Hello, Is the mother of the house home?” My interpreter asks ... The response was yes and as we approached the two room hut literally on the side of a mountain, in a village named Cabasa, above the city of Cap Haitian, we could immediately sense the heaviness of this mom’s heart.
As we talked through our interpreter, we complimented the mom on her sweet home as there were still streamers hanging in the form of tissue paper in celebration of the New Year. In Haiti, New Year’s Day is the day that they celebrate their independence from the French. As we talked, we asked this young woman if she knew Jesus? She stated she knew of Jesus and about Jesus but she had never made the decision to have a personal relationship with him. As we talked and got to know each other I asked if there were any prayer needs that she had that I could pray for her about. She looked at us with tears in her eyes and said yes; please pray for me that I can find the strength to carry on. My baby (2yrs) died last month and my heart is broken. I have 3 other children and a husband to care for but, I am so sad for my loss. In that moment we asked if she would like to make today the day that she asked Jesus into her heart and life. She said, “Yes!”
We will never know on this side of heaven how many lives in Haiti were touched by the loving actions from each and every team member. But we know for sure of eleven lives that were impacted and changed forever because God took those 11 ingredients and mixed them with His Holy Spirit and great and mighty things happened. The team was changed more than the people of Haiti.