One of the most practical ways we serve the church in Haiti is through short-term ministry trips. Teams from our US partner churches come to serve and encourage the church in Haiti in a variety of ways, and it’s always a refreshing time for those involved. Today, we asked Mark, one of the volunteers from our April team, to share some reflections from the trip.

On this trip, I was able to spend a good amount of time with the kids and better understand what their daily life looks like. They love spending time together, and you can tell they look up to Pastor Poyis. I was really struck by one of the boys, Rodanio—as a young man who could easily use circumstance to dictate how he goes about his life, it was encouraging to see him preach and shepherd other kids as a spiritual leader. I loved seeing how God is working in his heart. We were able to pray over him and encourage his next stage of personal growth as he continues to serve the Lord faithfully.

Our time in Haiti was eye opening as well as productive in terms of both spending time with the children and working on construction jobs. As far as the projects went, the only challenge we encountered was a shortage of supplies needed to complete the original goals. Other than not having the exact materials we needed, everything went smoothly. Everyone on the team was flexible, and the most important part of the trip was trying to make as big of impact as possible with our time there.

Connect 2 Ministries’ four principles of ministry—church-centered, God-centered, indigenous led, and compassionate relationships—involve meeting the Haitian community and the kids where they are, within the context of their environment, to show how God reveals Himself through all situations. God tells us to go to the ends of the earth, which means that all people from around the world need the truth revealed to them about who God is and what being in relation with Him looks like. Serving in Haiti has pushed my comfort level with what I am willing to do to complete God’s work on earth. It has also changed my perspective on my individual challenges in life as well as how I relate to God Himself.

For information about joining an outreach team, visit Support Us.