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 Greg, our February team leader, to share some reflections from the trip.

The team we took in February was on the larger side in terms of numbers. When it comes to logistics on a building trip, it’s always helpful to have more hands on deck. Construction work goes faster when more people are making it happen. It was encouraging to see how much was accomplished—you can read more about the specific projects in our March Ministry News update.

Part of the prep before the trip involved sharing about what our kids have been through. Knowing about suffering and seeing it firsthand are two completely different things. That’s been the case on every trip, and it was certainly true for our February volunteers. One of our volunteers was from India, so he’s seen suffering up close. What surprised him, though, was the joy of these children—that they’ve been through the worst, and yet they’re the happiest children he’s ever seen (and he has four of his own). If you’ve never been in bondage, it’s hard to appreciate your freedom, and these kids appreciate the peace, safety, and love of God more because of everything He saved them from.

This trip was construction-driven, but the gospel is always our focus regardless of the trip agenda. As we serve the church in Haiti, we’re trying to strengthen our kids’ faith as well. We want to make sure they understand who Jesus is, and that they’re equipped to minister in their communities themselves. It’s been encouraging to see our kids begin to step into leadership roles at the compound and serve one another.

Instead of trying to see every trip accomplish every facet of ministry—construction, poverty relief, gospel proclamation, discipleship, ministry training—we approach these trips as part of a process. We’ve been ministering to the kids for so long now that they’re becoming an active part of the ministry. By thinking of ourselves as part of the process, we know we won’t see every piece of ministry accomplished in a week. But we will get to see part of it, and Lord willing, the work we do on these short trips will continue equipping our kids to eventually be the real agents of change in Haiti.

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