Haiti: The Beginnings

Eight days of Spring Break 2012, I spent in Haiti.

The journey started back in February, when my Tacoma church, Puget Sound Christian Center, announced the missions trip to the congregation.  Ignite Campus Ministry at Pacific Lutheran University would be taking a group of Lutes to Haiti., led by Dan Donohoe.  They had a few spots open, if anyone else felt called to join them.

My Mom put my name on the list for an application.

It is true, I have felt called to go to Haiti for a year or two.  I had tried to go on several trips before, but God always closed those doors and pointed me in a different direction.  Torn between my Mom’s approval and God’s previous “no,” I sat down to discern if I ought to apply.  Immediately, God directed me to Isaiah 61:1-4.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
A planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

Without a doubt, I knew God had called me to go to Haiti, a country of poor, despairing hearts, people who mourn, trapped in darkness.  I needed to go to Haiti and spread any gladness that I could muster.

“Gladness” hadn’t really been my strong suit.  Ever since my Grandma passed away last July, my default emotion has been anything but glad.  There have been laughs and smiles and pleasant memories, but mostly just sadness.  One of my most constant sources of love could only hug me if I wrapped myself tightly in the quilt she sewed, and that can never compare.  Even so, my Mom shared how this passage fit me too.  Perhaps God intended for me to fine a crown of beauty for my ashes while I worked in Haiti.  Confident in my call, I applied and prepared to leave.

The day before my first Haiti meeting I started to panic.  I would be missing two or three days of school, I had to get shots, I had to raise almost two thousand dollars in a little over a month, and I did not know any of the people I would be traveling with!  I asked God, “Are you sure about this?”  Then, one of the first things Dan said at the meeting, “Isaiah 61:1-4 is kind of our verse for the trip.”  My insides danced with glee. 

God most certainly called me to Haiti.

Two weeks later, at a team potluck, Lisa started singing Les Miserables.  I joined half the team in a rousing chorus of One Day More.

God most certainly called me to Haiti with these people.

I asked God how I should pay for the trip.  He told me I should contribute a specific amount out of pocket.  He has paid for nearly all of my school and still given me a job.  I could afford it. 

For two weeks I asked if he really meant it. Finally, I took the leap and paid the amount out of pocket.  By the end of the week, somebody offered to cover all of the rest of my costs.

God most certainly had everything under control.

March 22^nd rolled around and, despite feeling utterly convinced I would catch a tropical disease and die, be bitten by an eighteen foot long venomous snake, or loose my left leg in a politically motivated pipe bomb explosion, I went to bed ready to go to Haiti.