I went to Barahona last year with HMM and fell in love with the people there; I knew I would be going back soon. I have always wanted to go on a medical mission and was told a nurse was needed in Haiti for the August 2014 trip. I was scared to death to go to a place I had never gone and with a group where I didn’t know everyone, but after much prayer and overcoming some fears I agreed to go.
So, off to Haiti we went…in a tropical depression. I can’t say I was not nervous about my trip, but I felt the comfort of God and knew He was with me all the way. We stopped to spend the night at the compound in Barahona, and I was so delighted to see that Josie had made my favorite dessert from last summer (coconut pudding with cinnamon on top). It felt so good to be there and hear the children calling “Americanos!” It blessed me to see the smiles on the people’s faces and feel the love in their hearts – there I saw the love of Christ.
The next morning we took off for the Promised Land compound in the HMM trucks with the staff that would be there with us. The compound in Haiti is very nice; inside the walls is a church, a school and the clinic/bunkhouse where we stayed and worked. Our medical team was there to test the Sending70 medical records program and Dr. Patrick Singley has a wonderful testimony about how God led him to develop this program. The Haitian people seemed very appreciative of our group being there to provide medical treatment for them. The children amazed me with how well behaved they were while waiting hours to see the doctor. Hearing the patients’ stories and the trials of their everyday life brings many things into reality for me like just having food to provide for the family for the day, the death of people at such young ages and other family members raising their children, the children wanting so much to be able to go to school to learn and it not being a possibility at the time, and not being able to get your medications required for the medical problems they have like diabetes and HTN.
I was very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful team. With each team member, I could hear how God was working in his or her life — it was amazing to see how God works to bring His children together for His good. God created each of us to be His hands and feet and to show His love to our neighbors. Going to Haiti with HMM was awesome, and I truly saw the hand of God there, but my work doesn’t stop with this one mission trip. God has me living where I live and working where I work to bring Him glory. Each and every day we live on a mission field to show God’s love to others and to seek God to make sure we are in His will.
I would encourage anyone to go on mission with HMM. HMM is doing a mighty work in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We traveled to see some of the water wells that have been put in to provide clean water for the people for health and safety reasons. The schools are educating children so that maybe one day they will grow up and help make a positive difference in their country. Most importantly there are people there who love Christ and travel to different churches spreading His word and showing others His love. Through Christ, HMM has a wonderful vision of helping different communities in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We need to ask God if – and how – we are to be a part of what He has planned.
