Haiti July 23, 2013

Report by Katie Bishop

So far this mission trip has been life changing and filled with God’s grace! Today we went up to a church about 30 minutes away, and we put on VBS for them. Of course for me I love little children, so I played, sang, and shared with them how they are princes and princesses of Christ. We put on a skit called “Sin Chair,” and the message was awesome! It shows how we can get stuck in sin, but we can always get “unstuck” if we turn to Christ and repent. The children made crafts and played outside, and it was heart warming to see these precious people of God smiling and having so much fun. I definitely have to say being in the will of God is amazing. We finished up with VBS at the church by singing “Oh, Happy Day.” It was so cute – most kids didn’t know what to do, so they were staring at us and doing exactly what we did, kinda reminds me that we need to be the best examples we can be for these little ones watching us. Then we left in Gabriel and headed back to the mission house.

After we rested we were ready to go serve and share about the Lord more! We went to Daniel’s voodoo village and did VBS for them. A few of us found some babies, and the moms were so happy for us to hold them. We held them on the front porch of a hut as the rest of our group sang, did crafts, and performed a skit. The babies ended up falling asleep in our arms; we knew how thankful the moms were, because they are so young and they have to do so much, it was kind of a relief for them. We prayed for them that they would come to know the Lord someday, and that their children would know that an almighty God made them with his own hands. They had a blast, and I’m so glad that we got to share Jezi (Jesus) with them.

When we left the voodoo village we went down into what used to be a river bed but now is rocks, and we played soccer, jumped rope, and painted nails! The kids are huge on painting nails – even the boys want their nails painted, but of course we don’t paint theirs. Its crazy all the little things that can be a ministry opportunity. I always remember this verse, Acts 20:24: “But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” I decided to reach out to some teenage girls who are here sometimes; we found out one is not a Christian, and doesn’t want to make that decision. We talked to her for a little bit and, come to find out, one of our interpreters saw her later in the day and she told him how nice we are and that she couldn’t wait to come back and talk to me more about this Christian life, and know the reason I’m always smiling. It really made me think about how much you can have an impact on someone. I have to say, our group has been so unified – parents, you would be so proud of your kids if you saw them! Every person has shared so much love and compassion with so many children and people . . . so excited for the days to come!