It’ll Change Your Life

On Saturday, June 30th, I came back from my very first missions trip to Haiti.  Yesterday, I came home to my family.  There is so much that happened on this trip that I want people to understand, but I know you won’t.  It’s just one of those things that you can’t understand until you experience it yourself.

I can tell you about this experience I had, but you won’t feel it in your heart until you experience for yourself.  Does that make sense?  I hope so.

First, let me reflect on my two goals from last week before I left.  The first one was that I would grow closer to God.  That has been realized more than you can know.  I appreciate God’s beauty in nature so much more now!  While we were in Haiti, the team and I observed a media fast.  I had limited WiFi, so I left my phone in airplane mode pretty much the whole time.  I never looked at my emails, Facebook messages, listened to my music, or anything the entire trip (and I couldn’t get texts or Whatsapp) except once.  I had to email my parents on the second day so they knew I survived the plane ride 😉

That media fast allowed me to unplug and be more connected with God in such a different way.  Now that I’ve done it once, I need to figure out a way to do it more often.  It’s so cleansing and it brought me so much closer to the Lord.

In addition to the media fast, God used the people and children of Haiti to teach me more about His everlasting love.  We got to visit an orphanage in Haiti for three days, and those little children stole my heart.  I understand, now more than ever, what it means to love people no matter what.  They are so innocent and loving.  And the people we interacted with at the hotel we stayed at were so very nice.  It became second nature to greet every single person I saw with a smile – even when I got back to the states (where most people thought it was weird that I would randomly smile at them XD).

As for the second goal, making a difference in the lives of the people there, I’m not going to take my word for it.  The translators we were blessed to have with us the entire time said I did, but I think the children made more a difference in my life than I did in theirs.  I definitely left a piece of my heart in Haiti, and I am for sure going back some day.

Not only was it amazing to experience a different culture (this was my first time out of the country), but I gained a much greater appreciation for what we have here in the states.  I mean, the orphans we visited sleep in these dingy little shacks and they eat once or twice a day.  We live in solid airconditioned homes where the rain doesn’t hit us and we are protected from danger, and we eat whenever we want.  At night, those kids sometimes go to bed hungry whereas we watch Netflix on our couches, eating because it’s fun to eat while you watch something.  We are so quick to become bored, but these children would play the same game for HOURS if you’d let them.  It makes you wonder, what did we do to our kids that they get so bored so easily?  When you were two, a cardboard box satisfied you for hours.  What happened?  I guess my point is, I have a much bigger perspective of what matters in life now.  I always thought I had this perspective, but after this trip, I realize that I really didn’t.

If I tried to tell you everything I saw and experienced on this trip, it would probably take me 100 times as long, so I will just point out a few things that touched my heart.  First, I saw children eating food from Feed My Starving Children the first night.  But get this – that particular food was shipped from a FMSC in Minnesota.  That touched my heart to the core because I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been to FMSC in Minnesota to pack food.  Next time I go there, I will have a much greater appreciation for what we’re doing!  Second, there was a point during the first trip to the orphanage that I started singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” to a few of the kids.  I wasn’t sure if they even knew the song at first, but then they started singing it to me in their own language!  They recognized the tune and knew what I was singing – it was a magical moment.  I will never forget saying goodbye to the kids either…I didn’t expect to, but I cried.  It was so heart-wrenching!

Last, but not least, I want to remember Kerby and Dom (our amazing translators) for the wonderful job they did and for running an orphanage of their own.  The next time I go to Haiti (and bring a bunch of ya’ll with me ;)), I want to go their orphanage (hopefully by that time, they will be registered and eligible for Convey of Hope to go in and help them!).  ALSO – I want to thank Rocky (Chris Swanson’s good friend from Haiti) for keeping us completely safe the entire time.

If you have never been on a missions trip before, go.  Don’t lie to yourself and say it’s not a good time right now.  If God presents an opportunity for you to go to another country and serve, it’s the right time.  I was indifferent about this trip before, and the enemy almost stopped me from going.  Thank God I didn’t listen.  It truly was a life-changing experience!

I understand that many of you won’t understand that.  That’s okay.  Someday, when you go on a trip like this of your own, you will.

 

God bless,

Hope Frances