Thursday morning my alarm went off at 2:30am. I opened my
eyes and thought, “It’s time to go back to Haiti.” My grandpa was in the
driveway at exactly 3:00am, as usually. He loaded up the truck as I took one
last look at my room before turning off the lights. Leaving my comfort zone is
never easy but the more I do it the less I think about it. He drives me to the
airport in the dark and we don’t say much. It’s too early and I have too much
on my mind. When he drops me off at the American Airlines terminal we say our
goodbyes. I hate airports. It's like I’m walking through some kind of limbo. I’m
in between one life and the other. Maybe it will get better once my husband can
travel with me. For now, it’s a lot of alone time and thinking.
This trip I thought about the future. I thought mostly about what my mission is. I
know that the ultimate goal is to win souls to Jesus, but how exactly do I want
to accomplish that? While I was home I spent time praying about this very
question, and with God’s help I think I found an answer.…
My mission in Haiti is
to strive everyday to understand and embody perfect love.
I want to love my husband. I want him to know that I believe
he can be and do anything he wants.
I want to love my son. I want him to have a home he can come
to where he feels accepted and comfortable. I want this house to be their
refuge.
I want to love the children in my programs. I want to love
them when they are sick and afraid. I want to love them when they lie and fight
amongst themselves. I want to love them with praise and discipline.
I want to love the widows. I want to show them the light of
Jesus when they are sitting in the darkness of abandoned buildings and back
alleys. I want to see them, not as
another victim of a corrupted culture, but as a sister in Christ.
I want to love the prisoners. I want to believe that they
are more than the sin that has overtaken their lives. I want to love them when
they make obscene gestures and roll their eyes at the message of the gospel. I
want to show them consistency with my love until they are forced to stop and
ask why.
Lastly, I want to love myself. I want to remember the
promises that were made to me by my Father. I’m not perfect and I can’t do it
all, but he is and he can. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. He takes
care of the heavy lifting all I have to do is love…..
This is my mission statement. I pray I will always strive
for this no matter where I find myself.
“If I could speak all the languages of the earth and of
angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret
plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move
mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I
have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I
didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
