” But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.” – 1 Timothy 6: 11-12 –
We had such an awesome time at the Mango Tree Church! These kids were such a blessing.
It has nearly been 2 1/2 weeks since we have returned to the states and Haiti has been on my mind all day, everyday. The things that we had the honor of doing, seeing, and experiencing while out there have changed my life.
Even though Haiti is nothing like Los Angeles in the physical, there is definitely one thing that we have in common: we are all broken and in need of a Savior. The prayer that I had going to Haiti and throughout the trip was that God would put a deep love in my heart for the people and that He would open my eyes to see things the way He does.
Almost everywhere we went, the kids were so loving and affectionate. I couldn’t help myself but fall in love with each and every one of them! The joy that you see in their eyes and the purity in their smiles was so beautiful. They just wanted to be hugged, to be loved, to show that we desired to be with them. And I was reminded of Matthew 18: 4-5 ” Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” Each and every one of those children is deeply loved by our Father and who are we to deny them of that love?
One thing that really caught my attention while evangelizing out in the tent cities was that most of the people were very receptive and willing to listen. That was beyond encouraging for me to see! It also definitely was a reality check. Here are these people who live in tents, their surroundings are filthy, there is no running water, most of them probably don’t get 3 square meals a day, who knows what medical issues half of them have, and then there’s me; a city girl, who has a home in a clean suburb, has running water, who eats 3 square meals a day plus snacks. Basically, the point that I’m trying to make is that I realized how good of a life I live yet it is so hard for me to give Christ everything. I saw the Haitians and despite their living conditions, they still held on to that hope that is found through salvation in Christ.
Another highlight of the trip was when we had the opportunity to pray for rain. We were praying and praying for 3 days, and finally on the third day, The Lord sent rain! Man, that left me in awe of the power of our God! What a blessing that was to be able to experience that. I know my thoughts seem all over the place, because they are. Truth is, this short summary of our trip hasn’t even scratched the surface of all the AMAZING things that the Lord did.
So I’ll close with this, to say that our trip to Haiti was life changing would be an understatement. The Lord definitely broke me, bent me, stretched me, and left me with a burning love and deep longing for the people of Haiti. I hope and pray that The Lord would open doors that lead me back to Haiti. Thank you to everyone at the Bible Training Center for opening up your home to us. I have been so blessed by our fellowship together. I pray that the Lord would continue to use you all greatly in your ministries! I hope to see you all soon:)
Your Sister in Christ,
Jordan De Fiesta
Calvary Chapel Bible College
