its a transformed heart, that
transforms lives, that transforms villages,
that transforms nations
Our
vision statement at Mission of Hope is that as an organization following Jesus
Christ, we exist and seek to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and
child in Haiti.
Life
transformation. I think before my internship in the fall, and throughout the
beginning of my time here, I would have told you that Haiti needs a lot of
money. That money is the solution to this poverty. As I began vision casting to
my teams, living life with people who believed that vision without a doubt,
and spent more time here, that view began to change.
I can
truly say now without a doubt that I believe that the way to change this third
world country is the Gospel. It is. Because it's a transformed heart that is
going to transform this nation. Resources help, but without the Gospel we're
missing it. We're missing it. If we have well-fed, educated students walking
around, sure they would be more successful, but where's the eternal
impact there? If we want to truly love this nation and these people, then we
need to care more about them having eternal victory in Jesus.
At
MOH one of our core resolutions is "Evangelistic Saturation;" that in
everything we do we want the Gospel to be heard, seen, and felt. So that
includes the medical clinic, the schools, painting houses, spending time
in the villages, the food program, everything we do! Education is one of
many vehicles that we use to share the Gospel in Haiti; a way MOH seeks to
bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti. Each child
in our schools is receiving a Christ-centered worldview education. That child
is learning about Jesus, and is able to take that back home with them and their
family. We are using education to advance the Gospel. By
sponsoring a child, making an individual investment in one child, you can
help change this nation from wherever you are right now. We believe that this
nation will be changed one child at a time!
If
you have read the guest post about God pairing sponsors and
students you'll remember that only the Lord knew that the sponsor and
the student had similar life experiences and hurts that the sponsor could use
to bring hope to the student. That sponsor didn't know anything about the
student when she picked her out; only the Lord could arrange such a heart
connection. Imagine how the Lord could use you in a student's life, to come
along side them and tell them you believe in them, encourage them, partner with
them to let their dreams for their lives become a reality, and most of all that
they would hear about the love of Jesus and so be eternally impacted.
I'll
leave you with a story from last week.
I'm
visiting one of our schools in Turpin with one of our Haitian
Child Sponsorship staff members. We're waiting on some of the students to
finish their letters and waiting on some to get back from break. As we're
waiting, I'm sitting in a conversation between two Haitians that have
both lived in mountain villages, have left and gotten an education,
and now live in Port au Prince. One of the Haitians is Mr. Frenel, a member of
our Child Sponsorship staff. Mr. Frenel got so fired up about the importance of
returning to the mountain to help. "Don't forget where you came
from," he said to the young teacher he had just met. "Go back and
share that knowledge that you've gotten or else nothing will change." He
talked about selfish ambitions and how those hinder change. How it's not
about having a car or nice house. "If you have a student living
beside you that needs to go to school, give them money to go to school. Food if
they need it." The kids that smoke weed near Mr. Frenel's house he says
are his responsibility. Mr. Frenel spoke with such passion. Such boldness in
encouraging someone that he had just met. This guy he was talking to
is a teacher at a school in the mountains and travels over an hour each day,
each way, down an unpaved road. He's still in school. And Mr. Frenel is on
staff with the Sponsorship program. He takes any chance he can to
encourage teachers and students on things they should be doing daily like
personal hygiene, helping family and friends, and living a life of daily
prayer. The Lord is using these two men and many others to change this nation.
Join
me in praying for them. For Mr. Frenel and that teacher. For all
Haitians. They will change Haiti! Let's empower them. And provide them with the
resources they need to carry out the vision they have for their country. Would
you prayerfully consider sponsoring a child today?
Lastly,
I pray that all of the lists, the sponsor visits, the excel spreadsheets, the
gifts, letters, serve as a reminder, a gentle whisper from above that it's about transformed hearts.
It's about pointing them to Jesus knowing he's the only thing that can change
Haiti.
