Staying Behind

As you have probably already heard, God did amazing things through the May medical team last week. Although I am medically challenged, it was incredible to see this group of women beginning AWAKEN Haiti’s medical ministry and more importantly, making it a priority to glorify God in everything they did throughout the week. It was a team of huge and humble hearts that were eager to serve and they did just that. Seeing the amount of preparation and energy that this team poured into the people of Canaan and into the kids of Good Samaritan’s medical and spiritual needs was humbling and a huge encouragement. While it was a great week, it was also a somewhat confusing time for me. Throughout the week, I just felt like I was a part of this team. I traveled down with them and they all treated me as if I was a team member. I had to keep reminding myself day in and day out that I was going to be here for three months and that I wasn’t getting on the plane with them Saturday afternoon. As many times as I told myself this, it never really sunk in. Then it was time to say goodbye.

After an intense shopping experience at the Haitian market on the way to the airport, it was time for the team to go. After many hugs and goodbyes, it finally hit me. As we rode back to the guesthouse in an almost empty team truck that had fourteen women piled into it just minutes before, my heart sank deep into my chest. The previous night, Jeff had talked about the two extremes that his family experiences every time a team comes and leaves. The first extreme is when the team is here and it is non-stop energy and fellowship until the minute they leave. When there are over fifteen individuals coming together as team to serve, there is adrenaline filling up each person and the group as a whole. Then the inevitable happens. The team (most times reluctantly) goes home and the guesthouse is left empty. The energy and adrenaline is gone just like that and you are left feeling completely drained and tired. For me personally, this is the time when Satan attacks. I began to doubt why I am in Haiti for three months, because in that moment three months felt like eternity. I began to feel homesick. I began to feel lonely. I began to feel beyond discouraged. I was trying to talk myself out of God’s plan for my life this summer. Then I was taken back to my first trip to Haiti. I remembered the ride in an old, hot, dusty, bumpy, motion-sickness-prone truck where God met me and told me, “This is your home, Drew.” So far, this week has been filled with challenges and uncertainties and since it is Haiti, I know there will be plenty more throughout the next three months. But despite these obstacles, there is no greater feeling than living out God’s calling in my life. This will not be easy by any stretch and that can easily be overwhelming and defeating, but I find my peace in knowing and constantly being reassured that this is His plan for me. He is my Stronghold and my Protector.

Bondye se fidèl. – God is faithful.

-Drew, AWAKEN Haiti summer intern