Acts 20:24 However, I consider my
life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the
task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the good news of
God's grace.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always to the very end of the age.”
Both of these verses from the Bible
represent my drive and passion for missions work. Fortunately, I have been
blessed to go on mission trips to Boston Massachusetts, Santarém Brazil and my
latest trip Port-au-Prince Haiti.
It all happened so fast that it
could only be explained by Gods amazing grace. I had been praying about where I
wanted my life to go and how I could incorporate a career that I loved
(teaching) and my passion (missions work). Then one day my former youth leader,
Ashley, messaged me about an opportunity of a lifetime. A family (The Munafo's)
was in the need of a babysitter who also loves missions work who was willing to
go to Haiti with their family for 35 days. Without even meeting the family I
called Emilee (the mother) and told her I would do it, she was so excited and
said she would call me back. Now the hard part, telling my parents. I sent them
a text telling them I needed to talk to them and since the last time I said
that was a week earlier when I told them I had changed careers, they were a
little nervous. I told them about this amazing once-in-a-life- time chance and
how I couldn't pass it up. They were not thrilled to say the least but the next
morning they called me back with their answer: Yes. I was ecstatic! I called
Emilee and told her the news, the next day I got the email conformation that my
plane tickets had been purchased. And in 5 short weeks I was off to Haiti!
If I wrote about my whole experience while there it would be a book so I
am just going to highlight some of the major events. First off, I had the
privilege of meeting the Fudge family: Brent, Anna and their children Samantha,
Kistern and Cody. They work with Back-2-Back (B2B) and are full time
missionaries in Haiti, this is the family we stayed with. Next I got to meet
the staff: Wadson, JD, Jimmy, Fritz and Steven. They have various jobs and are
all Haitian employees of B2B. Then there were the interns, Anna and Allie. I
could write a whole chapter in a book about the amazing time I had with theses
girls and how they impacted my life and even though all of theses people
changed my life for the better there is one person who will always hold a
special place in my heart, Monestime. I will talk more about him later.
While in Haiti my main job was
babysitting two great kids Peyton and Michael but, I did however get the chance
to work with the teams that were visiting and the two children's homes that B2B
help. With the teams I went to Cité Soleil to help with a Vacation Bible School
and to help improve the school in the center of the city. At one of the homes
is where I met Monestime. He is 10 years old and absolutely adorable. The first
time I went to visit he held my hand right away and didn't let go. We played
football, soccer and frisbee together, colored with chalk and played with play
dough. Even though we couldn't talk to one another it did not matter, we bonded
instantly. My favorite days were the ones I got the chance to go see Monestime
again. I grew so close with everyone I had the blessing of meeting but sadly my
time in Haiti was over. The 35 days flew by in a blink of an eye. I was so
blessed during my time there but I think anyone who has gone on missions trips
would agree with me that the people we serve change our lives more than we
change theirs.
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