In over 30 years of pastoral ministry I have done many mission trips, both in the United States and overseas. Hands down, our mission trip to the Hope Center in Thoman, Haiti, February 8-14, 2015, was the best ever.
I tried to speak personally and to pray with every individual who came through the medical/dental clinics. Twenty-two accepted Christ as their savior. Among the rest, over and over again I saw in their eyes the joy of the Lord.
“Do you know Jesus Christ as your savior,” I would ask through a translator?
“Oui! Amen,” many would answer with eyes alive with life from the Spirit.
“May I pray for you?”
“Oui! Amen.”
Their prayer requests – housing, feeding the family, jobs – the basics needed for living.
What a contrast to our lives: such a deep joy in the Lord, such deep needs for living.
We saw nearly 400 people in clinic, conducted VBS with several hundred children, and helped build a house. Why was this trip so much better than the others? As one member of our team commented, it was as if for a little while we were all in a bubble of pure submission to the will of God and serving others. We experienced a little bit of heaven in a place where there was no electricity, no running water, no sewage and no paved roads.
God was showing out.
Carl M. White
Pastor, Highland Baptist Church
Meridian, MS