Off to Haiti

Tonight, I’m catching a flight that’ll have me back on the ground in Port-au-Prince, Haiti by Saturday morning.

For the next week I’ll be tagging along with three teams to a more remote area of Haiti than I’ve ever been, Les Cayes.

After arriving in Port-au-Prince in the morning I’ll spend a few hours at Good Shepherd Orphanage in Carrefour while the rest of the team arrives, then together we’ll take a bus about 5 hours across southern Haiti where we’ll be staying in tents on the grounds of EdenHaiti, a botanical garden run by Pastor Jean Delcy. (For those who went on the 2015 vision trip, you’ll remember that Jean Delcy spoke at our pastor dinner.)

Les Cayes and EdenHaiti are apparently gorgeous places. Les Cayes is one of the places where it’s hoped Western tourism will finally take root, bringing jobs and money to an otherwise agricultural and impoverished area.

Why I’m Going

• I am fascinated by, in love with, and want to be near what God is doing in the Haitian church. I first saw this action in February 2010 in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. I described it as stepping into God’s river of grace as He drew tens of thousands to Himself without the need of human planning. There wasn’t a scheduled revival that “worked.” As the local church served those in need, people experienced the Good News of Jesus as their physical needs were met, they gave their lives to Him.
• I’m excited to continue working with and supporting Praying Pelican Missions work in Haiti. Marko and I have each been on a number of trips with PPM and we love their simple yet deeply needed approach to international short-term missions in youth ministry. I’ll be on this trip as a kind of independent observer, a 3rd party storyteller. I’ll be taking pictures and writing about our team’s trip here on my blog.
• I’m going to learn from our Haitian brothers and sisters in the faith. It’s well documented that the American church is on the decline. Whereas, the Haitian church is rapidly growing. Why is this? What are the positives and negatives of this rapid growth? What are transferable principles? And what is God showing us when the poorest nation in our hemisphere is now itself sending mission teams out to places like Cuba and the United States? Those are questions I’m seeking an answer to.

Follow Along

I’ve heard that there is decent cell service in Les Cayes. But honestly, I’m not so sure.

I’ll be doing my very best to post updates here on the blog. But also feel free to follow my short-form storytelling on Twitter and Instagram.

Learn More

Want to learn more about Praying Pelican Missions’ work in Haiti or explore bringing a group? Fill out the form below.