I Got Sick in Haiti But You Should Still Go

I was accidentally prophetic. In February I wrote a post called Zika and Haiti and Why You Should Still Go:

This is the great advantage of working with the local church in Haiti through Praying Pelican Missions. You will be the guest of local ministry leaders, people who are living with zika every day, who will go above and beyond to make sure that every detail of the trip is well thought out and safe for you. This extends far beyond mosquitos! Where you sleep, what you eat and drink, where we travel… all of these things are done in a way that manages the risk for you.

There’s no guarantee that you won’t get sick.

And you know what? I got sick with Zika [or something just like it.] I started feeling ill on my flight from Miami to San Diego last Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning I was feeling very sick. And by Wednesday afternoon I was so sick and delirious that Kristen made me go to Urgent Care. From there I spent Wednesday through Sunday recovering to the point I am now.

Did I have Zika? Was it something else? What was it? The truth is we’ll never know for certain because I wasn’t tested for anything because I’m not high risk for complications, only pregnant women are. I had most of the symptoms of it but among my symptoms are a bunch of other possibilities, all with the same treatment of rest and hydration. Frankly it doesn’t matter!

Getting Sick Isn’t the Point

Going is the Point.

You could get sick with the flu at home. You could get food poisoning on a cruise. There will be places in the United States to contract Zika (or worse) soon enough. The simple fact is, for me, that getting sick on a mission trip bears no consideration from future involvement. I wasn’t thrilled with being sick, I certainly don’t recommend it as a way to lose weight, but all-in-all I’d rather go in obedience than accept the risks of disobedience.

We don’t do missions because we want to see the world or try new foods or experience new cultures or take risks.

We do missions work because God sends us to be His hands and feet.

About that Trip

17 ministers from 15 North American ministries spent last weekend visiting with church leaders in Southern Haiti.

Together we explored the possibility of ministry partnerships that may manifest itself as a short-term mission trip or even deeper, like a church-to-church partnership that conjoins two sister churches to walk together in common purpose, we even saw one team member returning feeling a call to begin a non-profit to help fund teachers in rural schools where teachers regularly work without payment of any kind. (The going wage for a professional, certified teacher is $125/month!)

The headline to this story isn’t that I got sick.

The headline is: