Our team was in Haiti from July 4 – July 12 and without a doubt all 18 [plus Sophia and the two interns] experienced God in ways that we have never experienced Him before! Please check out the video above that shows just how God took us through this amazing trip!
Instead of talking about this trip, I thought I would let THE TEAM tell you. So below are testimonials from some of our team members.
Psalm 91 Comes to Life: Psalm 91 was prayed over the True Life Haiti Team at the end of our church service prior to our departure. Following the presidential assassination, Sophia’s dad suggested that someone read Psalm 91 over the team. During out time in Haiti, I saw the truths of this psalm come to life.
The team chose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, and we rested in His sovereignty. In daily corporate prayer, the team continued to call to the Lord as “our refuge and Our God, in whom we trust”. In response, He saved us from perils, snares and sickness. He faithfully covered us with His protection and under His wings we found comfort and refuge. The team had unified quickly and remained likeminded. [imagine 20 women of all ages not only becoming, but also remaining likeminded! Additionally, Matt didn’t lose his mind in the middle of us all]. We were filled with peace and love for each other. We were not fearful during the day, nor at night. No harm overtook us. No disaster came near the mission house. I believe He commanded His angels concerning us, and they guarded us…. He safeguarded us as we acknowledged Him and glorified His name during the Bible camps in Lacajou and at the mission house in Ouanaminthe. We called on Him and He answered us. He was with us in times of trouble (a presidential assassination, and a parent’s death) and also kept us out of harm’s way (a pandemic, hurricane, border closings, and demonstrations). He delivered us home safely. He honored us with the ability to do His work in Haiti – joyfully, despite the circumstances surrounding us. ~ Allyn M.
Faithful God: 1.The unbelievable faith the people have.
2. How God over and over showed us that he has a plan and we are protected .
3. I saw how Pam And Allyn are so loved and respected by all the people and how much they have done and how much the ministry has done for that community.
4. How 18 people can come together through out all the changes and challenges and get so much done with so much love and care, with no issues .
5 . How all the young people gave so much of their time and love to the family and to the kids. The fact they want to go back over and over despite the conditions. Especially the family who lost their Dad. They were a huge inspiration of Faith to me. – Jeannie M. [first timer]
Ways God Worked While I Was In Haiti: An hour before the President was assassinated I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and I heard singing and screaming and drums outside, which I hadn’t heard at all before. This night was different from the previous two. I even told a friend like this is weird and I haven’t heard it before. I went to bed feeling unsettled. Turned out that an hour later the president was killed.
I was really struggling with the fact that the president might not know the Lord or had ever heard about Him. I even brought that exact question up in our small group prayer time. I was praying he was a Christian or at least had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. Everyone was saying, “I guess we will never know.” Then… the next day Rachel’s mom sent an article to Ms. Pam that said 5 days before the president was killed, he heard the Gospel. [The president’s motorcade went past a Calvary Chapel mission outpost in PAP. There was a truck that had gotten stuck so the motorcade had to stop. A Calvary Chapel pastor was able to share the gospel for 5 minutes with the president! His body guard then asked for a bible for the president. Right after the bible was given, the truck moved and the motorcade continued on!]
For my graduation speech I talked about how the Lord was teaching me to trust Him 100%. I talked about living in the moment and not worrying abt all the plans and details. How God could give me peace if I just gave Him my whole life. I talked about how it was a struggle for me but I was learning. Little did I know this exact topic would apply to my life a month later. In Haiti I had to truly live out what I talked about a month before. I had to truly trust God with everything that happened while I was there. Nothing went according to plans and generally I struggle with that. On my trip application I said that was my struggle area. God gave me so much peace while I was in Haiti. I gave everything over to Him and let Him take control and He gave me peace the whole trip. I surrendered everything and was able to enjoy my time there instead of worrying. It was almost like the Lord was saying you can talk all you want about truly trusting me and giving it all over but now I want you to actually do it. I want you to walk your talk. And I’m so glad that I was able to do this because it showed me how much the Lord protects and provides for us despite the most difficult circumstances. ~ Emma J. [first timer]
Top 5 God Moments: Feeling God’s presence when we were all praying at the table ~ The perfect timing of our trip and the assassination [if it was earlier we would not have been able to go (because of the hurricane), if he was killed later on in the trip, we would not have been able to leave]. ~ Pastor Codo (a pastor that my aunt knew) happened to be in the airport with us ~ Us not being able to sleep the night before the assassination ~ And making our layover flights in FL [after all the delays!] ~ Sam N.
My Top 4: Since this was my first time back, I found it heartwarming and almost emotional to see the same kids. I found so many familiar faces and many more new ones! I’m excited to watch them grow as I continue to go back.
From the first day, an older girl and I immediately had a connection. She played volleyball so well and loved when I played with her. I was attached to her, we could communicate without talking. She cried at the party and I hugged her and never have I felt so sad to be leaving.
After being back for a week, I’ve encountered so many conversations regarding the assassination. Most of them were concerned or in relief, but I kept saying I never felt unsafe. It’s hard to believe in a country like Haiti I could feel safe during a situation like that. It’s amazing to see how God works more so there than here.
I do have to say, Haitian time annoys me. When we didn’t leave when we were supposed to or plans changed completely I had a hard time enjoying myself. I like to be on time and have my day planned. The whole trip I realized that’s not what I should be concerned about. I didn’t want to miss anything, but if God wanted me to be somewhere I would be there. I wasn’t going to miss anything God already planned. I needed to enjoy what he gave me and relax. Our flights are a perfect example. I was doubting, but He knew we would make it. ~Heidi N.
Here are the ways I saw God at work in Haiti: Before the trip even started God was still working. The whole team tested negative for COVID. ~ At Bible Camp when we were signing “This little light of mine” and “Hallelujah!” I truly believe that I saw God working in the kids hearts and minds. ~ When the President was assassinated I saw God work amongst our team. Everyone stayed calm. We all trusted that God has a plan. ~ God continued to work even as we were leaving. If we had tried to leave a day later we probably would have gotten stuck. ~ Rachel C. [first timer]
Haiti – July 2021 If our trip had gone as originally planned, we would have had a 2 day youth camp. The teaching was going to be on “How to be a Godly citizen.” Since our key scripture was 1 Peter 3: 8 {Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind}, which in scripture is about suffering for doing good, in the teaching I had incorporated the story of Joseph and the element of suffering.. When going through suffering, we shouldn’t ask “Why God?” or “how long God”, but instead we should ask, “God, what are you forming in me in this season?”; How the amount of time in which Joseph was sold into slavery until he reunited with his brothers is about 22 years; & How when we go through suffering, we do not always see God’s purpose right away.
Suffering is not new to the Haitians; a famous Haitian proverb says “Beyond the mountains, more mountains” Over the past year, the Haitians had many mountains to climb. Increased food & fuel prices. Political unrest. Covid restrictions. There was a new mountain that happened during our trip – On our third full day, we have learned that the president was assassinated.
From that day forward our trip looked different. VBS at the mission house instead of at Aslan’s property. Cancelled beach trip for the children that graduated. Cancelled youth group. Doing the Grains for Grace feeding program from the mission house.
From the time that we heard the news, the first time we were able to leave the mission house and fully be able to doing something was to go to church. The significance of this really stood out to me – how in the midst of everything going on, you can clearly see that the believers in Haiti put Christ first.
Another thing that stood out to me while I was there was seeing a glimpse of Aslan Youth Ministries and Step of Faith’s future in Haiti. This was the first time that I was able to clearly see the next generation; how they are stepping up to be the “Godly citizens” in Lacajou. We were referring Lipinski as a “mini Joseph” – I remember him being one of the young children at VBS and it is so exciting to see him in the path to take over the ministry from his father one day!
The testimony of this trip is two-fold-
- Clearly seeing God through every detail of the trip (from the flight arrangements being made so “perfectly” as to navigate Hurricane Elsa, political unrest, and pandemic restrictions to the entire team being at peace and feeling so protected & still serving God whole heartily, even with all the changes of our trip!)
- Clearly seeing God at work in Haiti (from seeing the Haitian leadership and getting a glimpse of the future of the ministry in Haiti!) ~ Nicole F.
After the assassination, we all prayed that God would protect us and our Haitian friends. We believed that God would “because He is a good God”…. “But even if He doesn’t, He is STILL good!” ~ Tina A.
This is just a sampling of the many, many testimonies of God’s faithfulness! If you know anyone on the team, it would be a blessing to you, and to them, to spend time asking them more about their trip. Thank you for your prayers!