As I sit on the balcony of the guest house in Port Au Prince, watching the sunrise on my final day here in Haiti I am in awe of God as I reflect on my missional journey this year.
I am in awe of the resilience in my brothers and sisters on this tiny island. This is so very inspiring to me. They continually make lemonade out of the lemons they have.
I am in awe of God’s hand on the Mission of Grace. They manage to do so very much with so very little. They do it sometimes in an unorthodox way but they get it done time and time again. So very often we foreigners, or as the Haitians call us “blancs”, have some wonderful ideas and suggestions how things SHOULD work. We can be quick to bring our ideas and mindsets into another country and try to impose them upon others. I have no doubt, things could operate differently at the Mission of Grace but the real question is which blancs are going to invest the time and energy to see these changes fully implemented? Most will not!
With a long-term/permanent mission staff of five to seven, and 60+ employees, Mission of Grace pulls off miracles on a regular basis. Most of these missionaries are non-Haitians who have sacrificed everything to answer God’s call to serve Him on the mission field. Most of the employees of the mission would not have a regular job if it wasn’t the mission.
As I have shared before, the mission is comprised of: Children of Grace (orphanage), Teen girl’s home, elderly home, Men of Grace (young men’s home), Grace Community Church, Grace School, community clinic, soup kitchen…all supported through generous donations. They do not charge tuition for school, nor do they require patients who visit the clinic to see a doctor or receive medicine to pay one HTG (Haitian currency). Through these ministries, they care for and have custody over more than 140 individuals, ranging in age from 11 months to 80 years old. They provide food, shelter, clothing, personal care items and medical care for each of their charges. And, if an illness cannot be treated at the local clinic, the mission will pay the cost of treatment wherever it happens. Likewise, they will go to great lengths to educate the children. Currently, Grace School goes to the 8th grade. MoG will pay the tuition for students who are at a higher level at nearby schools. And there are at least 3 students who are attending college at MoG’s expense.
Finally, I am in awe of where God is leading me. Honestly, when I said “yes” to serve Him on the mission field in 2012, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. To tell the truth I still don’t know the full extent of it, I only know that I am along for the full ride.
If you are interested in participating in a future mission please let me know. Also, if you would like to contribute directly to the Mission of Grace in the form of school sponsorship, orphan or elderly sponsorship, construction/building projects, or their general fund please let me know…the investment pays great(er) dividends.
I close out this year’s blog with words from the Mission of Grace about my visit:
“The Mission of Grace often has to say goodbye and it is something one must get used to even if we are not happy in doing so. We are not happy to say goodbye to Mister Vernon Hammett who will always be a member of our family but was present in Carries as a family member for nearly seven weeks.
Since he first arrived in our little village three years ago, Mister Vernon has shown love and affected people in a way that few have. Not only is he tall, but he stands tall. Not only does he talk about God, he exudes godliness. Not only was he in attendance, he was a presence and a beacon of what a missionary can be.
A few of the kids at Children of Grace were brought to tears at Mister Vernon’s departure, and one said of him, ‘He is my papa,’ and there is no higher honor one can be given by an orphan than that title. The village is better off for having Mister Vernon having brought his Ministry of Presence to Carries and we happily sent him off with prayers and tidings of good fortunes wherever his feet take him. An invitation is always at his doorstep and hope that we will see him once again very soon. With heartfelt thanks, we pray that blessings will rain down on him and that he and his family will be protected by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:10“