My First Experience in Haiti

The following is a guest post by a student in our ministry, Lacey Olson, who recently went on her first missions trip to Haiti. We hope it encourages you to take a step of faith and help those in need. Make sure you check out Harvest Missions and Relief Corps for upcoming trips and for more information!

“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45). 

Everywhere you turn, there is a hand stretched out waiting to be held. Children naked waiting to be clothed. People starving and dehydrated. The number one thing kids ask for in Haiti is water, the second is for your attention. During my time in Haiti, I spent a lot of time at the orphanage.  The first day stepping into the orphanage every eye was on us, in less than 20 minutes every hand was on us. Even though the kids and I didn’t completely understand each other’s language, we understood we loved each other and knew how to show it. There are kids who will stick with you for a good while, then go onto another person, but there are those who really warm up to you and stay by your side until it’s time for you to leave.

For me, that was one of the hardest parts about leaving Haiti.  I didn’t want to be someone who just comes and goes and forgets about them. Someone who allows them to open up to me, grow a love for me, then I just leave and disappear from their lives. So when it was time to finally say goodbye it felt just like that—it was an emotional time for me and the kids. I remember crying with them but telling them this isn’t the end. Instead of me being mad about leaving them, I started thanking God for allowing them to be a part of my life, and putting a place for them in my heart. Saying that final goodbye took place on a Saturday, because we were supposed to be home Sunday morning. By God’s amazing grace, there was a snowstorm where we were planning to fly to and all flights got canceled. We were blessed with two more days in Haiti. Of course we spent the next day at the orphanage. The kids were shocked but so happy to see us again. I was nervous at first to go because saying goodbye the first time was already hard on all of us, I couldn’t imagine the second goodbye. But, God had a plan and worked it out by allowing that final goodbye to be much better than the first. Also I knew I had to go again, because being blessed one extra day is better than not seeing them again. During the time in Haiti God blessed me with such an amazing team, that I will always remember. Before leaving Haiti, I was sad, but as well I knew it was only the beginning. The beginning for my friendships with the people I met in Haiti, along with the team God placed me with. Even if I may never see them in this lifetime again, I know one day I will see them in Heaven and spend it with them for all eternity.

Since coming home from Haiti, God has been showing me that He has placed me where I am for a reason. Your mission is where you live—who you live with, and who you live around. For me it was easier to be in Haiti and joyfully volunteer to clean, do dishes, and be nice to everyone I saw and came in contact with, along with serving those in the same house as me, than to be that way at home. Some of us don’t realize that we are in the mission field already, and that is where God has placed us! The way we act when on a missions trip, that’s the way we need to be right here in our own home!

Thank you for taking your time to read about my first experience in Haiti. I hope this has ministered to you in whatever way God has intended. I also hope to someday read your blog on your first experience in the mission field!

God Bless,

Lacey Olson