During the 2018 mission trip, all of us were given reflection journals and each evening we had time allotted to reflect on the events and emotions of the day. This blog is a collection of those reflections from a few members of our group.
We hope that our words will open a window into our time in Haiti through which you can catch a glimpse of the all the beauty, hope, love, and joy we found there even in the most difficult of times.
Micah Buser's Reflection
My God has shown me a beautiful light. Through music, I feel freedom. In Haiti, I get a glimpse of it. I love this country. I can’t quite explain why, but I am in love with the lifestyle here.
I get to teach English tomorrow to the children, and I pray that God gives me the patience to do well. I am still unsure what I am going to do with my life, but I know Haiti will be in my future.
John 14:28 - “I am going away now, and I am coming back to you.” How fitting is that? It actually makes me emotional. My God is calling my name, and I must follow this call. I close my eyes, and Haiti is all I can see. My heart is in missions. I wish the world was like Haiti. You will never find a more beautiful place.
Ty Schumacher's Reflection
My first memory of Haiti is of a Haitian priest speaking during mass when I was about eight. He showed the congregation pictures and videos, explaining where the money they donated went and the various projects planned for the future of our sister parish. I immediately became fascinated with Haitian culture and life and vowed to someday travel to Haiti to serve. When that day arrived, thanks to High Hopes for Haiti, I was over the moon with joy.
During the trip, on the second day at camp, three girls were standing around shaking a frozen drink, trying to break it up. About four boys came up to them with a non-frozen drink. They proceeded to stand in a circle, pour a little bit of the non-frozen drink into the frozen drink, shake around the frozen drink to create some slush, then each would take a tiny sip of the slush, all sharing what they had.
A few days later we toured the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima and the children that lived there walked around with us. There were two little kids, probably about 4 or 5, and three bigger kids, ranging from 8 to 10. At one point the bigger kids stopped in front of me in the middle of the path. They then rotated shoes, because they only had two pairs of shoes between them. I watched this happen multiple times, so two people had shoes and one person did not at all times. Throughout this whole walk, there was no fighting over when shoes were exchanged, or who got what shoes. They had a system down that they all understood and liked.
My entire time in Haiti, but especially these moments, has taught me a very important lesson. No matter what you have or what you lack, share everything you have, just as Jesus would. He gave his life so that we could be saved, and the least we can do is give a little bit of everything we have, in hopes of making everyone else’s life just a little bit better.
Brooke Nixon's Reflection
It’s crazy here and incredibly eye opening – like everything sad you see that makes your heart break is then equally replaced by joy in seeing just how happy and carefree everyone is, especially the kids. Olivia and I taught English for the whole day! We focused on body parts, colors, and some animals. It was super fun and we got reallyyy good at charades. All the kids at camp now know “head, shoulders, knees, and toes” like the back of their hands.
It’s EXTREMELY hot. No air conditioning anywhere and only a few ceiling fans. And lots more I didn’t expect, like the music at night. I think I’ve heard “Despacito” pretty much on endless repeat. It’s hard to sleep and the heat makes everything more tiring, but I want to make the most of our time here. This year is going to be full of so many changes, and I want this to be grounding.
Even in the couple days we’ve been here the culture shock keeps me oscillating from gratitude to sadness. I’m excited to work on crafts tomorrow and to see the campers come back. They come early, stay late, and just want to play – with us, with each other, with rocks on the ground, anything. They’re creative and giving and full of so much joy. It’s sad to know a little bit more about what their circumstances truly look like but also makes the camp and school that much more important. I’m grateful to be here and know I’m here for a reason ... I just need to keep my eyes open and see what that is.
Olivia du Bois' Reflection
People always say that mission trips change your life and change you. So throughout my time in Haiti, I continually expected to be overwhelmed or feel some fundamental change click into place. And when that didn’t happen, I began to think the change would appear when we arrived back home. But looking back, I realize that instead of changing me, Haiti reaffirmed and reawakened who I already was. The reason I applied to go on this trip was to help people, because that makes me happy and is a big part of who I am. But I tend to overwhelm myself by focusing on how much needs to be done.
Throughout the trip – whether it was through reflections in the evening, kicking a bottle cap back and forth with a kid, or playing soccer in the rain – I was reminded repeatedly that a little bit can go a long way. All week long we talked about how much joy the kids would get from doing the simplest things, and it gave me a better understanding of how change really works. Yes, I want to help people and to create positive change in the world, but the children helped me remember that change can begin with something small. It’s like the quote by Francis of Assisi that I got during reflection: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
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