A few weeks ago, I traveled along with 8 others to Cite Soleil, Haiti to serve on a mission trip with our partnering ministry, Haiti Outreach Ministries (HOM). For a few of us, it was our first mission trip. We had varying expectations, but we shared similar goals, such as serving the people of Haiti, understanding Karios’ support and its impact on the communities served by HOM, seeing Christ work through an experience unlike what could be found in our usual routines, and getting to know each other on a deeper level.
From the beginning, I was impressed by our group’s willingness to do real hard work in a place most people would not dare to go. This work brings change to schools in the most impoverished area in Haiti. I shared this desire because of my personal background, being born and having lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for 6 years as a child. I have always had a strong connection and desire to bring positive change, however small, to the Haitian people.
The Kairos team’s chosen project this year was to repaint buildings within the elementary school in Cite Soleil, one of three HOM campuses. Some members of our team also led an art activity with hundreds of kids at the school. Throughout the work day we had the opportunity to interact with the children attending the school. As most children of elementary age, they were inquisitive and very interested in what we were working on.
Although I was somewhat out of practice, Haitian Creole is my first language, and I was able to communicate with the Haitian children and the team that worked alongside us as we painted. The men we worked with shared their political and economic frustrations, their current situations, and their aspirations. They introduced us to their children (those attending the school where we worked), and we enjoyed building relationships with them. The HOM coordinator working with us, Jemps, emphasized the importance of groups coming to serve and the positive cascading effect these projects have on their communities.
We were able to have tours of each of the HOM campuses to see what progress is being made, what future plans are in place to grow the ministry, and how other US church groups participate in that growth along with Kairos. In addition to schooling, each campus provides unique services to their communities: medical clinic access served by medical missions, and filtered water to anyone that simply walks up and asks for it. It was great to see how HOM aims to hire local workers for projects. As their project engineer shared, “We aim to provide funding for Haitians to solve Haitian problems.”
Our group stayed in one of the church compounds called Tierre Noire. Being on the church grounds, I could vividly see how much the church was alive in the Haitian community. Several services were held during the day and long into the night. On Sunday we attended two different services, and it was impressive to witness the power of God-seeking people coming to worship, even in a community in the roughest part of Haiti.
Having spent 6 days with the Kairos team, I learned a lot. We shared stories with each other, we reflected on what we witnessed, and we discussed how we saw God at work each day. Not having been at Kairos for very long, it was transformative to get to know other church members. This experience not only opened my eyes to what the experience of a mission trip is like; it has deepened my personal connection with Kairos. For my wife, Casey, and I, having deeper connections with the Kairos community has enriched our lives. We both enjoy the community and generosity of Kairos, and I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to see God working in our church locally and globally, especially through our team’s recent trip to Haiti.
– Bert Duthiers