We started off the week by doing a few days of orientation which consisted of various teachings and team bonding with our new family. Each one of us came into this program with different stories, backgrounds, and different expectations of what these next few weeks, or in some cases few years, were going to look like. However, even with so many differences amongst us, God has already been working in all of us to connect together to form such a beautiful and loving team. We’ve learned that we each have something to bring to the table that gives us so much more ability than we would have on our own.
24 hours after we arrived in our compound, we were met by Movement and Grace Pickerington Church which gave us the chance to really dive into learning how to lead. A few of us helped the teams’ process through their days here, while others simply used their presence to welcome people into the Breathe family. While those teams were busy working in Lafito and Canaan, the CIT’s and Compassion Corp were able to start to dive into our local community, Bercy. Each of us have either reconnected with relationships we’ve built in past trips or made new ones that we’re so excited to watch grow and continue during the time that we’re here.
I personally came into this trip not knowing what to expect. I didn’t feel spiritually or mentally well prepared and I had constant anxiety about being away from home for so long. Unlike the others, I was the only CIT who didn’t know anybody before coming together at the airport. I was terrified that I wouldn’t fit in and that God wouldn’t be able to work through me because of the baggage I was carrying with me to Haiti. However, all of that fear, anxiety, and feelings of chaos quickly subsided within an hour of meeting my teammates at the airport. It’s only been a week since I’ve known them, but it feels like we’ve all been good friends for years. Even after that, though, I was still nervous about the whole being in Haiti for 45 days thing. But within the first day of being surrounded by such great leaders (Steph, Dan, Chi, and Brooke), I knew that God was going to be working in tremendous ways not only in my life, but in the provisions he has for the country and I’m so blessed to be a part of a small chunk of witnessing that.
With that being said, we are now a full week into our trip here, and are all feeling so blessed for the opportunity to be a part of what God’s doing. We’re all exhausted, but it’s a good, refreshing kind of exhaustion. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers for us as we begin this new journey, we wouldn’t be here without the power of prayer!
