We Plan, but God Decides our Steps…

God says, “Man plans his way, but God determines the path.” The original trip from Creekside Community Church, Gainesville, FL, to visit their Sister Church in Baradere Haiti, was planned for the last week of August.  But, since the team was flying directly to Les Cayes from Florida in a small, private plane, the trip was cancelled because of Tropical Storm Danny.  It was rescheduled for the next Monday, but had to be postponed another day because of Tropical Storm Erika!

This was a VERY unique visit.  The team had 2 purposes… First, they wanted to focus on Hope for Kidz child sponsorship initiatives by interviewing teachers, graduates and present sponsored children in the school.  The second purpose was to get things started and/or see progress on the new school building that is being funded. 

Except the pilot of the plane, all team members were veterans of C3P visits to Baradere.  It was extremely enriching to everyone as team members talked with the pastor, his wife, the deacons, the cook ladies, and those involved with the school. Laughter between the host church and team members characterized the ease of communication and friendship between them. Individual conversations were video taped to help the team remember information from the interviews and to imprint the experience upon them and those at Creekside.  Two of the team members hiked two hours one way up a mountain with the pastor and two RMI staff to experience what one sponsored child experiences each day as the child walks to and from school. Because they were walking, they were able to talk with several other children and families along the way.  All the interviews at the parsonage, school, and homes led each team member to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the culture and of the school. All of the team members were impressed by the insight and qualifications of the teachers, as well as the complexity of questions asked by the recent graduates.

A statement (paraphrased) by the pilot, a first time visitor with RMI, summed up his impression of those families interviewed by the team. He said that he was amazed by the cleanliness and orderliness of the homes and the pride of the people even in the midst of such poverty. He wants to be included in future trips.