A Challenge and a Blessing





 Family and Friends,

The September team trip to Haiti is complete, and all is well.  I (Cory) had a good week facing many challenges and seeing God work in some new and complicated ways.  I'll share just a few of those with you below.  Mixed in with this post you will see Elizabeth's (our middle daughter) lion, Bushy, and his adventures this week in Haiti.  Let's just say he was a little bit naughty.  At home we pretend Bushy is alive and he attacks people.  Unfortunately, he was up to the same tricks in Haiti. 

Bushy attacks Patchouko

We brought in a high-level medical team to Haiti this week, which was both a blessing and a challenge for us as a ministry.  It was a blessing because the doctor is someone who truly has a chance of making a lasting impact on the health of the people of the region we serve.  She and her team were able to get over $4 million worth of medical supplies donated for this trip and a couple of other trips they have coming up to the Port-au-Prince area.  So they were able to treat many diseases and injuries in a relatively thorough way.  Also, the doctor's husband is a successful businessman who has a gift for steamlining processes and making things efficient, such as a mobile clinic.  He also spent time during the week helping people think of ways to generate more businesses in Ti-Rivier.

Bushy attacks Pam, Mission Haiti Director

So it was a blessed week of doing clinics in the mountains, Ti-Rivier, and near Les Cayes, a city about 30 minutes away.  We saw some really interesting people along the way, many of them struggling with medical issues of a great variety:  untreated diabetes, infections of all kinds, cancers and tumors, elephantitis, blindness, mental health issues, chronic pain, anemia, and above all, WORMS!  Parasites run rampant in Haiti, and the medical team brought down some strong treatments to deal with it.

Bushy likes Chelo and his lion shirt

But the challenge is always sustainability.  We made a positive impact on the health of people this past week, and for many of them the prescription drugs they received will continue to help for months to come, but what about the long-term?  For example, many people received medication to lower blood pressure, but can we continue to provide that medication in a timely matter in the future?  Also, we rid many people of worms, but won't they just get worms again?  And it really becomes a metaphor for everything we do in Haiti.  What about education and discipleship and business training?  Will all of the ministries we are doing today continue to go on once we are gone?

Bushy likes children...as friends, not food

So I wrestled with some of those questions during the week.  It was also a very challenging week physically and mentally as we trudged through the deep mud of the mountain trails.  But I saw God in the midst of everything that happened.  A good example was watching the core members of the youth group at work helping the American medical personnel.  They carried the medical supplies (7-800 lbs.) up the mountains and then served as bouncers and translators all day long.  It is extremely stressful to work with patients with no break for 8 hours and a couple of dozen other pushy patients pressed against you on all sides, but the youth never waivered.  They were devoted to the cause and received no financial pay in return.  Can you imagine a dozen 18-year olds from the USA doing the same?  I can't.

Bushy waits in the Banana tree to pounce

Another place I saw God at work this week was at youth group Bible studies.  The series I taught them, "How to Live a Great Life", generated a lot of questions and discussions.  When I speak with young people after group meetings, I am always amazed at their transparent honesty.  They will just come up and tell you something like, "I haven't prayed for a long time and I have been having sex with many people, but I want to follow God with my life.  I don't know what to do."  You can help people when they are able to speak openly like that and not try to cover it up.  It is refreshing to do ministry in a setting like that.  As a youth pastor in the US I was always dealing with people who had the same issues but acted as if everything was perfect in their lives.  People don't seem to do that as much in Haiti.

Bushy attacks Elise

I visited a home of one of the youth guys named Evens.  He has been a pet project of mine ever since my first trip to Haiti over a year ago.  Pam often tells people who go on trips, "Allow the Holy Spirit to bring someone in Haiti to your mind and heart as the one person you can impact long-term."  For me it was Evens, who turned out to be quite possibly the most timid young man in the group.  For some reason I really liked him, and now a year later he drummed up the courage to invite me to his home and meet his family.  I went there on Saturday, and they made a big deal out of my visit.  They sat me down in the nicest chair, hooked up the fan and put it by me, and served me all kinds of food I probably wasn't supposed to eat (sorry Pam!).  It was quite a production.  But what I took away from that was seeing in the eyes of the parents that they accept me and Mission Haiti, and their dreams of seeing their children happy (like any parents) are somewhat projected onto us as they hope that we can help their children have better opportunities.

Bushy makes friends with a fellow predator

So as always the trip was a both a challenge and a blessing.  I could write so much more, but I will save that for next time.  Sorry Lynn didn't write this past week about what it is like to be a missionary, mom, and wife...I guess that shows that she is busy most of the time!  Thanks as always to all of you for your role in making this ministry possible.  Without your prayers and financial support it would all end pretty quickly.

Happy Monday, and may your week be an adventure for Jesus!

-The Grimms