Why Move to Haiti Anyway?

47 DAYS UNTIL THE BIG MOVE!

Family and Friends,

People get involved in ministry and mission work and helping people in general based on a lot of different motivations...some good motives, some bad, but most of our motivations as human beings are somewhat mixed and somewhere in between good and bad.  And yet God chooses to allow us to do His divine work on earth.  What a humbling privilege!  As Paul writes in II Cor. 2:15-16:

"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are the smell of death;  to the other, the fragrance of life.  And who is equal to such a task?"

Lately many people have asked us, "Why exactly are you going to Haiti anyway?"  We are never surprised or put off by that question, because the question itself comes out of countless motivations.  To one person the question has a tinge of... "What difference can you make there with things being so bad?"  To another the question rings with, "Are you nuts or something?"  To another the question is simply curiousity about what type of work we will be doing when we live in Haiti.  And perhaps when we are asked that question, or others like it, the inquiry is laced with all of these subliminal concerns and more.

We are going to Haiti for many reasons...

To help the poor.
To share the good news of Jesus.
To advocate for the helpless (orphans, widows, disabled, etc...).
To improve the education.
To know God more deeply.
To grow spiritually as a family.
To learn from the Haitian people.
To host short-term teams in Haiti.
To support other missionaries in Haiti and around the world.
To support Haitian Pastors and ministry leaders.
To live a life of adventure!

There are undoubtedly more items we could put on the list for why we are going to Haiti, but there is something intentionally left off...and that motivation is the only one that truly matters.  To illustrate the point I (Cory) will share with you something I used to say to middle-schoolers when I was a youth pastor:

(When encouraging them to save themselves sexually for their future spouse)
"You know I can give you 20 reasons to not have sex before you are married, and you already know a lot of those...diseases, possibly pregnancy, commands in the Bible, emotional damage, disobedience to parents, disrespect to yourself and your boyfriend/girlfriend, etc...  But when you are in the heat of the moment and you are faced with that decision, my list of reasons will mean very little to you.  You won't say to yourself, 'I can't do this because my youth pastor told me not to.'  There is no power in that.  Your desire will overcome your fears.  But there is one way you can live the life God has for you...and that is to be in an intimate relationship with God that is so powerful that you will want to honor and obey Him no matter what occurs.  His power will flow through you in that moment of temptation and give you the strength to stay on track with His plan for your life.  That is the only way you will save yourself sexually for marriage."

The same applies here.  The reasons we listed for why we are going to Haiti are important, but not as important as the simple fact that we know deep down that God wants us there.  He has a will for our lives and He has made it clearly known to us...to move to Haiti and live among these precious people.  Yes, we may be able to do some good things to help the people, and our faith will absolutely expand through the experience, but what it all boils down to is the fact that God has spoken to our hearts, and we must obey Him.  He is calling us to go there.  And in the end that is the only motivation that will keep us there over the long haul...through all of the discomfort and failure and unfulfilled expectations that may occur. 

And who is equal to such a task?  Not us, that is for sure...and yet we accept this call and wait eagerly to see the adventure God has for us!  May we never forget our primary motivation for going...to obey our Lord.

-The Grimms