Richard

Richard teaching Franzou

Family and Friends,

Day 99 of our Haiti Adventure!

Yesterday a good mission team finished up their work here and headed back to the US, and along with them went Richard Hildebrand, of Milford, Iowa. Six weeks ago he was a stranger, but now we think of him as our good friend and fellow missionary. Richard came here to work beside us and left his mark in a very positive way. Many of the Haitians were sad to see him go and gave eloquent speeches at the final youth meeting about how he touched each of their lives. Even though the emphasis of my master's degree was Missions and I have been working in evangelism and missions for many years, Richard taught me a lot, and his example is one from which we can all learn.


Richard “gets” short-term missions. He understands what is going on down here. He did some things very well that should be emulated as much as possible, but before talking about those lessons you will need to know some of his story. Richard is in his late fifties, and he is a retired school teacher who taught Computer-aided Design, Construction, and all the regular “shop” classes offered at high school. He worked for many years in Wisconsin and later moved to Milford to follow his wife, who started a new career for a company based in that area.

Richard began his involvement in missions with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and he soon found himself recruited to lead the building teams and serve on the board. He kept busy with that work for many years, but God began to reveal other plans for his future. He met an inspiring older gentleman who mentored him and piqued his interest in the world of overseas missions. The opportunity soon presented itself for Richard to work extensively in Tanzania, and he shared many rich stories with us about his adventures in Africa and how that culture has both similarities and differences from the culture found in Haiti. Richard has also had a chance to travel extensively around the world with his wife, who is constantly traveling for her work, which adds to his understanding of what God is doing around the world among different peoples.

So instead of seeing retirement as an opportunity to gratify selfish desires, Richard has received a vision from God to use his time and resources to bless others with the gospel message shared in the forms of both hard work and personal testimony. That is the first thing I think we can a learn from his example. How amazing would it be to see thousands of people in their fifties and sixties and beyond choosing to use their resources, time, faith, and wisdom for mission trips? What if retirement was seen not as a time to pull back from the world and rest, but as a time to work even harder, engaging the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ? That is what Richard does.

Something else Richard does well is to utilize his strengths to the fullest on the mission field. Richard is a great wood-worker, so that is what he spends the majority of his time doing to impact people. He doesn't try to pour cement or teach Bible classes (though I think he could do that very well) or improve agriculture or serve in a medical clinic. It isn't that he doesn't care about that work. He just knows what he is good at and he uses his gifts to the fullest. He made kabaties (which are trunk, closet, and bookshelf all-in-one) and all the bunk beds for the new orphanage, countless shelving units, and various other pieces we needed including bed platforms, huge wardrobes, a bench, and a wheelchair ramp. I once heard a speaker talk about how he saw a doctor pounding nails on the mission field to build a house for a family who desperately needed medical treatment. That example illustrates the opposite of what Richard does.

Part of being able to use your strengths to the fullest on short-term mission trips is doing the hard work or preparation both in planning and fundraising. The medical team last September was an extreme example of this when they worked hard all year gathering donations of over $4 million in prescription drugs to support their mobile clinics in Haiti. Richard did the same thing on a smaller scale. He raised funds among his local church and community to pay for all of the lumber and other supplies he would need during his six-week stay. He raised well over $5,000.

This is such a blessing to a ministry like Mission Haiti, because we don't make money on mission trips. We only charge people the cost of their plane ticket, travel, and food. We don't charge extra to pay for the supplies of their work. Some churches and individuals understand that and bring a little extra to be able to bless the people here and use their gifts, as I described above. Other churches are new to short term missions and maybe don't understand that yet, but Richard provides a good example of a real pro and does these sort of things.

Richard also gets the concept of blessing the missionaries, not just the nationals on the mission field. He did a lot for our family, for Patchouko's family, and also for Adrian, who is a Haitian missionary who does a lot for Mission Haiti. Richard build a nice new bridge for Adrian, who has one of the nicest homes in this community. An inexperienced missionary might have asked, “Why should I build something for one of the richest people in the community? Shouldn't I work only for the poorest of the poor?” But Richard understands the need to help not only those being reached for Christ but also the fellow workers for God's kingdom. That meant a lot to all of us.

Finally, Richard simply has the love for the people. That is an intangible on the mission field you can't learn from a book. Richard made time to become a friend of young and old, and yet everyone in the community talked about how hard he worked and how they heard the saws and drills going all day long. He also mentored the young men who loved to work with their hands. Many times we watched under the meeting tent, which became the wood shop, and we saw Richard carefully guiding the guys as they measured, made cuts, and put the finishing touches on the various pieces.

We all said “see you later” to Richard, because he promised to return sometime soon. He left his mark and taught us many things. May we all catch a vision to do the same with the precious time and resources God has given us, no matter what we are good at, and no matter how young or old we are.
 
May your adventure increase each day until the end of your life!
-Grimm Family Adventurers