“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4
Trinity/HOPE school feeding programs are all about school children; they are the future missionaries in Haiti. Their Christian witness in Haitian Creole is far superior to anything that a blan North American could say or do in their neighborhoods; ‘go and make disciples’ pertains the work that we are called to do and they are called to do. Most of the time you see the photos of the children studying, eating, playing and smiling and there are a core of individuals whose importance sometimes gets left in the background.
In the attached photo are two teachers at Bon Berger Lutheran School in Caredeux. The woman on the right is one of my favorite teachers, Sylvia, Pastor Thomas Bernard’s sister and I was delighted to see her in March 2010 and know that she and her family survived the quake. While traveling throughout Haiti visiting schools it was interesting to find that many of the teachers returned to the small schools where they had attended as children to become teachers and principals after they received their teaching certificates. Their journey certainly provided hope to the students who sit in the classroom wondering about their future. They will prayerfully share the news of our risen Savior with the lost and perhaps return to their roots and also share their lessons of life with the next generation.
Teachers; my mom was a school teacher in Seward County before she became a farm wife and raised my sister and me, teaching us life’s lessons. When teachers go to Haiti on a mission team with me, it is always a comfort to have them along as they interact with the children so much better than I do. They share the love of Christ through songs and crafts and that leaves time for me to do the mundane tasks, checklists and interviewing the children.
I never thought about interviewing the teachers in the same manner as the children are asked about their eating habits away from school, but hope to do that more often when I return to Haiti. Looking at the smiles on the teachers faces, it would seem that they could be your next door neighbor but their lives are much different. They too eat a Trinity/HOPE lunch and are probably just as thankful as the children at their school to have a meal every day they are in school.
Thank you for your continued support of these programs. When you pray for the children attending Christian schools in Haiti, please remember to add the dedicated teachers and principals as well to your daily petitions as they are an integral part of His divine work in the lives of the children in Haiti.
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay