Haiti Part 4: How it changed me

HAITI -- Many people told me that going on a mission trip would change me. Truthfully I kind of dismissed that notion. After all, I'm a journalist, I've seen a lot of things in my 19 years on the job. Great sadness, great joy, poverty, destruction, spirituality, you name it, I've probably photographed it. And, my faithfulness has been pretty strong since I decided to rely on Jesus and not myself several years ago. I couldn't imagine how much changing I'd experience.

Well, they were right. Haiti did change me. It showed me how truly blessed I am, how blessed we all are. Unemployment in Haiti is at 80 percent and they don't have stop-gap systems like welfare to meet people's needs. No homeless shelters, no food stamps, no government assistance. Imagine, no jobs, no welfare, no clean water, no food.

My mom couldn't understand why I wanted to go to Haiti when people in America need help right here. Honestly I didn't quite know myself until after I was there a few days. Now I know, the Bible commands us to love one another. It doesn't say just love Americans. It says "one another."

I saw poverty in Haiti like I've never imagined. I saw men, women and children pat their tummies with both hands as we drove past signaling that they were hungry. I saw babies with runny noses and red-hair, the tale tell sign of malnutrition. I saw people walk miles for clean water. They'd fill their 5-gallon buckets to the brim and carry them home balanced on their heads.

And my faith was made stronger while traveling up and down the mountains in the tiny tap tap. I watched one day as the driver turned the truck off and coasted downhill to preserve gas. His gauge hovered near E for more than an hour. If we'd run out of gas I have no idea what we would have done. God, you brought us here, I have faith you'll bring us safely home.

It wasn't all bad though.

I also saw much happiness in the children of the orphanage. They greeted us with a hand shake and a kiss on the cheek every time we saw them. Together we played games, hiked up a mountain and took many pictures, like we'd been a part of their family forever. During their regular Sunday evening worship time, they sang praise songs and did dances for Jesus, it was amazing to witness.

I saw happiness at the churches we visited, especially the one we visited on Sunday for a service. The joy in the people's faces while they listened to the message, sang worship songs and prayed was parallel to the joy I'd seen back at my home church.

I also saw wide smiles every time I took someone's picture, then turned the camera around to show it to them. Most times they'd stand back and motion to me to take another one, then grab for the camera to see the back again.

I discovered that a kind wave and smile is a universal language.

I've always said that I've experienced so much because of my job as a journalist. I've done some pretty cool things and met amazing people along the way. I've always loved community journalism. But God made the whole world, not just Indiana. He made Haiti, too. The plants are different, the climate is different, but the people are still made in his own images.