Our Youth Leader friend, Tim Schmoyer (yeah, say it like you read it) is off to Haiti - he's going to serve and give us an in-depth look at what's going on there and bring his ministry eyes and mind to help us see things a little more clearly. Be sure to scroll down as we add YouTube videos that Tim uploads on his trip!
Here's Tim's Story:
The short version is this: Early last week I was asked if I was interested in a trip to Haiti. Since it was during time I had already scheduled to be in Texas on a family vacation, my wife and I mostly declined, but as I thought about it throughout the rest of the week I felt very convicted. “Tim, how can you go kick-back in Texas and relax when there’s so many people in Haiti who are literally suffering! And you have an opportunity to help!” Matthew 25:40 and James 4:17 kept kicking my butt all week long until I got the email, “Tim, the trip is officially on. Are you in or out?” Apparently my wife had a change of heart, too, because when I approached her about it again, she said I needed to go even before I said I was actually thinking about doing it.
So, here I go! I’m scared, nervous, excited, and unqualified, all at the same time. I’m going with the expectation that God will just wreck me, that He’ll shatter my perspective of the world and of life. It will be hard, I’m sure... harder than I can imagine. I’m so comfortable in my tiny, self-centered, narrowly-focused, perfect American world.
Common questions about the trip:
First of all, this is definitely, absolutely, 100% a serving trip. I am not going just to be a tourist and see the sights. If that were the case, I would much rather go somewhere cleaner and safer than Haiti. I’m going to serve water and food in a community where currently no other relief is present except a small team from the organization I’ll be joining. The cool thing about this team is that they are serving along-side of Haitians instead of just taking over and doing it on their own. They’re partnering with local churches, drenching the ministry in prayer, and have a lot of experience in relief efforts, including Katrina.
I know people are being told not to come to Haiti unless you’re an expert, like a doctor or a dentist or something, but they’re mostly speaking to people without a plan, who just show up at the airport without a ride or a place to go. I am traveling to Haiti invited by people who are already there, who have a plan for me and our ministry time together. Reports from the people they’ve helped on the ground are, “Please come help us! We’ve been left homeless and without anything, and we are desperate.” Advance teams from this organization are being met with great gratitude. Furthermore, it doesn’t take an expert to clean up debris, hand out food and water, or just be present to give hope to people by showing them, “Hey, you’re not alone! We’re here for you.”
Here's the official YouTube video playlist of my daily vid blogs from Haiti last week:
