Joe Gerber and Gabe Walder (LSM Staff), took a Vision Team to Haiti last week. Gabe shares his thoughts from their week on today’s blog!

 

Anyone that is experiencing Haiti for the first time experiences new emotions and realizations from day one. It can be overwhelming to take in any country for the first time and in the case of Haiti realities such as lack of infrastructure, poverty, and domestic slavery can be almost too difficult to understand. Unfortunately, many Americans traveling to Haiti are left feeling helpless or end up supporting non-profits that are thought up by, organized, and run by Americans. These initiatives often fizzle out within the first few years. In contrast LSM’s programs are sustained by the Haitians themselves and are dedicated to transforming the country for God’s glory over the long haul. The understanding that Americans will never save Haiti but only Haitians can have a lasting positive impact on the country remains central to LSM’s beliefs.

Chantal dads

The very first vision trip for LSM in 2015 was comprised of a group of young and energetic men, the majority of which had never been to Haiti before.  Vision team participants come to Haiti to see what our programs are like, how they are run, and how they as Americans can come alongside Haitians to support their work. This trip had all these components but also had the distinct privilege to have more interaction with the Home of Hope families through three soccer championships at three separate places with LSM families. The men were able to share their hearts about teamwork, leadership, and hard work to the children. They were also able to interact and play soccer with the house dads. These fathers left a profound impact on the team who were able to see these father’s self-sacrifice and dedication to raising a family of twelve children, all of which have come from extremely difficult backgrounds. It was evident in every interaction that both the families and the men were a huge benefit to one another and an encouragement to their mutual faiths.

Seminars

If I were asked to come up with a theme for the trip I would have to say, discovery. The team was able to discover that Haiti, although poor, is full of life and people that are working to make the country a better place. They discovered that the lifeblood of LSM lies with the children who have suffered things that we can only imagine, and with the parents that are there day in and day out working to better their futures. Finally, they discovered that relying on God is the only way to face realities like child slavery and have the ability to work for change on a countrywide level. If the rest of the trips to Haiti in 2015 are as successful and life-changing as the first, we are all in for a very good year.

 

“It was truly a blessing to witness first hand all of the miracles that God is performing in Haiti through LSM.  There is still a tremendous amount of work to be done and the LSM team has laid the foundation and put a vision in place that will continue to help the Haitian people as well as glorify God.  The trip has energized me to become a long term supporter of LSM.”  – Michael Harris