Where Do We Go From Here?

Last week I was in Petit Goave, Haiti, with a team from The Gathering. On Thursday afternoon, here’s what happened:

“…the last day of kid’s camp, we had special presents for the kids as they left – hygiene packs that students from The Gathering had collected the week before. When they saw what was in them, soap, combs, lotion, tissues, etc., they would come running back down the street with huge smiles to say “thank you, thank you!”

In the evening a bunch of guys from Percin came over to play soccer. When it started getting dark and they had to head home, the guys on our team were able to give away some of the full hygiene packs to them. Same thing happened. As each one saw what was in the pack, they’d turn around to say thank you, and shake the hands of the guys on our team…”

That afternoon reiterated something we’ve been learning in The Gathering for the last 2 years – the ongoing prayer and involvement of students here in the U.S. is crucial to what is happening in Petit Goave. God can use a week-long trip in some pretty cool ways, but what we do while we’re in the U.S. is just as important, if not more so.

Students here were aware of some basic needs of our brothers and sisters in Petit Goave. Students here collected supplies. Students here have been praying and praying and praying. Students here can tell others on their campus about the way that God used a donated bar of soap to remind people in Haiti that He is near, that He cares for them, and that He is Jehovah Jireh - our Provider. Students here can be confident that their continued prayer and involvement on the U.S. side of this relationship can often accomplish more than going to Haiti for a week ever could.

So, where DO we go from here?
Pray. Think creatively. Collaborate. Watch God work.