We were made to thrive
Part of our mission statement written by Rick in 2014 when we founded Haiti Awake reads: “Haiti is a mission field where economic opportunities and personal relationships are necessary to help Haitian Christians and pastors move beyond mere physical subsistence.” Thriving, not surviving. This has been my goal through the years for those at our organization.
But I have also learned through the years that not everyone understands the value of opportunities. Some people are content with a vision of a bag of rice. But a bag of rice will not take a person from surviving to thriving. This is why we have invested heavily in education for our Haitian staff through the years. It has brought my heart great joy to watch certain people take hold of opportunities and go from thriving to surviving, and it has brought a great deal of heartache to watch some people throw away the opportunities they were given.
I have learned that I can’t care more about another person’s future than they themselves do. Watching our staff grow and have the ability to share with others – not just resources, but knowledge and wisdom – reminds me of 2 Corinthians 9:8.
As I type this, Steeve and Manoucheka are on vacation – traveling internationally to two countries neither of them had been to before. I feel proud of them – of Haiti Awake – because when a man can take his wife on an international trip, that’s going beyond surviving. That is thriving.
“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”
