Haiti is an amazing place with amazing people, but it's by no means an easy place to live. We were all so spoiled by the luxuries we had at home that it was hard to adapt to a place that only provided the essentials. Yet, it is in a place lacking the abundance that I've experienced abundant life. Jesus said before:
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)I have heard of this verse many times, but I have to admit, before this trip, I've never understood what Jesus meant by abundant life. I didn't know what an abundant life meant, nor did I know how it felt to live an abundant life. Most of us live day by day filling our days with things we cared about. It could be work, family, serving in church, friends, volunteering, sports... Don't get me wrong, these are all good things to fill our life with, but most of us pack our schedule so tightly with the things we care about that we lose the joy in doing these things. Is this what abundant life is all about? Packing our schedule as tightly as we can, doing as much as we can?
We've all had the experience of over scheduling ourselves with too many commitments. When this happens, we lose purpose in why we do the things we do. I'll be the first to admit that I've had the experience of spending time with a friend, but only to be distracted by the millions of things I needed to do in my mind. I mean, what's the point of spending time with a friend when we are only present physically, but not emotionally or mentally? When we meet up with a friend, we are there to share and to spend quality time together. But sometimes we become so consumed with our plans that we forget why we met up with a friend in the first place. In other words, sometimes we are so obsessed with doing as much as we can that we forget why we are doing something in the first place. Then over time as we spread ourselves thinly, we begin to lose sight of the important things and we begin to forget our purpose in life. This happens so easily that sometimes we don't even realize that it's happening. Then we become so burned out with the things we need to do that we can no longer find joy in doing them. It's especially times like this that we need to come before God and renew ourselves. It's times like this that we need to refocus our life and our energy.
For me, Haiti was a place of renewal and a place of rejuvenation. I think all of us went to Haiti leaving our baggages behind at home. Whether they are our troubles or burdens, pains or worries, they were all left behind. Life wasn't about packing schedules or trying to get things done, it was about serving God and serving the people God placed in our path. In Haiti, there was only one purpose and one goal, it is to live out the love of God. We were no longer distracted by our own worries, but we can concentrate on what we are called to do wholeheartely. When our gaze shift away from our own troubles onto the more important things, it is then that we can experience God's presence vividly and witness God's work at hand. This is a lesson I needed to learn, and it's a lesson I'm struggling with in my life back at home.
The mission statement of NWHCM is "Rescue, Restore, Redeem". Rescue is rescuing the oppressed by providing medical care to the poor, food to the hungry, and orphan care to the abandoned. Restore is restoring hope by running schools and organizing sustainable community development programs in needy areas. Redeem is redeeming God's people by planting churches, developing indigenous church leaders, and training effective Haitian ministers. I think this mission statement really encapsulate what NWHCM is all about. But for me personally, this trip was more than rescue, restore, and redeem, it was also a renewal for my spirit and a reminder for me of the more important things in life. I guess this lead back to my original question, what is abundant life? To me, abundant life is a purpose driven and meaningful life with God.
To end this post, I just want to say I am so thankful to be a part of this mission team, I am so thankful for all that I've learned and experienced. I know I titled this blog "the ending", but for me, this is really just the beginning, the beginning of many awesome life changing experiences with my Savior.
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