Watermark in Haiti

Here’s another testimony from the recent Haiti Discipleship Trip! This one comes from Chip Coons. To see all the entries from the recent trip, click here.

Our conference in Haiti began by sharing a general understanding of the Bible and how to study the Bible. Day two continued with teaching Biblical principles on leadership and conflict resolution. Then on Wednesday, five leaders from Watermark’s re:generation ministry shared their testimonies and taught Biblical recovery principles to 80 Haitian pastors. The lessons on Recognizing Our Need for God’s Grace, Receiving Gods Grace, and How One Should Respond as a Result of God’s Grace were well received.

Since Watermark is a church that values training and discipling others to be fully devoted followers of Christ, we were living out what we believe in another nation! I was really encouraged to see men from our body stretched in new ways, using their gifts to glorify God and encourage fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Most of the pastors attending the conference have never received any formal education or training. They simply have felt called to be a pastor and lead their communities. At the end of the third day’s session, one pastor asked to share a letter he wrote, thanking Mission of Hope and Pastor Patrice for hosting the conference and pulling all the pastors together. They greatly valued the time spent getting to know the other pastors and developing new relationships. He went on to thank the Watermark team for traveling to Haiti to share with the pastors and asked that we come back and do it again.

This testimony from Anthony Polenski shows the variety of opportunities the team had in the recent Haiti trip.

God is at work in Haiti. After a week at Mission of Hope, I am convinced of this truth. God is doing the same thing in Haiti that he is doing in my own heart: redeeming what is broken. God is a God of redemption, and I am forever grateful for the week I was given to serve Him by loving and serving the Haitian people.

Many great things were accomplished over the past week, all for His glory.

I was blessed to have been able to spend a week demonstrating the love of Christ to the people in a variety of ways. Our team hosted a 3 day Pastors Conference through which 75 or 100 Haitian pastors were encouraged to lead and serve their families and communities by imitating Christ’s example of servant leadership. (I gave an hour-long talk on “Realizing Our Need For Grace” and was amazed at the passionate response the pastors showed!)

The event was a huge success. During the conference, we did an exercise in which everyone wrote a sin struggle on a small index card, and then we had them nail them to a cross we had built. It was a beautiful example of the spiritual truth of the freedom we find when we confess our sin and “nail it to the cross.”

On Tuesday, our team was able to work alongside 25 Haitian men to build a foundation wall and put a roof on the new food distribution warehouse at Mission of Hope. This center currently feeds 50,000 meals per day and is in the process of upping this number to 150,000 meals per day. I dug a trench and mixed concrete while talking with these men in French Creole, Spanish, and English. They were amazing men who were grateful to have us help them complete this worthy project.

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to visit downtown Port au Prince to see the devastation the earthquake had caused. After that, we traveled to a local orphanage to spend the afternoon loving on 60 young orphans. One boy named Garry wrapped his arms around me so tight I thought I was going to choke. He would not let go. It was as though God was saying to me, “Anthony, this is how I desire each of you to respond to me.” God reminded me that we should cling to him, our Heavenly Father, the way each of us clings to our earthly father. These experiences and many others gave me a greater appreciation for just how much God loves each of us.

One afternoon, I played with a 3-4 year old girl named Sophia. I gave her a piggy back ride, and we laughed together as we ran along the Haitian coastline. When we got back to the bus, I put her down and she ran over to her mom and younger brother. Then she smiled, looked up at me, said, “agua,” and pointed to my water bottle. When I handed it to her, she took one small sip and then looked at me and repeated the word “agua” – this time pointing to her 2 year-old little brother. I smiled and watched in awe as this 4 year old girl held my water bottle up to her brother’s mouth to gave him a drink. This and other instances of selflessness impacted me deeply and challenged me to ask myself the question, “What is my main focus?” Is it serving others or serving myself?

As much as I feel like we were able to bless the Haitians in many ways, I feel like I have received tenfold from them. They have very little when it comes to material possessions and comforts, but they have joy. They lack physical nourishment but have a spiritual hunger in their soul to know and love God. And while their every day is one of great uncertainty, their faith is very deep because they are forced to depend upon God to meet their needs in a way we in America can not know.

The Haitian people are living proof that joy is often found through affliction, trials, and living in deep authentic community. I know that just as God promised to complete the good work he began in me, I know that he will do the same in Haiti. I am thankful that I was able to play a very small part in the very large work that God is doing there.

Sometimes Discipleship Trips teach us things we don’t expect! This testimony comes from Patrick Clark.

Our recent visit to Haiti was filled with many memorable sights, sounds, smells, and events! In attempting to share about the trip to friends and family, I have often said that “words cannot describe” what the experience was like.

Speaking at a training conference for Haitian pastors, blowing bubbles with children in an orphanage, and acting out Bible stories for kids and parents in a Haitian village are just a few of my favorite memories from our trip.

Amid all of those incredibly moving experiences, one of the most impacting parts of our trip was the community I experienced with the 12 other Watermark guys that made the trip to Haiti. I received tremendous encouragement from serving alongside a new group of friends, engaging in deep conversations about each other’s lives, and sharing what God was teaching each of us through what we did and saw in Haiti. Through this trip God reminded me of the importance of community and my need for it back in Dallas.

Through sharing this experience/revelation with my community group guys back at home, we have all come to the agreement that it is time to end the season of apathy in our own group, to start meeting on a more consistent basis, and to commit to engaging in deeper conversations.

If you had asked me two weeks ago what I would learn from going to Haiti, I doubt that a deeper appreciation for community would have been high on my expectation list… but I am extremely thankful for this takeaway!

A “journal” from Jeff:

Inspired already… A plane full of people with their own stories of redemption. They could have just as easily been going to Jamaica, the Caymans, or the Virgin islands for a holiday but instead stopped short at a small impoverished place called Haiti. Why?

Well, the 17 year former drug addict from Alabama on one side of me told me that he was here to build homes and share his story of grace and redemption with teens and young adults. The soccer mom on the other side of me from Kentucky came here to apply her nursing skills and visit her daughter who moved here to help teachers teach better and share the gospel. It seems that many were driven by the power of the gospel in their own lives to reach out in love to a country that desperately needs that touch.

Peter put his finger on this: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies-in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV)

May we all glorify God as “stewards of His grace” using our gifts and stories of redemption to bless and encourage all who we encounter whether at the grocery store, the school, work, or around the world!

This testimony comes from David Henry.

This morning we made our way down the rocky hill from the dining hall to the cross-shaped, open air church at Mission of Hope to teach at the Pastor’s
conference. It was sunny and already getting hot. We carried with us feelings of anxiousness and inadaquecy that had been with us for days. We also carried
all the essentials for life in Haiti: water bottles, sun glasses, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, bug spray, energy bars, and so on.

Then we greeted the pastors, young and old, male and female, as they arrived from near and far after travelling on foot or in the back of converted pick-ups (called “TapTaps”). They were well dressed, but their clothes and shoes were somewhat worn and a bit dirty. The pastors smiled as we greeted them with “Bonjour!” and handshakes and hugs. Most carried absolutely nothing but their Bibles, notebooks, and pens.

We foreigners became concerned and frustrated when we didn’t start on time, the water cooler didn’t arrive, and there were problems with the microphones. But the Haitian attendees visited quietly and peacefully with us and each other while we waited – and did not seem to mind at all.

Finally, the song leader, Claudell, began a time of worship. He sang the refrain, “Everything is in His hands” over and over and over again. The people burst into song, worshipping and joyful over this simple phrase. It struck me that these people must cling to this truth daily as they need the basics of life: water, food, shelter, transportation, and medical care.

We from the U.S. were trying to control the day with schedules, hand sanitizer, and bug spray. But these pastors never tried to control things or even expected to be able to. They simply declared and believed, “Everything is in his hands.” Amen!

We’re still relying on text messages to get the team’s stories out, but at least it’s something! Here’s an update following Tuesday’s work:

Four from Jeff Wards team taught on leadership and conflict resolution. They passed or Bibles and flashlights to the pastors attending the conference.

Meanwhile, Team Koons and a few “converts” from Ward’s team worked construction on the Mission of Hope property. They helped build a retaining wall and began putting a roof on new warehouse.

Tomorrow… Day 3 of the conference. It’ll discuss Recovery and will be led by the Re:Generation team that came with us.

We received an update-by-text-message from Jeff Ward following the first day of the Haiti pastors conference:

Today was our first conference day with the Haitian pastors. 75 pastors showed up, and our guys were awesome. But it was even greater to watch God work among them!

Jeremy taught on the authority of Scripture, how we know the Bible is true, and on Jesus as the central figure of the Bible.

Nathan taught about how the Bible is a tool in pastors’ hands, just as a farmer uses tools. (One illustration involved using five fingers to represent the five things needed to apply Scripture.)

Kramer and Clouse taught on how to find the answers to life’s questions in Scripture. Their personal testimonies really resonated with the pastors.

We received a really warm reception by all the pastors, and they told us over and over of the need to equip them even more!

Our other team of guys painted 4 houses in Leveque and heard amazing stories of families who lived there!

We continue to wait to see if the team will be able to get any / many updates out, but we did want to let you know today’s plans!

As you may have read, the focus of this trip is different from earlier Watermark trips to Haiti. Our men have the extremely exciting opportunity to present a three-day conference for 150 pastors from across the Haitian nation.

Today’s messages will focus on biblical equipping. The team will be discussing Bible themes, methods for Bible study, and how these pastors can help others find biblical answers to life’s questions.

The following two days will cover Leadership Development, Conflict Resolution, Recovery Ministry, and Reconciliation. So as you can tell, this could be a really exciting three days – not only for our team of men, but also for Mission of Hope and the pastors who are gathered there.

Stay tuned for any updates – if we get ‘em, we’ll post ‘em!

We just got a quick update from Jeff Ward via text message. He’s been unable to pick up the internet signal that, in the past, has been helpful for teams sharing their stories. They’re hopeful that another guy on the team will be able to get his iPad connected.

But in his brief message out, Jeff was able to report that the group has had a GREAT first (full) day in Haiti! They worshiped at the church onsite at Mission of Hope, toured the MOH ministry compound, and got to see the Laveque area (where the ministry is building homes for people who need them).

They also got to check out Mission of Hope’s new beachside property, where they plan to build a school and conference center.

As of this evening, he reported they were getting ready to worship with the Hope House boys (the older orphans at MOH).

We’ll keep you posted when / if we get new info! Thanks for following along and praying for our guys.

While we haven’t gotten anything official from the team, we did receive a note on the Watermark External Focus Facebook page around 5pm Saturday:

the team arrived safely in PAP!
the team arrived safely in PAP!

So we figure it’s safe to assume that the team indeed arrived safely in Port au Prince.

The message came from Amber Epley, a Watermark gal who actually just moved to Haiti to be involved for (at least) two years as a teacher. We just blogged about her situation; you can read that here.

Stay tuned for updates; I know the internet situation has changed somewhat for our teams, but hopefully they’ll still be able to send out a good supply of updates and pictures this week.