Making An Impact

On Friday, 14 of us will board a plane and fly to Haiti to serve those who are still suffering from the earthquake. The idea and heartfelt notion to send in a team to help has come full circle. There was a time not too many weeks ago that I seriously thought we would have to cancel the trip. We did not have the minimum number of people nor the funds required. Then a God thing happened, people signed up and in came support.

Somehow things worked themselves out and the 14 of us are ready to go. This is not a cheap trip. Not like during Katrina which was a tank of gas and a sleeping bag. Of the 14, we have people who have emptied savings accounts, used school tuition money, held garage sales, asked the congregation for help, and asked family and friends for support - all to go and be the hands and feet of the One who matters. It goes to say something for these people and their hearts. It goes to say something about those who have supported us. It goes to say something about how God has impressed upon people who don't even believe in Him - to give and support someone in our group.

Our team is comprised of a great group of passionate people who really want to make an impact, have some significance, and help those who are in need. The youngest is 17 years old - the oldest is .. well lets just say older.. We have a nurse, and engineer, managers, VP's, students, journalists, hard workers, people who are out of work, and former military. A lot of people with very different skills and gifts but all with the same goal. To try and better the life of someone less fortunate. To try and offer a little hope in their lives.

Of the 14, only 2 have been to Haiti before. So, its safe to say, that most of us have no idea what to expect. We do know that we will be giving up many of the conveniences of home and yet, we will still be much better off than 95% of the population of Haiti. I read in the news today that a tropical wave was bringing rain to Haiti and Port-au_prince could see up to an inch of rain. With a lot of people living under sheets or in tents, one inch will create even more havoc in their lives - what these people would give to be safe and out of the elements. A couple months ago I was camping with the family and it rained so much, we bagged it- tore down the tent, threw it in the truck and headed home. Home, where it was warm- dry - and the bed was like a dream cloud. These people will have no where to go. No where to avoid the mud, the rain, the damp smell in their clothes. Most will just have to wait out the rains - hope it does not last too long and ruin what's left of their "conveniences" and their hope.

So we will give up air conditioning, our comfort foods, our Starbucks, ice cold drinks, etc - but we will still be in a very nice Guest House which most Haitians would love to enjoy. We will get 2 meals a day, a bed at night, and a roof over our heads. This is not to brag or be disrespectful, its just to say while we may be "roughing it" by our standards, we are still miles above the conditions Haitians live in today.

All of these experiences will be recorded at this blog site over the next week. The team has been encouraged to blog and share their thoughts. I would invite you to check back daily to see what has been posted so you can get an idea of the feelings and passion these 14 people are experiencing day to day.

Everyone is ready to go. Eager to serve - eager to make an impact of those we don't even know and some we will never see again. And yet in all of this, something inside me knows that after all of the work, all of the help, all of the discussions of helping - perhaps the other side of the story is not so much what "we did" - but of what "happened to us". For I don't think that any of us will come back and not be impacted. We will be impacted from those we don't know, whom we don't understand language-wise, and from whom we will never see again.

On Friday, 14 of us leave to help change peoples lives. On Tuesday, 14 of us will return with our lives changed.