On Friday, May 28th, I carried the last bag of food out of our depot and into distribution. Our mission is finished and by God’s grace we succeeded – 350,000 lbs of food delivered to churches, schools, and towns all over La Gonave along with many other acts of ministry. We sent 2300 tarps to Port au Prince, medicines to the clinic in Petite Guave, 2750 Gallons of Diesel to WISH, tools for WISH, tools for Ywam St Marc, and many acts of individual kindness. I say none of this for us to boast, God forbid. I want to point to what God has done because many people chose to obey Him together.
I could spend a long time writing about all of the different places we’ve taken food to. I could write about all the different schools I’ve seen giving out our food, the children that clapped for you and all sang “thank you” in unison in Creole, the parents who want me to pass their thanks to kind strangers in America. I could write pages of detail about the need I saw, both numbers and accounts. I could tell you how much what we did was needed, how much the earthquake magnified an already grave need and the ways we met that need. However, let it suffice to say that God asked us to feed His children and we did.
And now I believe He says stop. The reasons you already know. We can’t continue relief feeding for too long or we’ll create dependency, we’ll ruin the food economy, we’ll take the will out of agriculture. A few weeks into the rainy season is a very good time, just as many fruits are beginning to ripen. Again, though, I am stopping because I believe this is God’s time for us to stop.
Haiti is different now. Some people say we’ve entered the new normal. In Port au Prince today, as I get ready to leave the country, I saw that the tents now longer look life refugee hovels, they look like people making the best of things, making a life where they are. That’s a very Haitian way of being – “degage” in Creole, make do. The bedsheet homes are all but gone. Now tents and tarps have rugs on the floor, Christmas lights hung inside, and goods for sale out front. Are things where they should be? No, tents are not houses and churches lie in ruins. But, there is an economy again, and there is feeling that the crisis has passed. What I saw in Port au Prince is true on La Gonave, the emergency is over.
And perhaps, now the real work begins? God knows who He will call. Our faithful friends, the Wesleyan Missionaries, who I have labored beside, are beginning their great rebuilding of so many ruined churches. Ywam Montana, who’s given so much in money and people, is looking to further study and work toward long term development on La Gonave. They’ll probably even send a team in late June. Our friends in Calvary Chapel Spokane who have also spent so much to help their brethren are considering how they can help in church rebuilding, to include sending a project manager, and possibly partnering with the same churches in the future. My prayer is that this is by no means all. Time is short and the laborers are few. Let’s pray for more. Let’s pray for those who do labor, let’s support them.
The Earthquake of January 12th was a terrible thing but out of it we have seen great beauty in God’s people answering His call. If there is any one thing I have learned in this, it is that you CAN do something about it. God must open the doors and He must do the work but if a few people stand up together in Him, they CAN do something. I say this as a regular person and nothing more. I, we, have done nothing more than be obedient, but God has done something here worthy of praise. I want to give Him all glory for that.
Since this is the end of this mission, the very end, I also want to say one more thank you to all of my friends and team mates. We all did this together. For my part, I could never have done this without your prayers. Those who pray may be unknown on Earth but I do not think they are in heaven. I believe, in the end, that this entire mission is a result of people praying in accordance with God’s will. This is His Kingdom. All Glory to Him.
HS.
Caleb Thompson
