| Hope In Haiti |
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The concrete walls of the compound were lined with the glistening shards of broken glass bottles to keep intruders out. Safe within its parameters, a group of Missouri Baptist University students could hear rhythmic chants and reverberations of drums less than 100 yards away. The Haitian Voodooists had just begun their midnight worship ritual. “It was a culture shock,” said Jacob Hammack, an MBU junior who is pursuing a degree in social science and secondary education. Hammack was one of 14 MBU students who attended a week-long mission trip to Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. There, they led the Haitian people in worship during evening crusades and distributed desperately needed food items to people who, in some cases, are literally eating the mud from the ground on which they sleep.  The worldwide increase in food prices has caused the country’s situation to become dire, to say the least. Living on less than $2 each day, Haitians on average can no longer afford food staples such as rice. Some of Haiti’s poor have resorted to quelling their hunger pains by eating mud baked by the hot Haitian sun into cakes, according to recent news reports. The students resided with their missionary contact, Rev. Gary Hyppolite. Hyppolite is a native Haitian dedicated to running a private Christian school and church within his compound. During the mission, MBU students dedicated themselves to a special project: building a home for a native Haitian family of eight. The mother and father, along with their six children, had been living in squalid conditions beneath a tree and a shelter made of sticks bound together. The mission team had very limited experience in construction. “But what was so neat was how God provided,” MBU Campus Minister Jonathan White said. “The morning that we started working, two bricklayers showed up to help with the construction. Gary didn’t call them or anything. They knew exactly what to do.” The two men continued to assist on the construction site during the four days that it took to complete the home. “People saw and heard what we were doing and offered their services,” said John Barnes, an MBU senior pursuing a degree in worship arts. “Even though we couldn’t talk to them because of the language barrier, they just jumped right on board. They could see that we were doing this for a family in need.” From 9 a.m. until sundown, the MBU students worked at the site. They began by destroying the flimsy stick hut and digging a hole that would serve as the foundation for a more substantial home. During construction, they formed an assembly line to mix cement, carry cinder blocks and bring well water to keep the cement wet. Other students brought bottled drinking water to the site to prevent dangerous dehydration.  The MBU students had to work quickly in order to avoid the problems that the fickle elements posed. It rained for three of the four days of construction, leaving their new friends without shelter. The mother and her six children stayed with the MBU students in the safety of the compound. The father, however, slept beneath the tree during those three rainy nights. He was determined to protect the precious building materials that would become his family’s new home. After four days of labor, the efforts of the students had come to fruition. The Haitian family now had a two bedroom home measuring 15 by 20 feet in diameter. The tin-roof structure—meager in comparison to the homes of the MBU students— was nothing less than perfect to its new owners. “I think we left there showing that God has not forsaken these people, that he has not left them but he’s there to stay, and that he will not forsake those that call upon His name,” Barnes said. The trip proved to be life-changing for the students as well. “It was definitely life-changing and perspective changing,” Hammack said. “The experience made me change the way I want to use the resources that God has given me. These people had so little, yet they were so joyful for what they had, so grateful. So they kind of forgot about what they didn’t have because they were so happy with what they do have.” |