“It was a weekend full of missionary adventures, I left my home and my comfort to come to serve and I am grateful…” These were the words of one of the participants at the end of the first Maximum Mission in Haiti, which was held July 11th to 13th 2014, under the leadership of Kesner Absolu, French Field Global Mission Coordinator, with the support of Ketsia Audain, and Raymond Appolon and Yverose Diogène, NYI National Council members. We also had the support of missionaries, David Campos, French Field NCM Coordinator and Erika Chaves, missionary for the GENESIS project.
On the first day there was a 4-hour drive to the place called Thiote in the South-East District. The visiting group was composed of 18 people, mostly young people who paid for their transportation and food.
The activity started on Saturday with a devotional led by a 19 year old and very lively singing in Creole. Also, there was a small introduction to what is Maximum Mission as training for the local group and after that there was a leadership workshop led by the national NYI president, Ketsia Audain, teaching the participants to work with excellence. That same afternoon, the young people divided in groups to evangelize various sectors.
It’s worthy telling the story of how God used the young Haitians in one of the evangelism groups who visited a small house and saw a sick lady, they decided to pray for her and start taking an interest in her overall life. When they finished praying for her health, she thanked and asked them to pray for her grandson, who in recent days had not been walking well. The young man, who led the prayer, lovingly asked the lady to remove the herbs bangles surrounding the wrists and ankles of the 3 years old child, which is a Buddhist practice. She did so and the prayer ended in joy and in a choir for healing. We trust that God will continue to heal that little one! It is wonderful to see how God uses young people to carry His message and to heal and bring release from spiritual bondage.
After evangelizing, there was an activity with 300 children. They heard a Bible story, sang, saw a puppet show and played. Each participant brought toothpaste and a toothbrush to teach children about oral hygiene and how to wash their hands. At this event there were about 20 young people from the local commission. That Saturday ended with the Goal Project and an evangelistic service for new converts.
Sunday morning a worship service was held, in the afternoon the final of the World Cup was broadcasted live. It was a time to share the message of salvation with the evangelistic ball. That afternoon in a nearby neighborhood the Goal Project was organized and the Jesus film was presented at the same place with the support of local leaders and church planters.
A total of 38 people accepted Jesus and 18 young people were impacted to continue working in their local churches and districts, bringing the gospel holistically. Thank God for what He is doing in Haiti!
