Bonjour

A year has past since my Spainish adventures and I am headed with a team of 11 girls to Port Au Prince, Haiti for disability ministry missions through the Cause 4 Life internship program (via Joni & Friends). I am so excited for this experience because it is the last destination in this month long internship and serves as the culmination of all we have learned these past 2 weeks.

The ( flexible) plan for the 9 days we are there is a vacation bible school program for the kids involved in a church and orphanage. Many of these kids have disabilities and struggle with society's harsh, negative views of their disability. In Haiti, disability has been viewed as a curse, something to be embarrassed of and hide, or something deserved. As a result of the increased number of physical disabilities from the earthquake a few years ago , the culture has slowly been changing their views and Haiti has made steps toward accessibility and assistance for individuals with disabilities.

Our aim is to model what disability ministry looks like through our service and relationships with the kids and community members. I was partially responsible for developing teacher training materials. I focused my content on developing an inclusive classroom community where all students belong, can access the classroom, and feel loved and valued. I am so excited to see what God does through this ministry. I have no idea what to expect from the teachers in regards to how they teach and manage the classroom at this point. We will have times of sharing, question/answers, devotions, prayer, and training with adults (caregivers, teachers, parents) throughout the week which is a blessing.

In spiritual preparation for this trip, I focused on Psalm 67:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, your saving power among the nations. Let the peoples praise You, o God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy because you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth...our God shall bless us.

From this Psalm, I love that all peoples, from all nations, regardless of race, age, language, or disability, are welcomed into God's kingdom and are praising Him together. The unity that God has created through the gospel is so beautiful, strong, and something we can not obtain apart from Him. I am so thankful for His grace as He shows us His plans over time through suffering and times of joy. 

Here is our beautiful intern team: