When you consider the ministry of Jesus, what picture comes to your mind? The fearless Messiah faithfully proclaiming the gospel of His kingdom to Israel? Or do you think about the blind, lame, deaf, mute, tormented and possessed whom He healed? What about His intimate teaching to His own twelve followers, the future leaders of the Church?
In Matthew 9:35, we read “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” So you see, Jesus did all of these things – He taught the religious leaders about God’s truth, He proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom to the poor and He healed all kinds of disease. This is verse could sum up our mission. We at Aid For Haiti (AFH) seek to glorify God in three ways:
First, to teach and train Haitian spiritual leaders about God’s truth
Second, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to all Haitians who will hear
Third, to meet pressing health needs of the Haitian people through research and medicine.
Training the ministers
The greatest needs of Haiti are spiritual. In a country where about half of the population still practices some form of voodoo, there is a great opportunity for the gospel to bring the light of Jesus Christ to a people in spiritual darkness (Isaiah 9:2). Many people attend church or are marginally religious, but even among believers, spiritual knowledge is limited. There is an apparent lack of understanding regarding Biblical principles, even among more learned and experienced believers. We desire to have training sessions and even conferences for local pastors, teachers and elders to help our brothers prepare and learn God’s truth as they study and share God’s Word.
Focusing on health needs
The old adage, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care” rings true in Haiti. Medical clinics are a practical expression of our concern in the mountains of southern Haiti where hospitals in Port Au Prince or on the central plateau are at least a day’s journey away. In addition to the terrain, the financial burden of even the most rudimentary medical care is cost-prohibitive for the majority of the mountain people. A clinic in their “backyard”, at low cost to them, is a rarity – there they have medical needs addressed, whether basic or life threatening. Additionally, we initially were involved with research benefiting patients with goiter in the mountains of southern Haiti. We continue to address the micronutrional needs of those and other people as the major thrust of our medical operations.
Proclaiming the Gospel
We are fortunate to bring not only medicine, but the gospel to Haiti. Whether one-on-one in a clinic exam room (a curtained off corner of a bigger room), or to the waiting crowds as a whole, we have an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with many patients.