We are all Missionaries

My first five days in Haiti, I was traveling with Gabrielle's mom, Ms. Apollon. We were in Carrefour-feuilles, a town not far from Port-au-Prince, staying at the home of an evangelist/pastor there. At one point during that time, I was having a conversation with one of the young men in the church there. We were talking about what we wanted to be when we 'grew up,' and I mentioned feeling called to missions. His response was, "But you are already a missionary!" Those words have stayed with me throughout our time in Haiti, and especially now, as our trip draws to a close.

These last few days Gabrielle, Ms. Apollon, Marckley (Gabrielle's cousin), Keesandra (a Barnard student) and I have been pouring our time and energy into a group of about one-hundred children in Kenscoff. Our work has been difficult on several levels, because on top of the challenges of teaching three classes with a minimal amount of teachers and a huge age range (from five to sixteen) the leaders of the church there are currently torn apart by strife. It has been hard at times not to let our relationship with them affect us as we taught classes and spent time with the children. At one point, the pastor was even threatening to have another community leader killed. As a group, Gabrielle, her mom, Marckley, Keesandra and I had to talk and pray about if it was even safe for us to stay in Kenscoff.

The trouble we faced in Kenscoff has made me think twice about what it means to be called to ministry. It was obvious to our group that because the pastor in Kenscoff was making such serious threats, he had strayed from true Christian ministry and leadership, (as hard as that might be to define.) Erwin McManus makes a stab at it in his book, Seizing Your Divine Moment: "To follow Jesus is to move with God. When you become part of God's movement, you are a missionary. Every missionary has a mission. The mission gives him both intentionality and purpose...he is required to seize every divine moment. Is it possible that God longs for this for all of us?"

As our time in Haiti draws to a close, I find myself thinking about what our mission is in Haiti. I have no better words than to rephrase what McManus wrote: to follow Jesus and move with God. We have done so with the usual human mixture of success and failure. However, I hope that we have been able to bring a a part of God's justice, peace and hope to communities in Haiti. I am so, so glad that God asked me to come to Haiti. I have met people who will be on my heart and in my prayers once I leave, and I have probably learned more from those I have met than they have from me. At the very least, I am overwhelmed with how much I still have to learn, not only about Haiti, but also about ministry!

Nevertheless, the young man I spoke with during my first few days in Haiti was right: I am already a missionary, as are all of us who strive to 'follow Jesus and move with God.' The question is no longer 'are we called to missions,' but where are we called and how will we move? I hope that I will always have the courage to follow and move with God wherever that might lead.---Anna Hunt