"Visit Orphans and Widows in their Affliction"

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27

Haiti is a beautiful country filled with strong Haitian men, women and children, estimated at 10 million. The country is also the poorest in the Americas battling political corruption, malaria, cholera, child trafficking, and the daunting task of rebuilding after the the January 2010 earthquake that still has over 500,000 people living in tent cities.

I had the privilege of joining a team of 11 other men traveling to Haiti with the mission of finding out how we can best "visit orphans". What was evident throughout the trip is that the Lord is gracious in leading us as we seek Him for direction. We saw many doors closed, at one point we were stopped by a band of rioters after a 3 hour bus ride to visit with a group of 25 orphans, we were used as road block for protest and then turned around to head back to the mission house, in addition supplies we needed to do the work we had initially planned on were not present and some that we initially trusted were now appearing questionable. But as we committed our path to the Lord it was clear to see that God had others in place that we were to visit. God used a young lady named Sarah, who has committed to working at God's Planet Mission House and serving the orphans and street kids of Haiti, He used a young Haitian gentleman, Eve, who guided us through Port Au Prince, and a Haitian Pastor and his wife who care for 35 children at Agape Children's Home.

Our visit with Agape Children's Home was pure evidence of God's plan for us being in Haiti. The children were delightful, well cared for, sang worship songs for us, were appreciative when we presented them with gifts but lived in conditions worse than what the incarcerated are treated to here in the states. Our project for the time there was to love on the orphans and the care givers and to provide running water to the two bathrooms in the home, as the current water situation included the kids running the water in buckets for bathing, washing clothes, cooking and filling toilets. Through a team effort we were able to devise a plan, bring together the monetary resources for a pump and materials, obtain the necessary parts, water line, 300 gallon basin and connectors and then see the project to completion-water flow and smiles stretched across happy faces.

The Lord works in amazing ways and it certainly is blessing to be a apart of what he has ordained. There is still much that is to be done in visiting with the orphans of Haiti and I know that our work is not done.

"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:17-18

Matt