A week ago today we returned to the community that first captured my heart the weekend after Hurricane Matthew devastated the southern peninsula of Haiti. Through a series of events that can only be explained by the providence of God, we met the most beautiful people in the most beautiful place that October weekend - a rural community called Doko.
We have returned twice since that time, purposefully investing in the people and their community, praying for God's leading, feeling responsible to pursue our mission of hope-filled, Gospel-centered relationships.
Throughout his writing, Steven Garber often asks the question: "Knowing what you know, what will you do?" That seems to the be question lingering in my heart since our first visit to Doko.
“And because he saw himself in relationship to a people in a place, he saw himself as responsible for the way their world turned out, for the way it was and the way it ought to be. ”
Here's the thing, though. Doko doesn't need me. Doko doesn't need Haiti Awake. Doko needs Jesus. And we feel that Jesus is calling us to purposeful engagement in Doko as we listen to the community, work with its leaders, and learn together. We're excited about the future, especially a special project planned for this summer.
Doko is a long, difficult trip from Port au Prince. Few people will ever make the journey there with us, but I hope those of you who love Haiti Awake will come to understand our passion for this community and be willing to invest in it, as well. And maybe, just maybe, one day, names like Francis, Duval, Manman Maken, and Camaumaun will mean something to you in the same way names like Handy, Steeve, Polo, and Manoucheka do now.
I'm sharing the following photos in the hopes they will tell a story my words never can.
