Lexie DeCamp
This is Lexie DeCamp. She’s 24 years old. She grew up in Springboro, Ohio, with her mom (Suzanne), dad (Michel), & brother (Justin). She lives in Lexington, KY and she is a high school math teacher. The first time she came to Haiti was in 2012, with a team that was building houses. She was surprised by the poverty, but more impressed with the hope and joy that the people have. She’s since been back on other building trips, teacher trainings, and with World Wide Village. Each time she’s been to Haiti, she’s learned something new about herself, God, and Haiti.
Despite the poverty, lack of education, political struggles, and language barriers, she believes that hopefully she can be used by Jesus to help others and show Christ’s love to even just a few people. So far this summer, she has enjoyed meeting the teams and getting to see their first experiences of Haiti, talking to, getting to know, and building relationships with the local pastors and community leaders in Williamson and Luly, and getting to experience a new role this summer as a liaison for WWV. She’s excited to start and continue the weekly Bible studies with the teenage girls in Williamson and Luly, and to see what God will do through those!
Jocelyn Benoit
This is Jocelyn Benoit. He was born in St. Michel, Haiti, along with his twin sister and brother. At age two Jocelyn’s father passed away and by age three he was living at an orphanage because his mother was unable to care for him. He grew up in the orphanage and in 2004 he graduated high school. Praise God that this orphanage was focused on sharing the gospel with the children there and at age 8 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He went on to attend college in Port-au-Prince until January 12, 2010 when the earthquake hit Haiti at 4:53 p.m. He distinctly remembers running outside to feel the pavement cracking under his feet. There was devastation as far as he could see and he wondered, “Could this be the end?” It was at that moment he realized that he never knows what the next day may hold and really felt God calling him to minister in the streets.
Because of that day, Jesus Christ and the earthquake are his two biggest heroes. He then accepted a job near St. Michel for 2-3 years and then began college at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. He still has one year left in Texas and has loved his time in America, but feels called by God to return to Haiti to minister there. Haiti is home.
Megan LaBudde
This is Megan LaBudde. She is 21 years old and grew up in Bloomer, Wisconsin, with her mom (Debbie), dad (Kim) and brother (Joe). She is currently a student at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a biology major, and plans to attend Physician Assistant (PA) School upon her graduation in May 2017. She is a member of UNW’s symphonic band and is a residence assistant. Megan went to Haiti for the first time in 2015. It was a great week of getting to experience a totally new culture, and a much different environment than anything she’d ever experienced. When she was looking into things to do for the summer, she heard about World Wide Village and was encouraged to pursue an internship.
With her growing interest in Haiti, and Biology background, WWV seemed to be the perfect fit! After interviewing for the WWV intern position, talking with Dr. Matt about conducting a health survey, and praying and talking about the opportunity with mentors and friends, Megan was convinced that God was calling her to be in Haiti this summer. Other than spending every second of every day with Lexie, Megan’s favorite parts of being in Haiti this summer have been:
- BABIES! Getting to hold babies, seeing babies being born, and babies in general.
- Getting to know community leaders, families, and staff members in Haiti.
- Getting off to a good start with the Health Survey, and the interactions and conversations that stem from it.
- Getting to have Jocelyn as a fellow intern. He was so helpful in interpreting and interacting with the locals. It was so inspiring to see his heart for Haiti and its people, eagerness to answer God’s call, and passion for spreading the gospel.
Megan is looking forward to getting to go on adventures in Haiti for the rest of the summer. These include exploring Haiti, continuing the health survey, and continuing the bible studies with children and teenage girls.