WHY DO I GIVE? BECAUSE I HAVE RECEIVED!
By Marcia Evans
Truly being humbled by receiving during a time of need has changed my life. Almost three years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. During the eight months of treatment, my family and I were fed, given fundraising money and donations, and did not go without pay at my job. We were humbled and grateful to be given so much. The best gift however, was to be taught the gospel and the meaning of receiving Christ. His love, grace and faithfulness is what has given us strength and hope.
Soon after receiving Christ, World Wide Village’s vision in Haiti entered my heart. This is an organization that is working alongside of Haitians in Williamson and Luly. The communities have been asked what is needed and what would help. City on a Hill project is what these Haitian communities have hoped for. Sponsoring a student through World Wide Village is a way that my family and I are giving a student and his family the gift of education, hope and love. On my two mission trips with World Wide Village I have experienced God’s work firsthand and an abundance giving love and hugs.
The story of “Jane” is an example of giving through World Wide Village. “Jane” came into our medical clinic complaining of bad cramps and she believed that she was urinating blood. She is a 24-year-old, single mother of three girls. “Jane” told us she was currently with a boyfriend and they hoped to have a baby boy together. After a long conversation, she confessed that she had an abortion about a year ago and that shortly after is when her symptoms started. She stated that she had gone to a doctor a few months ago that did an ultrasound, but she didn’t understand what the doctor was saying and wondered why she couldn’t get pregnant. Shame had kept her from telling her boyfriend about the abortion. “Jane” brought our doctors a copy of her doctor visit and the ultrasound.
The doctors conferred from the ultrasound that “Jane” had a bad abortion, her uterus and bladder had been punctured. The news that surgery was required to correct her problem and potentially lose her uterus was devastating to “Jane.” From the medical records we learned that she was also HIV+. More shame on her young face was hard to see. She confirmed that she knew she was HIV+ from her boyfriend. How can we help her now? The doctors helped arrange the surgery, but she needed to be given Christ.
After a good hour of telling her she was a loved child of God and sharing the gospel, “Jane” prayed with us to receive Christ. The next morning she was waiting for us with a new presence of joy and a huge smile. She shared that she told her boyfriend everything and he was supportive of her accepting Christ. We presented her with church clothes, a Kreyol Bible and introduced her to the pastor. Giving “Jane” the gift of Christ was the most powerful experience of seeing God’s work and love. Giving the gift of hope to someone, as I received, is my purpose.
GIVE TODAY!
SOME ASK, WHY HAITI? I ASK, WHY NOT HAITI?
By Chrissy Petersen
I have now made four trips to Haiti in partnership with https://worldwidevillage.org. After each trip, my heart is filled with more aches, more love, more worry, and more joy. I now find myself asking what more can I do? When can I return? Why am I still stateside?
There are several organizations in Haiti and I am sure that they are all doing wonderful things. However, I love that I get to work alongside the Haitian and American staff of World Wide Village. One of the many things that I love and appreciate about the World Wide Village organization is that instead of telling the people of Haiti how to ‘fix’ their country, they are in Haiti asking the people ‘What can we help you with?’ ‘How can we help you build back better?’
This organization has a positive presence within the communities they work alongside and are there to help with the everyday needs of the families and children.
This trip was different than any of the past 3 trips.
I was forced to slow down and to spend abundant time with the children in Williamson. There was no project to think about, no tools to pack, no measurements to figure out, no plan B or C or D to create. There were children who wanted attention. There where children who wanted their pictures taken. There were children who wanted to have a dance party. There were children who wanted to hold hands. There were children who wanted to braid our hair. There were children who wanted to give hugs. There were children who wanted to be children. There were children who simply wanted to be loved.
It’s crazy to think that with the amount of technology and gizmos and gadgets we have access to in the states, we still crave and miss out on so much of what life is all about.
Love.
Life is about loving others.
Life is about loving ourselves.
Life is about loving our God with all that we can.
Life is about sharing the love of God with others.
I believe that God partnered me with World Wide Village and brought me to Haiti to experience a love like no other.
Time and time again…
…we drove past the people in the market
…we walked past the families in the villages.
…we played with the children in the schoolyards.
…we spoke with the translators.
…we worked alongside the construction team.
…we trusted the drivers to safely get us from place to place.
This trip was different than any of the past 3 trips.
Yes, I am different than those who live in Haiti.
The color of my skin.
The language that I speak.
The life that I live.
The world that I wake up to.
What is not different?
The God who created us all.
The love that we long to feel.
The sense of belonging that we hope to find.
I believe that God partnered me with World Wide Village and brought me to Haiti to experience a love like no other.
This trip was different that any of the past 3 trips.
My heart aches for those whom we could not help.
My heart aches for those whom experience violence.
My heart aches for those whom go to bed with nothing in their stomach.
My heart aches for those whom go day after day without their family.
God has placed an ache into my heart…
It is because of the memories of this trip and past trips that I look forward to many more experiences in Haiti with World Wide Village.
INSPIRED BY ROSALINA
By Kim Anderson
While they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” some moments are not caught on camera, yet are permanently ingrained in our minds. These moments are often the most special and are one of the reasons giving to World Wide Village is so meaningful to me.
What inspires me to give to World Wide Village? The answer is simple…the people we serve. People with real names, real faces and real stories you might have a hard time believing. People I have come to love. This short story is just one example of a thousand stories that I could share about why I choose to give to World Wide Village.
It was 2013 when my husband and I first traveled to Haiti to help with medical missions in a rural village. Our experiences in Haiti were life changing and we committed to leading medical trips twice a year going forward.
During our third trip we had the opportunity to meet Youventa Alseme, one of our sponsored children who was 4-years-old at the time. After school finished for the day, Youventa walked across the small gravel road to our makeshift clinic just to give us a shy “hello” (actually “Bonswa” in Haitian Creole).
After meeting Youventa, I really wanted to connect with her family to see how we could best support them. Youventa had a 10-year-old neighbor named Rosalina who offered to walk us to her home.
My friend and I set off to meet Youventa’s family with a Haitian translator, Rosalina, Rosalina’s sister named Anchilove, Rosalina’s younger cousin and Youventa. In Haiti I always wear very sturdy shoes because of the poor walking conditions. We often walk through sharp gravel, rough “grasses”, occasional broken glass and garbage.
As we were walking I noticed that Rosalina and Youventa were the only two girls with shoes. Anchilove and Rosalina’s younger cousin were barefoot and carefully stepping on the rough path. The memories of the next moment will forever be etched on my heart as I watched a girl at the tender age of ten demonstrate so much love and self-sacrifice.
I remember watching as Anchilove walked barefoot holding onto Rosalina’s hand.
I remember hearing Anchilove’s soft cry as she stepped on a thorn in the rough path.
I remember watching Rosalina bend down and gently remove the thorn from her sister’s small foot.
I remember watching Rosalina selflessly remove her own shoes and offer them to her younger cousin as she lifted Anchilove onto her back.
I remember watching Rosalina carry Anchilove while she walked barefoot through the thorns.
(Photo of Molly Jones with Rosalina *right* and her mother and sisters)
These moments are what inspire me to give to World Wide Village and the work they are doing in Haiti. Girls like Rosalina deserve the opportunity to receive an education. Girls like Rosalina deserve medical care in their community. Girls like Rosalina deserve to live in a community where housing and jobs are available for their parents. Girls like Rosalina deserve to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the mission of World Wide Village and the reason I am inspired to give. This is #MyGivingStory.