Hope Stirred Up in Haiti

On top of worship and prayer, Bridgeway dedicated their efforts to run a medical clinic for a few mornings. 300 people were served in three days, 40 instant healings were noted, and 25 people accepted Jesus Christ.

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“It was stunning,” John Flowers said. “It was stunning to see what the Lord was doing there.”

Flowers, Bridgeway Church’s Mission Coordinator, spoke these words to the Bridgeway family a few weeks after leading a trip of ten other individuals to Croix-des-Bouquets, a commune located in the southern part of Haiti. Nov. 9-16 of 2017. Bridgeway volunteers served with Bethel Mission Outreach in Haiti, a mission organization the church has partnered with since 2010’s earthquake.

On top of worship and prayer, Bridgeway dedicated their efforts to run a medical clinic for a few mornings. 300 people were served in three days, 40 instant healings were noted, and 25 people accepted Jesus Christ. Individuals even stepped up to ask about the Lord after seeing family members healed. “Those are the greatest miracles that could ever occur,” Flowers shared with the Bridgeway community. “That’s the point of the healings.”

Kendal Bates, a stylist at Great Clips and parishioner at Bridgeway Church, served with the church for the second time in Haiti. She recalled that her most memorable experience from the 2017 trip was the day the group interceded at the state capital. Bethel Mission Outreach’s director, Gary Hyppolite, preached around the riots as the team prayed for the government and the Haitian people. “There were so many people against us. So many people cursing us and cursing Jesus,” Bates recalled. “But there was no fear.”

In addition to working the medical clinics and interceding at the presidential grounds, Bridgeway facilitated technology workshops for 155 individuals. Hyppolite had asked about the volunteers’ skills prior to their visit and noticed that two individuals were IT certified. With Haiti currently at a 70% unemployment rate and its education system mostly privatized, the team’s technology seminars and 11 donated computers helped encourage economic independence. “It was a beautiful thing to see a hunger for hope,” Flowers said.

This was Bridgeway’s eighth trip to Haiti and Flower’s first time leading a mission team larger than three people. However, Flowers felt divine encouragement as “the hand of the Lord was present and evident” the entire trip. Every other mission to Haiti resulted in a few team members getting sick from the environmental changes. This time, not only was the group ailment-free their entire stay, but the weather also proved favorable. Instead of working in the scorching 90-degree heat, Bridgeway volunteers spent the week under an 80-degree, breezy overcast.

While Bridgeway’s next trip to Haiti isn’t scheduled until 2019, donations towards Bridgeway Mission Outreach can be made by emailing John Flowers. For more information about the Haiti trip application process or Bridgeway’s other global partnerships, or to donate, contact John Flowers at [email protected].

 

Featured Image by Kayla Gibson

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About the Author

Rachael’s testimony can be summed up in four little words: from ash to glitter. She's witnessed Jesus transform her brokenness into extravagance and now she brings her ‘extra’ self to boardgames, lip-sync battles, and costume contests. Currently, she lives in South Carolina where she works as the Membership Engagement Coordinator for Kingdom Winds and devotes time to writing, teaching, and crafting dangly earrings.