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| The Bartow Family in Haiti, January 2014. From top left: Kayla (Travis' fiancee), sons: Travis, Isaac, Jesse, Lisa, Bryan, daughter Kate, and Brock (Kate's fiancé). |
Immediately following the earthquake of 2010, Bryan and Lisa organized and led emergency relief efforts in Port Au Prince, establishing first medical emergency response in the Carrefour area, which soon became a clinic. After the initial time of emergency was over, they returned to Jeremie to aid and support the thousands of refugees pouring into the village from the capital city.
To read the blog Lisa maintained throughout the relief efforts, visit www.haitireliefupdates.blogspot.com.
About Full Life Haiti:
There are literally thousands of short-term mission opportunities in Haiti. So what sets us apart?
Here are a few things to consider:
- We are of Haitian descent.
- We support only indigenous Haitian churches/projects.
- We are the fourth and fifth generation to be spreading the gospel in Jeremie, Haiti.
- Our philosophy of missions is people-focused rather than project-based.
- Our teams are submersed in Haitian culture.
- We encourage various forms of ministry based on individual capabilities and readiness.
- We are flexible to allow the Holy Spirit room to move through our teams.
Short term missions, for the most part, offer some project in need of assistance. It may be a building that needs to be built, or a wall that needs to be painted. Americans are given the opportunity to serve while rubbing shoulders with other Haitian workers. Usually, they are housed on a compound with either an orphanage or a church facility or a school.
If you are looking for a work project, this is not the trip for you. Haiti has an unemployment rate of 80%. The last thing we want to do is take jobs from people who need them so desperately. We believe that missions are about people, not projects. On occasion, we will take a specialty team if the Haitians request it and we also will take specialty teams like medical or dental teams to service some of the remote areas. But even in these cases, we make sure that the primary focus of the endeavor is spiritual.
This people-oriented focus is very different from most short-term missions as our teams are saturated almost entirely in the Haitian culture. The reason that we have chosen this focus is because the Haitians are people-oriented. They are hospitable, have little regard for times and deadlines, and would rather have a conversation than "do something." Our culture is the opposite. So in order to make an impact, we must, in a sense, speak the language of the people. We cannot do things the American way and expect great spiritual results. We must do things the Haitian way. We have come to this conclusion over the years by building strong relationships with the Haitian people and also by attending the school of hard knocks! We hope to continue to grow and change as a ministry as God continues to guide and teach us through the people of Haiti, whom we love so dearly.
