Mark and Jennifer Heideman traveled with our September Missions team to Haiti with practical purposes in mind: For Mark, it was a second trip to Mission of Hope and an opportunity to take on a leadership role. For Jennifer, it was a first trip to Haiti and an opportunity to connect with their future son’s homeland (the Heidemans are currently in the process of adopting from Haiti).
Hear from them about their experience in one of the most impoverished nations in the Western Hemisphere and how what they learned there had nothing to do with what’s practical.
Jennifer
During the first village day, we were invited into a tiny home by an older widow. She began crying as she told us that her roof was in such bad shape that everything in her home got drenched when it rained. She asked us to pray that her roof would be repaired.
I felt God asking me to pray for her. I remember thinking, “Really, God, me?”
Looking back, I don’t think I really believed in the power of prayer. My prayers in the past were sort of wimpy. But God was saying, “My heart is for the widow. Pray with authority.” It was then that I prayed that the roof would be repaired — and that it would happen quickly. But then we had to leave… And that night it poured. I just kept thinking of this woman.
Two days later, Salem Hicks (a Blue Ridger currently serving at Mission of Hope) found me. Salem said a team member from a completely different church, who knew nothing of my prayer, pulled her aside and said that God moved her heart to provide this woman with a roof. The woman would get a new roof the next week.
Even in that I didn’t think it was my prayer. But God started working in me. Since then, I am learning how powerful prayer is and believing in it.
Mark
For the September trip, Blue Ridge sent two teams totaling 18 people. One team visited and ministered to villages and one provided mobile medical care. Mark helped to lead the village team. He shared what he learned in that role:
I’m very task oriented. Before the trip, the biggest thing was the task. Being on the trip, I learned that if I’m just focusing on the task and there’s no relationship, there’s a void.
One day, we went into a village to paint a house. About halfway through, we ran out of paint. While waiting for more, I felt God prompting us to reach out. We visited with neighbors and the homeowner. This man had been so excited, he had woken up at 2 a.m. Still, the homeowner told me that he thought we were going to paint and leave. He said, “You took time out for us. If I don’t get a meal today, I am still full.” This is especially powerful when you consider that this is a man who knows what it means to go a day without a meal.
People matter.
I’ve brought this lesson home and started serving in Guest Services, where I can be more relational and less task oriented.
This is an answered prayer. As we prayed for this trip, we kept saying over and over, “You’re not just going to experience Haiti or to do a missions trip, you’re going so Jesus can do something in your heart.”
Want to learn more about Missions at Blue Ridge? Send an email to missions@blue-ridge.org to receive our newsletters and updates. You can also be a part of what we’re doing in Haiti by donating shoes next month. Watch for more information coming soon about our Christmas Initiatives.