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BY JEN LEWIS

In June, United Methodists from six area churches participated in a UMVIM team to Merger, Haiti, in support of the Miracia Hospital project of the Institute of Grace. The team provided medical, education, and construction assistance and raised approximately $40,000. The words below were a part of Jen Lewis' presentation to St. Paul UMC in Lusby after returning.

We have been home from Haiti now for several days. I always struggle with this transition of being "home." After living in community in countries where basic needs are not met, I have yet to feel like I am lacking in anything while there, rather, I feel entirely complete. It is when I return to the abundance of the U.S. I feel empty.

During one of our last moments together as a team, we discussed how we were going to live differently, how what we saw and the overwhelming joy and love we felt were going to change us. I have continued to ponder this question, as well as how I can be proactive in remembering my time spent in Haiti.

The question I hear most often after returning from a mission trip is, "What stuck out to you the most?" The unwavering joy in an abundance of poverty, the children, and feeding the children lunch after VBS each day, has usually been my response.

I have been on trips where we give large bags of beans, cornmeal or rice to villages and families for them to cook and serve at their own discretion. But this was the first time I have ever been a part of the whole process of feeding hungry children - making the food, filling up the plates with rice and beans and then handing the plates of food out and pouring clean water into each thirsty child's mouth.

It was when the children finished eating their portion that it became evident to me what hunger actually meant, what it looked liked.

I will never forget the older sister who was feeding not only herself but her three younger siblings from the same plate of food. She refused to take more than one helping, but when a boy asked her for some of her food after consuming his portion, she gladly and generously poured the rice and beans into his hands.

When we were exiting the airport in Port au Prince, en route to the hospital where we would be staying, it was evident to the locals we were a team. As we were making our way to the bus I heard a young woman say, "Why are they here? The earthquake was two years ago." The question at first startled me and then served as an awesome reminder of "why."

Why were we there? What could we possibly offer? Rachel White, Liz Chambers and I were roommates. Every night before we went to sleep we would de-brief the day and go over our highs and lows. Multiple times this question of why we were there came up.

I believe it is one of Satan's nastiest schemes to dishearten and overwhelm those who are seeking to do good and bring God's Kingdom here on earth. And Haiti is a perfect place to become overwhelmed and feel like you are not making a difference. The truth is that the only thing we have to offer is to share what Christ has freely given us - salvation. It is what we have in Christ that enables us to go out and make a difference.

A favorite quote of mine is from Edward Everett Hale. It encourages me. "I am only one, but still I am one, I cannot do everything, but I can do something and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do."

The team practiced this. By God's grace, every day each of us was doing the something we could do - whether it was painting, fixing a neighbor's truck, feeding a child, teaching local pastors, working the clinic, administering vaccines, or making a complete fool of ourselves singing and dancing to the banana song - each of us was doing the something we could do.

My time in Haiti served as a reminder that regardless of ethnicity, economic standing, educational background or location, there is something each of us can do on a daily basis to enrich the life of another human being.

Whether it is using a talent or skill you have been given, spending your financial resources in a way that is less me-centered or whatever it may be there is always something you can do for someone else. That may seem daunting, this idea of always serving, but when you accept Christ as your Savior and Lord of your life, it is no longer your abilities or status that enrich someone's life, it is Christ's perfect Spirit living in you that enables you to serve and love fully. And it is that love that transforms hearts and lives and brings God's kingdom here on earth.

The churches involved in his trip include St. Paul UMC in Lusby, Trinity UMC in Germantown, Woodside UMC in Silver Spring, Bowie UMC in Bowie, Glen Mar UMC in Ellicott City, and Mt. Oak UMC in Mitchellville. Financial support was also provided by Glen Dale UMC and many others.