Holy Ground - August 12, 2015

"Then The Lord said to Moses, 'Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.'" Exodus 3:5

For the past two days I have been standing on holy ground.

It hasn't always looked like it, but it is true nonetheless. I first realized it yesterday in Cité Soleil, one of the poorest places on the planet, much less here in Haiti. After our first water stop where we delivered clean water for free (don't ever take your clean, accessible water for granted!), we made our way to the site of Hope Church, the church that Healing Haiti is building in the midst of the city. It is being built upon 12 feet of garbage as well as the grave sites of poor Haitians who couldn't afford any other burial. It is transforming a former garbage dump into a place of hope. It is indeed holy ground.

This morning we spent time at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. With around 30 children in each of four rooms, it serves primarily children whose parents have brought them there because they are malnourished. Our job was to simply love the children and help feed them lunch. As we walked among the rows of cribs, we were indeed standing on holy ground.

In the afternoon we spent time at the National History Museum of Haiti, where we learned not only about the history of Haiti, but also about the resiliency of the Haitian people. Our guide took great pride in his country and as he shared Haiti's story, we found ourselves traversing upon the holy ground of the history of an amazing people.

Then it was off to General Hospital, the government-funded hospital in the middle of Port-au-Prince. We delivered water and small care packages and held hands. It was hot, crowded with parents and sick children, with flies among the patients and seemingly short on staff -- and it was indeed holy ground.

Looking through the eyes of our American abundance it would be easy to look at all these places and see only a trash dump, malnourished children, a troubled history or overcrowded hospital. But when you realize that God is present and calling us to do something, just like God called Moses, then you see that you are indeed standing on Holy Ground. It would be easy to look at the magnitude of the problems and make excuses like Moses did for not going. But that would be to underestimate God's ability to work through even the smallest of actions to bring hope and healing to a hurting world. It would be to misunderstand our role in making things right. We aren’t the ones who can "fix" the problems of the world - only God can do that.

But, just like God promised Moses that he wouldn't have to take on Pharaoh alone, God promises us that we don't have to take on the big challenges of the world alone either. All we have to do is respond to the people that are right here in front of us and do what little we can. Because God can take a water hose, a hug, a willingness to listen to someone else's story, and a small care package and use them to change the world.

Because you see, it's all Holy Ground if you're open seeing it. I am grateful for this opportunity to stand upon the Holy Ground of Haiti. And I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next several days.

Jacqui Thone—first-time Team Memberå