Using Your Unique Gifts in Haiti

Sometimes people shy away from serving on a mission trip because they don’t feel like they have any special skills that can be used. Or they feel they don’t have the “typical mission trip skills” – like leading a VBS or helping on a construction project. While we believe most anyone can play with kids or haul blocks, we understand some people want to be able to help with a special project.

You might be surprised at the wide variety of people and skills that God uses to fulfill his mission and meet needs of those who serve Him! He recently used a police officer from Kansas City for a key “behind-the-scenes” project that, now complete, has hugely blessed RoRo, Eline, and the mission in general.

Terry is a police officer from Kansas City who came to Peredo in the fall of 2016 on a last-minute opportunity to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. During his time there, he realized his specialty (the development of communication systems for the police department) could be a big benefit to the mission.

Terry spent the next several months collecting the equipment for the project and arranging for donations to bring to Haiti. Then, he and his son, Logan, came to Haiti with us in March to install a two-way radio tower. This transmits the internet signal from the hospital to the apartment, which allows RoRo and Eline to have internet in the apartment. Now, that they can conduct mission business and communicate with their family from their home. This has been a huge blessing to them and the mission overall. We are grateful!

Enjoy more about this project in Terry’s own words!

You know, I don’t think I could b​​e much happier with how our work turned out! I had planned this for months and pre-assembled everything at home a couple times, but I was still quite worried I would get to HCO and find myself without something I needed. When we arrived, we made it with all our bags, and everything we needed was there.

Logan and I were able to run good, outside-rated cable through conduit and install the main radio on the hospital. We ran outside-rated cable to the “default” wi-fi unit and remounted it to a wall on the roof of the hospital (it was just tied to a beam with twine before) and moved its power supply inside out of the weather where it should have been.

Then, we installed a radio on the apartments, ran outside-rated cable inside, and set up a wi-fi unit so Roro and Eline can get on the the internet and check their email from their home.

We also installed two, four-camera surveillance systems at the apartment and the hospital. These allow Roro to check the video from his phone when he is away from the campus and see what is going on. These only record and are accessible when the power is on, so getting full-time power at the apartment and hospital will make them much more useful.

Logan had a great time! He and Roro got along very well. They spoke Spanish to each other a lot, and they talked about him coming back to work in the hospital next summer. You will be receiving an internship application from him to work in the hospital the summer of 2018 for sure.

Terry, thank you for using your unique skills to serve the Lord in Haiti! We are always grateful to see people with your enthusiasm for making a difference through the gifts God has given you!