Comparison

The only other mission trip I've been on was to Mexico, Spring Break of my sophomore in high school.  I hadn't become a Christian (but would the following summer).  I was a bit of a smart ass (some things never change) and I think my parents made me go.  But I loved it and learned a lot.  The things I remembered seeing and learning came back so much more clearly while I was in Haiti.

I remember some of the kids faces.  I remember seeing people wait in bread lines.  I remember the poverty.  I remember doing construction and playing with kids.  I remember seeing people swim across the river and jump the fence into the United States.  I remember the food.  Things that were distant memories rarely remembered, came to me.

Haiti was much more impoverished.  Our living conditions in Mexico were a far cry from home, but involved a bed and bathroom in the room we stayed.  The food we ate was predominantly purchased in Texas and brought in, and the Mexican food we ate at supper was much easier for our bodies to consume than in Haiti.

I love that seeds were planted all those years ago.  12 years later my parents didn't force me to go, but God called me to go.  12 years later I have a deeper understanding of the way the world works - for better and for worse.  12 years later I am thankful to add this experience to my arsenal of life changing events.