We were in church and although things were being spoken in a different language , the worship was amazing and I could somewhat understand the message that was being preached. There was a young man that sat next to me too and we struck up a conversation. During the service I let him read my bible and he would sometimes translate the service for me.
My book bag down by my feet , I suddenly got this urge to check my bag. The front of it had been opened and I couldn’t find my cell phone. “Darn! They stole it!” . I was so mad. I felt like I let myself get too relaxed and now my stuff was gone and I had a pretty good idea who took it and yup..they were gone too. I Couldn’t find the young man that was originally sitting behind me.
I rushed back up the mountain to my room and dumped my bag. To my surprise, although I had multiple electronics on me ( which I will never do again), only my phone was missing. My mind and emotions struggled between being happy that nothing else was stolen to being mad that regardless, my phone was stolen.
One of my teammates helped me out and I was able to call my husband and have everything shut down. I felt better knowing my phone was shut off but boy oh boy did I pray that the person who stole my phone would feel convicted and turn it in.
I never got my phone back.
My teammates encouraged me in how I handled the situation. I appreciated that but at that time I was struggling with a distaste in my mouth for the place I was now in to do ministry. It’s the beginning of the trip and this happens! Can you see the inner toss and turn my emotions were doing during this time?
I hoped the next day would be better. I hoped to fall back in love with the Haitian people and to not allow this one act to change my interactions with the those in Haiti. I didn’t want to miss out on the reason God sent me here.
I was journaling and realized that in a previous journal entry I talked about being disconnected. Having my phone but not being tied to it while I was here in Haiti and then the one thing that got stolen was my phone…..hmmm interesting.
Was God trying to send me a message?
I never thought of myself as materialistic or anything but maybe I was distracted and part of the distraction came by way of the phone. I realized then that God was going to get my attention and have all of me during this trip. During this journey I was going to be tested but would I choose to stay stuck in my feelings over mere things or serve God and the mission he put before me at this present time?
I chose the Mission!
Ashley Wilson 