Olivia, Jessica, and Adrian
Distributing food in the Spring City community led to moving encounters with families facing immense trials. From a joyful three-year-old boy with epilepsy to a grieving grandmother raising her grandchildren, the Des Moines Christian Impact team witnessed resilient faith. Read the daily reflection to see how stepping inside these homes beautifully revealed the presence of the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday morning, the DMC Impact Team went to The Kirk of the Pines for church and witnessed a beautiful service. The message was amazing, as we read through 1 Timothy in its entirety. Following the sermon, they celebrated the G2 students with cake to mark their graduation from the youth group. This really resonated with us as the majority of the people on our trip are in the same position as them – looking to see what God has next for us. Later on, we went to the Jib Room and had lunch overlooking the marina. While we were having lunch, we had the opportunity to watch the boats and look for conch shells.
Perhaps the most impactful part of our day was after lunch. We split into groups to distribute food baskets to different families in the Spring City community. One of the groups met a family where the grandma takes care of the 3-year-old grandson named Joziah, who has epilepsy. He has frequent seizures and has to have a 24/7 caretaker, which is his grandma, while his parents work during the day. Even though he has frequent seizures, he has a child-like faith that makes your jaw drop in awe. We sang his favorite worship songs, which were Goodness of God and Jesus Loves Me. His resilience was encouraging to us because he was still joyful and faithful to God even though he had many challenges in his life.
Inside one house lived the oldest woman in Spring City: Ms. Virgie. She shared with us how she fell a year ago and has issues with her hip, but that she was healing well. I enjoyed seeing her joy despite her suffering, even though she was in pain and could no longer walk. She had so much to say about her island. She was able to thank God, even though she had suffered through something that had cost her so much!
Another person we met was named Lovely. She takes care of her two grandkids because their mother passed away in February. The loss of her daughter and the kids’ mother has put a tremendous hardship on the family. Even though she has hardships, she does the best she can to take care of her grandchildren. During the hurricane, she lived in what they call the “Mud and the Peas,” which is essentially a shantytown. The shantytown was completely destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, and the family is still financially recovering from that loss.
The last house we went to was that of a man named Louis. He is a Haitian refugee, and he shared with us how his four-year-old son, Josh, is suffering from a medical condition. We were able to go inside his house, where we met his son, his wife, and his thirteen-year-old daughter. We heard how many languages exist in their house, and it is incredible that they can communicate in so many different ways. Something that stuck out to us is their sheer joy! They are loving, smiling people who follow after God. Another moment with Louis’ family was our time of prayer. Just like Haitian churches do, everybody prayed out loud at the same time, and in that moment, I was able to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the room. We are incredibly thankful that these locals allowed us into their homes and gave us the opportunity to spend time praying over them and talking about their lives. Truly, it is a blessing to have the opportunity! The food that we shared with them just doesn’t compare to the blessing that they were to us!
– Olivia, Jessica, and Adrian
