Testimonials - Open Hands for the Fatherless OH4F

^{"I think the word I’ve used most to describe my time in Haiti is RICH. It was a rich experience of God and the body of Christ in action. It was a rich experience of an endlessly fascinating country. It was a rich time as a father with my eleven-year-old daughter. OH4F is doing great work in Haiti. They also do a great job of bringing you right into the heart of life and ministry in Haiti. It’s transformation all-around.}

^{When I got back I said something like this to my congregation:}

^{Myself…I tend to hone in on my “to do” list and Google calendar…all of the pressing details of life. Being in Haiti has opened my eyes again to the bigger picture. God used that time to open my eyes and my heart just a little more to his big vision, his plan for our world.}

^{In a sense, it was a sacramental experience. And here’s what I mean by that…}

^{Taking in the Lord’s Supper only involves a little nibble of bread and a sip of juice. It’s not the full feast that God is preparing…that’s yet to come. But it’s a taste of what’s to come. And God uses it to touch our hearts. That’s what sacraments do. God is active through the sacraments to activate something in our hearts and minds. It’s an experience of God’s kingdom.}

^{My experience of life and ministry in Haiti was kind of like that. It, too, was an experience of God’s kingdom, a taste of what’s to come.}

^{I’m very grateful to OH4F and the staff and children in Haiti for ministering to my daughter and me. I pray that God will continue to build his kingdom in Mayan and beyond." Pastor Keith Buist, trip goer}

^{"To us it looks like they may have nothing,}

^{but truly they have everything; they have the love of}

^{Jesus shining throughout them,}

^{and they want to share it with everyone."}

^{Mattie Schlaefli, trip goer}

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A poem from the broken!

^{Beauty in its rarest form,}

^{like a diamond,}

^{in the dirt and dust were these children born}

^{Their eyes are not clouded by}

^{what we hold as beauty.}

^{No, their innocent eyes see so much more clearly.}

^{Although they are the ones fully}

^{covered in dirt and dust,}

^{we are the one's giving up on ourselves;}

^{sitting, corroding, covered in rust.}

^{Their standards of beauty come}

^{in the purest form}

^{of playing and giving attention,}

^{in the form of God's love and affection.}

^{The holding of hands, hugging and kissing.}

^{These children are not poor or mistreated,}

^{no we are the ones with something missing.}

^{We are the ones who have missed the mark.}

^{To strive to live, with a child-like, innocent pure heart.}

^{For these children know beauty in it's rarest form,}

^{like a diamond,}

^{in the dirt and dust were these children born.}

^{Polished to shine,}

^{Shining with God's love.}

^{Somthing we are all missing,}

^{that something beautiful from above.}

^{By Heather Steinbach-Smith, trip goer}