BOREL, Haiti – What could pull Missourians to one of the poorest nations on Earth three times in six months? Nothing but God.
Mila Ayers, a member of Second Baptist Church in Bowling Green, joined 17 others from her church, members of Desloge Baptist Church and Macon Baptist Church for a mission trip to Haiti in late October. This trip followed closely on the heels of an initial trip in June and a third coming up in this month.
They went to Borel, a city about 60 miles north of Port-au-Prince (although the ride to from the airport took nearly three hours in the back of a truck due to poor roads). Through the missionary contacts of Desloge Baptist, Ayers and the group split up in Haiti to cover more ground.
The men of the group went to Bon Repos and put a roof on a church that had been destroyed in the January, 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed about 200,000 people and left much of the country in ruin. The women stayed in Borel, walking through some of the poor areas leading a Bible study/craft time for 150 Haitian children. Then they packed everything up and joined the men in Bon Repos for more Bible studies and craft time. During the course of the trip, they gave out 300 Haitian Creole Bibles, 100 dolls to children and babies in two hospitals, and 100 “new-mom” kits.
“God has helped us build some really good relationships,” Ayers said. “The people in our group have such a heart and burden for children. We’re there for such a short time, but I feel like God is building it to where it’s not just people coming, then leaving. We can’t wait to go back and make it ongoing.”
Ayers said they want to bring soccer balls for boys and jump ropes for girls later this month. They also hope raise enough money to provide each family attending Bible study a bag of rice.
They hope to make contacts with some orphanages to pave the way for a large group from Missouri returning June 2013.
This trip was extra special for Ayers, she said, because she was able to go with her husband and kids.
“It’s a great blessing to do it together as a family,” she said.