Platoon. 300. Braveheart. Avengers. No matter what your taste in movies,
there are some great ones that depict the epic struggle of good versus evil. I
personally love the Band of Brothers series. For those of us that grew up in a
relatively peaceful time in history, it gives great insight into what other
generations went through during times of war. I can’t began to imagine the
pain, trauma and anguish that war inflicts on a person, but I knew some great
men that went through WWII and I know it changed them forever.
Whether the battles are fictitious or historical, a skirmish
or part of a larger war, brief or lengthy, all of the armies had one thing in
common – a home base. They may have been tents, caves or castles; lavish or
simple; well-equipped or held together with twine, but they were a shelter in
the storm, a safe place for the troops to strategize, refuel, rest and regroup.
Wars have been won and lost due to poor supply lines. Armies that were initially well armed and trained have been defeated because they could not get
equipment, food, clothes, etc…The German Blitzkrieg campaign of WWII is a great
example of not having a good supply line. Their forces won many small battles in the their push for land, but
eventually outran their supply lines and were defeated.
“Inherent to the success of any tactical operation is continuous, sound, logistical planning for adequate supply, medical, and maintenance support.” Armystudyguide.com.
We are not in a military campaign by any means, but we are in
a spiritual battle for Haiti. We fight with the Heartline Ministries army to
combat the social and spiritual factors that the people of Haiti face everyday.
Heartline has chosen to focus on a key problem facing the country and concentrate their fight on that issue.
Heartline spent years as a crèche (official orphanage that
could facilitate adoptions). They spent the first 20 years of their operation
with this as their main task. Over time they saw that while they were doing a
great thing, there was something greater that they could do, so they began to
change directions. Now they work hard at orphan prevention. They do this through
maternal health programs, birth control administration, pre and postnatal
education and care, operating a childbirth delivery clinic, women’s job training,
bakery and men’s job training program. They focus on keeping parents alive,
kids at home and providing job skills/jobs for Haitians. These things provide
hope and opportunity, which the lack of are major deterrents to being open to
God. By meeting physical needs, it opens the door to discuss the spiritual
needs.
Many times we are asked, "What do you do at Heartline?" or "What's your role?"
Our role here is to operate the home base that the Heartline army needs. We manage the Heartline
Guesthouse. Our focus is to provide a safe, comfortable place for those going
out to serve on the front lines. Haiti can chew you up and spit you out on a
daily basis, so it is critical to have a place of retreat at the end of the
day. Teams are able to get a great meal, showers, have power, reconnect with
family back in the states and plan for the next day. We are here to help
recharge these guys daily.
We also, work within Heartline’s mission focus by directly employing
eleven Haitians. This means each one has income coming into their home, medical
insurance and a good meal daily.
Much like the men
and women that provide combat support in times of war, our role can be
minimized our trivialized by those on the outside. However, without
the support that we feel called to offer, those serving on the front
lines would have difficulty doing their part. While our role is
not ever to be the focus of the mission, we know that our role is vital
in the operations.
On the days I feel
like our work is forgotten or overlooked, I reflect on the impact that is
being made on the front lines. We get to see new babies born
to healthy mommas. We get to look in on the Women’s Education Center
and see ladies learning a trade to help provide for their families. We watch
as men study God’s word and we see those guys make some
incredible bread. And occasionally we even get to be a part of
helping adoptive parents welcome a child into their forever family.
There are some long
days and some hard days, but there are also some amazing days. 1
Corinthians 12:12 says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but
all its many parts form one body, so it with Christ.” We can continue
doing our part as we work in conjunction with others through
Christ.
As we continue to
offer support in our role, we need you, our supply line. Like most
missionaries in Haiti, we operate as self-supported missionaries. This means
without the prayer and financial support of others we can’t fulfill our role.
We need others to consider becoming a part of our supply
line. We need people that are willing to pray for us in the daily battles
we face. The evil forces we face on a regular basis do not want
anyone to succeed in Haiti.
Equally as important we need people willing to support us
financially. We need people to come along side us and commit to be a part of
our supply line. Your one time gift or monthly gift of $15, $25, $100 or
whatever you can give, will make an impact. Please consider joining our team. The
link to partner with us is http://heartlineministries.org/product/john-dawn-chappelear/.
If you, individually or with a group of friends) would like
to be a part of a Heartline Mission Team in order to see and be a part of the
work that is going on here in Haiti, please visit: http://heartlineministries.org/travel-to-haiti/
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