What's Your Role?

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/