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2012 Haiti Team Interview Four: Mike

Of all the members of our team, I found no one with such spiritual depth, forged by personal experience, than Michael. He was at once a voice of spiritual reason and comfort, at times pointing out the spiritual nature of Haiti, at times calling us to prayer. He recognized, too-- and said so-- that the moments of mutual encouragement in our evening meetings were what the church was truly about. When Michael spoke, it was often to share some spiritual understanding that we may have missed, and there was about him a spiritual authority that helped balance the more practical side of our work in Haiti.

At the same time, there was a wholly practical side to Michael. In fact, it was Michael who stayed at the orphanage to finish his work for the day while the rest of us were whisked away to the beach. It was Michael who used his knowledge as a furniture maker to build six full bunk beds in a matter of days. It was Michael who felt the pressure to build those beds by the end of the workweek for a group of short-term missionaries who would by Friday need a place to sleep, and it was Michael who met that goal with time to spare.

This balance of spiritual and practical knowledge, I learned, came from the struggles he has faced in life, some of which were struggles he himself created. In fact, he was to me a reminder that our God takes our hardships-- even if we create them ourselves-- and uses them to benefit and grow us, to move us in new directions. In short, Mike reminded me with his life that our God is redemptive.

It is not surprising, then, how one man can at once exude humility and authority, gentleness and power. Mike did, because he knows the nature of his God, that he is both sovereign and nurturing, father and mother, Lion and Lamb. This dual example was eye-opening for a person who spends much of his time wading near the spiritual surface. It was Mike's insight, in fact, that caught me the most, an insight that I know was borne out of time spent in prayer and reflection. Above all, Mike helped me see that there was more to Haiti than just buildings and landscape. There was in it a very spiritual nature that calls us to prayer.
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