BIG PAPA "P"

Planning for this trip started in January. Little did I know that I could be capable of leading a team to Haiti! Looking back now I can see that God started preparing my heart to do this a couple of years ago. That was about the same time I started praying about my distant friend Perez going with me.

My first trip to Haiti, I was scared out of my mind. I had never been on a mission trip before and I surely had never been to a third world country.
That very first trip, I fell in love. The day we left, it felt like I had left a piece of my heart in Haiti. The connections we made were unbelievable! Our team grew so close together and we had formed a very unique bond.
Fast forward three years...... I barely knew most of the people going on this trip. All but four of us had never been to Haiti before. It was exciting to experience all the "firsts" with them. Several people on the team kept thanking me for this opportunity, but it wasn't me at ALL. I just agreed to lead the team so that's what I did. Now let me tell you some of the God-stories that had formed these team members together.

PEREZ, aka "Big Papa P", WATSON

I met a man named Perez several years ago. Perez and I grew up in the same small town and he ended up being a teacher at my daughter's middle school. I had seen him around at the school last year. He was always outside in the mornings for car riders, always with a big smile on his face and waving to every car that passed. He was also a mentor of some sort at our local YMCA and I was friends with him on Facebook.
One day somewhere along the way, I heard him say, "you go to Haiti on missions trips. I want to do that sometime". I said okay but didn't really put a lot of thought into it. Then in January I posted on FB that I was planning a trip for April. He contacted me and said that he was interested. I again said "okay", but again didn't put a lot more thought into it.
I had an informational meeting at my house one Sunday afternoon and he said he would come. He didn't so I thought he wasn't really serious. Then, about a week later, he contacted me again to say, "don't forget about me". I had! We made plans to meet us at Zaxby's one day for lunch and I told him all about the trip.
I knew Perez was a minister and in my head, I had known him as a "big teddy bear". He was a gentle giant in my mind. I was ecstatic that he was interested in going on this trip. I had secretly been praying for him to go all along. I knew I needed someone like him on my team and I also knew how much he loved kids and that they would love him! He would fit in with them so well.

See...... here's the thing! I knew from his ministry that he loved children. He had "adopted" a premature baby from a woman he didn't even know. He was a middle school teacher and a mentor at the Boys and Girls Club. What was amazing was that he wasn't working! He had the time to go but he wasn't sure how he could raise the funds needed to go. He told me this on a couple of occasions. I always responded that if God had him on this trip, the funds would come! I already knew he WAS supposed to be on this trip because I had been talking to God about it for a long time. We talked about a few ways to raise the money. A week or so later, he texts me that he had mentioned his desire to go on the trip to his church. Several people said that they would help him, but nobody did at first. The cost of the trip was $1075! The next week someone gave him $500! Then the next week a family member gave him $1000! Just like that he had more than enough!

THAT'S WHAT GOD DOES FOR HIS CHILDREN! He says in his Word, "Go into all the world proclaiming the gospel". Perez was willing to go and God provided the money for him to preach that message to more than 100 kids in an orphanage in a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!

God provided many opportunities for us to share about him on this trip. Perez led bible study to about 40 teenagers on Wednesday night! He rocked, held, and fed several babies. He prayed with a young teenage boy in the community. He even stopped to shovel gravel into a wheelbarrow. That's a good story..... A couple of us were walking along the road from the orphanage back to the team house one very hot afternoon and we came upon 2 young kids shoveling gravel into a wheelbarrow while their father watched. These kids were maybe 6-8 years old. Two of them. Without saying a word, Perez stops, takes their shovel and starts filling up their wheelbarrow. They just smiled ear to ear watching him, probably thinking who is this guy! Haha! He filled the wheelbarrow, told them goodbye and walked away! It was one of the single most memorable acts of service I've ever witnessed. SERIOUSLY! 

I love how God puts two extremely different people (a 100-lb. very white woman and a big black man) together like Perez and myself to preach the gospel in Haiti! Perez fell in love with the Haitian people.  I knew God was using him in a mighty way and I am honored that I got to witness it. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him next!!
I love you Perez and so glad that you are my new family member.

THAT'S WHAT GOD DOES FOR HIS CHILDREN!

"Go into all the world proclaiming the gospel"