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Giving Something Back to Haiti

Haiti stole Roger Medley’s heart long before he ever visited the tiny Caribbean country.

It all started in 1995 when Roger and his wife Shawna adopted a little boy, Nathan, from Haiti. His brother-in-law also adopted two Haitian children. Four years later, Roger’s brother-in-law was leading a mission trip to Haiti, sponsored by Northview Community Church in Abbotsford, BC. He invited Roger and Shawna to come along.

Although Roger wasn’t a Christian at the time, he decided to go down and check things out.

“I’d taken something from their country - my son Nathan - so I wanted to give something back,” Roger says.

But God had something more in mind for Roger than ten days in the sun.

God was already working on Roger during the flight to Haiti. As he read the Bible and talked with other believers, his heart was softened.

Once in Haiti, Roger spent a lot of time with Pastor Luc Honorat, who heads up the Haitian branch of Heart to Heart Children’s Home, the ministry with which they worked. This relationship also had a profound influence on Roger.

Prior to the trip, Roger had been open to the gospel, but he had yet to commit his life to Christ.

“That trip got me off the fence,” he says.

Since then, Roger has led three short-term mission trips to Haiti. He and Shawna have also assumed leadership of Heart to Heart’s school sponsorship program, which provides textbooks, school supplies, uniforms and nutritious lunches to 345 students at Heart to Heart’s school, at a cost of only $25 per student per month.

Nowadays Roger divides his time between his oil and gas consulting company, which keeps him busy for six months of the year, and Heart to Heart, which also operates a children’s home and several other ministries in Haiti. He’s excited to be able to make such a practical difference in people’s lives, especially in Haiti which happens to be the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

 “Coming from a country like Canada, it’s always a sacrifice to go down there,” Roger says. “But that’s part of the discipline of God. When you give of your time and energy to a purpose like this, it is such a great feeling.”

If you would like to learn more about Heart to Heart, go on a short-term mission trip to Haiti, or sponsor a child through this ministry, please contact Roger at  smedley12@shaw.ca.

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Discover the Spirit-Filled life
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Kevin Miller is a freelance writer, editor and educator from Abbotsford, BC, Canada. Over the past several years, he has written, co-written and contributed to 26 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He has also written dozens of articles for web sites, magazines and newspapers, including Faith Today, BC Christian News and Maranatha News. Learn more about Kevin by clicking here to visit his website.