Glass sits on top of the walls surrounding JoyHouse, an organization based in Gressier, Haiti, acting as a security system. Children run around on blazing concrete with no shoes during basketball camp. A mob of Haitians use their time to greet foreigners in hopes of taking their bags to earn tip money.
Since the earthquake in 2010, the country of Haiti has seen much devastation. Its people live in poverty and desperation. These conditions have brought many people to the country who desire to bring hope and relief.
For the past two summers, Chuck Farmer, a freshman mass communications major from Springdale, Ark., has travelled to Haiti to put on youth basketball camps, teach English as a Second Language and share the Gospel with the Haitian people.
The trips were sponsored by Shiloh Christian School, and he intends to go back every year in college. Eventually, he hopes to use his mass communications degree to partner with JoyHouse as a way to continue the relationship he has built with the organization.
A highlight for Farmer was working with children at a basketball camp and in ESL classes. While teaching the children ages 2-14 ESL, Farmer said that “as soon as you go in, there are so many kids and they just put their arms up to be held.”
Basketball and ESL became a connection for Farmer’s group to begin sharing the Gospel with Haitian children and young adults. The group also used evangecubes in a walk around ministry that focused on telling the crucifixion story with the help of an interpreter.
The experience opened a new perspective for Farmer, who comes from a strong Christian family.
“We saw a bunch of people that were lost and they weren’t responding well at first. Haiti revealed that there are a lot of people here and everywhere that are lost,” Farmer said.
When considering the differences between America and Haiti, Farmer describes how it was difficult to adjust back to American culture.
“In Haiti nothing goes to waste. Plates are always cleaned and trashcans are never full, but here at school I would say I take out my dorm trash can three times a week,” Farmer said. “Haitians can’t afford that luxury.”
Since coming back to the United States, various aspects of Farmer’s life have changed. He is more likely to use things he would have thrown out in the past, and he has more evangelism experience.
Of all the lessons learned, making the most out of difficult situations was at the top of the list for Farmer. There were times his group didn’t have enough water for the kids at basketball camp, and people were picky about the food they ate.
When Farmer first arrived in Haiti, he got right to work after sleeping for three hours on the cold tile floor of an airport in Fort Lauderdale.
“As soon as we hit the ground,” he said, “we were running on no sleep and we didn’t have time to rest. Even though we were tired, we knew that we had to rally in order to bring people to Christ. My group leader said that we could sleep when we were dead.”
At the end of the day, the exhausted group finally came to a Haitian pizzeria that didn’t have any idea how to make pizza well. With “Like a Prayer” by Madonna playing in the background, Farmer’s group chose to make the best of the situation and have a lip sync party. Farmer grabbed a teacher’s camera to capture the moment.
In the future, Farmer plans to go back and hopes to connect with the older adults involved in the outreach program. He hopes to form better relationships with people around 20 years old.
“At first there is a kind of fear or hesitation, but next time I want it to be completely gone,” Farmer said. “There is a social awkwardness, but you just have to plow through it.”
The experiences of two mission trips have impacted Farmer’s everyday life and his future career goals.
He hopes to use the education he receives at Ouachita to aid the mission of JoyHouse in Haiti. Farmer describes his senior year mission trip as one that has impacted the ways he will use his skillset in the future.
