Haiti Hangover: Introduction

Some of the people on the mission teams returning from Haiti experience difficulties returning to "normal" life. This blog is an attempt to clarify the problem and suggest some ways to adjust. I see three primary reasons for the doldrums for the team members.

1. In Haiti, we are very mission focused. We have people to cook for us and wash the dishes. All the discipleship team does is fellowship, pray, have devotions, disciple, and witness. When we come back home, we come back to our jobs and our household chores. All this seems to detract from building God's kingdom. Doing dishes or raking leaves seem to be a waste of time.
2. In Haiti, we only have a week. With our limited time and resources, we just can not help most of the people we meet. Even when people accept the gospel, we do not have good ways to plug them into a church and see that they are discipled. At times, it feels like we don't accomplish anything down there. Who knows if we are doing any good?
3. We live in so much affluence and they are so poor. In Haiti, we see families of five or six living together in huts with only one room. We come back home to our big screen TVs, which are in living rooms bigger than the huts in which we see the villagers live. The excess food we throw away after dinner may be more than some villagers may have for a family of four for a day. How can a just God allow such inequality? Or more personally, am I doing the right things with the resources God gives me?

My goal is to address these issues from a theological approach over the next week. Please pray for insight. Any feedback would be appreciated.