Guest Posting: A Trip I'll Never Forget, by Jeff Gambrell

This week we have a "Guest Posting," written by Jeff Gambrell, a third year Miami Hamilton student.  Jeff is the President of Student Government Association and Students for Life, and is the Treasurer of the Environmentally Conscious Organization, ECO.  Here is his recollection of his recent service trip to Haiti.

It was sort of abrupt and unanticipated how it all happened. 

Less than two weeks prior to the trip I’ll never forget, the opportunity was extended to me to join a group of inspirational men and women on a journey to serve the poorest of poor. The destination was Haiti, a developing nation south of the United States that has suffered through a history of enslavement and political turmoil. An earthquake in January 2010 further devastated the nation and left thousands of its people displaced. The earthquake also led to an international movement bringing missionary groups from all over the world in response to their cries for help. 

One of those missionary groups was the team I was a part of through Caring Partners International. The experience I partook in this past July marked the second summer in a row that I had the opportunity to humbly serve others while also growing spiritually.

Miami University Hamilton’s Rotaract club, a community service organization and the club I represented, teamed up with the Rotary club of Fairfield and Princeton Pike Church of God to sponsor a medical missionary trip through Caring Partners International.  Stationed in Franklin, Ohio, Caring Partners International is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free medical clinics in poor, developing nations around the world.  It was no coincidence that all these organizations came together as one unit in an effort to save a deprived people, I think it was destiny.

I was approached just a week and a half prior to departure and invited to participate in this trip. Another student had been planning to go but had to withdraw at the last minute.  Having been to Haiti last summer, I jumped at the chance to go again.  Things quickly fell into place and we hopped on a plane on Saturday, July 23. 

During the week of July 23-30, we resided at an orphanage located in Pierre Payen, Haiti (two hours north of Port-au-Prince). It was here that we witnessed and bonded through service.   Day after day, we woke up bright and early, eager to serve the Haitian people.  Hiking miles up mountains or simply driving to the city, we came equipped with over $100,000 worth of medical supplies and an endless supply of determination to accomplish the mission we were sent there to do.  

On one of our medical missionary expeditions, we hopped in the back of the tap-tap truck (a truck with covered back) and proceeded north onto the main route that connects Port-au-Prince with the rest of the nation.  Our destination was a small village set on top of a soaring mountain covered with luscious green vegetation, including the native plantain trees.  About halfway up the mountain, however, we found ourselves in a heaping mound of trouble as we turned a corner and proceeded towards a narrow path of deep, viscous mud. It didn’t take long until we found ourselves unable to move, as a few people on our team hopped out to assist by asserting force against our wedged vehicle.  Soon, Haitian men started to appear left and right out of the seemingly isolated fields with their tools in hand, rushing to our assistance.  

After working with the Haitians for over a half hour by manipulating the mud and setting down dead plantain leaves in the path to provide better traction, we had only advanced about fifty meters.

Finally it became apparent that we weren’t going to make it in the vehicle.  Rick, the man who runs Destiny Village, instructed everyone to disperse from the truck as the new game plan was for everyone to walk the two mile trek up the steep, rocky mountain with our sixteen 50-pound duffle bags full of medical supplies and gifts.  The sun was a scorching 95 degrees and the path ahead had many bumps and potholes, yet not one person from our group complained.  This was the experience we signed up for, the life of a missionary.

It's amazing that such a beautiful country has such deep-seeded poverty issues.

At the end of the eventful week, we treated just fewer than 1,200 patients and nourished many others both physically and spiritually.  Together, we brought hope and love to everyone we encountered…it was a trip I’ll never forget.