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Culture
The source of your anxiety, whatever it is, matters dearly to God. You can leave it to Him. If you need evidence of that, look up and around you. God cares for the birds of the air—the robins, the hummingbirds, even the vultures. Humans have greater value to Him than birds do, so how much more will He pay attention to your needs?
HONDURAS CULTURE
The people of Honduras are very welcoming and hospitable. Their culture is very open, and it's not uncommon to be invited (especially if you're on a mission trip there) into their home to relax and visit. The people of Honduras appreciate when Americans come to the country.
Firsthand Experience Quote:
"Since the vast majority of Americans who go to Honduras are going to help improve the Hondurans' quality of life, the people are open and receptive to just about anyone coming from the U.S. This gives Americans a golden opportunity for evangelism and opportunities for discipleship."
Read More at Prepare My Mission
“The missionary heart: Care more than some think is wise. Risk more than some think is safe. Dream more than some think is practical. Expect more than some think is possible. I was called not to comfort or success but to obedience….There is no joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving him.”
—Karen Watson, martyr, March 15, 2004
Connect Global has long been a champion of the Garifuna People. We first visited a Garifuna home when we traveled to Cusuna in 2004. We believe in the Gospel message being made available to everyone in every corner of the earth and we are for Garifuna Lives to be able to access this life changing message and for them.
1. In Haiti...You never Know
Julio Jn Gilles and Javier Mendoza in Madeline Haiti
This has become a familiar response while traveling through Haiti with Julio. I take this in a very positive way. He is keeping a gentle attitude about things that are out of his control. We try to control our schedules as best as we can. We cross all of the t's and dot the i's but in Haiti, as in life, sometimes you just never know. That means don't sweat it and be content with where you are. Stay motivated, but realize that as much as you would like it to be, not everything is under your control.
2. Compassion trumps Convention
“Pastor Julio’s compassion defies convention by providing much needed access to quality education for a group of children who will one day raise themselves out of poverty, and change the nation of Haiti. ”
Allowing things to stay "the way they've always been" is not only unacceptable it simply has no power in the eyes of Julio Jn Gilles. A son who grew up without his mother, practicing voodoo, and having no consistent place to lay his head at night, Julio knows first hand how for millions of people Past Predicts Future. Julio however had a different path because of the compassion of a missionary who saw it more fitting to send Julio to seminary than voodoo rituals. It's now the compassion of Jesus Christ that propels Julio's mission in life. He provides food for the needy and education for over 150 students every year. It is his compassion that allows the neediest ten percent of his student body to still attend school despite their inability to pay tuition. Pastor Julio's compassion defies convention by providing much needed access to quality education for a group of children who will one day raise themselves out of poverty, and change the nation of Haiti.
3. Challenges will face Everyone but not everyone faces their challenges.
Julio Jn Gilles is restoring dignity and hope to the nation of Haiti.
Everyone has challenges but it's how we deal with our challenges that determine who we are. Our own personal challenges always seem like mountains to us because we see them up close. Not to say that our challenges aren't really challenging they are. I'm saying that there is always someone who has overcome a bigger challenge than us, at some point in history. Pastor Julio has helped me realize that how big or small a challenge seems, is largely in the eye of the beholder. We have the ultimate choice to either face our difficulties head on, or allow them to bury us in over our head. For someone who has faced dozens of challenges, Pastor Julio Jn Gilles in Haiti, has overcome and is overcoming them in a huge way. He leads a growing church that is near capacity every week, 6 grades of school, is raising a family of five, and finds joy in the fact that at one point in his life could not fathom a future for himself.
Pastor Julio Jn Gilles
Pastor Julio Jn Gilles In Haiti displays an evident passion for God, and has compassion for people.
Pastor Julio Jn Gilles is a Haitien Pastor with a wonderful motivation to see his nation positively changed for good. From the voodoo rich culture, to hundreds of years of governmental corruption, to know the historical challenges still facing haiti, one can almost resolve to think that the country is beyond restoration. To hear Pastor Julio, however, is a different story. He recognizes the hurt that his nation has both endured and inflicted upon itself, and yet he remains dedicated to seeing positive change within his lifetime.
Growing up poor after his mother passed away when he was three, his father raised him to practice and partake in the country's voodoo religion. He struggled through school and was constantly living homeless and hungry, until one day a Christian missionary took him in and gave him a bed to sleep in and food to eat. The missionary helped restore his dignity and gave him hope for a future. That relationship led Julio to seminary and now some two decades later he has become a well respected Husband, Father, Pastor, School Director, and a Friend to everyone he crosses paths with.
He has now made it his mission to restore dignity and hope to Haiti through his five children as well as through the primary school and church that he and his countless friends have built in Cap Haitien.
Please keep Pastor Julio In your prayers and consider partnering with him financially so he can confidently continue the amazing work he is doing.
Featured
A great read on how to keep perspective in the midst of culture shock.
The Maternity Home ministry provides Connect Global access to serve both moms and newborns with great care and dignity while sharing the good news of Jesus with our employees, hospital staff and each new mom that we meet.