Earlier this morning, a group of students from Gathering703 headed to Haiti to spend their spring break serving through our partnership with World Hope International. Next week, a group of students from GatheringUMD will make the same trip. So, for the next two weeks, we’ll have students from The Gathering in Haiti, serving the residents of a little village called Percin. That’s pretty amazing, if you ask me.

The need in Haiti is staggering. It’s hard to imagine that such extreme poverty could exist a short hour and a half flight from Miami, but it does. 80% of Haiti lives below the poverty line, nearly half of the adult population is illiterate and 2/3 of the country lacks any formal employment. Add into that the spiritual needs of the people and it’s the kind of mess that only the power of Christ can transform.

Having students serving in this tiny Caribbean nation over spring break is an answer to so many prayers. The Gathering is about mobilizing the collegiate generation to transform our world with the Gospel. Weeks like this remind all of us just how faithfully God is allowing us to be a part of His work.

I really want to keep Haiti in your minds and hearts for these next two weeks. We need to be praying for these teams. We need to be praying for the Lord’s blessing on their work, protection over their lives and transformation in their own hearts.

Where ever spring break takes you these next couple of weeks, I hope you’ll remember Haiti. And when you do, pray.