Personal Narrative: Anna As A Role Model

With rain ferociously pounding the roof of our vehicle and sharp bolts of lightning illuminating the sky, we bounced along as the primitive roads struggled to maintain their shape. The six-hour drive was not much of a warm welcome to the country—weaving through the severely impoverished urban areas near the airport, then tossing its passengers about in a tropical thunderstorm. While our van climbed to the Haitian central plateau and several of my team member’s stomachs surged with motion sickness, mine fluttered in anticipation of the coming weeks. Upon arrival at the United Christians International compound in the Caiman area of Haiti, I instantly remembered the overwhelming peace I felt two years prior. Although I could not figure it out at the time, by the end of my two weeks there, I came to understand why this normally uncomfortable place seemed like home. When our mission team gathered on our last evening in the compound, I could not believe the trip was nearly over. As usual, our evening meeting continued far past dark while we spent extra time worshipping, discussing the trip, and praying for our return home. Once we finished our time of final debrief, a few of my closest team members and I headed out to the volleyball …show more content…
I found Anna Clemens. Anna was a role model for me in high school; although she graduated after my freshman year, she wanted to return to Haiti with our youth group as a chaperone. Over the course of the trip, I grew to admire her even more. That final night in Haiti, under the obvious display of God’s glorious creation, she broke the silence with a prayer. “Lord, we are sad to leave this place, this place that feels like home, but we know, God, that home is wherever you are, and we look forward to the day we are all home.” At that moment, I finally found peace in spite of the coming