Our main ministry in Haiti was focused on disaster relief. Team Tikvah and Team Luminous were paired up in Gonaives, Haiti which is one of the worst areas hit by 4 hurricanes this past year. We got to help by building a foundation for an orphanage, helping build a second floor onto 2 other buildings at a different orphanage and in our spare time we had the privilege to play with lots of kids. Here is one of my highlights from the trip.
One day, most of the physical labor work was complete and so several of us had nothing to do. I sat by the water pump waiting for when someone needed water and I could pumped it for them. While I was sitting there, the kids began to flock around me. There was one girl in particular named, Rodeline. She enjoyed playing with and braiding my hair for me. I couldn’t speak a lick of their language, but she helped me learn all of the others kids names by writing them with a rock into the cement wall. When we had gone through them several times and there was a moment of awkward silence, I decided to fill it by copying a little boys every move. When he caught on to what I was doing he seemed to get embarrassed, but the other kids thought it was hilarious and started telling him what to do so they could see me try to do it. We made faces, sat down, stood up, danced and I attempted to repeat what he said in Kreyole. The kids were laughing at me hysterically as were my teammates as well. The little boy became so embarrassed, though, that he ran off and I had to beg him to come back and shook his hand, assuring him I was done. I then began to copy Rodeline and she loved it. She had me doing all sorts of crazy moves and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.
While I was acting like a complete kid and looked ridiculous I was having a total blast. And through that one afternoon a relationship was built between me and Rodeline. After that day, every time she saw me she would kiss my cheek, hold my hand., want to sit or stand next to me and would give me special treats like a small piece of candy. She was such a sweet girl and I will always remember her love and her smile. We couldn’t speak each other’s language, but we spoke to each other none the less.
