We have been in Haiti for a week and a half (this was written after our first week and a half here) and I am in love. It is absolutely beautiful. They landscapes are incredible and the sunsets and sunrises blow my mind every single day. We have the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. I feel like my heart belongs here, like this is home. I know I said that about the Dominican Republic, but it applies even more here. Mission of Hope is the organization that we are working with. If you ever want to come to Haiti, come and serve with this organization. They feed 90,000 people daily. They have schools, an orphanage where they are building up leaders to change the nation, and so many village ministries. What I think is even more amazing is that all but a few of their employees are Haitian. They are empowering the Haitian people to take ownership and disciple their people in a way that does not interfere with the culture. That is my heart.
Coming in to Haiti, I was and still am in the recovery process from surgery. After arriving, I saw the nurse and the doctor and was not allowed to do ministry with my team for the first six days. That was hard, but the Lord is teaching me so much through that (more to come in another blog). This week, I was able to do a little bit more with a lot of limitations still in place. I was so excited to get on the bus and go love some kids at VBS. For the first two days, I worked on crafts. Mainly I just passed out materials and smiled at kids and had the opportunity to use my teacher voice on several occasions.
I fell in love with this little girl, Bolu (or something like that…my interpretation is probably lost in translation).
She captured my heart on day one when she came and grabbed my hand to sit next to her. Next thing I know she has me sandwiched in between her friends so I can’t leave her side. I know exactly two words in Creole so every ounce of our interactions were simply smiles, hugs, and touches. On the second day, she spotted me from across the school yard and screamed “You!” with the biggest smile on her face she came running. There is something so precious about that being the most joyful yet simple part of your day. She grabbed my hand and dragged me from crafts to her agriculture class where she pulled up a chair next to hers. Then my hair got knotted in some lovely braids. As the week went on, I was moved to the kitchen where I helped serve the children their meal. I would feed the little kids in the 3-4 year old group and then just hang out with all of the older kids. I was so excited to be able to hang out with Bolu during this time. On Wednesday, she did not come in with her regular group and I was heartbroken. She was the light of my day. Luckily, she just decided to change groups and her face lit up so brightly when she saw me there. It was like show and tell for all of her friends to meet me in this new group. I am learning to embrace all of the little moments even when I feel like I want to do so much more. My week and attitude were made so much better just seeing this precious child each day. She was 1 in 300 children, but sometimes that is all you need to make a difference. Who is your one person today?
