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haiti - where a large part of my heart resides.....



Wow!  I’ve been home from Haiti for nearly 5 weeks now and I am still at a loss of words on how to communicate the amazing experience I had!  God definitely had His hand on this trip and I will never forget the impact it had in my heart.  I hope that I am able to communicate some lessons learned in at least some small way through this letter.  



My role in the clinic was to take temperatures and weigh people.  I had the amazing honor of seeing all 423 patients during the week.  Each encounter was one that I will not forget.  Each one revealed at least one of the lessons below in a tangible way. 

 

HUMILITY: The largest lesson God taught me began on Monday morning.  I believe this set the tone for the week and allowed me to see all that I did, the way I did.  I had finished my role and was heading out to visit with the kids gathered in the courtyard.  Two boys caught my attention and asked my name.  I spoke my name in Kreole.  They smiled back and said, “Like Jesus!”  Yes, my name in Kreole sounds very similar to Christ.  I quickly corrected them, but every morning they would meet us as we pulled in and call me Jesus.  Do you know what it is like to have a child look you in the eyes, hug you, and call you Jesus?  It is humbling, very humbling.  But I believe God gave me that interaction to remind me that we are His hands and feet on earth.  It kept my heart and actions in check.  And I will NEVER forget their sweet faces and pray that they truly did see a bit of Jesus in me that week as I held their hands, sang silly songs in Kreole, walked around the village with them, shared my lunch with them, and just spent time by their side. 


HOPE:  I went to Haiti desiring to offer hope.  And while I’m sure we did, I was not prepared the amount of hope they would offer me.  On Sunday we were able to worship at the Pillatre Church.  What an experience to sit between two precious Haitian children and sing “How Great is our God” together!  They have such an intense love for Jesus and their fellow Haitians.  It is captivating to see them serve each other with such joy.


JOY:  Wow.  I have never seen people exude pure joy as I did in Haiti.  We would meet people that had nothing, were sick, had sick children, yet they had a deep joy you couldn’t help but notice.  The kids were so content and full of joy; a far cry from our American culture of circumstantial joy.


COMMUNITY:  There is this sense of community that moved me to tears more than once.  Older kids would look after younger kids. Other adults would care for children.  One of my fears was my desire to bring all the kids home.  God made it very clear to me that I could never offer them the sense of community they have in Haiti.  

SIMILARITIES:  Haiti is a totally different way of life.  There are really very few things about our countries that are alike; however, there is nothing different about the Haitian people.  They have basic physical needs and basic emotional needs.  So do we.  And those needs are the same:  respect, love, food, water.  I think we tend to focus on our differences and miss out on living side by side alike, yet different.


PATIENCE:  We live a fast paced life.  As much as I want to believe my family slows down, we definitely don’t.  I complain about having to wait 30 minutes at the doctor’s office.  These families waited for HOURS.  AND, they didn’t have phones, iPods, iPads, snacks, Starbucks, etc.  They just waited.  We waited.  We waited for our ride to church; we waited for our lunch to arrive.  There was something relaxing in the waiting.  I believe it was the lack of distraction while waiting.  I’m trying to practice patience in waiting here in America.

I appreciate your prayers and support.  God definitely affirmed my passion and love for the Haitian people.  God also answered my prayers for my family back home.   I look forward to returning to Haiti in the near future.  There is definitely a part of my heart still there.  If you would like to hear more about Haiti and Haitian Christian Ministries (HCM) please give me a call.  I’d love to share more!  Can I also encourage you to consider sponsoring a child through HCM?  There are over 600 kids that attend this school.  Your sponsorship of $25/month provides an education, vitamin, a meal, a uniform, and most importantly a chance to better their community. 

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