A New Perspective-Day
Two
Two Scripture verses summarize my first day in Haiti. During
my interactions with the children Jesus’ command regarding the treatment of “the
least of these” resonated in my mind. They are so hungry for human touch and our
love. It is truly humbling to be here serving them in the name of the Lord.
Serving is the operative word for the second verse that comes to mind, “ the
sleep of a laborer is sweet”. After a day of working and serving in the heat
and humidity of Haiti, I slept like a baby.
Before
arriving, all I had seen were commercials and read others’ experiences about
the journey to another country in order to help others in need. It hit me in
the face the first day seeing the condition of some of the children. The second
day I began to not only see others helping each other, but actually feeling the
amount of love in the room, it was inspiring. The most difficult part of
communication is the language barrier, and it was upsetting how I could not
understand what was going on with one of the children. I then came to realize
that laughter does not require a language, and that is what brings us all
together.
Some people
tend to think that I am sacrificing things by coming to Haiti, that I am being
too generous or heroic. It couldn't be farther from the truth. These kids bless
us more than we could ever bless them. There are 120 kids around you who love
you at first sight, and you stand there with a single feeble heart. There is no
question of who is blessed. Each one of these kids has a broken past, but now
it is clear that all they know is love. They exude it with every touch, smile,
and word that sounds like gibberish to me. I spent most of the day with the
babies. God used these beautiful kids who cannot often even speak to mend my
spirit that was broken by the world. I never realized how much the Lord accepts
and cares for me until He used these kids to reach out at just the right time. When
I first walked into the baby room, a boy who started crawling up to me the
moment he saw me and had his arms extended for me to hold him before I got
through the gate. He would allow me to put him down without a struggle, unlike
many of the other children, but the moment I put him down he had his arms open
for me to hold him again. He relentlessly pursued me, but he did it gently and
with acceptance. This I believed illustrates how our Heavenly Father pursues
us. The most striking thing I have witnessed is how obviously God uses these
kids because their hearts are unhindered by the world, like mine is. No matter
what condition any child is in, I can’t pity them because when I see them, I
see Jesus’ face.
Blessed to be here,
Dave, Val and Abbey
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