Field Trip with orphanage & team proves restful

I have to be honest and say our first week in Haiti was hard for me. From the moment I stepped off the plane I felt a sense of dread rising up in my soul. Maybe it was because we were coming off a high of four days at a family reunion. Every moment there was packed with cousins and laughter and fireworks and food. It was hard to say goodbye to our family, the comforts of buffet breakfasts and air conditioning. 

We boarded the plane in Dallas, spent the night in Fort Lauderdale and arrived last Monday in Haiti. Our director Peter picked us up at the airport and soon we were weaving in and out of Port Au Prince traffic. Then it started to hit me - I looked out to see the jagged tin cans and discarded to-go containers lining the streets. Pigs dug through garbage just down the block from women selling mangoes and men hawking imitation watches and radios. I have become accustomed to the half-finished construction of buildings with rebar punching out the top. But upon arrival, even this felt overwhelming. 

We made it safely to the mountains later that afternoon. I started to breathe again. We had friends greeting us and a renovated mission house to live in. But in the first few days I felt that heavy burden again as we tried to encourage one of the elders whose wife is on the brink of death from cancer. I had to turn away two women who wanted to join our bead project because we haven't sold our current inventory. I'm worried about making our business sustainable. 

Another young boy, Bob, who we have watched grow up through our camps in the last 10 years came to ask for food. We've learned he is also dying from disease with little details about his condition except that he's quite literally skin and bones. Maybe hepatitis. Maybe diabetes.

My heart breaks for the orphans here, the women here, the oppressed, those just scraping by, even those in government.

Haiti is heavy. The burdens and hurt and need in this place can feel oppressive. 

But I was also reminded this week that joy and anguish so often dance together. We can not experience deep joy unless we are willing to embrace the hard, the painful, the ugly and trust God through the process. 

I did push through the rough stuff last week and experienced many blessings on Friday and Saturday. Our team arrived, including Dear friends Doug & Brenda Round and their three daughters along with Bev Damm, Kelly Damm and Debbi Ball. Regulars who grace this place every summer.

Friday morning we packed 12 adults and 24 kids (including all the kids from the orphanage and our own) into three vehicles and headed for Haiti's historical landmark, the Citadelle. This has become an annual trek for our family, a landmark on our own family timeline as this is the place Ericlee proposed and holds many memories. What joy to show this to the Haitian kids, many of whom have never seen it. They learned a piece of their own history that day.

After our hike we continued on to the city of Cap Haitien and a favorite secluded beach hotel. A generous friend and donor had offered to pay for this trip so the orphans could experience some of God's beautiful creation here in Haiti. It's hard to believe these kids who live on an island so rarely see to coast.

Our highlight was waking up the next morning to the music of the ocean and the kids delighting in play. They dived in the clear waters, splashed in the waves, swung in hammocks, ordered what they wanted in a real restaurant with cloth napkins and an oversized fish tank.

We all marveled at the colors crashing around us - crimson hibiscus, turquoise water, lush-green palms, and white sand beneath our toes. 

There is so much of Haiti that makes my heart cry, but these two days were all smiles. The team, the kids, all of us. We rested. We played. We basked in the sun. We were grateful for the margin. 

Living James: Caring for Orphans in Haiti

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans
and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ~James 1:27

We just returned from an amazing 9-day trip to Haiti with eight new friends from Trinity Community Church in Fresno. Our time was so full and bubbling with blessing that I'm only now finding a few minutes to document it.

This was a very different trip.You might say it was three years in the making. Our main goal in going was to bring a team of friends to build the final furniture: bunk beds, tables and benches for the completed orphanage building in St. Raphael.

 

The seed for this trip was actually planted by a little girl named Cadence who wrote a letter in 2010 to our friends, Richard and Gina Wathen. Cadence had been watching the news after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. She was living in one of the beautiful Wathen-Castano homes in Fresno. She boldly asked Mr. Wathen if he could go to Haiti and build one of his homes for the orphans there. As Richard describes it, he had never received a letter written from a child before. She had set before him a building challenge like none he had ever encountered before.

A few months passed. Richard and Gina pursued a few leads in Haiti. They searched for a connection, a reputable organization they might support in building projects. The halls seemed to lead only to closed doors.

But Cadence persevered. She sold lemonade, hosted yard sales. She sent her hard-earned dollars to Richard in a follow-up letter.

How do you say no to a child with this kind of faith?

Then Richard and Gina heard about a Haiti Sharing Night at The Bridge Church hosted by the Gilmores. They already had a connection with us since their children attended Fresno Christian Schools and Fresno Pacific University where Ericlee was a teacher. They slipped in the sharing night and opened their hearts.

At the close of the sharing night, they heard about 15 children living in makeshift classroom-turned-bedrooms in St. Raphael. Ten boys slept on 4 boards-made-beds. Five girls crowded into the other room. These children needed a home.

The seed planted by Cadence began to grow.

 

The Wathens met with the Gilmores and Haitian Director Peter Constantin to find out more about Christian Friendship Ministries and the need for this orphanage. 

After some meetings and intense prayer, they decided to jump in. They hired an architect and traded plans back and forth between Haiti and the U.S. Building supplies were purchased. Richard even took a trip to Haiti to check out the place.

Fast forward two years. In January 2013, the roof went up and the orphanage building was complete. Plans were made for the Wathens and a group of men from their church to go to Haiti.

We even had a "packing party" and invited Cadence. Together we filled bins with donated toys, soccer uniforms and Bibles. Her mom cried joy-tears as she related that her daughter of mustard-seed faith now believed her God could build the impossible. 

This past week, as we spent time in St. Raphael with the Wathens and friends, I had a deeper understanding of the verses in James that say,

²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I don't believe these verses are metaphor. James gets real practical here. He speaks to the church and he says caring for orphans and widows is a spiritual matter.

Our group accomplished what they set out to do: they built beautiful beds. They fashioned tables and benches for the kids to eat on. They checked off their to-do list. They even enlisted help from some of the Haitian young men and built relationships across cultural lines with them as they worked.

But more than that, they "looked after" orphans. They showed the kids how to create with Legos and rock baby dolls. They got the kids involved in the building projects, drilling nails into the beds and carrying wood. They played baseball. They sang. They bestowed lots of high fives and hugs.

They learned their names. They prayed over the kids. They are already making plans to go back, to bring their extended families, to help raise up sponsors.

And again, I was reminded that God is a Father to the fatherless. He provides through His people. As our new friend Tom adjusted the sign on Kay Cadence (Cadence House) in Haiti, I believe angels sang in heaven.

 

Our group celebrated on Wednesday afternoon with the kids and the church congregation. We had a "Grand Opening" complete with singing of hymns, rousing thank yous, the kids sharing verses and testimonies. The guests were marched through the orphanage building for a grand tour. Our team was blessed with cold drinks and snacks.


By the end, there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Why? I would venture to say it's because a little girl named Cadence planted a seed.

Her seed of faith grew. And we pray a tree of life was built for 15 orphans in Haiti.

Gina & Richard Wathen, Curtis & Colson Cookingham, Rick & Grant Porter, Tom, Scott Drake, Ericlee, Dorina, Meilani, Giada & Zayla Gilmore

Visiting orphans: Christmas in November

One of my highlights of this trip so far has been the opportunity to visit the orphans in The Bridge Christian Children's Home and bring them Christmas packages from their sponsors.

For a moment, I thought about having them save their gifts until Christmas Day. Then I tossed that idea out the window because I selfishly wanted to be here to witness their joy.

Ericlee and I handed out the gifts on Saturday. The kids sat down nicely at the table and waited. But I wasn't fooled. I knew they were bursting with excitement just like I was. Then they started tearing into the gifts.

 

Wilken called to Ronaldo to check out his new shirt. Judelene showed off her hair bows. Fridnot hid his envelope under the table and opened it privately with a smile that turned up the corners of his mouth. Estisonn's eyes grew wide when he spotted the shiny soccer ball.

The biggest surprise and blessing for us to witness was that more than the clothes and dolls and art supplies these kids were enthralled by the pictures. They grinned and giggled, sharing the photos of their sponsors. They passed them around again and again, examining clothes and expressions, asking us questions. They pointed and kissed the faces in the photos.

They truly cared about the people behind those gifts. The greatest gift of all - family!

 

Today we visited the new orphanage building in St. Raphael (pictured below). We squeezed hugs out of the kids and shared their excitement for their new home, which should be finished early in the new year.

 

I tend to take the verse in James 1:27 literally that pure religion is visiting orphans, loving on the least of these. I am reminded that even in this God has a blessing for me to experience.

Unspeakable joy: Haitian orphans take first trip to ocean

I've been dreaming about this trip for a long time.

Several months ago, back in Fresno, on a night I couldn't sleep, this crazy idea popped in my head. We should take all the orphans from The Bridge Christian Children's Home in Haiti to the beach. It was right about that time that I was thinking about my oldest's birthday. We love to celebrate in our family and I wondered how to make her birthday special since this year we would be in Haiti on the actual day. What about a beach trip?

Last summer our family happened upon this snatch of paradise called Le Cormier Plage. It's a beach "resort" near the city of Cap Haitien. We only had a few hours to stop and swim and we vowed we would come back.

I mulled it over and over in my head. Was this a good idea? How would we actually get 18 orphans plus our own family to the beach - some three hours away from our Pignon mission house? Would such a "luxury trip" ruin these kids? Could we afford it?

So many questions have raced across my heart. I prayed and prayed for God to make a way.

Then our friends Stacey and Tanner started making plans to come to Haiti with their kids. I pitched the idea to them; They loved it. Stacey even helped me gather donated swimsuits for all the kids so they could swim in style. The Munros helped fundraise and the donations poured in. Who wouldn't want to be a part of sending an orphan on their first trip to glimpse God's Creation at the coast?

Monday morning we made the trip a reality.

I've been on a lot of road trips in my life but this one promised to be the most epic. We piled 23 kids and 8 adults into two vehicles and on a motorcycle. We included lots of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, snacks, towels, swimsuits, frisbees and cameras. We were off!

We bumped along on rocky roads and weaved in and out of traffic. The boys were having the time of their lives sitting in the back of the pick-up truck, drinking in the sights and feeling the wind on their faces. The girls were sandwiched into the cars. They sang and laughed. We looked like one of those "clown cars" with more and more layers of people piling out at pit stops.

We arrived in Cap Haitien around lunch time. The kids gobbled down sandwiches and water in their snazzy new water bottles donated from a friend in California. The Munros met up with a woman from World Vision and they took a few hours to go visit the boy they have been sponsoring through the years.

Meanwhile, we looked for something fun to do with the rest of the kids. There aren't a lot of parks in Haiti or hiking trails like we might experience in the U.S. We decided to take the kids for a walk down by the water. I loved listening to all their questions in Kreyol.

"What's that, Papa?" they blurted. Roro, the orphanage director explained to them how a sailboat worked.

Another group was fascinated by a man swimming in the ocean with a snorkel.

Some just gazed out at the water - a look of complete wonder in their chocolate chip eyes.

I squeezed little James tight, trying to remember my first trip to the ocean. I remembered watching the waves crash onto the shore. I remembered beach picnics and soccer games and sunsets. I remembered some of my favorite spots across the world - in California, Florida, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Spain and Hawaii. The ocean has always been my happy place. The place that inspires me to write, to dream.

After we walked by the water, we went back to the hotel where we were staying and the kids took a dip in the pool. Many of them told me they had seen a swimming pool before but they had never been in one. What a joy to share this "first" with them!

We spent the afternoon at the pool and then took the kids to visit Pastor Enoch, another pastor who grew up in Grandma and Grandpa Bell's ministry. He generously fed our group dinner.



 

 Tuesday morning we headed for the beach. From our hotel we jumped on another windy road and followed the signs. The road wended down to the ocean. We were peering out the window of our truck and over the edge of the rocks at clear water below. The view was breathtaking.

And I've seen it before.

 

We arrived at Le Cormier Plage and the kids eagerly (and quietly!) followed me through the resort. They each got a little arm band (our proof that we had paid to get out on the beach). The girls tiptoed to the edge of the water. They cautiously entered.

Finally, one of the boys jumped in. Splashing and laughter ensued.

 

For the next several hours, the kids traipsed up and down the beach, discovering sea creatures and inventing water games. Our own kids were all a part of the action. Even little Zayla was delighting in the clear water. She kept licking the salt off her lips.

 I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. We played a train game where the kids held each other shoulders and bobbed through the water chanting. We had swimming races. (We discovered only the boys could swim.) 

For lunch, the kids were treated like kings and queens. The staff served them each their own juicy American hamburger with french fries and a bottled cold coke. I have to admit it was a beautiful sight to see that long table with abundant food and the orphans as the guests of honor at the banquet.

At lunch we had a chance to talk with the kids about the creative God we serve who made the ocean and the creature and the sun and sky. We gave thanks together for the many American friends who made this trip possible. We thanked God for hamburgers and ketchup and a day chock-full of fun.

The day was full of joy. I have watched my own biological kids experience many "firsts." It always brings my mama heart joy to watch them discover. But this was a new kind of joy swelling in my heart. This was joy unspeakable and full of all His glory.

Day 2 of Giving: Sponsor an Orphan

Not a day goes by when one of my girls does not mention the orphans in Haiti. Meilani prays for the orphans each night at dinner and before bed. Giada frequently asks when we will be going back to our mission house to see her friends at the orphanage. Meilani remembers Rose Kathia, the oldest girl in the orphanage, who always included her.

This summer we had the privilege of living next door to The Bridge Christian Children's Home, an orphanage opened in Fall of 2009. Our church, The Bridge, in Fresno, California, helped provide the funding for the building. The orphanage today is home to 15 orphans and an all-Haitian staff. These beautiful children became sisters and brothers to my Meilani and Giada.

Roro is the director of the orphanage. He and his wife, Moseline, are the papa and mama to these children along with three dorm parents, Angela, Maniolitha and Eracin. These adults lead the children in Bible studies, teach them how to care for their home and even help the with their studies. The children attend the church and school also on the same property as the orphanage. They eat three Haitian meals a day and have health care.

Orphan care is often complicated in Haiti but we know these children are in a safe place. Sponsoring a child in this orphanage is one way your family can "adopt" a child and keep her off the streets. Many of these children were abandoned by family members who could no longer provide for them or left because their parents died from disease. In two years time, we have watched them grow physically as well as spiritually and emotionally.

*We invite you to consider supporting an orphan like James. It costs $100 each month to provide the food, clothes, education, health care, pay our staff and provide a loving home for these children. We still have several children who are not yet fully sponsored or have lost sponsors because of the economy. You can choose to sponsor a child for the full amount or share a sponsorship and pledge $25, $35 or $50 a month and join with other families to support them. Each sponsor will receive periodic photographs and updates on their child. See www.ChristianFriendshipMinistries.org for more details on sponsorship.

Contemplating Calling: Spending time with Orphans

This summer I find myself wearing many different hats here in Haiti. My most important hat – similar to when I am at home in the U.S. – is to be a mother to Giada and Meilani and wife to Ericlee. I also have found myself playing hostess to various short-term mission teams and visitors to our Mission complex here in Pignon. At times, we are guest speakers, traveling to various churches and parts of the ministry with the goal of praying for the people and offering a word of encouragement. More recently, Ericlee and I have worked together to evaluate different parts of the ministry and provide feedback as well as help brainstorm new projects that will allow our Haitian leaders to help their own people.


One hat I find most challenging to wear and yet most rewarding is being an auntie to the children who live next door in The Bridge Christian Children’s Home. In the last nine weeks, these 18 children (5 orphans and the director’s 3 girls) have crawled inside my heart.

They are family to us.

As I anticipated coming to Haiti for the last year, I found myself most looking forward to seeing the children again. Every night my 5-year-old Meilani would remind our family to pray for the orphans. She, too, looked forward to being with them and infected her sister with the same excitement.

The children of Haiti first captured my heart 10 years ago when I first came to Haiti on a short-term mission team with Ericlee and friends from our church. We hung out for a week with the kids, teaching them Track & Field skills. One week is all it took for me. I still remember getting on the airplane to go home and waving out the window to the kids. With tears streaming down my face, I knew I would be back.

Of course, at the time I had no idea how God would weave the threads of my life together to bring me to Haiti for a longer-term stint. I had no idea then that I would marry Ericlee or how God would grow our hearts together for returning to this place as a couple to serve almost yearly as short-term missionaries and now to serve for a year through Christian Friendship Ministries.

For me, it’s always been about the kids. My heart beats especially for the orphans of this country. When we started raising funds for The Bridge Christian Children’s Home orphanage three years ago, I had the privilege and hard job of interviewing the children who would be invited to live here. I talked to them and wrote bios about each one to share with our church and friends back home. Their stories haunted me. I was determined to share their need with others.

We celebrated in 2009 as the orphanage went up and God sent sponsors along the way to help give these children a chance at a new life. As they lived in the orphanage, I began to see a transformation in them. They became a family. Last summer, we were a part of the team that put on the first Vacation Bible School just for these children. I saw in these kids such a change in spirit, energy and even in their physical appearance.

Now that I am living in Haiti and observing orphan care on a daily basis, I’m starting to see it all in a different light. The longer I stay in Haiti, the more I talk to people, read about and visit other orphanages, I realize that orphan care is very complicated. There are thousands of kids in Haiti who are considered “orphans” but they fall into many categories.

Some may have been separated from or abandoned by their families after the earthquake. Others have lost one parent through disease or hardship. Others are simply living in such material poverty that their parents have begged the local orphanage director or pastor (and there are hundreds of orphanages across the land) to take their children. These parents know that the orphanage can provide food, education and shelter they cannot so they would rather give them up. I wonder if erecting more orphanages each year is really helping Haiti.

If the kids do enter an orphanage, there is the issue of how to properly care for these children in an orphanage setting. The other day Ericlee and I met a young pastor who just opened an orphanage here. I asked him how many children he was raising. He said 14 right now but he had plans to welcome 150 in his facility one day. I was dumbfounded. My stomach churned at the thought of 150 kids living in one single facility. I found myself asking if this was some kind of status symbol? Was it big business? How could 150 kids possibly be cared for properly and loved in one facility?

Meanwhile, adoption from Haiti is also complicated. There are scores of children who are true orphans (fatherless and motherless) but they are trapped in a system of rules and regulations or deemed unadoptable by many standard families because they are “special needs.” We have heard the adoption process takes an average of two years because of all the red tape.

The more I am here the more convicted I feel that I am called to advocate and care for God’s children in any way I can. The letter of James speaks of the definition of faith in this way, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). James also reminds us that faith is not just an intellectual belief, but also a faith that works. Of course, this theme of caring for the fatherless or loving on orphans is throughout the Bible.

I recently finished a book called ADOPTED FOR LIFE by Russell D. Moore. Don’t be deceived by the title; this is not just a book for families who want to adopt. This book is for all of us, reminding us that we are all adopted into the family of God. We need to understand our own adoption and then be on the forefront of supporting the care of orphans close to home and around the world.

Moore writes, “Who better than those who know Christ to welcome the all-too-often unwanted and discarded among the world’s orphans? After all, our God himself gathers together ‘the lame’ and ‘those who have been driven away’ and makes ‘a strong nation’ of those who were ‘cast off’ (Micah 4:6-7).

I believe the best option for children who are truly orphaned (without parents) is adoption into a loving, caring family. In November of 2009, Ericlee and I started to process of adopting from Haiti. We prayed and investigated some Christian agencies and we started filling out applications. We quickly discovered that the laws in Haiti for adopting are somewhat convoluted. As of today, a couple cannot adopt a child unless they have been married 10 years and only if they have two (or less) biological children. I have heard that a child with special needs (very loosely defined) can be adopted by a family with more biological children. Our third baby is due this November but we are still hoping to adopt from Haiti in the future if God allows.

In the meantime, I see my calling is to be an advocate for the best care of these children here in The Bridge Christian Children’s Home as well as the 15 kids in an orphanage at our St. Raphael location. Last week we completed an extensive evaluation of the orphanage and met with the staff. These kids are well-cared for but there is always room for improvement. Later this year, we will be helping with a project for a new building for those kids in St. Raphael who are now packed into two tiny school rooms-turned bedrooms.

This summer the kids in The Bridge Christian Children’s Home have become not so much “poor orphans” in my mind. They have become “real kids.” My girls step outside our back door every morning and welcome them into our yard as friends – even family.

I have learned the sound of their voices before I even see them. I know which boys I can trust to help water the garden and dig out the weeds. I know which girls are the most responsible in caring for my own girls. I know that one boy may appear quiet but has quite a streak of mischief. I know the girl who is the frailest and most likely to play on her own if we don’t draw her into a game. Ericlee could tell you which boy is a soccer star and which girl can do the most pull-ups. We could tell you the one who may be a pastor one day, the one who has talent as an artist, the one who could be an athlete if given the chance. They are each one lovable and unique.

These kids love Jesus. I have seen them pray together, recite verses and sing together. Any time the church doors are open they put on their best clothes and scamper over there to sit in the front row. And our girls are always eager to join their friends.

At the very least, my goal is to hug each one of them every day I am here in Haiti. I hope I can do more.

I hope you can join me. You might consider sponsoring one of them or one of the children in the new facility in St. Raphael. You might research organizations (ie. Compassion, World Vision, The ApParent Project) that help rebuild communities so parents who live in material poverty can find jobs and care for their own kids. You might consider how you can be a part of supporting adoption in your own community. You might financially or prayerfully support a family who is adopting. You might babysit for them when they need a break or bring them a meal during their adoption process. You might start an adoption fund through your church or a community organization. You might use your platform as a pastor or teacher sharing about the plight of orphans. You might start teaching your own kids about the diversity of God’s family and our own adoption into His Kingdom.

You might consider adopting a child yourself.

As we speak one of my best friends is arriving in Moscow with her husband for a court appointment to adopt a second little girl from Russia. She has taught me that caring for the world’s orphans is never easy. In fact, it is complicated and messy at times, but it is one of the highest callings.

Haiti Update #12: Who Will Speak Up For The Little Ones?

Today, was quite possibly our hardest day in Haiti. I suspect it will be stamped in my memory for a long time to come. It was not difficult because of the heat or the language barrier or the testing of my patience as some might expect. Our task for today was meeting with the 16 orphans who are to live in The Bridge Christian Children’s Home when it is complete.

Admittedly, I’ve been really excited about this day for a long time. The children of Haiti are the reason I keep coming back to this broken country. I continue to remember their smiles, their piercing eyes. I am idealistic enough to believe that we have a small chance to give them a glimpse of hope. Meeting the orphans was a whole new level of heartbreak for me.

The children arrived starting at 6:30 a.m. when our team was still eating breakfast. They waited patiently in the yard until all 16 arrived and we started our time together. We fed them a little snack of organic animal crackers and lemonade – just a little something to fill their little tummies. Most of them were quiet, cautiously watching these strangers.

Stacie Gudgel, one of our team members and also Meilani’s preschool Bible teacher from our church, took the role of organizing a play time for the kids. She brought a variety of toys, games and crafts we could share. While the team members invited the kids to play Memory, Trouble and Candyland, Brandy Freeland and I started the job of interviewing the kids. Our goal was to ask some basic questions to get to know them so we can write profiles about each child and help find sponsors for them once they are in the orphanage.

I have done countless interviews in my career as a journalist but these were probably the hardest. We worked with our friends Gerby and Walquis who interpreted for us. We asked each child how old they were, whether they were in school and attended church, what chores they helped with at home. We also asked them to share a bit about their family situation.

As I typed the answers on the computer, the tears began to stream down my face. “I’m not cut out for this job,” I heard myself whisper to Brandy under my breath. Despite my years of experience as a journalist I did not know how to choke back the emotion. She looked at me sympathetically. We continued to listen to story after story about mothers and fathers who had died of “fever” (a generic word used in Haiti for all kinds of sickness). Some of the kids were living with an aunt or grandparent. The kids gave one-word answers; they did not know how to really elaborate on the stories of their broken homes and haunted pasts.





The youngest of these children were a few 6-year-olds and the oldest was 11. Of course, these would not be the typical kids that Americans or other foreigners would want to adopt. Most adoptive parents prefer infants with a good medical history. I certainly can understand why – the transition would be easier and crossing the cultural barriers would not seem quite so daunting. Peter Constantin, the director of Christian Friendship Ministries, had conceived of this orphanage to provide a loving home for older children like these. What a joy to think that our church, The Bridge, has such a hand in raising money, building the orphanage and perhaps sponsoring these children in the future.

After a few hours of click-clacking away on the computer, we had finished. We went back into the main room of the mission house to find a different mood. The kids there were giggling and laughing. They were make shapes out of pipe cleaners. Some of the girls had on pipe cleaner earrings and necklaces. I saw one boy with a pair of bright blue pipe cleaner glasses he had fashioned. Another little boy thrust some pipe cleaners into my hands and asked me to make him a butterfly.

Outside a group of young boys were playing soccer with a few of the guys from our team. We later heard from Bryan and Ernie how blessed they were to play with these little guys. The boys had quickly abandoned their too-tight shoes and got down to business with the “futbol.”

Our morning with the group ended around 11:30 a.m. We sent each child home with a bag of animal crackers, a kite and a new outfit. Brandy and I took on the job of trying to size the kids with the new clothes the team had brought. Unfortunately, we did not have enough pairs of flip flops/sandals to hand out and a lot of the clothes were way too big for these petite children who had been malnourished for so many years.

I fell in love with one little girl Serline. Although she was six years old she was smaller than our 3-year-old Meilani. She lived in Savanette, a good hour walk from the mission so we invited her to eat lunch with us and then we would drive her home. I have seen Serline several times at the Savanette church. She was always so shy, her mouth a thin line and her toes stuffed in shoes two sizes too small. But today I saw her break a smile. I handed her a jump rope and took her outside. She could barely jump the rope and did not know how to count to 10 in Kreyol but oh did she smile.

The tears really came as I fed her lunch. I tried to give her small portions at a time so she wouldn’t get sick. Her eyes grew wide as I served up pieces of goat meat, cracked wheat with beans and a tropical fruit salad we were having for our team that day. She gobbled these down and ate 3 more servings and a glass of cold water before she was satisfied. I started to wonder when was the last time little Serline had even eaten meat.

After lunch we climbed in the truck and drove Serline and another little girl home to Savanette. Our team had some bins of clothes and toys to give out in the community there so it worked out well. When we arrived, Serline’s grandma met me at the truck. They actually live right across the street from the Savanette church. The grandma explained to me that she was caring for seven children. The mother had died and the father had abandoned them to go to the Dominican Republic for a new life.

I walked Serline home with her grandma and met her siblings and cousins. They lived in a tiny hut-like house made of sticks and mud. Three small rooms housed the eight or more family members. The floors were dirt and the place smelled of excrement. I pressed a five dollar bill into the grandma’s hand and begged her to buy some food for the family. I could hardly bear to lift my heavy body back into the truck and leave little Serline in this situation. I vowed right there that I would do all I could to help get the orphanage open and sponsors for these children as soon as possible.