I Love Haiti...

Most of my days are spent doing a variety of things, one of them being working in our office, handling receipts, payroll, construction orders, etc.  I LOVE doing it because I get to see the faithfulness of God and see how He provides our every need. I recently celebrated my 9-year anniversary in Haiti and am beyond grateful for the privilege of seeing the ministry grow since almost the beginning. There is something about seeing something when it is beginning to form that develops an intense appreciation when those things begin to expand.  

Our Orphan Home for Special Needs Children!

Almost 10 years ago, I visited Haiti for the first time.  I was living in New York and felt like a different season was coming. I had no idea where I would be going, but had a strong desire to go to the mission field and to be surrounded by extreme poverty.  After my one-week trip to Haiti, I knew that was where I was supposed to be.  

All of that to say, during those 4 months in NY, my desire to return to Haiti grew stronger.  One of the days I was in Haiti, we did an outreach program in the local market and by the time I left, I was covered in dirt and sweating, but was SO HAPPY! When I returned to New York, I kept that shirt for a LONG time and did not wash it because I wanted to remember the “smell” of Haiti.  Sounds gross, but that is how much I loved it.

Local market in our town of Ouanaminthe, Haiti

Family from the village...mother passed away and the father was taking care of his children, including 1 set of twins.  One of the twins was always sick and eventually died as she could not recover.

Girls carrying water to their home

This is one one of the "rooms" of a family that lives in Baja (about 20 minutes from our orphanage). 

Fast forward to this past week…I had been working in the office for several days and needed to get outside of our 4 walls. A few of our kids had to go to the market to get tennis shoes, so I locked the office and hopped on our truck.  As we were driving in one of the alleys about to approach the market, it was dirty and the smell was intense and without thinking I let out a deep breath and said “I love Haiti.”  Later on that night, I was thinking about that statement and how odd it would sound to someone who is not “used” to this life, but to me it was a perfect description of how God could take something so unattractive and make it so attractive.  I honestly don’t want any applause or want anyone thinking I am some wonderful person because I live in a 3rd world country and love being surrounded by poverty and dirt and smells.  I am still a normal girl sometimes.  I like to shop. I like to look at stylish boots and wish I didn’t live in a sun scorched country where stylish boots wouldn’t fly.  I miss Starbucks.  I miss food other than rice and beans and chicken.  I miss sushi. I miss Chick-Fil-A.  I miss Yogurtland.  I miss malls.  I miss my family....

On the other hand, the privilege of taking care of the poor, orphans, widows, and helping relieve suffering FAR outweighs anything that I ever miss.  At the end of the day, knowing that God used YOU to make a difference in someone's life is humbling.  It is humbling because it shows me that it is not about me, but about Him.  I am 100% convinced that everyday there is one person that is put in your path that needs something from you....a word of encouragement, a gift card, a letter, a hug, a smile, some money, flowers,  etc.  Sometimes I lose track and my focus is off, but I am learning more and more each day that we really are the hands of Christ and the fact that He entrusts us to be His hands and feet is enough to bring me to tears.  So I encourage you (and myself) to look for that one person every day. They might be roaming the streets in a 3rd world country, starving, naked, and orphaned or they might be in an office building in the US with nice clothes on but starving and hurting in a different way.  BOTH extremes are poor. BOTH need a touch from God that comes from you and I......


"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done."  (Proverbs 19:17)