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| In line for hand sanitizer before their meal! |
Every other day we commit to being
with these kids to love and serve them physically, emotionally, and
spiritually. We feed them beans and rice with a slice of meat, along with clean
water and vitamins. Emotionally these kids are often mistreated and uncared
for, so inviting them into our open arms and smothering them with kisses is not
a daily comfort they find in their own family. Then once playtime is over,
Ivens leads the kids in worship and a message about Jesus.
These kids are so desperate for love
and affection. As soon as they see you, their faces light up and they run
straight for you. I could have six children at my waist but I can only manage
to hold two or three at a time. I try to take turns but there are always a few
that the Lord blesses you with a special bond. Let me share about them.
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| family. |
One Monday I walked into the feeding
program and I saw a young boy rocking his baby sister back and forth to get her
to stop crying. He was doing everything he could to get her to stop screaming.
I walked by (as this is very common for the older siblings to take care of
their younger brothers and sisters), but this time was different. I sat in the
back and I watched him care for his little sister in a way that I’ve never seen
in the States. By now I had been consistently at the program every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday for over a month. As the little girl continues to scream,
I see him look around. He makes eye contact with me from afar and brings her
over. I know we have a language burier, but his eyes said everything, “Please
take good care of her, I just want to be a kid and play…”
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| Milanda & Dana singing and dancing |
I scooped her up and got her to stop
crying, and the boy wrapped his arms around my waist after he got to play for a
while and looked up at me with such thankfulness and appreciation. The most
beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. But I could tell he needed care and love too.
Who was looking after him? After all, he is still a kid. I asked him his name
and he said Stevenson, with that beautiful smile. He held on for at least five
minutes and I just knew he needed to feel that someone cared.
Everyday after Stevenson would walk
into the program with his other brothers, he would hand me his 2 year old
sister Dana. He would hold on to me for a while, but knowing his
sister was safe with me, he'd go play soccer. Every 10 minutes he’d come around and check on Dana. He
was such a faithful, loyal brother to her. As the days went on, Stevenson
trusted me more and more to leave her with me. He stopped checking on her
knowing I would take good care of her. I loved watching his trust build in me.
Once he felt he could trust me with
his sister and he knew how much I loved him, he started asking me everyday as
the leaders were kicking him out, “vin lakay mwen pou wè manman m” which means
come to my house to see/meet my mom. To maintain the trust and relationship
that I built with him, it was an honor to me that I could go meet his family.
Stevenson and his brothers led the way, and I walked to Siniace with them.
Like I’ve mentioned before, its never
safe for me to go by myself or even me and Ray together, so we took Chillup
with us to help translate and to have a Haitian adult who knows a lot of the
people there. As Stevenson brought us to his tent, Winsley and Geurson went to
go find their mom. As we wait in front of the tent, we saw some new and some
familiar little faces pop out from behind tents. In a small intersection of
pathways between tents, we loved on some babies just roaming free.
Suddenly a woman with a concerned but
shocked face comes around the corner. We look at her with an uncertain face and
she says, “Oh! Winsley told his mom that there were Americans at the tent
waiting to meet her, and she didn’t believe that could be true, so she sent me
to prove that they were lying… but you really are here! I’ll go get her!” Soon
after, their cautious and surprised mom turned the corner and invited us in.
I was introduced to Ivenitte, their
mother, and she took us inside. We walked into a square tent that was sectioned
off by sheets into three rooms. It smelled musty and there was nowhere to sit
but on a cement block in the corner. To fit all four adults, we lined up
against the edge and stood to talk with her. At the age of 31, she began to
share that Geurson was actually her 12 year old brother that she was taking
care of, as well as her 12 year old son Stevenson, her 10 year old son Winsley,
and her 2 year old Cheldana, (Dana for short). They were all in school until
their father left them and now they don’t have enough income to support all
three older boys to go to school and eat. We talked a little bit about how she
was trying to sell food on the side making plantains. But all the while, in the
back of my head I knew I couldn’t do anything. My stomach sank.
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| Friend Angelica, Dana, Stevenson, Geurson |
Overwhelmed by hopelessness and
devastation around me, I could easily get caught up in how much need surrounds
and how incapable I am of fixing it. But when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus,
he takes that burden and shows us how to love the person in front of us.
Sometimes that is one person and sometimes that leads to a vision that serves
an entire tent city, but he knows these people's needs more than I do and he is
sovereign over their faith and what their walk with Him looks like.
I am
certain that these people are the richer. Being richer in faith is greater than
any earthly material and who am I to say what these people need. He should be
the one to show me out of His love for them, and not out of my own frantic,
overwhelmed flesh. That would lead to a quick fix that hurts later and I know
Jesus would want to heal the whole person, not just the current circumstance.
He is concerned for the eternal needs even more than their immediate needs, but
He does provide thru and thru.
I hugged Ivenitte, kissed her cheek and told her how much I love her kids. I am praying for a vision. My
heart is broken for these people and I can’t do one single good thing if Jesus
doesn’t show me. Join me in prayer as I desire to love these hurting people the
way Jesus would serve the broken.
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,because the Lord has anointed meto bring good news to the poor;he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives,and the opening of the prison to those who are bound"
- Isaiah 61:1
God I look to You, I won’t be
overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You
do
God I look to You, You’re where my
help comes from
Give me wisdom; You know just what to
do
