I’ve sat down multiple times trying to think of something to blog about. Another story where one goes from rags to riches? Or maybe something I’ve learned? There are so many things to write about! You would not even imagine the amount of events that go on throughout just one day here. So….that being said, I have decided to combine this blog into a jumble of stories and lessons learned. Without further ado, I give you a little collection of stories I have affectionately decided to call “blog booklets!” Enjoy!
We Wish You A Haitian Christmas!
It was hot, as usual. There was no sight of any rain or even clouds for that matter. It was not windy, just very dusty. The sun beat down on everyone in their lovely clothes. The American girls all dressed up nicely in cute tops and skirts. The workers of lifeline hard at work. Some people look at this and wonder what day I’m speaking of because when they see a description like this the last thing they think of is Christmas. Yes, Christmas. It was hotter than blazes, we were all dressed up and our workers were working. This was not our decision, the Haitians seem to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Some of them give gifts, but many of them do not do much to celebrate. We respectfully asked that no one bother us on Christmas. As you can imagine it was not an easy day for us, so we all clung to each other and to God that day. We all had gifts for each other that we opened with joy, but it was still very different for us and we all missed our families. But, amidst the difficulties, we all had each other. We spent time laughing and cooking and at the end of the day we all gathered around the table to a nice meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, cucumber tomato salad, stuffing and some other random things. So in the end, we still were able to celebrate the birth of our Savior together. Even if it was in a way we were unfamiliar with, and I can’t help but wonder if celebrating differently helped us truly realize the reason for the season.
The Gift Of Love
It started out as a casual thing, a walk through the village. I liked going out in the village and visiting with people and each time I went out there was one little boy who always wanted my attention. One of my first times going out at night for food this boy ran up and wrapped his arms around me and just held me until I left. Every walk in the village I could always count on him to pop up and hold my hand while I was walking. He went to the river with us and stopped with me just to help me get a thorn out of my shoe. He has “protected” me from his little friends who try to pinch me and ask me for things. He has always been sweet and loving to me and over time I’ve formed a place in my heart that is the shape of his name. Aluxon. I’m honestly not even sure if I’ve spelled it right, but either way it’s engraved into my heart. He is about 8 years old and can be very sassy (not that I mind much since I’m just as sassy as he is!) And just like every relationship we slowly started off getting to know each other until we were comfortable talking and hanging out. I’ve grown so fond of him and here is why. This little boy does not have much, just like many other children in the village he is dirty most of the time, has ripped clothing and probably doesn't eat much. One day while walking he took something from his pocket and while holding my hand slipped it into my hand and said he had a gift for me. When I opened my hand I saw a pretty little marble. Marbles are used here as toys for the kids. To see that this little boy had nothing yet gave me something beautiful astounded me. The next time I saw him he wore a rubber band on his wrist as a bracelet. After I swam at the dam with him one afternoon he silently grabbed my wrist and placed the rubber band on it saying that it was now mine and no longer his. My new bracelet was worn and dirty and too tight, but I kept it on for the rest of the day. A few days later while in the back area of the village he was walking beside me holding my hand as usual and out of no where proclaimed that I was his mom and he was “petit mwen” (my child.) I laughed but after seeing his face I realized he wasn't joking. I explained to him that he could call me mama if he wanted but that did not mean he could come live with me. He quickly agreed and has since then claimed me as his own! And that, my friends, is how I gained a child in the village.
All Of Me
Sometimes things happen that we don’t always understand. I feel like people say that frequently to you throughout life. Well, let me be the first to say that the phrase above is used even more here. A lot of what we see every day makes no sense to us. We just trust God and let things happen as they are, no matter how hard it may be for us to witness. One of these cases was very heart wrenching for me and I want to share it with you. His name is Ericson. I was not here whenever he was originally brought to us, but from what I have heard his mother had the grandma take care of him and she let him starve. He was quickly taken to Real Hope For Haiti when brought to Lifeline and had been in their program for 4 months. Since my arrival here I have been to Real Hope several times with teams and each time have watched as Ericson’s mom climbed into our truck so she could go with us to see him. I have also watched as she has come to us asking when he will be well enough to come home and tell us that she misses him. A few weeks ago we took another visit to Real Hope. After a crazy morning we had forgotten to call his mother to tell her that we were going and so she was unable to tag along. When we arrived we were told that if he was well taken care of Ericson was now free to be released. Normally they do not release a child without talking to his/her mother first, but because we are good friends with this mission and we share mutual love and respect for one another they decided it would be okay if we brought Ericson back with us. You can only imagine our excitement and we could not wait to surprise his mother! He started off in the front seat sitting on Dave’s lap, but after about 10 minutes I took him in the back with me. He slept on my chest, clinging to my shirt with his head directly over my heart which seemed to whisper “I love you” with every beat. I held him for about 2 hours straight until he woke up. After he had awoken it was my job to watch him while the Links had a meeting with our Haitian director (they wanted to go over a few things before calling the mom.) Now, as you can imagine, Ericson was not very emotional and had no facial expressions. He had been in a hospital recovering from malnutrition for 4 months and had probably not had as much social interaction as needed. He was very weak, very fragile and very sad. But, I saw past all that and really showed him the love he deserved. I showered him in kisses, I encouraged him to stand while holding my hands and I cuddled him close. After about 30 minutes I was able to make him smile and he slowly leaned up and gave me a kiss. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. That one little smile and that sweet kiss that no one else had managed to get said more words than anything I had ever heard before. He clung to me some more and then Elizabeth took him so we could surprise his mother. We took the trek down to the gate and happily waited for the arrival of his mother. As soon as she stepped in the gate she had a huge smile on her face, we soon realized it was because of Elizabeth in me, for when she saw Ericson her face slowly changed from happy to panicked. Without going into detail we took her to our Haitian director and had another meeting on what could be done. Ericson’s mother agreed that with help from us she would take care of him but wanted us to keep him for a few days so she could get her house ready. We agreed to keep him for a few days and train her on when and how to give him his medicine. That night we had Ericson duty…..which sound turned into Ericson dooty. He got sick again. He had a constant fever, and let’s just say that one of my shirts is stained from explosive diarrhea. I spent the rest of the night changing my shirt, diapers, bathing him and cuddling with him as he was wrapped in a towel. Thankfully, Elizabeth took the overnight shift but both of us were up bright and early the next morning in order to take him back to Real Hope. I haven’t seen him or heard how he is doing yet, but for those of you who are interested I will have an update on my FaceBook page as soon as I get one! I can't help but think of the song "All Of Me" by Matt Hammit and I encourage you now to go and listen to it. Close your eyes and picture this sweet boy from my perspective and pray that if you have a similar situation in your life that you too can give that person all of you, no matter what. These three stories are just a few of the many life changing things going on during my journey. There are many other children, many other experiences and many other families in need of prayer. Thank you all once again for your support and your prayers, they are much needed! God has been doing a lot of changing in me and I can only hope that I continue each day to listen and draw closer to Him as well as minster to others so that they may do the same.
