Nov. '08 Haiti Trip, part 2

We walked just around the corner to the clinic the two little boys were brought to; only to find out they had severe wounds to their head and some face wounds as well. Their names were David who is 4, and Wildeson(Solomon) who is 6. The resources at this clinic were very limited compared to the severity of the injuries of these little boys and I was very aware of that first thing. Their cries were heard throughout the 4-5 bed clinic and eventually they reached a point of exhaustion and gave up on crying. This was very very hard to watch. I helped assist the doctor as best I knew how in stitching up David's head as I was praying, while the only nurse that worked there continued to watch after and care for Solomon, who was stitched first. Perhaps I could forgive that the numbing medicine was not distributed evenly into their wounds, and that the medical care was sub par, to say the least, but I will never forget the grace I had to ask for in order to give it to the doctor for his lack of compassion toward the two little boys. Upon asking for this, God immediately reminded me of the abundant grace He gives to me. All I could mutter was for God to give me wisdom to know what to do. Being the only one with any medical experience on the team, I prayed for God's grace, wisdom, and complete reliance on Him when having to give educated guesses on the outcome of it all, when asked. At one point while going from room to room between the two boys, I was so overwhelmed with grief watching them scream in pain knowing this would never happen in the States, that I took my best friend aside and broke down in her arms with feelings of helplessness. I knew the injuries themselves(gashes through their skin to their skulls several inches long) were not necessarily life threatening, but risks for infection and brain trauma, if present, certainly were. Especially with the sterility, medicine, and medical equipment lacking in this clinic.

The plane ride back and next several days were very very difficult for me. Our team did not have a chance to really debrief, although we got close quickly after going through a number of unexpected events. A few of those consisted of: blowing two tires on the way to the airport, taking a detour into a remote village to avoid a police raid where a couple of people were murdered, and missing our original flight. We could not confuse our efforts with God's faithful hand as He provided outlets to every adversary we encountered out of our control.

I used the debriefing materials given to me by our leader and with God's grace and kindness, I sorted through many feelings and thoughts. I don't know if many of my questions will ever get answered here on earth, but God has met me and comforted me and shown me what is most needed in places where there are not churches on every corner. The Gospel of grace and Truth is needed. His gospel is hope when nothing else can offer it. I felt confirmation on this trip to eventually be involved with full time orphanage type ministry in poor places with many disparities. I recognized my responsibility and the gift of the Gospel I have to share with others. I learned to trust God in a different way. I learned and am still learning much more than I can articulate at this point. I am so grateful to God for this. I have been changed forever, and pray that only by God's grace, my actions will reflect the change. I also pray that any cynicism I have towards the blessed America we live in will be replaced with an abundant love and grace to offer people I encounter every day.


Prayer is a powerful powerful thing.

Nov. '08 Haiti Trip, part 1

I have never been on a missions trip where I was as impacted as I was on this one. I had the opportunity to travel to an orphanage in Haiti with a team of 11 other people. Compared to a one month trip I took, these four days seemed like several weeks. The purpose of the trip was to love on kids in the orphanage(sponsored by a mission's organization here in the U.S. called Hopegivers) and to paint a couple of "rooms." To keep this "short," I'll refrain from details about how I ended up going on the trip, facts about Haiti being the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and other incomprehensible, saddening facts etc. I will skip straight to the parts of the story where my heart was grabbed. This is my personal story with my personal feelings, however cliche they may sound at times. I will leave out a lot that I have shared with my Father in heaven on numerous occasions in order to get through the stories without my emotions drowning them out....

While checking out the different rooms in the orphanage, I was on the bottom floor looking out through barred windows at a group of kids from a nearby village. I noticed a little girl probably 6-8 months old who was naked and dirty, bent over crying on the ground. Any human instinct would be to go pick her up and wipe her down and attempt to offer some comfort to this baby. So that's what my best friend and I did. She was soothed and resting in our arms when it was all over with :). I have no clue where her guardians were and assume one of the kids around, none most likely over the age of 8, was carrying her around for the day. That is a picture forever engraved in my mind. One of them..

After looking at land purchased for a new school, we walked to a nearby village full of mud huts. The kind you see on the discovery channel or those commercials that don't seem real. We walked up to a hut the size of a living room here in the States, a home to 10+ people there. Some clothed, some not. There was a little girl, without any clothes anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 years old in the distance standing in a field crying. Everyone else was standing in between two huts with other children around. The children were so thirsty, they would sheepishly point to the few water bottles we had and we would pour it into their mouths. As we started walking back to the truck, the Lord broke my heart to the point I was crying. It was at this point, I was plagued with both guilt and thankfulness for living in the U.S. The Lord continues to graciously work out these feelings. :)

Those are just a couple of stories that gripped me. This last story I will share was rather traumatic, but a privilege to be a part of, as it helped increase my faith and reliance upon the Lord tremendously. About 20 minutes after crossing the Dominican border and arriving at our hotel, Willeo, the guy over the orphanage and school, came walking viciously up to us(a good friend and I) saying two of the kids had been hurt badly. He said they might even be "near death...."