Orphan Care VIPs: Haiti at Home

It isn't often that superheros join you for breakfast.

Last weekend, a "Mami and Papi" to 49 slept in our guest room. 

These VIPs are close to our hearts.
We spent a week with them in Haiti last year
and we are forever challenged by their lives. 

Orphan care is not a goal or grand idea. 
It is what they do, and how they live.  Every day. 

Our global hearted church hosted Smith, Katia, Dan and Stevie,

and we were blessed to get to spend some extra time with them. 

Several years ago, Dan (father of an adopted son from Haiti) travelled to Haiti on a mission trip.  Forever altered, he went back again and again to serve street kids.  On one of those trips, Smith was his driver.  That driver became a friend, a Christian and then the director of an orphanage.  He and Katia now run a guest house for mission teams, and are the parents to many at the
Gift of God orphanage.   

After a few trips, Dan felt led to start the orphanage.  This man's faith is deep, wide and something to be learned from. He prays, waits to hear from the Lord and moves forward with expectation.  He makes moves, trusting that the money and logistics will be provided.
To orphan care, he says, "Yes."

Smith and Katia serve and parent with joy and faith. 

Their burden is heavy, yet they smile and consider each day,
each child a gift.  They work not within their own power. 
If they did, each day would be too much.  They'd fail. 

Rather, it is not their strength that sustains them, it is the Lord's. 

We want to live like that.  Parent like that.  We want our kids to see that, be around that and learn that.  And so, this visit was a gift.

Giants of faith, humble servants chilling on the deck. 
Chef for many sharing cooking secrets in the kitchen. 

These are people to learn from, to emulate and to snag recipes from. 

When they are near, a wise person stays (rete) and listens (koute). 

(Love this post from Livesay Haiti blog.) 

On that Sunday morning, one of our teaching pastors gave a talk on orphan care.  Following that, Smith and Katia shared their story through a beautiful translated video.  Give it a watch? 
It is wise to listen when these people speak. 

Wa Da Wa: The Reminder of Haiti on Our Tree

I need the reminder that these ornaments are.

Just a few short months ago, we were in Haiti with the orphans who made these.  We played with them, taught them, and held their hands.  We were crushed by their stories and challenged by their joy.  We walked through their bedrooms and cried for all that was missing.  We sewed hearts with them and told them that they were loved. 

Now, they have made ornaments to be sold at our church's
"Hope Market".  These blurry photos arrived in our inbox as they were being made.

We were changed in Haiti, so I promised that I wouldn't forget.  But I do.  More each day. 

Today I can't touch their skin, hear their voices, look into their eyes, see miles of tents, or hear another story of loss, so I tend to forget.  I get comfy in this world and move back to the middle.  More each day. 

This morning, as I walked by our handmade "Wa Da Wa" (King of Kings)ornament,  I remembered.

The tears came as I remembered that I haven't prayed for them.  I've been busy.  We've been doing crafts with our girls, reading Bible stories and hanging Jesse Tree ornaments, wrapping gifts, giggling over the movement of an elf, addressing cards and watching Christmas shows.  I've even spent lots of time tagging and hanging THEIR ornaments for sale at church, but I have hardly thought about them or prayed for them.  I've been busy.   

But today, I really saw their ornament, and my heart melted. They have no father who sits them on their lap to read the nativity story.  No daddy to DVR Charlie Brown Christmas.  No bedtime tuck-ins or after bath fuzzy towel time.  No mother to cut out Christmas trees with or snuggle under a blanket reading Christmas books.  No glowing fireplace, scented candles or holiday music playing.

They won't sip cocoa and drive around looking at Christmas lights.  They won't bake sugar cookies or sit on Santa's lap.  They won't wear new red and green clothes and sit down to multiple feasts.  They won't watch The Polar Express or open stacks of presents from grandparents.

I need the reminder. 

I need to be less busy. 

I need to pray for them. 

I need to refocus on the love that came down at Christmas. 
On the Wa Da Wa.

I need to not buy the additional package of red balls for my tree.

I need to know that my children have ENOUGH ALREADY without more stuff or without "must do" Christmas experiences.

I need to acknowledge that the cost of my live tree could pay for a couple months of child sponsorship.

I need to eliminate a few things from our must do and must buy list.

I need to remember and pray.  More each day. 

I need to dig a bit deeper to find ways to fight for them.  More each day.

I need to remember.  More each day. 

Haiti: Pool Party!

Dan had suggested to us that we end our week on a fun note. 

He also let us know that the kids had never been to the ocean and had never been in a pool.  A pool party was in order!

How many missionaries does it take to fill 500 250 water balloons?
Answer?  Nine. 

The kids stayed in their bunk rooms while we decorated.
Their little eyes peeked out of tiny openings in the concrete. 
When you got close to wall, you just might hear, "Bon Jour!"

When they finally came out, the kids weren't quite

sure what to make of it all.

They walked in cautiously and silently,  taking it all in.

Squeals soon filled the air though as beach balls and bubbles started flying, and little girls started jumping rope. 

The littlest stripped down into their skivvies and hopped into two pools,

one for girls and one for boys. 

They piled in on top of each other, nine or ten in each. 

Their joy (and ours) could not be contained. 

With wide smiles and bright eyes, they splashed and played,

not getting out until the pools were emptied.

The big treat was big bowls mangoes, watermelon, canapes, apples, kiwis, peaches, cherries and plums. 

They ate EVERY last bite of every piece of fruit. 

If we do say so ourselves,

it was one rockin party!

One that we will surely never forget. 

The grand finale was water balloons!

By the end, we were all soaked and on our bellies hurt from giggling. 

Childhood is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

It looks the same in Haiti, in the US, in China and in Zimbabwe.

And in the end,

they left us with happy smiles, hugs, waves, 

pieces of their artwork,

and their prayers.

We left emptied out and filled up. 

Haiti: Obedient and Joyful Heroes

These are the faces of heroes.  Obedient, faithful, joyful heroes. 

Getting to know them and to learn from them, was one of the greatest privileges of our lives. 

Smith and Katia are "momma and poppa" to 52 children.

They run the orphanage, lead the nannies and the couple who direct the orphanage, organize the bakery, and teach the kids about faith.  They run the guest house, and cater to mission teams who come once per month. 

Katia is "the general".  She is vibrant, strong, obedient and joyful.  When she speaks, people listen.  She has a story.  That story includes loss, being forced to serve family members practicing voodoo, being kidnapped, and surviving an earthquake, hurricanes, and floods.  She is a trained chef, and a women of great wisdom.  Her faith makes ours seem small.  She DEPENDS on the Lord.  Every day she prays for the strength and provision to handle that day.  Her life has been redeemed. 

Smith is the new image that will come to mind when I think of God as Father.  He is a quiet leader with a gentle and joyful smile.  He speaks very little English, but communicated volumes to us about obedience, love, perseverance, faith and parenting.  He is a former truck driver turned poppa to many.  He now serves orphans and street children with a rare servant's heart.  He shared the story of a time when the kids at the orphanage were stranded without food due to a mudslide and flooding.  Eight days after the flood, he arrived carrying food on his head, having walked through chest high water.  He loves them, so he preserved.  

Smith and Katia were once kidnapped and held for ransom money. 

They endured the earthquake, and when it would have been much easier to walk away, they never stopped serving the kids.

One tiny blessing for them was a porch that our team built onto their home.  This two room home sits right next to the large concrete guest house (which they never slept in again after the earthquake).

Smith and Katia have trained their children to be disciplined and to have fun.  They play games (above was a Haitian Creole version of "Red Light, Green Light!").  They dance, they chant and they laugh.  They parent with a joy that challenged our own parenting. 

Djelot ("Jello") is the son of Smith and Katia. 

He was our buddy and our translator all week.  We talked late into the night as he helped us prepare for VBS.  He attends school in FL.  When asked what he plans to do after "university", he simply responded,

"Come back to Haiti and help the kids."

Dan is obedience in its finest form.

He is the leader of Faith Missions International and the founder of the
Gift of God Orphanage.  Several years ago, Dan came to Haiti and was forever changed.  Soon after, he felt called to sell his business and start an orphanage.  He met Smith and Katia, helped them become Christians, and forged a friendship and partnership that would impact the orphans in Haiti in the biggest of ways. 

Each night in Port au Prince, we sat under a pink pavilion, eating delicious food, and sipping homemade tropical juices.  As we sat under the whirring of fans and the big Haitian sky, we listened to Smith, Katia and Dan. 

Time seemed to stop and we knew that we were experiencing the sacred.  As they spoke, we drank it all in, aware that we'd never see life in the same way again.  How blessed were we?

The faces of Smith, Katia, Djelot, Dan and those 51 kids are the face of Haiti to us now.  No longer can we fail to acknowledge the injustice, the poverty, the needs and the beauty of Haiti. 

Haiti: I Gave Nothing

The kids at the orphanage get very little fruit.

At the end of our trip, Katia took us to a market to purchase this rare treat.  The display was quite beautiful,

such a bounty of tropical goodness. 

But, as I snapped photos, she lingered beside us with an open palm. 

Giving to people on the streets of Haiti is considered very dangerous. 

When you give to one, you are often swarmed in minutes.

Swarms of people in Haiti can equal great danger. 

Smith, Katia and Dan had told us not to do so. 

But she lingered, and my heart pounded in my chest. 

Could I give her something without making a scene?

Could I slip her money or food through

the window as we drove away?

She lingered. 

We got in the van and waited for Katia, and she lingered.

She circled our van peeking in through the windows.

As leaders of the trip, we felt compelled to respect the wishes of those who know Haiti.  We had passed on that directive to the team.

But she lingered, and I was uncomfortable. 

I gave nothing.

The image of her represents to us how we live. 

We protect ourselves.  We close the windows and the doors and pretend not to see. We hoard the abundance that we have been given.  

Haiti: Dieumercy

 This kid messed with my heart. 

He is Dieumercy ("God's Mercy).

On our second day, he handed me a drawing

on an index card given by a teammate the day before.

It read "To Rebecca, My Best Friend".   

Every day after that, I got new artwork created using

any materials that we'd used the day before. 

On his prayer dolls,

it was our names that he listed. 

Dieumercy speaks English well,

and translates for the others.

He led the church service. 

He is smart and charismatic, a natural leader.

The other kids look to him,

and his smile is contagious.

We have about 30 pictures of him.

We almost snuck him home on the plane. 

He is the hope of Haiti. 

Haiti VBS: "Showing Up"

It was teaching scripture,

coloring Bible story pictures,

some crazy "Minute to Win It" challenges,

self portraits that reminded us that we are God's delight,

hugging and sharing,

painting,

soccer and basketball,

wild relay races,

cuteness,

loving and holding,

self expression and creativity,

losing our hearts to some amazing kids,

paper chains with God's attributes and paper prayer dolls,

friendship,

reciprocal blessing,

teaching English,

gaming,

lives impacted,

dancing,

and sewing God's heart into our own.

Yes, it costs lots of money to go.

Yes, a massive amount of money is needed
to help the orphans and people of Haiti.

Should we all examine our hearts and our habits

to give more, give big and give often?  Yes. 

Do we need to figure out ways to help Haiti help itself?  Yes.
Should we be sponsoring children?  Big yes. 

But, love and hope trump money.  Every time. 

Kids need hugs, laughter, hope and love. 

They need a face to smile at them and a hand to hold theirs.

These kids have shelter, protection, food and faith. 

What they need is for us to show up.

And when we show up,

the blessing is shared. 

Love grows and hope is given.