Welcoming Spirit

We spent Wednesday visiting two different orphanages.  The first was a home for sick and dying children.  The orphanage was not sad and depressing as the name might suggest, but rather it was beautiful, light and airy.  The orphange, which was heavily damaged in the earthquake, was recently rebuilt on the same ground.  It was a beautiful, two-story building with a courtyard and veranda where the kids' laundry was blowing in the warm, Haitian breeze.  Inside, it had cool tile floors, windows on all sides and sunshine pouring in the windows.  There were three great rooms - each with approximately 25-30 cribs.  The children reached out for us the minute we entered the room.  We were able to hold the children, sing with them, play with them, feed them and change them.  We brought donations for the children, including a suitcase full of new shoes.  I was able to see a group of little boys and girls fitted for shoes.  They were so proud of their new shoes.  We danced, and danced and sang and laughed.  I will not forget the children I met there. 

Next we traveled to Gertrude's, an orphanage with a mix of disabled, able-bodied and special needs children.  As we entered the gate, the children greeted us in the courtyard.  They were joyous and jubilant.  There was an old truck parked in the middle of the courtyard.  The children loved to race their many vehicles (handbikes and modified wheelchairs) around the truck in a circle.  We had fun piling several kids into each "vehicle" and racing fast.  We also sang with the children.  Most of them knew several worship songs in English including Jesus Loves Me, Glory to God and Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord.  One child in particular there stood out to me because he was fluent in English so it was easy to converse with him.  He also spoke fluent French and Creole of course.  It really took me by surprise.  He was very inquisitive.  He asked about "Minnesota" and if we were from "St. Paul?"  I told him I was from Minneapolis.  It astounded me that he was so smart and mature for his age.  He and the other children there captured my heart.

I ended the day thinking about how welcoming the Haitian people have been to us.  From the staff here at Healing Haiti, to the people of Cite Soleil, to the people on the street shouting "Hey You" (a friendly greeting here in Haiti) to the children at the orphanages, we have been blessed to take this journey, see this country and meet these beautiful people.  All Glory to God!    

Nicki McCain - Healing Haiti Team Member