Sunday, July 2, 2012:
Church yesterday morning was beautiful. We had the opportunity to listen to the Haitians worship in their language with their songs followed by a few people from our group arranged some songs the night before to sing in church. I was surprised to hear the Haitians sing "Here We are to Worship" along with us. Listening to the different languages together praise our God just proved to me we are different and our cultures are different but we all praise the same God! God is the God of the universe! (Hebrews 11:3) This morning in church made it more real for me.
After eating our lunch at the house, we headed to Life Is Hope orphanage where we were able to meet all the sweet kids we'll be with all week. As soon as our bus pulled up, you could see all the children screaming and running! My heart was over flowing with joy in that moment. When we walked in the gates, the kids were clapping their hands and singing, "This is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made....". Our team was lined up facing them, in awe of their precious faces singing a song we know in Creole. After they were done singing, they CHARGED after all of us, grabbing onto an "American"! I was kinda in the back so in took a few seconds before I looked down and saw a little girl hugging my leg. I picked her up and looked into her huge white, little eyes and just wanted to be there forever with her. Everytime I put her down, she looked up at me and threw her hands up at me. How could I say no? She had my heart already. We walked around and around and around the orphanage. With her in my arms, I saw an older girl sitting by herself. Our translators taught us how to say "What's your name?" in Creole. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for me to see how well I could say it. So I stopped and asked her her name in Creole. She said, "Ellie". I guess I did pretty good since she answered back! Ellie told me she was 13 with her hands. I couldn't talk to her as much as I would've liked to because of our language barrier. I made her and the little girl still in my arms a bracelet with the salvation colors on them. Afterwards, we sat down for a bit and the little girl fell asleep right in my arms. I felt bad that I couldn't do much with Ellie beside me. So I pointed to my hair and Ellie got a comb and began braiding my hair. It was a long, painful process but at the end, I had a head of cornrows! I told her "Merci" and she understood that. About the time she finished my hair, it was time to leave. I didn't want to leave Ellie and the small girl. It took inner-strength put her down and try my best to let her know I'd be back the next day. I gave Ellie a hug and also tried my best to let her know I was coming back tomorrow. Ever since we left the orphanage today, I can't stop thinking of my little girl asleep in my arms. Like I was her comfort, her rest, her shield just in those few hours. I love her already so much. I don't want to leave Friday at all.
"The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him." Psalms 103:13
No comments:
Post a Comment