In March of 2010, just two months after the devastating earthquake rocked Haiti, we sent our first mission team to serve orphan and abandoned children with The Global Orphan Project. As the leader of this trip, I was seeking confirmation that a.) God is indeed calling Faith E-Free to serve and make a difference in the country of Haiti; and b.) That this organization- The Global Orphan Project- is who we should partner with in order to serve in Haiti.
After an eventful arrival in Haiti- two flat tires late in the afternoon in Port au Prince- we finally arrived at what was known at the OTV- the orphan transition village- after the dark had settled in, hungry from the long journey from Colorado. It was my second trip to Haiti, and it was everybody else's first trip- we were all taking in the incredible poverty stricken landscape of this country. We all seemed to be on the verge of sensory overload from the sights, smells, sounds, heat and humidity of Haiti. When we arrived at the OTV we were greeted as if we were long lost relatives of the children, we had a reception fitting for kings and queens- we certainly were not worthy of this kind of reception. They ran to us and literally jumped into our arms and latched onto our legs and hands. We just wanted to serve them. But in that reception it was as if the Lord was saying "Yes- these are my children and they love you- and right now they need your hands, your arms, your time, and your love."
After a fitful night of sleep in the uncomfortable heat and humidity and the endless buzzing of mosquitoes in our ears that kept us slapping at our heads, we woke up to a beautiful Haitian sunrise. Searching out some coffee to jolt me to life, we watched the children from our balcony play, bathe, and seemingly keep busy with the chores of the morning. One little boy was sitting under a mango tree on a big discarded tractor tire reading a little pink New Testament. I decided to get my first experience of significant interaction with a child who speaks a different language from my own. I went downstairs and walked across the courtyard to the little boy who's name is Pierre. I said "Good morning" in Creole which is "Bonjou." I studied hard to remember just a few Creole words and phrases so that I could hopefully communicate clearly with the kids. He understood a little bit of English. Noticing that his pink New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs was in English, I asked if he could read English. He said, "Non." I asked if I could sit down with him and read to him from his Bible. He said, "Oui."
So I sat down beside him on the old tractor tire. He had his finger inserted in the Bible as if saving the page he was reading/looking at. I decided that wherever his finger was when he opened the Bible and handed it to me is what I would read. His finger was on Psalm 82:3-4, "Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Pow! Do you ever feel like God is sending you a message that you were not to miss? I felt God's overwhelming message to me as I read the words out loud. A flood of emotions came over me and before I could finish reading these verses, I was pushing back the tears that were beginning to fill my eyes. God had used this little boy- Pierre, to be his messenger by placing his finger on the words God wanted me to read and hear. Message received! In that moment, I realized that God did indeed ask Faith E-Free to come to Haiti to serve the least of these, his orphan and abandoned children in Haiti. Every trip since that first trip has had incredible God moments that only continue to confirm the call He has placed on us to serve the orphans in Haiti and to partner with the local church in a country that is considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
We had planned to come and give of ourselves in hopes of being a blessing to the children but in the end, we discovered that while yes, we had been a blessing to the children, we were surprised that it seemed that we were blessed so much more. And so the adventure continues!
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| God's little messenger- Pierre |
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