It’s been a while…

Hey everyone…sorry I haven’t had a née post lately. I spent most of last week in Cowen, WV playing music at a camp. Then I spent a few days in Lexington for CR and Tara’s awesome wedding. I am heading to DC in an hour or so for Invisible Children’s Lobby Days. Check it out: http://bit.ly/8zCsU

I hope to have the final post about my trip to Haiti posted by the end of the week. Thanks for your patience and understanding…Have a great week!

PS: follow me on Twitter this week to get updates from Lobby Days in DC… www.Twitter.com/Andew1582

Day 8 – May 26th

Day 8: Since we were staying a little longer on our trip than the mission trip to Haiti in April, Annette decided to take the group to the Citadel in Milot.  Henri Christophe built this giant fortress on top of the mountain because he feared that Napoleon and the French would return to retake the country.  I could try to tell you the history of it, but it would take a while and would probably be wrong haha so here is the Wikipedia link page.  Give it a quick glance if you’d like to find out more info about the Citadel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadelle_Laferriere

Just a few quick thoughts on The Citadel:

It is awesome.

You have to ride mules up a 7-mile path.  Sounds cool.

You have to ride those same mules down the 7-mile path.  Not cool.

The views are amazing. (You really get to see how mountainous Haiti is)

Ok, so it’s def. more awesome than what I am making it sound like.  Go experience it for yourself.  Which also means go to Haiti on a mission trip!…Like how I snuck that in there?!?

Anyways…After we left the Citadel we went in to Cap-Haïtien for dinner. Cap-Haïtien is one of the major cities in Haiti and has about 190,000 people living in it.  As we drove in you could see crowds of people, neighborhoods stretching out with people living on top of one another.  I love big cities, but to see that much poverty crowded together gave me a sense of claustrophobia.  Even thinking about it now makes me want to get up out of this chair and walk outside where I have room to walk around without seeing a single person.  My mind couldn’t comprehend the situation.  So we arrived at the restaurant and I tried to shake that feeling and enjoy the night.

Hanging out with everyone and sharing a meal was a great time (sort of, Pizza was a bad call…I know, I know…I knew it was but couldn’t resist).  After dinner we walked back out on to the streets.  A light rain was falling and the sun had dipped behind the mountains.  I stood there in the road looking at a beach shore filled with trash.  We got on the bus and started out of the city.  The same images of people stuck in terrible living conditions just trying to survive filled my eyes again.  My guilt, anger, confusion, came to a head at this moment.  A weeks worth of emotions crashed together on that dark bus ride home.  Questions racing around:  Why me?  Why have I been given so much?  How come I wasn’t born in this country?  Why do these people have to suffer and struggle just live through one more day?  I couldn’t wrap my mind around why some have been given so much while others have nothing.  I was angry.  I sat there in the dark with my iPod playing the music of Brett Dennen (Again, Here I am with this expensive music device, while others can’t eat).  The song changes and the next song begins, it’s called “So Much More.”  This is a song that for some reason I usually skip over, but tonight I let it play.  All of a sudden I hear the words to the first few lines and I am chilled.  Somehow the very emotions that I was feeling came out in the form of lyrics in my ear buds.  I had to rewind it to make sure I heard them correctly…Here they are:

“I wonder how so many could be in so much pain,
While others don’t seem to feel a thing.
Then I curse my whiteness and I get so damn depressed.
In a world of suffering why should I be so blessed.”

There it was, my exact emotions summed up in a single verse.  I listened to that song over and over again, struggling with the question of why I had been so blessed.  I just kept asking God over and over again why He had given me so much.

In the darkness of the bus I began to find some clarity.  I started to remember one of Jesus’ teachings in the Bible I learned while taking a Biblical Financial Class (If you haven’t taken this class you definitely should, Crown Financial…Get a hold of Ted & Donna Tassos, they’ve been known to teach a class or two).  The parable was from Matthew 25, the “Parable of the Talents” (Talent was a monetary instrument in Jesus time, worth more than a thousand bucks).  Pretty much the teaching explains that if you are faithful with the few things God gives you, He will entrust you with many more:

“…’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” – Matthew 25:11

That thought brought all my questions together.  There is no doubt that God has given me so many talents, monetarily & otherwise, and it is because He finds me faithful and trustworthy.  Some how He sees in me the ability to use those blessings here on this earth to bring glory to His name and to do what is closest to His heart.  That thought is just crazy to think, that somehow God trusts me.

Let me just state real fast that I am NOT saying that why the people of Haiti aren’t rich or struggle every day to eat is because they don’t have enough faith.  I have seen the most beautiful examples of people living by faith in Haiti.  Amazing people trusting on God day after day to give them their daily bread.  A type of faith that I dream of one day having.

What I am saying is that I have been given endless blessings and have been entrusted with so many amazing resources.  God is placing them in my hands, trusting in me to use them to glorify His name.  What an amazing responsibility to have.  And guess what, you have it too.  Every one of you reading this has been showered with resources, gifts, and blessings to use to glorify God and to serve those closest to his heart.

We should ask ourselves the question daily:

“How can I use all that I have to glorify God, today?”

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Here is a short clip of the verse I mentioned above from the song “There Is So Much More” by Brett Dennen.  Just click the link and it should open up a new page and start playing.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6129631305f2cdf6/

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The palace.

Val on a mule!

A view of the Citadel on the way up...

Samantha on her mule...

View from the top of the Citadel...

Yep...that's my friend...

Leaning over the 200 ft. drop off the Citadel...Not smart, but had to do it...

Abby freaking out just a tad because of the height!

Some hot chick down at the palace...She needs to learn to be a little more modest though...It's a family place!

A look at the giant palace from the front...Could you imagine this place when it was brand new? Crazy...

Here is a look at the trash filled beach that I mentioned above...

Day 7 – May 25

Day 7: Monday was a cool day.  Pretty much what went down was that we visited two orphanages in the city of Ouanaminthe.  This was an awesome experience.  The first orphanage we visited was amazing.  It pretty much looked like a private school complex in the U.S. but with 600 Haitian children.  The story behind how it started is awesome.  Pretty much a lady named Danita visited Haiti on a mission trip, saw the need for an orphanage and moved back about a year later by herself and set up shop.  She started out with 3 children and is now up to 600.  All the facilities are top notch with an excellent school program.  While their location, access to resources, setting etc. is much different than the orphanage in Ft. Liberte.  The orphanage in Ft. Liberte provides an incredible, life-changing opportunity for so many children but like with any major project you must always look to the future and examine how you can improve.  Visiting the orphanage in Ouaneminthe definitely provided us all with many dreams/ideas for what the future of the King’s Orphanage could be.  You could see in Annette’s eyes that she was thinking up so many possible ideas for the King’s Orphanage. I have no doubt that more amazing things are still to come.

A quick story about our time spent at Danita’s Children Orphanage.  We started out by getting a tour of the facilities as a group.  Somehow Jarrod, Emily, Lee, and I got separated from everyone else.  My best guess as to how this happened was that we were goofing around and playing with kids instead of paying attention to the tour.  I am so glad the tour left us because what happened next was pure madness.  All of a sudden we find our selves outside of the church with about 30 kids surrounding each of us.  We tried to move into the church thinking they wouldn’t all rush in…WRONG!  Almost every one of them followed us in to the door and started running around like crazy, swarming us.  It was the most fun I have had in a long time.  Just imagine trying to walk around with about 10 Haitian children hugging you while another 15 to 20 children hug the ones who are hugging you! You aren’t going anywhere.

Hearing the children laugh and yell, seeing the joy on their face was such an experience.  Being surrounded by such honest joy grabs hold of your heart and doesn’t let go.

Those children, filled with hope and love, are the future of a nation that is in need of those very things: hope and love.

Pray for those children, that they rise up and lead their nation.

Pray that as they get older hope and love isn’t filled with apathy and greed.

Pray for those children.

Here is a look at one of the huge playgrounds...

Here are some the kids singing...They loved to perform...

These kids love to have their picture taken!

And as you can see, they don't mind getting close up on the camera!

Emily getting mobbed by the kids...This was hilarious...Oh ya, and while I took this picture of her I had the exact same thing happening to me...CRAZY!

Jarrod & Emily with a gang of Haitians

Ok, I love this picture...This girl made some of the craziest faces!

Day 6 – May 24th

Day 6: Two weeks ago to the day I was in Jerusalem Baptist Church in Ft. Liberte, Haiti getting ready for a crazy night. The Haitians had been asking the past few years for us to bring down a worship band to lead a night of “American” style worship. So we did. We were able to put together a band full amazing musicians; Cameron King, Sarah King, Aly Thompson, Lee Wilkers, Ryan Scott, Meredith Hill, and myself. We also had two amazing people on board to make sure all the technical stuff went well; Valerie Hulme and John Bennett (who is a great musician and worship leader as well).

A night that should have been simple and smooth turned insane from the start. Moments before we were to begin a huge rain stormed moved in and the power went out. We waited. In the dark. With 200+ Haitians. About 30 minutes later the power came back on. We picked up our instruments and right as we started into the first song, the power went out again. Standing in the dark in front of hundreds of Haitians we decided to sing, and sing we did. As loud as we could and in whatever language we spoke. We sang “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art”. To say that this is one of the most beautiful experiences of my life would be an understatement. No power. No electric instruments. No projector screens. All we had was a room full of people who would not be denied the opportunity to worship together because of a few technical problems. We sang, loud.

Shortly after we finished “How Great Thou Art” the power came back on. Cameron spent some time talking to the audience with the help of an amazing woman who was translating for us, Alberta. Alberta is the daughter of Pastor Andre & Justine Jean. We continued the music with the song “How Great Is Our God”. Colleen King had worked for two days teaching the children from the orphanage how to sing the chorus in English. So sure enough, right when we got the chorus the power goes off again, but there was no stopping. In a church illuminated by a handful of flash lights and the flash of cameras the band and the children continued to sing…”Name above all names, Worthy of all praise, My heart will sing how great is our God.”

Simple. Beautiful.

As soon as the song ended guess what happened? That’s right, the power came back! We continued on, teaching the Haitians the song “Marvelous Light” and encouraged them to get up and dance during the bridge that says “Lift my hands and spin around.” Everything was going perfect and then we came to that bridge, and as soon as we started to dance…NO POWER! So we danced in the dark…not giving up. Just picture a huge room filled with Haitians and Americans singing at the top of their lungs and dancing in the dark, bringing praise to the only One who deserves it.

A few minutes later the lights came back on for good, but we didn’t care. On that night one thing was going to happen regardless of weather, power, or any other obstacle: that was worship.

It wasn’t polished.

It wasn’t fancy.

It wasn’t perfect.

It wasn’t always in key.

But it was beautiful.

It was pure.

It was honest.

It was for God.

Cameron speaking to the audience with the help of Alberta...What an amazing lady.

***More pictures and videos from this night will be coming shortly…I have to track down some of them from friends, but I will let you know when they are posted***

Day 5 – May 23rd

Day 5: The sun came up on Saturday morning and I awoke to sounds of Haitian women singing Creole hymns.  This was the day we were going to throw a huge dinner for all the church and sponsor kids along with the children from the orphanage.  About 600 kids in all.

Before we started setting up for the dinner the whole group took a walk out to the Fort.  It was still early morning and the sun was slowly rising above the horizon.  Looking out on the bay the morning sky reflected off of the water in a way I had never seen before.  It made for some great photos (check everyone’s out on Facebook of the bay, they are beautiful).  While at the fort we got to hear a little about the history of the town and why the fort was built, etc.  I am a history nerd so I enjoyed learning about the past of the city

After our trip to the fort we spent the morning in the courtyard carrying benches and tables setting up the area for the dinner.  This didn’t take too long and so the rest of the morning was spent hanging out down at the orphanage.

A few hours later the time came and the madness of the dinner was about to unfold.  It didn’t take long for the 600+ kids to fill up the courtyard.  As the kids waited Colleen and Johnny, one of the local kids, led the children in songs.  The songs were all in Creole and the only one I recognized was the old Sunday School song, “Father Abraham.”  Even though I had no clue what they were singing it was a blast to watch them clap, dance around, and have a good time.  About 15 minutes later the food arrived and the assembly lines were formed to distribute the food to the children.  It was awesome to see so many children who most likely get very little to eat daily feast on huge portions of chicken, rice & beans.  After all the food and drinks were passed out the madness began.  It was time for candy!  Brenda Rosier, one of the ladies on the trip with us decided she wanted to put together enough candy bags for all 600+ kids.  So in the days before the dinner, time was spent filling up ziplock bags with 5 or 6 pieces of candy.  One day while filling up the candy bags Brenda told us of how people back home said she was crazy for going through so much effort to give the kids just 4 or 5 pieces of candy.  She said she tried to tell him that though it might seem like nothing in America, these 4 or 5 pieces were a big deal to the Haitian children.  I knew what she was saying was true, but until I saw it with my own eyes I didn’t quite realized how much the candy meant to the children.  The excitement that was caused by the candy could be comparable to a small riot.  Children climbing, reaching and grabbing over one another all for a bag of candy.  Seeing this first hand, I began to realize the luxury that I have in America.  How often would you see children cause a riot for a couple pieces of candy?
While there is so much still to say about this one meal, I will stop.  I don’t have the words to explain the beauty of this simple act of feeding and loving children.  All I can say to you is go and see for yourself.  If you haven’t been to Haiti, go.  Go stare in to the eyes of children who haven’t had a hearty meal in perhaps months.  Hand a plate overflowing with food to one of the kids.  You will be changed.  You will see the world in a whole new way.

Go.

Moving the benches into the courtyard...

Some kids singing & clapping...

The kid in the middle was crazy!

You can't forget these eyes...

These awesome fruit, orange drink stuff...

Filling the plates with food...

Saw this kid sitting there by himself...Loved his hat...

Samantha hanging out with one of the kids...

Day 4 – May 22nd

Day 4: Early in the morning Pastor Andre, Whikindy (the child with the tumor) his family, and a group from the mission team took off for Milot. Hopes were high that the tumor could be removed.  As for me, Day 4 started off very similar to Day 3.  A group of us went back down to the orphanage for another day of painting and cleaning.  By this point the beds were starting to look fantastic.  Cameron & Sarah King had started writing the kids names on their bed.

Halfway through the day, I looked out in front of one of the dorms and saw my sponsor kid, Marc-Elie, playing marbles with one of his friends.  I walked over to watch them play but was quickly pulled into the game.  Let me just say that game rules don’t seem to translate well in to other countries and cultures!  Pretty soon Marc-Elie and I were playing one-on-one.  We didn’t have a full set of marbles, but as well played other children from the orphanage kept running over giving us more marbles and beads to play with.  All of a sudden Marc-Elie grabbed Ben, the house parents youngest son, and made him start playing with.  Then Marc-Elie ran off.  I thought maybe Marc-Elie had grown tired of playing, especially since I think he might have ADD! Haha So Ben and I kept on going.  About two minutes later Marc-Elie ran back over grabbed my hand, pulling me to another area of the yard.  He started trying to teach me a brand new game involving marbles.  While I still have no clue what the rules were, it was awesome to see him excited to hang out with me and teach me the games he plays.  This had a pretty big impact on me.  I could tell he was starting to feel more comfortable around me.  This was awesome!  For the past year or so that I have sponsored him I had been so worried of what he would think of me.  Would he like me?  Would he want to hangout with me?  Would he care that I was there?  I had no clue, but I knew that I cared deeply for him as one of my own family members, and hoped that one day he would feel the same way.  On this day, those worries were wiped away.

A few hours later a group of us “Americans” started playing a game of soccer with some of the Haitian children.  Fifteen minutes in to the game a heavy rain started to pour down.  None of the kids ran away to stay dry, so neither did we.  For the next half an hour we played a crazy game of soccer as the rains showered over us.  It’s easy to forget how much fun things were when I was a kid, but in that moment it all came back.  It had been years since I had ran around in the rain.  It was amazing and well worth the soggy shoes and socks!

Right before dinner I heard the news that I had been hoping for all day. Whikindy had successfully been operated on and he his football sized tumor had been removed.  The doctors said the tumor weighed 15 pounds.  Just stop for a second and find an object around you that weighs fifteen pounds.  Now hold that object and imagine it hanging off the side of your body for over a year.  WOW!  What a life-changing day for Whikindy.  When all hope had been lost, when no one thought this surgery could happen in Haiti, God stepped in.  If you could here Annette Crislip tell the crazy story of how everything fell in to place in a matter of days you would be shocked.  God was moving.

The whole group came together that night to worship and celebrate the craziness of the day. We ended that night singing the two songs I mentioned from day 2, “Doxology” & “Glory To God Forever.”

And so I want to end this in the same way, with the opening words of the Doxology:

“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow.”

Here is Wanderlove by his bed...Def. wins coolest name award in my book...This is just one of many awesome pictures from Colleen Kings collection...

Marc-Elie & I playing marbles...

Hanging out with Marc-Elie...Look at that smile...

Whikindy with his grandmother...You can see on his back where the tumor has been removed...Amazing... This is an amazing photo from Lee Wilkers

Day 3 – May 21st

Note: Sorry this post is not as in depths as the others…Dead tired last night from basketball and a crazy day working…Thanks for reading and feel free to ask questions and share thoughts…

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Day 3 was a pretty quiet day.  A group of us went down to the orphanage to do some painting.  A big project Annette wanted us to start working on was to paint all the beds in the orphanage and write the kids names on them.  Painting the beds brightened up the room and excited the kids.  While painting, we got to hang out with the orphans.  We talked and joked around and had a blast!  Much of the conversation was spent asking Kendy (Emily Hulme’s sponsor child) and other kids which Americans they thought were “fou” or crazy.  Later on in the day I found a common ground between the orphans and myself. Bob Marley.  Any of you who have traveled to Haiti know that they love Bob Marley.  While I was painting, Tenson, one of the orphans, looked at me and said “Bob Marley?”  So I started singing “Get Up, Stand Up” and “Buffalo Soldier”.  He instantly joined in and for the next 5 minutes or so we sang Bob Marley together.  As a music lover it was beautiful to see how music can cross languages, countries, and age.

After dinner and devotions, a group of us got together to start practicing music for the “American” style worship concert.  The Haitians are really interested in our style of music and have wanted a band to come down and lead worship for the past few years.  Right as we started setting up in the church for practice Pastor Andre walked in and told us that he wanted to show us something.  About 30 seconds later a grandmother walked in carrying her beautiful grandson, Whikindey.  After a quick glance we could tell there was something different about Whikindey.  In his grandmother’s arms was a massive (football size) tumor that was growing off of his back.  Andre went on to tell us that for the past year or so the tumor had grown bigger and bigger.  They had traveled around to three hospitals in Haiti to seek treatment, all of which said they could not or were too afraid to remove the tumor.  However on this night hope had emerged.  Earlier in the day Annette received an email saying that a medical team in Milot had seen a picture of the child’s tumor and thought they might be able to remove it.  The catch was they had to get the child there by early in the morning because the medical team was leaving on Saturday.  After hearing the news, Andre searched the city and found the child and family and brought them to the church to tell them the news. After a long discussion with the family it was decided that they would leave early the next morning, hopeful for what might happen…

Here is Abby painting some beds in the girls dorm...

Hanging out...

Here is Lou Lou Wally standing by his fresh bed...He is the Chapman's sponsor kid, and is pretty stinkin' awesome...Thanks Samantha for the picture...

Here is a look at the freshly painted beds...Thanks Abby for the picture...

Day 2 – May 20th

Day 1 ended in a very awesome way.  Myself and three other friends spent the final hours of the night up on the roof of the parsonage staring into the endless galaxies and bringing much deserved praise to the One who created it all.  Two songs still stick out to me from that night.  The first being the old fashioned “Doxology”.  By the end of that first day, after seeing how the majority of the world lives outside the U.S., I couldn’t help but give praise to the God who has given me way more than I need and way more than I deserve.  The second song that I grabbed on to that night was the chorus to “Glory to God Forever”.  The title pretty much sums up this song completely.  The chorus says, “Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God forever”.  While singing that chorus and staring into the never ending, mind blowing stars above I kept thinking about the words to Psalm 19:1-2, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”  It was as if I could hear the universe screaming out “Glory To God”.

Day 2 was a challenging and interesting day.  It was the first day we started the work projects.  People began digging the postholes for the fence around the new farm, others were inside the nearly completed farmhouse applying the first coat of paint, and others were beginning construction on the porch roof on the front of the house.  In the afternoon I decided to try and help out with the construction of the porch roof.  Let me inform some of you who might not know me as well as others, I am a disaster with tools.  Pretty much worthless.  But despite my knowledge of this fact, I still thought I might be able to contribute by hammering nails or something semi manly and constructive.  After about an hour of not really finding my niche on the construction team John Chapman, who was the man in charge, told me he had an assignment for me.  I started to get excited thinking my time had finally come.  All of a sudden John opens up the palm of his hand and shows me a nail.  He then looks me in the eyes and gives me my assignment.  He said, “there is a box of rusty nails sitting over there, start digging through that box and find me as many nails just like this one as you can find.”  I was startled to say the least. My assignment had finally come and I was told to sort nails, a box of rusty nails.  Seriously?  Yes.  I moved to the edge of the porch and started sorting through the old and worn nails feeling around searching for matches.  In my head I started questions myself, asking “did I really travel all this way to sort nails?”  I left the farm that day feeling defeated, thinking that I had missed my purpose, knowing that there had to be more for me to contribute.

Later on that evening during our nightly devotion I will still struggling with the day’s events.  I remembered a simple verse from Colossians that I had focused on during tough times in college and while working crappy jobs.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men – Colossians 3:23

In my mind I thought that I was going to be making huge contributions that day, but God had other plans.  For whatever reason it was, he chose me to sort through the nails. The dirty, rusty nails.  A job I thought I was to good for.  A job no one really wants to do.  But this verse was a slap in the face challenge reminding me that whatever job I find before me I should work at with all my ability and with great care because I am working for God not man.  While I wasn’t doing the most glamorous job, I was given the task to find the perfect nails that would help secure the roof onto the porch.  This roof, which will give shade to the farmers who work in the scorching heat to harvest crops to feed orphans and families.  A roof that will provide shelter from the storms.  To have a secure roof you need nails.  The roof doesn’t stay up by itself.  Instead of having such a negative attitude about my task I should have been working at it with joy, knowing that this roof was going to give relief and shelter to farmers and families for years to come.

I went to sleep that night humbled.

Whatever task you find in front of you, big or small, celebrate it and work at it with all you have.  You never know how God will use that work to bless others and bring glory to His name.

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Here is a live video of Steve Fee leading the song “Glory To God Forever” – It’s an amazing song, give it a listen.

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Here are some pictures of work being done on the farm and farm house.  Thanks to Michael Yost & Aly Thompson for these pictures.

A look at the farm house before work on the porch roof started...

Jarrod doing work on the roof...

A group digging post holes for the fence around the farm...

Day 1 – May 19th

For years I had thought about going to Haiti.  For years I had even made it sound like I was actually going to go.  I grew up in a church where year after year I would watch people go and return, coming back with pictures and stories about the people they had met, the work they had done, and the work that had been done in them.  I knew there was something down there I had to see with my own eyes.  So this year, after years of talking I finally went. Being a broke college student, I knew I couldn’t make it happen on my own.  I prayed that God would provide people who believed in what was going to happen in Haiti and wanted to be apart of it.  The answer to that prayer was you.  Without the support of many of you who are reading this I would have never been able to go on this adventure.  Thank you beyond measure.

I want to share as much of this trip as possible with all of you who supported me and those of you, who like me, love to hear the new stories year after year.  For the next 10 days or so I will be sharing stories from each day on the trip.  If you have questions or comments please feel free to comment on the entry.  I’d love to hear you thoughts.

Here we go…Day 1 – Tuesday, May 19th

After a long day and a half of flights and bus rides we finally crossed over the Massacre River and into Haiti.  I knew that when we entered Haiti things would look bad but I wasn’t prepared for how bad.  Immediately crossing from the Dominican Republic into Haiti you could see a huge drop in living quality.  Trash covering the ground, houses made out of mud and sticks, and much more.  I knew that Haiti was the poorest country in the western hemisphere but seeing the instant change upon crossing into the country made me understand what that fact meant.

Later that day we arrived in Ft. Liberte, Haiti.  We were immediately welcomed in the parsonage of Pastor Andre Jean (He is an amazing man. Listen to his message “Love In Action” from 8/10/08…It’s great. It’s under the resources tab, Click Here).  Once settled in to our rooms, a group of us ran down to the orphanage to see the kids.  About a year and a half ago I was approached about sponsoring a child for the orphanage who had recently lost both parents.  I agreed and began sponsoring Marc-Elie.  All I had of him was a picture taken a year ago from the last trip.  So needless to say I was extremely anxious to finally meet him face to face.  At first I didn’t see him, but after asking one of the other orphans to find him, I soon saw Marc-Elie walk around the corner of the building.  I walked over to him, and I am sure he was thinking, “who is this crazy looking white guy?” Luckily I found another kid around who was able to tell him I was his sponsor.  I can’t truly explain how I felt when I first met him, but I imagine it’s what it would be like meeting your younger brother for the first time.  My heart was connected to his.

We spent the rest of the day down at the orphanage playing with the kids.  Watching Marc run, play, smile, and laugh all day was amazing.  Since the day I started sponsoring him I had wondered what he was like, and on that day I finally found out.  He is an amazing, energetic kid, with a beautiful smile.

Crossing over the Massacre River into Haiti...

Here is a picture of how trash lines the bays of Haiti...

Homemade barb wire fence...

Meeting Marc-Elie for the first time...Thanks to Jarrod for taking this photo...

Hanging out with Marc-Elie...Look at that smile...