AFTERTHOUGHTS of HAITI...

For those of you that don't know, I returned a week ago from a mission trip to Haiti with the student ministry from our church. Since I have come back, there are so many thoughts and things I remember swirling around in my head.  It has been mentally exhausting at times.  As I close my eyes to sleep, I envision the special needs children at the Miriam Center picturing where they are sleeping compared to where I am sleeping.  Pangs of guilt and questions fill my head...why do I get all these luxuries of life and those kids do not??  They deserve to have just as much as I have if not more...they are defenseless and have no way of truly being able to support themselves in a world that is so against them. In Haiti, if you give birth to a special needs child it is looked upon as a spiritual curse on your family.  Therefore, alot of special needs children are left to die, given away or taken to an orphanage for someone else to care for them.  I know that God has a special place in His heart for orphans and if  I am striving to have a heart like His there needs to be a special place in my heart for them too...How does that love for orphans turn into action....What can I do to make their lives different?    How do I "blend" what I have experienced into my life here in the States?  How can I make life different for orphans here where God has placed me?  God has given me so much and from His Word, I know He is going to expect alot in return. That is a sobering thought.  These are all questions I have been pondering over and over again as I am trying to process all of my experiences in my head.  The kids at the Miriam Center are being taken good care of according to Haitian standards.  They would not have been alive if the Miriam Center did not exist. They are doing the best they can with the resources they have.  According to American standards, it may not seem to be enough.  When you take a walk in the city outside Northwest Haiti Christian Mission's gates, you come back and it changes your perspective.  They would not survive outside these walls. They do not have access to any luxuries or basic necessities of life that we do...like electricity, medicine, running clean water, place to buy food, bug spray (definitely needed there) or cleaning supplies.  Northwest Haiti Christian Mission saves lives physically and spiritually. I experienced this firsthand in getting to know Angelina.  She was born at the birthing center at the mission with alot of special needs. She was given up by her mother without a name and left at the mission never being held in her mother's arms . She truly had no idea how to care for her knowing half of normal functioning children in Haiti die before the age of 5. Amelia and Ashley, interns at the mission, named her when they were holding her and loving on her.  It was a miracle that she survived the first three days, weighing only three pounds, having her eyeball outside of her body.  Having a very slow heartbeat but no way to find out what was going on and living on oxygen under a heatlamp since the incubator was broken.  She was not fed for the first 24 hours of her life because the mother wouldn't breastfeed her and she wasn't able to suck normally.  We finally got her to suck after many tries with a syringe--she could only handle a couple drops at a time.  I have to believe that God was holding her in His arms, loving on her with a healing love only He could give and she could feel.  She was born into a world already against her through no fault of her own. She is still fighting for her life off of oxygen and eating much better as of yesterday. God has a purpose for her days here on earth...maybe to teach us some lessons about His power and love.  There are many miracles happening at the Miriam Center and I am so thankful I got to witness one...little Angelina.  We are praying for you like crazy!  You are in God's hands no matter what happens...

I am so thankful I had the privilege and blessing of being able to share this experience with my children, Jonathan and Laura Beth.  Since this is their senior year, it is something I know I will cherish and remember forever.  I know we will never forget the life-changing moments we experienced in Haiti!