Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Our Trip Remembered

A drop of water in a bucket that brings hope for another day

A boy remembered, never forgotten results in a new hope, and new way to walk

Basic physical needs unmet creates a desperate need for survival

A small child hungry and naked, full of joyful laughter; grateful for a touch and a hand to hold

A woman who desires to be recognized, held in loving arms like a child

An abandoned, emaciated infant; skeletal bodies without energy to hold up their head light up your soul with their eyes

A touch, a kiss…holding them tight for a moment; letting go rips your heart in half, wishing and praying for healing, to hold them in your arms forever

Unable to speak one another’s language; a connection made with a woman through massage and prayer

A sunrise church service held in a tent starts the day with worship and prayer; a Haitian angel intercedes on our behalf

Daddy hold us in your loving arms

Greeted by a “HEY YOU” chorus sang by school children; education provides hope for a better future but only 10% get the chance

Three men, one blind living in a home the size of a closet, another in a house made of tarps inhabitable in the hot Haitian sun and a third with tattered tennis shoes, no laces and feet too sore to touch. All the men had very little to call their own but were grateful for a bite to eat, a drink of water and a serenade of music and prayer

A young man suffering from debilitating seizures cared for tirelessly by his mother

A woman confined to the floor as the result of a stroke, unable to care for herself independently

Children waiting patiently for a family, a home to call their own

Grace Village, a city on a hill, a light that shines through the darkness of poverty

Hundreds of sick and wounded lined up waiting for medicine, for a bandage; a child crying out in agony as the wounds are cleaned without relief from pain bedsides a hand to hold

Tent cities, packed liked sardines next to one another in hot tin and tarp shacks without ventilation

Not enough shoes

Strangers now family connected by shared memories, laughter and service

Haitian brothers (AMEN brother!) and sisters who serve tirelessly providing security, safe travels, food, clean clothes, music, interpretation and salsa lessons

That’s a bummer!

Broken hearts, lives forever changed

Ke Bondye Beni ou

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