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Haiti 2011: June Tenth

It's our last full day at the orphanage. The trip has been somewhat challenging, but I think the more relevant and appropriate word would be "sobering." this was perhaps most true today. After our morning work-- painting the girls' balcony and cleaning and setting up a room for the visiting board of directors-- we drove to the "Sisters of Charity," a Catholic church and hospital. I read that AIDS was the most widespread disease in Haiti, but facts like these don't tell each child's story. I held in my arms and threw playfully in the air a child with HIV today. It made me feel like I was helping him forget that he is away from home. I liked that he smiled and laughed as we played, and it was meaningful that he wanted me to hold him. In fact, the moment he saw me, he wanted me to hold him, and I did so for most of our stay. Actually, I don't know that this particular child contracted HIV, but most of these children have. They are obviously accustomed to visitors, as they greeted us enthusiastically from the moment we entered the door. There is a hint of desire-- a seed maybe-- of wanting to take up medicine. God knows where that will lead.

All in all, I know the experiences I've had here will remain with me. My hope is that they are more than echoes, more than just intellectual memories that give me curious pause but do nothing to stir my heart. Stirred, perhaps, is a good word for many on this trip. The two things I've learned in particular here were the value of being others-minded and the need for common purpose. The first is a mindset that allows you-- with the help of the change brought to bear by Christ-- to serve genuinely and with fulfillment. It's a place of peace, so much so that you realize this is what God intended for and in us. The other brings a unity that leads to cooperation and camaraderie. I've never felt so connected and supported-- that I can remember, at least-- to a group of people outside of my family. That is the value of common purpose. I came to this place, but I want this place to stay with me when I leave. I only hope and pray that God would use it to broaden my perspective of others at home.
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