2012 Haiti Team Interview Ten: Chrissy

Underneath Chrissy's quiet, reserved exterior is a lighthearted humor that caught some of us off guard. It was this humor, however unexpected it sometimes was, that brought a sense of fun to our trip. Nonetheless, it was a trip that meant far more to her than mere fun and games. It meant working against her natural comfort as an introvert. She is learning, in fact, that it takes effort for her to go and meet others.

On the outside, however, the rest of us saw where at least one of her strengths lay. It could be seen on the face of a single child, deaf and unable to speak. This child was named Kerby, and it was Chrissy's knowledge of sign language that gave him what we knew he saw as the greatest gift of our time there: the gift of communication.

I tend to believe, however, that Kerby was drawn to Chrissy not just for her ability to communicate. Kerby saw in her, as the rest of us saw in her, a kindness visible in the way she intentionally reached out to others. This reaching out could be a physical reaching out, as it was for Kerby when she invited him again and again to spend time with her; or it could be a figurative reaching out, as it was for other team members when she joked with them to lighten their spirits.

I got the feeling, too, that Chrissy's care for others came as a result of what she saw in them, qualities she observed in their characters that others sometimes missed; and although this internal strength of hers was often overshadowed by her outward skill as an interpreter, it was no less important for those girls on the team she befriended.

Beyond her humor and insight, there is in Chrissy a strong sense of responsibility. This was apparent not just in the persistent work she performed as she renovated the orphanage dining room. It was also visible in her internal conflict before the trip. There were times when our team meetings and fundraising for the trip came into conflict with her job. The work we did on the weekends, in fact, forced her to ask her boss at work, or our team leader at church, if she could miss a day in one place so she could be present at the other. While this made her feel like she wasn't making a contribution to the team, it showed more clearly that she cares very much about being present when others need her.

Few people can be so inwardly focused and yet outwardly present, but Chrissy was. It was this ability that allowed her to make such a unique contribution to the team, as one who could at once make others laugh and yet see beyond their smiles. Indeed, Chrissy was more than an interpreter on this trip to Haiti. To a number of the girls especially, she was a friend.