First Day at the Orphanage...

Today was my first day working at the orphanage. In fact, this was my first time visiting an orphanage and Haiti. There were approximately 30 children run by a local Pastor and his wife who have opened up their home, sacrificed their ambitions, and laid down their finances for these children. In my opinion, they are a  clear demonstration of faithful servants yielding to the spirit of God and taking care of His little ones.

The children were beautiful in so many ways. Although initially cautious, they soon warmed up to us and showed overwhelming affection and love towards us. Within hours of our arrival they were clinging to us wanting us to teach them about our culture, asking questions and generally enjoying the interaction. The language spoken by most children was French/Creole and it was a God send that we had such enthusiastic and God centered Haitian translators to communicate more effectively. Through His power we were able to have worship time, via a two way process of teaching and leaning new songs. The children definitely enjoyed this, and it was amazing to witness such a beautiful glimpse of happiness and hope in their eyes when considering the impact of devastation in terms of the aftermath of the Earthquake, poverty,  and absence of their biological parents. We also played games with the children such as catch,  soccer and designated a Bible time focusing on the theme of forgiveness taken from the Gospel of Luke 19 vs 1-10, Zacchaeus the Tax collector. It was amazing to hear the children's recap of the story and follow up questions. It was also amusing to see the skit the older children prepared based on the story. Overall, today was a great day where I felt the Lord really moving among us, and opening our eyes to the needs of the children.

Despite the effort of the Pastor and his wife, the children were still lacking basic needs such a clean water and food, and it was fitting that God had moved us to bring more than enough clean water to share with them. Prayer is definitely valued in this area. It really touched me how little these children have in comparison to the average American or British child but despite this they showed immense gratitude and happiness. They were consistently asking us if we were coming back tomorrow and seemed joyous when we said 'yes by Gods grace'. So continued prayer that these children may grow in the grace of God and develop a peace that surpasses all understanding and that He alone would satisfy and cater to all their needs.


~ Leonie ~