Haiti - Day Three

Day three in Haiti was exhausting.

I woke up with little night's sleep due to the intense humidity and fiercely itchy bug bites. After breakfast and devotional we headed back to Swamp Kids.

During playtime the translators and the pastor's son JJ took us on a walking tour to see where their house used to be before the earthquake. What was once a wonderful home was a slab of concrete with wires, rocks and debris everywhere. As the translators were telling different groups about the earthquake, I noticed JJ standing away in the grass surveying the empty lots. I walked up to him and asked him what used to be there. "It was the most beautiful land," he said with a sad and distant look in his eyes. "I lost a lot friends." JJ told me about the earthquake and how his family was spared. He told me about stepping over dead bodies in the street and how much one water bottle means to a tent city family. He said he didn't know when Haiti would ever rebuild because the structures were still so unsafe. JJ is twenty two, smart, can speak four languages and is at the orphanage every day of his life. I told him about our potential trip next year and asked him if there was anything he wanted. The only thing he asked was for us to come back and love his kids.

When we came back from the tour the children were huddled around the pastor's wife singing and clapping. Their beautiful, sweet voices and joyous smiles made my heart want to explode and bleed out everything I was feeling in that moment - sadness, hope, despair and love. I darted out of the gate to the bus where I leaned against the hot siding and sobbed. I cried for these precious kids who don't have arms to hold them when their scared. I cried for JJ and his broken yet sacrificing heart. I cried for this country and it's overwhelming troubles. Heaving and clutching my chest, I prayed for God to comfort me and make me strong for the kids. The relief was instant. I caught my breath, dried my eyes and went back inside. I spent the rest of the afternoon juggling kids and loving them with every ounce.

After we said goodbye we took another two hour tour of Port Au Prince. I have a deep scarlet burn on my shoulders and I am physically and emotionally drained. We ended the night back on the roof watching lightning illuminate the sky in violent flashes of light. Thunder crashed as we howled at each other and jumped around. The power of God overhead and the love of God at our feet - we were electrified.