Happiness shows in the Art!

Other than once-in-a-lifetime-type visits, letters are the line of communication between sponsors and our kids.  Letters are the good old-fashioned way -- no Facebook messaging, emails, or texts between us and them (although you can write your child using Compassion's online letter-writing tool - they will still get a paper printout of it).  Each paper letter is precious; and eagerly awaited.  No letter was more anticipated by me than the one I hoped to receive from Kimberlie after my visit to her.  I was anxious to see if she would mention meeting me and what she would say about that.

Finally, on March 21st, I opened my mailbox to see a Compassion envelope with this happy note on the outside, "Message from your Sponsored Child".  I had recently received letters from our other sponsored kids, so I thought it was probably from Kimberlie... but I quickly ripped into it to see.  It was!

This letter was written for Kimberlie by her 16 year-old brother.  Each of her letters have been written for her by different people.  The first one just said "written by family" then there were 3 written by different Compassion staff members.  In this one (the 5th one I've gotten from her) I was happy to see that her brother had taken time to help her write to me. 

It was written near the beginning of January, so Kimberlie started off the letter, "She was really glad to spend Christmas."  Then she said, "She felt like seeing you a lot."  Translations of letters can sometimes be a little awkward sounding.  I don't know if she meant she wished she could see me again at Christmas?  Then she went on to say,  "How did you spend Christmas?  She thinks that she would stay with you.  She didn't feel like coming back."  That sounds like she just wanted to stay with me while I was there.  So sweet.  I wished I could have stayed longer, too!

Then she thanked me for the gifts I brought her, "particularly the doll, clothes, and photos".  My, but she does love photos!  (Makes sense, I love the photos I have of her, too!)  She tells a little more about Christmas... "Her mother always tells her that Santa Claus will come in December."  Then she answers several questions I had asked her in my previous letters.  So it was really a wonderful letter.

One of the things I love about her letters are her drawings.  I'm no child psychologist but it's pretty easy to see a change from the one in her first letter:

 To her next one:

Looks a lot happier, doesn't it?

Here's the most recent drawing - done after my visit.  In this one she used the colored pencils I gave her instead of crayons.

 

I love the two hearts which say "alo" and "elo"!  I think the object in the lower right might be the box of watercolor paints I gave her.  I'm not sure what a few of the other things are -- any guesses?  Here's a close-up:

 Also, a reminder about Katerin from Guatemala, who is on my Change the Story page.  Just click on the link if you'd like to read more about her or become her sponsor.  Then you, too, could start to receive some loving letters and beautiful artwork!

Katerin

Here's Kimberlie!

As soon as I heard the words, "She's on her way" I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off me.   To know that Kimberlie was okay and she was on her way to see me made me very, very happy!  What a difference a few words can make!  

Becca told me they had to go in with a boat to pick her up.  It was about 4:00 when she told me this.  They guessed that she might arrive about 7:00.  All the other sponsors had already said good-bye to their kids.  That was not an easy thing to do.  But, now they were also excited to hear that Kimberlie was on her way.  A bunch of people waited with me in the foyer.  Then Jeannot got a call that she was still about an hour away, so we all went and had dinner.  After we finished dinner, we had a debriefing meeting.  I was so excited I could barely concentrate on what was being discussed.  I kept watching the door.  About 8:15, Jeannot appeared at the door-- looked at me and gave me a nod.  That was all I needed to jump out of my seat and follow him.  Two other ladies had offered to bring cameras and capture our meeting... but to be honest I really didn't notice them coming along. 

There was only one thing on my mind.... and that was meeting this special little girl --

I hope I didn't scare her by hugging her so much!  But the first thing I asked her about was the flooding.  Was she scared when they picked her up in the boat?  She said "no" so I guess she wasn't frightened by my hugs! I told her she was brave to come in the boat and not be afraid.  Talking with the project center worker (in the photo) who came with her, I learned that the project center had been surrounded by water up to the fence but no water came inside.  Thankfully, Kimberlie's house was also not flooded, and her family was okay!

Jeannot translated for us in the beginning, and then Johnnie took over after a bit.  Both of them were fantastic!  It took a little while for me to get used to speaking to Kimberlie thru a translator.  Especially in the beginning, because I was so excited! 

I gave Kimberlie her first gift - a little stuffed dog...

 

I told her its' name was Ruby, just like my daughter's basset hound.  She liked that!

Then I gave her the photo album I brought for her.  She looked thru it while we talked.  She really studied each photograph.  She compared her stuffed Ruby to the real one in some of the photos.

 Then I gave her the doll wearing the dress which matches one Kimberlie has.  She is nine year old and this is her very first doll.  Her face really lit up!  (Too bad you can't see her smile in the next photo).

 By this time, Johnnie was translating for me.  He had translated for our group during the trip, and he always did a super job.  He used just the right touch with Kimberlie and me.  He also grabbed my camera and took photos the whole time, which I am so thankful for!

Here is Kimberlie looking thru the bag of doll clothes I made for her.  She looked at each piece carefully and then neatly put them in a pile. Then, this is what happened next....a big hug and kiss!

I think she liked them! 

Thanks to Johnnie, I'll have more photos to share with you in my next post.

The Announcement

I'm sitting here trying to begin to write about an event which perhaps will sound minor to you, but that left me rather distressed.  Just thinking about writing about it brings back strong emotions.  It concerned the sponsor - child visit day... the big day we were all waiting for, and to be honest, the main reason we had come to Haiti.

We were having a group meeting before dinner when Becca, one of our co-leaders, said she had an announcement and we needed to pray.  The announcement was that there was bad flooding in the north of Haiti, and two of the children might not be able to make it for the visit.  I knew immediately Kimberlie must be one of the kids because she lives near the northern coast. 

Becca didn't say who the affected sponsors where, just that she would be coming to talk to the two of us during dinner.  We had a time of prayer about the situation and then headed to the dining room.  I was a little surprised when talking to some of the other sponsors on the way into dinner, because they didn't know which part of Haiti their kids lived, so they were worried it might be their child.  If you sponsor a child and don't know what part of their country they are from, I'd recommend looking in the booklet Compassion sent when you first sponsored them.   It will tell you the town or area your child is from, and you can get on an online map website and probably find some neat satellite images from there.  I've done this for our three Compassion kids and really enjoyed it.  There may even be photos from the area.  Or if you join "Our Compassion" -- your children's center/s will be there on a map and some of them have photos of the centers, like these of Kimberlie's project center:

There is a lot of other information on the "Our Compassion" website, too:

The other sponsor whose child was affected by the flooding was Jason, whom I had "met" before the trip because he had posted on "Our Compassion".  I knew his child lived in the same area as Kimberlie.  Sure enough, he was the other person Becca talked to.  I know I did a lot of praying that night and I'm sure other people on the trip did, too.  Everyone in our group was wonderful and very supportive.  I prayed that Kimberlie and Jason's boy would be able to come, but mostly that they and their families would be safe.  It was a long night, and the news didn't get better in the morning. 

Up Close and personal photos

 If you are a sponsor, I imagine you are like me when a new photo arrives in the mail from Compassion of your sponsored child.   What excitement I feel when an envelope comes that contains an updated photo! I spend quite a bit of time carefully studying every detail.  Does she look healthy? Do her clothes fit and are they clean?  Even the background of the new photo is searched for clues to know more about my child's life.  Of course, her facial expression is studied the most.  Usually, I am wondering why my child looks so sad in the photo.... and hoping that some day she will smile for the camera.

Our first photo of our sponsored child in Rwanda

One of the reasons why the children don't often smile for the camera is simply the strangeness of posing for the photographer, often after waiting awhile in line and then being in front of a lot of other people while the photo is taken.  Another reason is simply that the life they are living doesn't lend itself to putting on a happy face.  The life of a child in poverty is a very stressful life.  In our society we think we are under stress from all the multi-tasking we do and running here and there.  But in Haiti, the children are under stress because their parents don't have work, food, proper shelter... and when parents are stressed, the children are, too.  Compassion sponsorships truly help with that.  By helping the children, the sponsorships help the parents as well and so the whole family benefits.  After some time of sponsoring a particular child, your updated photos may show that.  In the new photo I received of our girl in Rwanda, she was smiling and looked truly happy (and she has shoes on!). 

Same sponsored girl in Rwanda... several years later!

 When we were at Project HA-778,  there were mobs of children!  I have some photos to show you of that, but before I do, I wanted to show you some of the "up close and personal" faces.

This boy had glitter on his face from the cards the kids had made for us.  When I asked to take his photo, this is the first shot I got.  He was so serious for the camera, when a minute before he had been smiling...

 

So I pantomimed that it was okay to smile for the camera and I was rewarded with this beautiful smile!

Not sure what these little girls were thinking, but I love their expressions!

Aren't these two cuties?

Another beautiful girl, who happened to be in a wheelchair.  I'm so thankful for Compassion's help for the special needs kids.  You can search for special needs kids on their website if you feel called to help a handicapped child.

I love the smiles of these two children, who didn't know I was taking their picture.

Even the ones who did know you were taking their picture came up with some interesting expressions!  The girl in the middle definitely had an "attitude"!

Sometimes they needed to think it over and whisper to their friends about the strange lady with the camera.

The older girls loved to have their photos taken....

And then they loved to see their photos on the camera screen!

Most of them probably don't have mirrors in their homes, so it's special to see their own faces in the pictures. 

I Can't Do THAT!

Oh! I can’t do THAT!

This is often my first thought when something that is challenging to me appears to be something I’m supposed to do.

It was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the email about the Compassion Bloggers assignment for this month.  Write about “Which Bible Verse Prompts and Guides You to Serve Others?” I can’t do THAT!

The next thing that came to mind was a verse.  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. 2nd Timothy 1:7 

When I was on a mission trip with my church a number of years ago, the topic of our first morning’s devotion time was “our service to God”.  The speaker said we were there to serve and each task was important, from pounding nails to painting walls.  Because I was the only woman there from our church with a group of men, and I am not what you'd call "highly skilled" in construction (though I can pound nails and paint walls), I was not sure what my contribution on this trip was going to be.  So, for awhile before the trip, I had been praying the Lord would have jobs for me to do those 2 weeks.  

The speaker closed the devotional time with the verse above.  It was still ringing in my ears when he promptly asked me, in front of the group, if I would be willing to do a certain job.  This particular job was NOT something I would have gladly volunteered for!  But I said “yes”.  After all, there was no reason I couldn’t do it, other than I was a wimp!  Because, a wimp is what we are when we let the “spirit of fear” take over.  In 2nd Timothy 1:7, Paul isn’t talking about “phobos” or general fear that has a cause, he says “deilias” which means cowardice.  Yep.... my modern day translation of that is - “wimp”.

Ever since then, I’ve remembered this verse when I think, “I can’t do THAT!”  And then usually the very next verse I start repeating to myself is “I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me”! Philippians 4:13

Funny thing was, the task I was given to do went well and with a little prayer along the way, was accomplished.  Lest you think I am now a “super-woman for Christ”, let me tell you if I divulged the details from the story above, you’d realize I am far from it!  (Although when I told of the incident in front of our church body after we came back - thinking it would encourage other women to go on the trip the next year - I had several women tell me that they couldn’t have done THAT!)  They missed the point about how if I could do it, with the Lord’s help... they could do it!

Since that time, I’ve done my best not to be a “wimp” and to respond when God lays a task on my heart.  That’s why I’m blogging for Compassion to help share the needs, though I’m not a “writer”.   It’s why I went on a Compassion trip to Haiti to see those needs for myself and left a chunk of my heart behind.  It’s because God has given me a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Well, I'm not so sure about the sound mind....

A Woman Named Mary

I met many memorable people on this trip.  From fellow sponsors, to Compassion staff, to Haitian kids and adults.  But if I were to pick one person I met who made the biggest impression on me and whom I will never forget, it would be Mary.

Mary, in the pink shirt, Oveeus, our translator, Becca, co-leader of our group, and in the background, Child Survival Program Compassion staff member

I met Mary on our first home visit.  A third of our group went to her home, and the others visited 2 different homes nearby.  Our group walked thru a fairly narrow street, with concrete walls on both sides.  Then we turned into an even narrower alley.  This was where Mary lives.  Her back wall was the concrete wall of the alley.  She had a few wooden poles holding up some old sheets of metal and a bit of a flimsy old tarp.  She had a table and a pot to cook in over a small charcoal fire.  Very little else.

Thanks to Lynn for this photo

What Mary did have was - well, I have trouble finding words to describe it.  First, let me tell you Mary’s story.

One day a young mother with twin baby boys came to where Mary lives.  She was friendly to Mary (though Mary did not know her and they were not related).  The twins’ mother told Mary she would help her, and she took Mary’s water container to fill it.  She never came back.  Mary has been taking care of the twin boys ever since.  They were 15 months old when we visited.

Mary has a son, but he went to Port-au-Prince (to try to find work?) so he doesn’t help her.  She told us she does not know what she would do, if it were not for the Child Survival Program.   She said she has been so blessed by their help - with food and medicine for the babies and the love of the staff. 

Becca, our Compassion co-leader, asked Mary to describe a typical day.  Mary said,
“I sit here, and if it is a good day, I have something to eat.”  Asked what the boys eat, she said “They eat anything.  They like everything.”  (We brought with us a box of staples, so hopefully they had "good days" for quite awhile after we left).

So, what does Mary have?  She doesn’t have a shelter that is fit to live in.  Some days she has food, somedays not.  But she is blessed by God with love -- love for the boys, love from the Compassion staff who visit her, love from her neighbors who help her.  She answered Becca’s questions about her belief in God and her love for Jesus with a resounding “Yes”.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  –Psalm 91:1


What can we learn from Mary?  Juli Jarvis, who writes a blog called "Sheep Droppings" said it better than I can.   In her blog post titled "A New Kind of Shelter", she says “I met people in Haiti that do not have very good shelters to live in, but who do understand and experience this greater shelter of God Himself.  They have complete peace, trust, contentment and joy, even in spite of deep poverty and difficulty.  This is why we need the poor as much as they need us; we need to grasp hold of this kind of faith and certainty, too, and we can learn from their great example of contentment and quiet faith.”

I have been debating whether I would share with you what I wrote in my journal the night after our visit to Mary.  It seemed a bit melodramatic when I re-read it for the first time since I came back from Haiti.  But after thinking it over, I realized what it says is exactly how I felt that day.  So here it is:

November 8, 2012
Earthquake in Haiti

There was an earthquake in Haiti today
It didn’t make the news
No buildings were damaged
No lives were lost
It may have been of record duration though
It lasted much of the day and into the night.
The epicenter was in my heart.

It began in the morning
But the shaking was the most violent
At the home of an amazing woman named Mary.
Minor flooding occurred there, in the form of tears.
The shaking began to subside when I heard Mary speak
And saw Mary smile
and saw Mary hug twin blessings from God.

Mary has nothing that in America
we would not haul to the dump.
But Mary has more than many of us.
Mary has courage
Mary has faith
Mary has Jesus.

Mary walked to our bus with us to say goodbye, holding both little boys.  May God bless you, Mary!

Interacting with the kids at HA-336

It was inspiring to listen to the Compassion staff at Verettes tell about the work being done  thru the Child Survival Program and the Child Development Sponsorship Program.  But, listening and watching was not all we did while we were there!  We were "on the ground" so to speak, with the kids, in Haiti!  It was a sponsor's dream, so we took advantage of it all we could...

We gave out lots of stickers and stick-on earrings...

Mingled with the kids and took lots of photos.

Held kids who wanted to be cuddled...

Held hands with the ones who were a little shy....

Or tried to entice the shyest ones to come to us!

The kids were excited and happy to have special visitors. 

We were loving it, and the kids were, too!

We had kids following us everywhere we went.

Sandra even helped tie a shoelace.

Kids from the US in our group shared and played with Haitian kids.

Lynn gave fist bumps!

Shelby radiated her love for the kids thru her smile!

The kids at HA-336 live in a community of great poverty as far as their material processions, but from what we saw at the project center, they have a wealth of hope and expressed their joy in the simple thing that matters most - love!

HA-336

The community of Verettes, Haiti, and specifically the Eben-Ezer Baptist Church of Verettes, is the location for the Child Project Center HA-336.  It’s in a rural area, basically a town surrounded by beautiful mountains.  

This is the view directly behind the center.

 Verettes is far enough away from the epi-center of the 2010 earthquake not to have been affected by that.  What it is affected by is the economy of Haiti.  The information I was given by Compassion Haiti says about Verettes, “Eighty-eight percent of the population does not have a job”.  Just think how important the project center is in an area like that.  First of all, they are given hope thru the gospel of Jesus, and along with hearing the Word, they are helped with the needs of daily life... as well as education to help them lift themselves out of poverty.  We saw the results of mothers in the CSP who were learning dress-making skills, baking, and literacy. 

This mother showed us how she had learned to write her name.

This Mom modeled the dress she learned to sew thru the CSP project.

In the future, these skills will help them provide for their families.  The next generation, the children of HA-336, will have a better chance to lift themselves out of poverty.  There are 365 children registered at this project center... only 338 of them had sponsors at the time of our visit.  Would you like to sponsor one of these beautiful children and make a huge difference in their lives? 

Here are some more photos of the facilities and children at HA-336.

 

The playground looked like it should be condemned, but it was being used by the children.

As you can see, they were having a joyful time playing on it!