Join Compassion

During my time in Haiti, our trip leader told us about the Compassion Advocate program.  It is designed for avid sponsors to get the word out about Compassion.  Advocates go through training and orientations to learn more about Compassion.  I am happy to say that I am now an advocate for Compassion.  I will be able to order materials about sponsoring children and will be able to attend Compassion events in the Nashville area.

If you would like to learn more about Compassion and releasing children from poverty click here.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please let me know!  I would be happy to get you connected.

So What?

At the end of a sermon on Sundays, my pastor will end with, so what?  What does this mean to us?  How can we apply what we learned?  I look back on my trip to Haiti which was a little less than a month ago.  I try to remember what we did each day and I am glad I kept a journal.  There are still a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head.

I feel as though this trip allowed me to experience simplicity in the midst of poverty.  It made me realize that I need to rest in Him each day.  I need to set my idols aside and focus on Him.  I want contentment in Him.  I feel blessed for all God has provided me with.  The fact that I raised the money to go on the trip and that I was able to take that time off from work.  I am thankful for the team I went with to Haiti and that we all keep in touch.  I want to remember the smiles on the kids faces and that they don't even know that they have so little.

Once I realized that Madiana's house was taken in the earthquake, I felt it my mission to get her a house.  God has provided me with more than enough money to give to her to build a house.  It is hard for me to grasp the idea of her and her family of 11 living in a tent for the past four years.  My bedroom alone is probably bigger than anything her and her family will ever live in.  I have already started donating money to her and her family to build a house.  I will continue to give until their house is finished.  The estimate to build a house for them is $300-500.  I want them to be able to build a sturdy earthquake proof house if at all possible.

Her and her family also have some health issues that I want to be taken care of.  Madiana has boils on her body and her eyes look yellow.  Her father has diabetes and kidney stones.  I am also helping them pay for doctor visits and any necessary treatments to help them get back to good health.

Once Madiana is 18, she will be done with the Compassion program.  I will be free to visit her whenever and she can visit me if she wishes to.  I think it's incredible that I pay such a small amount each month to give to Madiana and it provides her and her family with so much.  I look forward to going back to visit her again soon and to hopefully visit her and her family in their new house.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, supported me financially, and encouraged me.

Farewell Haiti

Woke up and packed.  Had breakfast at the hotel.  Drove to the airport and went through 2 security checkpoints.  Boarded our plane back to Miami.  Landed in MIA after about a two hour flight.  I had about a two hour layover which was perfect.  Had a burger for lunch at a restaurant in the airport.  Ran into an old friend that I worked with one summer... crazy.  I found out not only was she on my flight, but she was also sitting in the seat right next to me!

Arrived home to Nashville.

Be Grateful not Guilty

Compassion International Headquarters in Haiti

We checked out of our hotel and took the bus to Port-au-Prince.  I rode towards the front of the bus with Jennifer.  We got a great view from the front.  We talked about different things and people we would pass along the way.  We arrived to the Haiti Compassion Office after about an hour and a half.  We then got to listen to different staff members speak.  We listened to the programs director, human resource director, and intervention director.  We also spoke to the Haiti Compassion Director whom oversees all of the Haiti children (80,000 kids).  The Haiti office has 150 staff members.  They are in three different buildings.  We got to take a tour of two of the three buildings.  We got to meet all sorts of different people that work for Compassion -- all of them Haitian.  They even have prayer cubicles that they pray in during work.

Former sponsor child & employee of Compassion International

President of Compassion International Haiti

Compassion International letter translators

After our tour we went to the Best Western hotel for lunch.  We sat outside up high overlooking Port-au-Prince.  Such a beautiful view.  They had a long table reserved for us.  It was wonderful.  We had a long lunch full of great conversations about the week.  The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and the conversation was warm.  As I type this, I wish I was there right now.  It was peaceful and we were all at a table together because we had a common bond -- we all want to release these children from poverty.  We are all broken in first-world poverty and long for the simplicity of third-world poverty.

Lunch with the group

Leadership Development Program (LDP) students

After lunch we went to the "market", which ended up being a supermarket and a store.  We also did some street shopping.  Jennifer and I went around together to talk to different vendors.  We ended up talking about Christ with two different guys.  It was really cool.  We drove to our new hotel which was a really nice hotel for Haiti.  We dropped our bags and then headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner.  We got to listen to three different Leadership Development Program (LDP) students.  Their stories were very encouraging.  We had a late dinner and then Yvonne (our trip leader) sent us out with some things to think about ...

Be grateful not guilty.
Be joyful not judgmental.
Respond, don't react.
Obey, don't obsess.
Thirst for Him.

Meeting Madiana

Meeting Madiana for the first time - photo credit: Sharon

It is hard to put into words exactly what I experienced.  I am still trying to process what I am feeling.  I barely slept last night because I was so excited to meet Madiana.  I woke up feeling nervous and excited.  We ate breakfast and then waited for all the kids to arrive.

Loving on Madiana

Madiana painting for the first time!

I first met my translator, Rony.  He was great.  He has been translating for eight years.  He was very glad to be able to help me.  Then I met Madiana.  She grabbed my arms and hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  She was happy to see me.  I was happy to see her!  Her school nurse came with her.  Her name is Menvil.  She is 33 and has a five year old boy and a two year old girl.

Madiana, myself, Rony (translator), and Menvil (Madiana's school nurse)

Hanging out with Madiana on the beach

We started off our day on the hotel porch to get to know eachother better.  I asked her a lot of questions.  She is one of nine children and lives at home with her parents.  Her mother's name is Sonia and she is 58 years old.  Her father's name is Thevenet and is 61 years old.  She has one sister named Loudja who is 8 years old.  She has seven brothers, 4 of them live in Port-au-Prince and the others still live at home.  The brothers who live in Port-au-Prince are Jean Renet (26), Gary (24), David (19), and Guyobert (39). The brothers who still live at home are Noe (16), Sony (15), and Harry (21).  Jean Renet is married, but has no kids.

Kayaking with Madiana

I asked her how her and her family's health is.  She told me that her father is not in good health -- he has kidney stones and diabetes.  Madiana said that she has boils all over her body that come and go.  She said that the rest of her family is in good health.  Her parents cut trees down and sell wood chips to make a living.  Madiana said that four of the children in her family are sponsored -- this puts into perspective how much poverty her and her family are really in because Compassion is careful to only have one child sponsored per family.

Madiana lives on an island called La Gonave with her family.  It is about a 45 minute speed boat ride from the mainland.  The name of her village is called Pointe-á-Raquettes.  Her and her family are all Christians -- Praise God!  Her favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:31.  She attends church every week with her family.  She has accepted Christ as her savior.

Myself, Menvil & Madiana

I talked with Madiana a little bit about the Compassion sponsorship program and how it has changed her life.  She said that her sponsorship provides her with clothes, education, and sometimes animals.  She said things would be very bad if she did not have a sponsor.  She was happy to find out I was coming once her center told her.  She found out a day before I was coming (probably just in case it didn't work out).  She says she is doing well in school.  She wants to be a nurse someday after she is done with the program.  She would like to go to nursing school.  Her favorite subjects are Creole and math.

Lunch with everyone

I talked with her about some other various things which I will mention here.  She had to start waiting at 5AM to catch a boat to take her to the mainland to see me.  The boat ride was about 45 minutes and a short van ride to the hotel.  She said she walks about 15 minutes one way to get water, and she said the water she gets is not drinkable.  She said she lives in a tent with her family.  I asked her why she didn't live in a house and she told me that the earthquake took her house back in 2010.  I was really sad when I heard this and was glad I went on the trip to find this out.

Madiana said that with some of the birthday money I sent her that she bought a goat with it.  She also said that she has kept all of the letters I have ever sent her (I have also kept every letter she has ever sent me!).  She said she has been to the beach once before in her life.  She also said that she has been to Port-au-Prince two times and that she has lived in the same village her entire life.  She enjoys running in her spare time.  Her village has both Christians and non-Christians.  Her favorite meal to eat is rice and beans.  She doesn't like dessert.

Showing Madiana a photo album I made for her

Laughs

After the questions, she painted a picture on canvas.  She had never painted before and was excited.  She said that she remembers the earthquake of 2010.  She was inside her house with her mom.  She said they didn't get any help afterwards.  We then changed to go swimming in the ocean.  She had a lot of fun.  We swam back and forth.  She thought the water was cold at first.  After swimming, we all took a walk along the beach.  I taught Rony the difference between shells and shelves -- he thought they were the same thing because they sound the same.  It was pretty funny.

Then Madiana and I went kayaking for a bit.  She didn't know how to paddle, so I paddled and she enjoyed the ride! Then we changed clothes to have lunch.  All the sponsors, kids, directors, and translators ate together.  It was a full buffet.  Madiana got fish which she really liked.  She said she doesn't eat dessert.  After lunch we went to find a place to talk.

Q & A with Madiana

We sat near the bar and I first showed her the photo album with all the pictures in it.  She really lit up and scooted really close to me on the couch.  I told her who was in each picture.  I think she really liked that.  Then I gave her a Creole Bible that I wrote in.  I also wrote my favorite verses in the front of it.  She let me record her talking with me which was neat.  Then I showed her what was in the backpack that I gave her as a gift.  I gave her shampoo, notebooks, pencils, stickers, clothes, and other things.  She was very grateful.

Madiana reading Psalm 100

She than sang a song to me about Jesus.  She has a beautiful voice!  I then recorded her reading Psalm 100 in Creole.  It was really neat.  We relaxed some and then I prayed for Madiana.  I prayed for her family, house (or lack thereof), friends, church, and project.  Then we went to get a group photo and then we did a giant group circle to say goodbye.  Madiana and I held hands all the way to her bus.  And then I hugged her goodbye.

Sponsors & their sponsor children

Saying goodbye

So incredible.

Our team relaxed and I did some journaling on the beach.  It was beautiful out.  I showered and then went to the debrief.  I spoke about Madiana and her family of 11 and how they live in a tent because the quake took their house.  I started crying and just don't understand how they can be in so much poverty.  The team was very encouraging.

Our translators: Kebdia & Mark

Palm Trees & Rubble

Children heading into church

Started the day with some breakfast and morning devotions.  Headed to another project about 30-45 minutes from the hotel.  We were greeted by all the children from the projects.  A little child held each sponsor's hand and led them into the church.  My little girl kissed me on the cheek and took me down the aisle.  The project sang a song to us then their choir sang.  There were 3 solos.  One girl forgot her words to her solo.  She seemed sad but was brave enough to stand up and sing another song.

School choir: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

I won't forget the little girl sitting on the end of the first pew.  She was beautiful.  So small and her face was radiant.  I just waned to hold her.  We each introduced ourselves and where we were from and a couple other words.  They then sang another song and we sang a song back to them.  We then broke into groups to do activities.  I was in the craft group of course!  I went with the little kids.  They first ate their lunches (plantains and water).  Then Jennifer and I played with them and crafted with stickers.  The kids had so much fun.

Doing crafts with the little kids

The little kids I did crafts with - love them!

Beautiful faces

We then ate lunch provided by a restaurant.  Had rice, chicken, and plantains.  We talked for awhile.  Then we met the project staff.  Then we went to see the new school that is being built to protect from the quakes.  Thirty total in Haiti are being rebuilt.

New earthquake proof school

We then broke into groups to visit homes.  Went to a family of five's house.  Mom, Dad, two boys, and one girl.  The Mom was 27 years old, the boys were 9 and 11, and a little 2 year old girl.  The kids were a lot older than they looked.  There were rocks and trash everywhere.  Uneven pavement and gravel.  Kids were walking around barefoot and some babies didn't have clothes on.  We walked down a narrow path through palm trees to the house.  The family was so happy to see us.  We talked with them and then prayed over them.  Then we took our bus back to Club Indigo.  The sponsor kids come tomorrow!!

2nd home visit

Sharing gifts with the family

The family waving goodbye

Village on a Hill

Visiting a CSP program in Gonaives

Just got back from a long but amazing day.  We started off with some breakfast at the hotel.  We had a quick devotion and prayer before heading off.  There are 20 of us along with three Compassion staff members and two translators -- Mark and Kebdia.  They are siblings.  They are really kind and helpful.

We drove an hour and a half to Gonaives to the Child Survival Program (CSP).  We were greeted as we walked off the bus and were each given flowers to wear.  And then all the kids were there to greet us.  They all had matching uniforms on.  Little boys and girls.  They kept waving at us and clapping!  We talked with them and I passed out some of my stickers which they loved.  They stuck them all over their body!  Haha.  They were the cutest looking kids!  I wanted to take them home.

Loving on some kids at the project

We then had a church service.  We met the staff of the school and church.  There are nine staff members.  We sang the national anthem of Haiti and of the United States.  Then each staff member of the school spoke.  After that, each member of our Compassion team said their name and where they were from.  We then greeted the moms and babies.  Then we went out in the courtyard to talk to the moms and their children.

I spoke with 4 of the moms and asked how I could pray for them.  They said health, strength, faith, and for God to open doors.  I prayed for them and Mark translated.  It was really moving.  I then spoke with two moms who were cousins.  They were 32 and 33 years old.  They each had two kids.  Their kids were really cute and so small.

Two mothers (and cousins!) in the CSP program

We then ate lunch -- rice with beans, bananas, french fries, turkey, and plantains.  We sat outside and watched the kids stare at us while we ate.  They were so intrigued by all the white people eating.  After lunch, we prayed over the staff members and they prayed over us.  We then took the bus up the road to a village on a hill.

We broke out into small groups and went to four houses.  The house I went to had two rooms.  A kitchen/dining room and a bedroom.  It was nice compared to the other houses.  The parents were married with three kids -- 2 boys and 1 girl.  They were very welcoming.  The father said it is hard for him to find work.  He is a carpenter and wants to use his skills.  They hope to one day have a home with a room for each child.

The family we got to visit

The family's house - 2 rooms and hopefully 4 later on

They asked everyone in our group where we were from and what we do for work.  We prayed for the family and their little son also prayed and the dad prayed.  It was incredible to see that the parents were both Christian and married.  We took the bus back to Club Indigo -- about an hour and a half.  We dropped off Mark and Kebdia at their home.  Liane and I talked about Holland and the type of food they eat there and things to do and about religion.  She lives in Notre Dame, about 30 minutes from Amterdam.

We ate dinner and talked to Jackenson and Jeannot (our trip leaders).  We had a group debrief.  I talked about how radiant the kids were when we walked in.  Their faces were full of life and beaming with happiness!  Lots of Haitians practice voodoo.  One of the mother's entire family practices and she is the only Christian in her family.  I found it interesting that Kebdia rides the tap-tap (pick-up truck that you pay to ride in) and motorcycle with anyone.  If we did that in the States, something bad would probably happen!

Hello Club Indigo

Sunset at Club Indigo

I started my morning in Miami.  I took my last “safe shower" (because from here on out I will have to remember to keep my mouth shut in the shower so I don't get the water in my mouth).  Checked out and went to the airport.  I went to my gate to meet some of the group.  I waited at the gate and talked with other sponsors.   

We boarded our plane around noon.  Landed in Haiti around 1:30 or so.  The plane was fairly large.  Went through customs no problem and got our luggage.  We met some of the guys from the Compassion staff that took us and our luggage to the hotel.  It was about a one hour and 30 minute bus ride. We saw many villages and people.  There are rugged mountains and some people live pretty high up them.  The poverty here reminds me of Guatemala.  Most everyone I have seen has shoes on.  Everyone has clothes on.  Trash is here and there but not everywhere.  So far I did not think it would be this nice.

Our tour guides and Compassion staff talked to us on the ride to the hotel.  One guide talked about how Haiti celebrates their independence on January 1^st of each year and that they have pumpkin soup – since that is what the French had every Sunday night and they defeated the French.  They also said they grow mangos, rice and plantains.  They grow three types of plantains and only one of the types turns into a banana. 

I saw a lady walking along the street carrying about six flats of eggs on her head!  It was very impressive.  We got to our hotel, Club Indigo, which is basically a resort!  We arrived just in time to watch the sunset which was just beautiful!  We checked in and then we had dinner.  We talked afterwards with a Compassion staff member to learn more about what we will be doing.  My hotel roommate is Liane.  She is from Holland, Netherlands.  She is 31 and speaks Dutch.  She is very nice!

Travel Day

I have been waiting for this trip for the past few years.  If I had a week left to live, this would be the first thing to-do on my list.  I have enjoyed getting to know Madiana over the past nine years of my life.  I sit around and pause and think about how God has given me the resources to go see Madiana…time and money.  I feel blessed.  Why has God provided me with this opportunity?  Why me?  What will it be like when I see her for the first time?  Will I cry?  Will she?  Will we hug?  Is this the only time in my life that I will get to see her?  What will we talk about?  Will she look different than her pictures?

I started my journey this morning in Nashville.  I flew from Nashville to Miami.  I am staying the night in Miami and fly out to Port-au-Prince tomorrow with my group.  I am looking forward to meeting my group tomorrow.  I wonder if I will be the youngest one?  I wonder what my roommate will be like… I know she is from the Netherlands!  I purchased a Creole Bible online to give to Madiana.  I wrote my favorite Bible verses in the front of it. Hopefully she can look them up in Creole!  

Just Moments Away

On Saturday I will be traveling with Compassion International to visit my sponsor child in Haiti. Her name is Madiana and she is almost 14 years old. I started sponsoring her when she was just 5 years old. I have been sponsoring her for almost 9 years. I have always wanted to visit her and started looking into it a few years ago.

I will be traveling with a team of about 20 people -- a combination of Compassion International staff members, other sponsors, and people looking to sponsor a child. We will be staying near Port-au-Prince for a week. We will be visiting families that have children in Compassion's sponsorship program, visiting Compassion churches, and spending time with our sponsor children.

I can't believe it is almost here! I have been wanting to visit her for so long and I am finally going! I know that it will be a trip of a lifetime for both myself and Madiana. I look forward to spending time with her for a day and getting to know her more. I am eager to hear more about the Compassion program, and what Madiana can do for college. I know that going to Haiti will be completely different from anything I have ever experienced.

I will post more when I get back from my trip. Thank you for the encouragement, prayers, and support.