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.
No comments:
Post a Comment