Finding the happy...

Today was our first “real” day in Haiti. We got up, ate breakfast, and set off for our day. We started off by going to the home for the sick and dying babies. We walked in and were sent into the room that held the most severe babies. There were two rooms that were connected that each had at least 20 babies in each room. Looking around was heartbreaking. Each baby had a tag on their ankle that said their names and ages on them. There was one child in particular that is two years old, but because of malnutrition and other sicknesses, I and almost every other person on our team who saw him thought he was about eight months old. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Despite the sickness, there was still a lot of happiness in the room. Even if they didn't look like they felt good, you could tell by looking in their eyes that they were happy and had so much love they wanted to give and receive. Right off the bat, I was drawn to a little boy. I walked in the room and heard this little baby who was making a whole lot of noise and was smiling. I picked him up and he started giggling. He had the chubbiest cheeks with dimples in them and had the biggest smile with the loudest giggle. It was pure happiness and I found it hard not to love him. The whole time he was making us laugh, looking out of the window, and running around the room with Scott. It is so crazy to think that despite their conditions, these children are genuinely happy. There was this other little girl that I was holding that really had a spot in my heart. Her mom came and cared for her for a bit during the day, but once she left, she sobbed. I went up to comfort her, and started carrying her around. The whole time she was yawning and falling asleep on my shoulder. I tried putting her in her crib, but she screamed louder than any scream I have ever heard before. I picked her up and didn't put her down until we had to leave. You could hear her screaming from outside the room, but I knew that I gave her comfort and she made a difference in my life. It is amazing to see how despite the fact that we are from different places on this earth, have never met before, or have much in common, we still can show love. I cared for her and she showed love for me, and it was something I have never experienced before and it was a wonderful experience. We then went to the Apparent Project. This is a place where mothers can work so they can give a better life for their children. It helps make life better for the parents and then sets the children up for a better life. They have an intricate way of making beads, pottery, ornaments, etc. It is almost like a factory set up, but it is all made by hand. We got a tour of the work spaces and it was really an experience. This program was set up by an American woman who decided she wanted to help children not be orphans and help make their home lives better. She packed up and moved to Haiti on a mission. She started this off in 2008 (I believe), and now here she is six years later with 300+ employees, a store, and having stores such as Macy's selling her projects. We even got to see the daycare that is provided there showing that the children are in a better place due to this organization, and that was very cool. I think all of us bought some type of souvenir from there whether it was jewelery, ornaments, house decorations, etc. They are actually very beautiful and it is for an amazing cause. Then we went to Laphere Orphanage. I walked into the orphanage and immediately a little girl named Rita ran up to me and hugged me. It was one of those moments that just kind of makes your heart melt. The first thing that happened was a song. They sang a song that said “God is so good, is so good, is so good” over and over again. It was one of the coolest moments I have had in my life thus far I think. It is really cool to see a group of kids who don't have close to anything, and live on the other side of the hemisphere, singing and dancing about the same things you believe and looking so happy. We then had a lesson plan that we were going to teach them. It involved verses 1 Corinthians 6: 19-21. Through Scott and the translators we explained to the kids that their bodies are temples and that they need to take care of them. We brought toothbrushes, toothpaste and those little tablets that you chew on after you brush and shows them all of the bacteria and such that's left on their teeth by turning their mouths pink. The kids thought it was hilarious, got a bit embarrassed, and thought it was actually very funny seeing how pink their friend's mouths got. There was one little boy who kept asking for the tablets from each of us, and once he ate about six or so, his mouth was hot pink! He kept smiling and you could tell that the kids loved it. We then gave out some coloring pages of germs and we broke off and let the kids color. I sat down next to that same little girl named Rita and her older brother. Rita asked me to help her color and so we basically colored the whole piece of paper red. There was no coloring inside the lines, but we still had fun and it turned out beautifully! After that it was time to go. All of the kids ran up to all of us and gave us hugs and said “God bless you.” Some kids gave us pictures and it was really cool to see how much doing something so little meant so much to them. Some kids even discovered my nose ring and started looking up my nose to get a better look! Now, here we are. We had some dinner, took our showers, and reflected on our day. I am really thankful to be here with this group. We all mesh so well and things are really going great. Today was the first time in my life that I have seen these types of things first hand, and I can tell that this trip is and will be life changing. The one thing that all of us have agreed on is the happiness here. I don't think I can stress enough of just how happy the people are here. There is a type of genuine joy that the Haitians have that I truly don't believe Americans will ever be able to experience. When you truly have nothing, the simplest things mean the most. We are always doing more, and thinking ahead and never truly enjoying what is present and what we have. Kevin said he saw a kid playing with a wheel that was connected to a stick and he had the biggest smile on their face. If any child in America had a toy like that, I don't think you would receive a smile- probably more of a complaint and a refusal to play with it. It is just a different way of life here and I am very happy with my decision to come. I am so excited to see where this journey takes all of us on our journeys with God! I am very glad we still have six days left! Camryn