Such As These...

Sunday, October 11^th, 2009 8:00 p.m.

This morning I held a tiny baby for about two hours of the church service. She couldn’t have been more than a month old, and she was so precious. She stared at Crash and me as though she had never seen a blan (white person) before, and she probably hadn’t. She slept so peacefully in my arms the entire time. Babies have such a healing, calming effect. The tinier, more helpless they are, the stronger the effect. And this baby girl was so tiny, and so, so darling. Though my arms ached afterwards I didn’t want to give her back when the time came.

And then there is Kelsey. Oh that wonderful girl! The questions never stop flowing from her mouth, but I love it. “Shaina, why do the ants bite? Shaina, why is the sun yellow? Why is the water salty? Why can’t we see the salt? Why do I have to ride in the front of the truck? Shaina, why is that your name?” and so on. I told her that soon she’s going to be smarter than all of us if she keeps getting answers to all of her questions! She’s definitely causing me to think more than I have in quite a while. Kelsey is always so quiet during school - busy soaking everything in, I think - but as soon as it is over the inquiries begin afresh. She’s not always asking, however; sometimes she is telling. And her words usually cause quite a bit of laughter. Her best quote so far is from one day when we were all swimming. The usual questions were pouring out: “Why is that island so far? Can we swim way out there? Why is the boat so far?” until finally she concluded “This ocean is too big!”

And Ashley – she and I are quickly becoming fast friends. From listening to Demi Levato and High School Musical on my itunes to playing volleyball and keep-away with the boys and girls that work here at the mission, we’ve found quite a few things we have in common – besides that we’re both oldests in our families. Ashley is so smart (we have already had to double up on her math lessons because she says it’s so easy!), and though her questions are fewer than her little sister’s they are even more thought-provoking. Following our history and Bible lessons especially, we have had many discussions about the flood, dinosaurs, Creation, and humankind in general. I’m very grateful for the few Bible classes I took in college!

Melissa and Alexandra are two more little gems in my life here. I don’t see them as often because they don’t live here, but when they are around all I can do is smile. Melissa is a girl I met on my first trip to Haiti, and at that time she was living with the Dorces because her little body was covered with unidentifiable sores. I fell in love with her then, and now every time I see her, completely healed, her beautiful hair grown back, those memories are refreshed. She is a little troublemaker at times, but still so adorable. Alexandra is a chubby little two-year-old wonder. She is the daughter of Mark and Monique, two very important people here at the mission, so we see her often. When I first got here she was very shy around me, but now she smiles each time I greet her, and tries to talk to me. I long for the day when I can communicate to these little girls with words.

Sadly, many people are unfamiliar with the story of Christy by Catherine Marshall; the tale of a young city girl who moves to the Ozark Mountains in the early 1900’s to teach school at a mission. It is based on a true story, and it’s message is so like to what we experience here in Haiti that it has become very meaningful to us here. It was made into a TV series, and watching that and identifying with it has consumed many of our evenings. One thing Christy says in those episodes can explain in a few words what I have been trying to describe in this entry:

“When I left my city home to be a schoolteacher in a backwoods mission, I dreamed of adventure.

I wasn’t ready for the real challenges of life in these mountains. I’d have given up

if not for the children.”

It is so true: even when all seems wrong with the world, and there appears to be no one left to trust; when evil is rampant and your faith in people is shattered, you can look to the children. There is an innocence in them that Jesus spoke of in the gospel of Mark, and it brings hope. I can see now why Dee and Wilckly chose to focus their ministry on the children of Haiti. Sometimes it’s the only way they can keep on going.

“Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them;

for the Kingdom of God belongs

to such as these.”

Mark 10:14