Today seemed like it was about to get routine for me. I woke up, went to staff meeting, moved on to devotional, ate breakfast, spent time reading my Bible, headed downstairs to get kids ready, drove on the bus to Bonneau to go to the park with the Miriam Center kids, hung out at the park, got back on the bus, drove back to the mission, ate lunch, went to Outreach with Autumn, came upstairs, walked into a cake store in town, came back, did laundry, took a shower, ate dinner, headed up to devotionals, and now I am here.
My life here in Haiti has grown to become a “one thing after another” sort of schedule and lifestyle. But it is those moments when you start to get comfortable that God I feel can really move and show you so much.
Today I was overwhelmed on the ride home from Bonneau about these kids of the Miriam Center. Each and every one of them when I was asked by a boy in Kelsey’s group about which kids I have grown closest to. I was almost taken by surprise by this question in a way. I really had no idea how to answer this at first and I think it was mainly because I have grown to love so many of them as I hear each of their stories and seen their character.
The first two names I said were Niaka and Berto. I love these two so much which I feel is rather appropriate seeing as these sit next to one another in a stroller each day. These two have CP and neither of them can walk, sit up, or even communicate with words. But they can both show facial expressions, and they can both smile and laugh, and I can hold them and love them and pray over them both.
Then I said Steven and Joseph. Steven is who I hung out with mostly today at Bonneau and have really had the opportunity to get to know over the last week or so. Steven can not walk (yet), but crawls around on his knees and has braces on his legs. I had the chance earlier this week to help him walk by holding his hands for a rather large distance. Stevens smile is always so big! He knows how to communicate with sign and has signed “I love you” to me many times this week. Today on the ride back when I was asked this question, this little guy was in my lap. It was during this same ride, that he signed, “Jesus loves me. Jesus loves you.” I had a couple of tears in my eyes during this.
Joseph is one of the most kind hearted kids I know (when he isn’t the usual kid and acts out or gets upset). He is ALWAYS willing to help you in any way from carrying mattresses or taking our coke bottle to the recycling bin. The other night we had a movie night downstairs complete with Finding Nemo and popcorn. Joseph was handing out his own popcorn to make sure that everyone else had plenty. What a sweetheart!
Then Isaac came to mind: he was one of the first kids I met at the Miriam Center and always has a smile on his face. Isaac loves to play bowl and wants to hold your hand all the time! He had a cleft foot that had surgery performed on it not too long ago, but he still favors it has if nothing were ever done. Please continue to pray for him and progress in this. I love spending time with Isaac either sitting with him in the birdcage or kicking a ball around at front. He always makes these noises to try and communicate with you and these are sounds I have come to love and adore.
Next I thought of Den-Den. I didn’t meet him until my second day here, which is such a surprise considering how well I have home to know and love him now. Den-Den can understand some simple English that I say and always responds with “Yeah”(sometimes “wee”) or “No”. Den-Den is such a helper just like Joseph. The other day, I was busy feeding Berto and had been doing so for quite a while. I had left my backpack in the birdcage, and Den-Den carried it into the kitchen said, “Hey, hey” and then dropped it at my feet. I didn’t know it until the first week or so that I was here, but Den-Den is a miracle I can see with my own to eyes. Due to Den-Den’s diagnosis, he is not suppose to be able to walk. But when I first met him, Den-Den walked up to me. He has been able to walk for quite a while now, and while he is a little clumsy and uncertain in his steps sometimes, the Lord has definitely done a work in his life! Den-Den is absolutely a testament to me to the power of Lord.
Next I thought of T-Stephenson. I thought of how he has been through more than I could ever possibly imagine in his short little life. He is five years old, and never grew or developed. Today he still looks like an infant. When his mother realized that he wasn’t growing, she gave him up to a witch doctor who performed all sorts of rituals on him, including burning him. Today, T-Steve has all sorts of scares all over his body, but by the grace of God, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission was able to get him out of this situation and he is now loved and held everyday.
My mind then went to Joshua. Josh is my friend Kelsey’s favorite kid. Joshua is a miracle as well. Josh was found in the rubble seven days after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince over two years ago. Let me reiterate that for you so that it can sink in for you. A little boy with special needs was found in the rubble seven days after the quake. Seven days. Many people can not live without water after 3 or 4 days. Seven days. 168 hours later. Joshua is such a sweet boy and is always so joyful. He is a true miracle of the Lord and has my heart.
And those are just a few of the 46 kids of the Miriam Center. Just a few. They each have their own story. And they each have their own personality. And they each need their own individual forms of love and affection.
When I was thinking of the beautiful miracles Den-Den and Joshua were, I was convicted of something. Each and every single one of the kiddos downstairs is a miracle of God. Each and every single one of them has some sort of disability weather it be physical or mental. Weather it is a cleft foot, blindness, dwarfism, deafness, CP, mental retardation, behavior issues, or learning disabilities. Each and every single one of these children has a disability, but each and every single one of them is their own individual miracle. Every single one of these beautiful children are a creation of our Father. Each and every single one of them is living throughout their disabilities with more joy than so many others who have the fortune of living lives without any sort of frailty.
Each of these kids is a miracle and each one of these kids has their own story. It is my prayer for you that you would one day get to know each of them, or even a kid like them, and you would have your heart captured as mine has already been in these last few weeks.
These kids have taught me more about love than I could ever possibly know. I thought I knew what love was after twenty years through my parents and through my ex-boyfriends and through my relationship with friends and family. But my heart has grown more in these two weeks than I ever knew it could. My heart is full of love for these kids in a way I never thought I could love and I am more grateful for this than I could ever show. I absolutely love these kids and they have my heart.
They challenge me each and every day. There are rough days, believe me, but each day, no matter how tough it is, I can walk around downstairs and see so much joy in those kids eyes and just be filled. I came into this internship thinking that I would be pouring myself out each day to these children. And in many ways I am, but far more than that, the kids of the Miriam Center are pouring into me daily and I am so incredibly blessed by this.
If you would like to know more about how you can help one of these kids from the Miriam Center please consider sponsoring one of these children. It takes a daunting about of funds to look after even one special needs child each month, let alone 46. Fortunately, partial sponsorships are offered and every little bit helps. Please check out the following website to learn more about sponsorship or any one of these beautiful and incredible children!
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