At a very young age I was interested in other countries and other cultures. My drawings would reflect that as I would color different races holding hands around an earth (classic). I was lucky enough to have met many different people from different places as my Aunt ran a disaster relief ministry and medical relief treatment for children from abroad. I often was told to, "run off and play" with someone who only spoke Russian (insert any language). It was not long that I was brought witness to a beautiful story, beginning with the adoption of my cousin. She came to the states as a very tiny girl, who had been dropped off at an orphanage in Haiti because of the tumor on her nose. I remember my mom and Aunt bandaging her as she would quietly sit still on our bathroom sink, with tears rolling down her cheeks. I remember her coming to my second grade class and my teacher having us collect beads for her as a fundraiser of some sort. She didn't speak any English, but we spent a lot of time together. She is the same sweet girl, but she is healthy and happy, educated, strong and with a family of her own and I adore her. How interesting that when I was in college, the first opportunity to serve abroad that was presented to me was in Haiti. God wove in my heart a passion for the nations when I was a little girl learning to color, and that story line became a theme as I took opportunities to serve in Haiti through mission trips and as an intern with an orphanage. I fell in love with the people and the country. I loved helping the missionary family write their newsletters, raise the beautiful children they took into their home, and become both a student and a teacher at the same time. I loved the dusty roads and bright colors. I loved the big smiles on tough faces. I loved the laughter of the women as they cooked a pot of rice and beans and I loved the kids in their pjs waiting for their nightly devotions from their new found family. I loved it.
I came back to the states not quite the same. For so many reasons. There are some things you just can't un-see. Like poverty. Street children. Lack of water. And there are other things, that you just can't replicate if you tried. Such as community. Spending uninterrupted time with each other. Being unplugged from the world. Laughing at the ridiculousness of some things that only happen in a 3rd world country. Just being. I felt closer to God than I ever had, because there was nothing to distract me from where I was, and who I was. Not dressed up, nothing to do, no where to go but to be. To be me. To help. To serve. To listen. To be with the people around me. You can't replicate that. And believe me I've tried over and over and you can't. I'm pretty sure that bucket never got filled again, and I longed for the feeling of "real life" daily, because me in America now felt fake.
Eventually I got married and had kids. I had led a trip back to Haiti since, but life had started for us. We found a great church in Loveland called Northstar and we moved there to be a part of it, and in community. (see, always striving for that). God continued to weave this story as my husband and I went to Mexico with an international, Christian, orphan care organization called Back2Back Ministries. As we served, I took note of the intention, wisdom, and love that went into their approach to serve the local children’s homes. I was actually blown away to find that they had a Hope Program where they provided a foster family home for the children that "aged out" of the orphanage. On top of that, they would pay for their high school and college education. That was crazy awesome to me! I love the breaking of the cycle of poverty. I stayed involved with them after our trip and sponsored a child that I actually got to take bike riding when we were there. This child and I developed a relationship over the years and I found this to be the most unique sponsorship program out there! Meanwhile I just fell in love with this organization all together. The images that stick out in my mind from Mexico are of hope, of children that have a plan and a future, ones that are cared for. By painful contrast, my last trip to Haiti was just after the earthquake, and it was devastating. My heart broke seeing so many wounds, amputations, and buildings crumbled to the ground. A nation that already had so little, now had less. The pictures in my head of that trip are un-paintable. When I heard Back2Back was starting a site in Haiti, I was chomping at the bit to get involved because if they can do there what I saw in Mexico, sign me up!
So here I am. A few years later and all of a sudden I'm on staff as their Haiti Coordinator. I just wanted to share this with you because maybe not all of you know why I have so many Back2Back posts on my facebook account now! And truthfully, it's a story that amazes me when I think about it. And, the cool thing is that's just the beginning! I have been on staff since January now, doing my best to learn as much as I can and use what God's given me to help build up this site and meet the needs of the orphanages we are serving. I have found there is so much for me to learn, so much for me to strengthen, so much for me to be patient about and at the same time I've never felt so free and filled up! I can be who I was created to be and functioning in that daily is so refreshing. I am blessed beyond measure to work with people who feel the same way I do. Who are all wired different but have the same heart and love for orphans in other countries. I can't believe I get to work with them, to be honest. I am finding that in my adventures with Haiti and at the office, I am beginning to have a back log of stories in my head of what I see happening that I don't want to keep to myself. I want to share it with you, in hopes it would encourage, inform, or enlighten in some way. I realized that when you allow yourself to be used for the Lord, whether it's your idea or His, if you say Yes...you end up being a part of and witnessing a whole slew of cool stories. I wonder if this happens especially in orphan care. He seems to be going to bat for them a lot, I am pretty sure He's wanting them to feel loved and important and worthy of being a part of His story. So as I bear witness, I will share. Thanks for reading...thus starts a blog of a new endeavor...I hope I can keep up!
