Haiti Day 5

"Today was a day of firsts and a day full of beautiful compassion. Not too long after eating breakfast Jeremy (one of the interns) came up to us and asked if our team and one of the others wanted to go on 'an adventure' to a bay and check out some old boats. We obviously agreed, since honestly, who wouldn't turn down an adventure like that? We drove to this bay and were able to check out these two boats. One was being used as a way to create scrap parts and the other where the crew was stationed. It was awesome to just sit there in the bay and let everything just soak in. It was also cool to speak with the captain of the boat and hear about his life experiences. The really cool part was listening to him tell us in fluent Spanish how he studied Spanish in Cuba so he could become a captain in the Caribbean.

And here comes another first, and also the compassion. Today we went to a village in Cabaret, maybe twenty minutes away from our compound. We were only told we would go on a "River Walk" and then go to an orphanage. Little did I know that a little girl was there, ready to change the way I see the world around me. All along the River Walk I kept praying in my head that God would let me just shine His light in some way to the children I was going to meet in that orphanage.

Once we got to the orphanage, I was greeted by Mandy, one of the members of another team (from Miami, FLA) and she basically handed off a small little girl to me and told me, 'hold her, here's her stuffed kitty, and here's her other toys!' Those who know me know that I'm good with kids...just older ones. But holding this little girl, maybe a little over a year old, the world slowed down. After holding her for mere moments I started to feel like I was almost overheating. Even one of our team members told me later I looked like I was dehydrating.

Turns out, the little girl was just running a fever and was burning up so much that her heat was transferring to me and making me sweat like nothing else. But I kept a grip on her and finally she went to sleep in my arms. I can't tell you how beautiful it was to see this girl asleep on my chest, just holding on and finally feeling safe with me. I never wanted to let her go, but sadly I had to once we left. I never got her name, but I know the hole she has left in my heart for the rest of my days on this Earth"