This is only a couple of months late, but I am finally getting around to sharing some of my experiences while I was in Haiti. As always, we go to the Mother Teresa Orphanage in Port Au Prince during our time in Haiti. I have to say this is a very necessary part of the trip! I think that no matter how many times I go to Haiti, the orphanage will be the hardest thing I will ever experience. All of those children tug at my heart, but there is always one in particular that grabs ahold of me more than the others. I told Katie LeGros that I liked to start in the rooms with the younger kids and move into the rooms with the older kids in it because it makes it easier for me to leave that way. However, this year was a little different. The little girl was about eight years old I would say. She was very hesitant at first, so I just held her hand. A few minutes later, she crawled up into my lap. She looked at me and a few tears rolled down her cheek. She was old enough to know that I, too would be leaving very soon just like everyone else that came into the orphanage. She just clung to me and it was the most heart wrenching thing to think about how much I would be breaking her heart when I left. She didn’t cry very much when I left, but she held onto my hand as long as she could. It took everything I had to leave the room before I started crying. With this experience I felt the value of human touch and how much I take it for granted. It’s so hard for me to imagine how much these children long for it every day. I couldn’t wait to hug my parents when I got home and tell them how much I love them! This picture is not of the child I met at the orphanage, but one of the many children who is in my heart every day!
The Mother Teresa Orphanage is now gone after the earthquake. It is a sad thing to think about, but I can only hope and pray that lives were spared.
Your spirit is so beautiful - never ever lose that :)
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