The hardest part about Haiti.

I am often asked the question “What is the hardest part about living and working in Haiti?”

The truth is, there are a LOT of hard things about life in Haiti.

The heat.

The language.

The home-sickness.

The cultural barriers.

The fact that everything takes twice as long.

The heat.

The line at the bank.

The market.

Did I mention the heat?

It’s true, these things can make daily life quite challenging.  But none of these things are how I respond to that question.  None of these things even come close to the HARDEST part about Haiti.

For me, the hardest part about Haiti is the orphans.

Tonight, my heart is burdened with the weight of that hardship.  Because tonight, there is a little boy in tears with a heart full of loneliness and longing because he has been rejected yet again.  There is a girl who wants nothing more than the touch of her mother…a mother who abandoned her two years ago.   There is a child sleeping in the street under the light of the stars.  No home.  No family.

When I think of these kids, my heart shatters into a million pieces.

I can’t tell you exactly what the purpose of this blog post is, other than to simply say that my heart is weary and hurting from being broken over and over again by these stories, these faces, these tears.

I wish I could change the world for these kids, but all I can do is wrap my arms around them and tell them that they are loved and valued.  Tell them that God has not forgotten them.  Tell them that they are complete in Him.

Recently, I came across this verse.

And if you give yourself to the hungry

And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

Then your light will rise in darkness

And your gloom will become like midday

And the Lord will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched places,

And give strength to your bones…

-Isaiah 58:10-11

What a beautiful reminder of my call here in Haiti.  My call is simply this:  To give myself to the orphans.  To give them the love and attention and care they desire.  And in doing so, God’s light will shine in this dark place.  His Truth will light up their desperate situations.

No, that doesn’t make my job easy.  But there is also a beautiful promise for my weary heart.  If I am faithful to serve the afflicted, God with guide me and strengthen me.  He called me to a difficult job, but He didn’t call me to do it alone.