May 21, 2015

Today I felt a little bit selfish. We were going to Grace Village and although I was excited about visiting the elderly I wanted nothing more than to spend all my time with my babies at the orphanage. It's been 3 years since I have seen them and I just wanted to see them and love them and hear what has been going on with them. 

This morning we got up and got ready for the day. We had a wonderful breakfast, as normal, and then left the house for the day. There were a couple other girls that were staying at the home for the sick and dying babies that had nothing to do today, so they decided to join us. We picked them up, and headed for Titanyen.

We got to Grace Village and I could not stop smiling. I was so excited to be back to the place that was the source of so many life changing moments for me. We got a tour of the grounds, and the things that they have done over the last 3 years are so remarkable, but really i just wanted to see the kids. The first kid that I saw was Ronaldo. It was during the tour of the school, he was leaving his class and as he was walking past he stopped and said "Haley, I miss you!!" and gave me the biggest hug. I almost started crying. He was the one of the first kids that I had a real connection with at Grace and he referred to me as his "Mama" the whole time I was there. AfterIi finally let him stop hugging me, he was trying to help me find and seethe other kids that were there. I saw many of the kids, all so happy to see me, and i was so happy to see them. I found out how they were doing and what they have been up to. One of the boys that I was very connected with is no longer living at grace village but he goes to school there so we were so lucky to be able to see each other. I only saw one of the girls, and found out another one just had surgery so she was resting. I asked if I could go see her, the lady giving us a tour said that I could and she was sure that Laika would love that, but we ended up having to leave so she assured me that i would be able to see her on Sunday. Laika and I met my first trip to Haiti and we spend my whole time at Grace together during that first trip. She remembered me when I got there right away for the summer and we were also very close throughout the whole summer. I am so sad I did not get to see her today, but seeing her Sunday will make me just as happy! It is crazy how much the kids have grown in 3 years. They are so much taller, more mature, and the boys have voices that make them sound like men. Seeing them for such a short time was sad, but I was thankful to see them and to know that I will see them again in 2 days.

Once we left  Grace Village we went back down the hill into the village of Titanyen to visit the elderly. The work "titanyen" mean "less than nothing" which gives some kind of idea what the people who live there have. The village got that name because the people there are so poor and have almost nothing. It was amazing to be able to go and visit them. Our acts of simply washing their feet and face, and rubbing some lotion on the, brought them so much joy. It was awesome to see the joy that the actor singing and praising God brought to them. We gave each person a care at filled with things that we use everyday such as hygiene products, snacks, and water. These things that are never ending for us, are things that they do not have and they wereso thankful for. We brought some instruments with us and sang and prayed with them. They were just so happy and appreciated it all so much. It is eye opening to see their joy and thankfulness for so little.