Ron's perspective:
Our talented fitness instructors!
In the afternoon we visited La Pherre orphanage. Unlike the orphanage that we visited yesterday, none of the children here are eligible for adoption. Which is a loss for all of us, because God has placed the most beautiful and happy children in this sanctuary. After a fun go round with some of the small bottles of bubbles that many of our partners donated, we followed the smiling faces into a newly constructed church/school that was built for these precious souls. Our team is blessed with some wonderful, spirit filled women that instinctively know what little kids love... singing and dancing! We all joined in with the fun hand gestures, silly foot movements, and easy lyrics that the kids picked up faster than I did. Many of the children already know traditional bible songs that many of us learned when we were kids. In that moment, I know that the songs that were being sung, the dust from our dancing feet, the sweat from our brows, and the presence of the Holy Spirit that radiated out of that building was a pleasure to our Lord. John was particularly touched by a resident that touched his heart. As we were leaving, two young boys, four or five years old, softly took my hand and in a hushed tone spoke to me in their native Creole language. I asked our interpreter what they were saying over and over to me. My heart has been beautifully broken. The boys were humbly asking me, pleading with me really, "Please don't leave, please don't leave".
So... I ask of you. Would you be interested in going? To Haiti. To this orphanage. To these little boys that want YOU. Your hugs. Your songs. Your arms. Your love. Those few hours with them may change a life forever. You will be wonderfully surprised whose life that will be. In particular, I'm talking to the men reading this. Are we going to respond to this calling with the same numbers that the women in our lives are happily giving? There's a need for you here too. I challenge all of you men to answer the call. The boys are waiting for YOU!
Carissa's perspective on the Apparent Project:
In between our sweat-filled morning of zumba/yoga (renamed as zumboga) and our time at the orphanage in the afternoon, we had the privilege of visiting the Apparent Project. And as a result of our visit to the Apparent Project, my "word of the day" was HOPE! After being a part of situations in Haiti that seem so hard and hopeless, I felt like this was such an amazing organization offering HOPE to Haitians who may have previously been in situations that seemed hopeless. They have taken materials and products that would normally be considered garbage (dirt, cereal boxes, magazines and other materials that are easy and cheap to come upon) and have been made them into absolute BEAUTY! The even more beautiful part of this is that the people that work at the Apparent Project are Haitians who would have otherwise been in hopeless situations...many of these women would have had to have given up their children to an orphanage or adoption due to not being able to care for them. Instead, they have artists who come and teach the Haitians skills, such as bead making, jewelry making, pottery, sewing, etc....and it takes them out of an otherwise hopeless situation. The even better part (and probably all of our favorite part of the trip) was that they provide daycare for the children of their workers...and the children are so well taken care of. Beautiful, beautiful children. I have owned jewelry from Apparent Project in the past, and I have always thought it was amazing...but after experiencing what we did today, it took on a whole new meaning. For starters, I had no idea how much work goes into each piece of jewelry that is created. The process is very tedious and takes many steps and many people. But the bigger part that I was impacted by was the fact that this company has made so many Haitian lives full of HOPE in a situation that could have been considered hopeless without this opportunity for them. It made me look at Haiti in a different way...there are some obedient individuals who are responding to God's prompting for them to do SOMETHING...and as a result of that, Haiti is being changed and is filled with HOPE. This is evident in the Apparent Project, Healing Haiti, Grace Village, and what is to come in Cite Soleil. God is good!
And as a side note, while we were visiting the Apparent Project, we were asked to move aside as a film crew came through the building following Rod Stewart's 3 children as they toured the facility. Apparently, it was celebrity day at the Apparent Project...who knew?!?!
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