Haiti Reflections: The Monsters
I am still a little in awe of the monsters. I can't believe I managed to knit 50 monsters. I'm honored that all my friends responded and supported me.
So of course the plan had been to spend all week loving on kids in the orphanage and give them the monsters. I'd had visions of really getting to know these kids. After we arrived in Haiti we found out that the plan was going to be a little different. Our host told us over and over again that the best way to survive in Haiti is to be flexible! We did visit the orphanage and I handed out half of the monsters there.
I wanted to get a picture of each child with their monster to send to each sponsor, but it just wasn't feasible. I can tell you that every child loved their monster. They hugged, they played, they smiled.
I was emotional over it, but I have to be honest, what happened later in the week touched me even more. One afternoon we loaded up a bunch of bags of rice to take to a tent city. We also took the rest of the monsters and a bunch of stuffed animals another lady had brought. In a way I felt silly giving toys to people who have to live in a 'house' made with 2x4s and blue tarp. After we left City Blue (the tent city) we were heading back to the mission compound. We still had a few bags of rice and toys left. Our host dropped a few of us off a few blocks down the road from the compound to finish handing them out. Now *this* is when I enjoyed handing out the monsters the most. These were the kids we'd been seeing at Bible Club all week long. This was the place I was most comfortable and felt like it made the most impact.
Now there is a special little story here. See that little boy in the right picture, in the yellow shirt with the mint green monster? He took off and came back with a friend - over there in the stripped shirt. I reached down in the bag without looking and pulled out another monster. I pulled out another mint green monster! These boys went crazy jumping up and down that they got matching monsters.
I'm in awe that God let me go on this trip. I pray that each monster brings joy and plants a seed of hope in each and every child.
So of course the plan had been to spend all week loving on kids in the orphanage and give them the monsters. I'd had visions of really getting to know these kids. After we arrived in Haiti we found out that the plan was going to be a little different. Our host told us over and over again that the best way to survive in Haiti is to be flexible! We did visit the orphanage and I handed out half of the monsters there.
I wanted to get a picture of each child with their monster to send to each sponsor, but it just wasn't feasible. I can tell you that every child loved their monster. They hugged, they played, they smiled.
I was emotional over it, but I have to be honest, what happened later in the week touched me even more. One afternoon we loaded up a bunch of bags of rice to take to a tent city. We also took the rest of the monsters and a bunch of stuffed animals another lady had brought. In a way I felt silly giving toys to people who have to live in a 'house' made with 2x4s and blue tarp. After we left City Blue (the tent city) we were heading back to the mission compound. We still had a few bags of rice and toys left. Our host dropped a few of us off a few blocks down the road from the compound to finish handing them out. Now *this* is when I enjoyed handing out the monsters the most. These were the kids we'd been seeing at Bible Club all week long. This was the place I was most comfortable and felt like it made the most impact.
Now there is a special little story here. See that little boy in the right picture, in the yellow shirt with the mint green monster? He took off and came back with a friend - over there in the stripped shirt. I reached down in the bag without looking and pulled out another monster. I pulled out another mint green monster! These boys went crazy jumping up and down that they got matching monsters.
<-- I didn't get a good picture of them both. In fact I was a little too caught up in all the people around us that this moment passed me by too quickly. Another guy in our group called my attention back to it. He was so very touched by the moment that he kept telling the story for me. To him it showed how neat of a God we serve. That God cares enough for these boys to give them matching monsters. There were only a few matching monsters in the batch and by this time I had very few left. We don't believe it was coincidence, but a God thing.
I'm in awe that God let me go on this trip. I pray that each monster brings joy and plants a seed of hope in each and every child.
posted by Lady_Dulcinea at 4:18 PM
1 Comments:
Joni, thank you for sharing.
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