Day 4 January 9, 2013

What is God trying to teach me?  Alyn's question echoes through my memories of this day.  Why is my life so full of blessings and those that we serve in Haiti seem not to be so full.  Our team spent the first half of our day at a nursery for sick and dying infants and children.  We were all able to spend time playing in the open court with one or two or more.  Gradually we all made special connections with one precious child ~ it seemed almost like they selected us and came to us for touch and comfort. I chased one rambunctious boy around for 30 minutes, taking great joy in his endless energy and enthusiasm for activity and play. Then in an instant he was clinging to me and shortly fell asleep on my chest. As I laid on my back with his steady breathing whispering in my ear I again asked the question ~ what is God trying to teach me? He awoke some 45 minutes later (I think I might have napped a bit as well) and was off to his own ramblings.  We were called in to feed the children and I was given a young girl of five or six years who appeared to be 3 or 4.  She was malnourished, with a distended belly and protruding naval, and appeared listless.  She had penetrating and seeking eyes but she did not frown or smile once.  She seemed to have an appetite but ate next to nothing.  Yet, as I laid her in her assigned crib she reached out for me, without a smile or a frown, but with clear and penetrating eyes that seemed to say "I need you". We had to leave, and the question lingered.

We had a lunch of snacks at the guest house and traveled to Gertude's orphanage for special needs children.  Many of the children were in wheelchairs as they were not able to walk.  Others were "walkers" but struggled with cognitive skills and motor skills.  All were eager to be held and touched and moved and paid attention to. We began by pushing some of them around the large sunlit courtyard, caressing them and humming with them and even pushing them in a chair race across the courtyard.  Many connections were made. Many smiles and much laughter. I saw a beautiful but sad faced girl of around 4 or 5 years, sitting on the concrete in a far corner of the courtyard, chewing on a piece of plastic film and mumbling to herself.  As I picked her up I noticed that she had wet herself and her underwear and her dress were soaked.  My first thought was to go ask if she could have a new outfit, mostly because I knew that she had soiled me as well.  It was then that the question rose up again in my mind.  What is God trying to teach me? So silly of me to worry about a little moisture when I was holding in my arms a precious child of God and had precious little time to bring some measure of joy, and worth, into her world.  If only for an our or two I had the God given power to bring some light and laughter into a world filled with mumbling and chewing on plastic film.  I held her close and began mimicking her mumbling.  It didn't take at first, but after a few tries she began to respond.  She would begin by taunting me with her mumbles and smile when I responded in kind.  Then she began to clap for me when I seemed to do an adequate job of duplicating her sounds. The question was still there but the fog was lifting on the answer.  What is God trying to teach me? After some joy filled play and song under the rainbow umbrella we finished our time at Gertrude's and headed back to the guest house for pizza and french fries.

As we met for prayer and reflection after dinner the question still lingered unanswered in my mind. We each choose a word for reflection that describes our day and the impact it had on us. I recalled a poignant note penned to my wife after years she had spent mentoring and providing emotional support and friendship for a Puerto Rican single mom and her three children. It was a short note, but she closed by thanking my wife for all of the friendship, support and "worth" that my wife had brought to her and her family. That word has stuck with me over the years and it became my word for the day. I know in my heart that God loves me unconditionally and believe that He loves all of his precious children with the same depth and conviction. Why then is my life so blessed and theirs is seemingly not? What is God trying to teach me today? Perhaps that He needs a little bit of help in conveying His love to those who may not feel His blessings.  After all, are not these precious souls the least of our brethren? We are called by God to bring His love and a sense of true worth to all of His precious children. I sense that we all felt, as a team, that this day brought us immeasurable blessings and required very little sacrifice from us. God has blessed us richly this day and has moved us to continue to ask the question "What is God trying to teach me?" Thank you, Alyn, for your vision, your compassion, your faith and your wisdom.

Submitted by Bob Timperley