Heartbreak

Her eyes were beautiful. Her long lashes softening her big brown eyes. Her smile was infectious making people happy to just be around her. She was 1 year old and had been given to " Missionaries of Charity Home for Children". Her future uncertain, her prognosis unknown, she only wanted to be loved. She only wanted to be held. I spent 2 hours holding her and the time flew bye.

The babies at Missionaries of Charity Home for Children are there because there is no where else to go. The families are poor and medical help is limited. It is, without a doubt, there last chance.

How can you look in their faces and not be affected? How can you hold them without your heart breaking?

We saw babies so skinny that their diapers would not stay on. We saw babies so sick that they wouldn't cry or react when poked with a needle.

How can someone so young, so innocent have so little future?

As I left the building, her cries echoed through my heart. I'm sure that though they eventually stopped, I will hear them forever.

-Dave McCarthy

Healing Haiti Team Member

Let the Adventure Begin!

From a cancelled flight, a two hour drive to Rochester in a snow storm, a delayed flight to Chicago, a 2 hour delayed flight to Miami followed by 2 hours of sleep to catch a routine flight to Haiti, our team couldn't have been in better spirits. To a person, everyone was upbeat, excited and anxious to step into a world we have only read about.

Haiti is an onslaught on the senses. It is a country of extremes. There is massive poverty and destruction yet there is great beauty. From a gorgeous flowering tree growing amidst the earthquake rubble to the inner beauty reflected every Haitian face in the slums of Cite Soleil.

With 80% unemployment, Haitians are faced with great challenges just to obtain the basic necessities. Life is a struggle, yet they have chosen to be happy. Everywhere we went we were met with smiles, waves and people whose faces light up when you talk to them. Most can't speak English, yet a smile is a great communicator.

Our first day involved delivering water to the people in the slums of Cite Soleil. It can best be described as organized chaos as people jockey for a position in line to get the water they desperately need. Maybe because the water deliveries are so important, they treated us with respect and were very grateful for our help and Healing Haiti's help in bringing it to them.

On our way back to the guest house, some members of our party were quiet, reflecting on what we had just experienced. Others talked excitedly on who they had met and what they had seen.

We're back now at our lodging and most of us are fatigued from the previous night's short sleep and from lifting water buckets. Yet we are all looking forward to tomorrow and we're hopeful that through our efforts, we can make a difference in someone's life.

-Dave McCarthy

Healing Haiti Team Member

God has used Haiti to open my eyes.

I am so excited to be returning to Haiti! I went for the first time with my husband in Nov ’10 and God changed me. I have always had a heart for missions but it was so overwhelming. There are so many needs, who would I give to and how would I know if the money I gave would actually be used to help. So with all of these thoughts I chose to do nothing. When Eagle Brook started talking about missions last summer, I heard God’s whisper. I chose to be obedient even though I had no idea where the money would come from or the purpose of my going.

While in Haiti, I was separated from all of life’s distractions like my job, computer, phone, family, friends, obligations and to do list. My only job was to surrender. I was supposed to slow down and listen to God’s whisper, to truly be in the present! I felt that I had one ear listening to this world and the other ear waiting for God to prompt me. A small naked and dirty little boy came up to me and ask me to pick him up and I could hear God asking me, “Will you love the least of these? Will you surrender and be my hands and feet?” Working at Mother Theresa’s was the same. I was able to pray over these babies and to give the healing gift of touch. I was representing Jesus’ arms. That is a powerful thing! Then playing with the kids at the orphanages and seeing these children that are being given food, shelter, education and learning of God’s love. These children are the future of Haiti. What a blessing to be a part of building up these children so that they can break out of the bonds of poverty and start to understand their value, we value them, God values them.

God has used Haiti to open my eyes. I have heard Pastor Bob say that we are the top 5% wealthiest in the world and I would say to myself, “Yes, but we live in America and here we are just barely making it.” After seeing how these beautiful people are living and their amazing faith, I am realize how much I have been given. I can no longer stand by while people that I have seen and touched are thirsty, hungry and sick. I will be part of the solution. I learned in Haiti that I could be in the present and hear God’s voice, so now that I am back in Minnesota I am learning to do the same.

I am returning to Haiti for a couple of reasons. One is that I want to be a part of the solution in helping the poor, sick, orphaned and widowed. I also want to continue to build relationships with the Haitians. I have a handful of people that I know God put into my path and they touched my heart and I can’t wait to see them again. The final reason is to be a part of showing my fellow Christians the truth about surrendering to God’s will and to start living a purposeful life. That together if we can make a difference when we each do our part. What an amazing journey our life can be! I can’t wait to hear the stories of God’s amazing transformation in each of my teammates .

- Jenn Imsland

Febraury 28-March 7 Trip Leader