Today was a Fairytale...

Today was a Fairytale. One of the most
beautifully written fairy tales. No it did
not involve any sort of romantic love
between a woman and a man. Nor did
it involve a missing slipper, a sleeping
beauty, or a knight in shinning armor.
My fairytale was written between me
and my God, interceded between the
Hands and Feet of Jesus and the breath
of the Holy Spirit. I could not ask for a
more perfect and marvelous God. Today,
I fell even more in love with my savior,
Jesus Christ, and God, my Father.

The morning had started with a little
hesitation and anxiety about the plans
for the day. I had to get to Grace Village,
but had no way to get there. Jean told me
the night before that we would wait to
see what tomorrow brings to see if he
could get me there. Well, this morning
there seemed to be a pretty slim chance
I would be able to get up to Grace Village...
my mission here in Haiti was not complete.
There was a few more kids I needed to
assess and I needed to deliver the letters
to the orphans from the 5th graders in
Nebraska. I felt as though I had failed my friend
(who is the teacher)... failed the class of
5th graders who wrote such beautiful
letters from the bottom of their hearts.
What was I going to tell my friend?
How was I going to tell her that we weren't
able to have them write letters back? ..
I guess that's just Haiti. After breakfast,
I went into my room. Sat alone on my bed,
put my ear phones on, and bursted in tears
as I listened to Rescue by Desperation Band.
I felt so weak... so out of control.... so hurt.
I knew how much this project meant to my
friend, to the kids in Nebraska, and to myself.
Connecting the link between the young kids
in Haiti and in Nebraska was so important to me...

Suddenly, one of my roommates (Jennifer)
came in the room, tapped me on the sleeve
and said, "Hurry up get ready! Dr. Sem can
drive you to Grace Village! Do you need help
with anything?" In complete and under shock,
I scrambled to put my bag together.
Thank you God... answering my call once
again. The hands and feet of Jesus came alive
today amongst my team mates, Missy and Jennifer,
and Dr. Sem for giving me a ride to Grace Village...
I could not be more appreciative.. more thankful.

It was the most perfect day at Grace Village,
and I did not want to be anywhere else but
where God had placed me. I was exactly were
I wanted to be... where God wanted me to be.
He heard my cry, and He answered. I could not
imagine leaving this place without saying goodbye
to these children that I have fallen in love with
and could not have imagined not having said
goodbye to Fanfan, one of my best friends.

When I got to Grace Village, I was greeted
by the kids with their big smiles and warm,
gentle hugs. We spent the morning playing.
The boys had gotten a few new toys like
batman and superman, and they were
playing with them.. telling me who they were..
and flying them around the courtyard.
I moved to the girls' dorm and was greeted
by my little 3 year old peanut, Shersunny,
"Kristina!" she said in her sing-song voice
followed by a sweet giggle. It's hard not
to fall in love with her and her uplifting spirit.
I picked her up off her feet and snuggled
her in. The girls and I played with the
jump rope and hula-hoop for a while
before it was time to gather as a group to
do my project.

Fanfan gathered all the kids in the feeding
center around noon, and I told the kids
about the 5th graders in Omaha that had
written letters to them explaining what
snow is. I showed the kids the pictures
of the snow men, snow flakes, and sleds
that the 5th graders drew. I explained to
them what this thing called snow was like.
Then I shared with the kids a few
of the letters.. we couldn't read every one
because Fanfan had to translate.
But I passed around the photos of the
kids in Omaha, and the kids all gathered
around trying to get a look at what these
5th graders looked like. In some of the
pictures, they noticed the playground in
the background of the picture.. and
realized that it looked much like their
new one at Grace Village. They were
all so eager to get their hands on
these pictures... to see their new
pen pals. After the excitement of
the photos, I passed out the letters
so that each kid would get a chance
to see the letters.. and read them if
they were able to. While all the kids
were viewing the letters before them,
I prepared a little sample of fake snow
and gave each kid a pinch of snow so
that they could understand better
what it is. They were so interested
in this white, fluffy powder. They
pinched their fingers together to
pick it up out of the palm of their hand.
Some smelt it to see if it had an odor.
And others cupped in in so that none
would fall out.. they didn't want to lose
this precious new treasure. Once the
kids were finished observing, I asked
them if they would like to write a letter
to their new friends in Omaha. They all
were so excited and eager to participate..
to share the news of Haiti with their friends.
I was just as excited to see what these
kids were going to share with the
5th graders. During the creation of the
letters, I was blown away by some
of the artists in the room. One of the
six year old girls was drawing flowers
for other kids since she was so good at it.
I was shocked by her talent at such a young age.

Another young boy who appears
to be mentally slower than the rest
of the kids took me by surprise.
A true artist; he drew the most beautiful
and detailed heart with vines all around it;
I couldn't believe my own eyes.
The detail and quality of his picture was
breath taking. He showed me the gifts
and talents God had given to him.

Other kids wrote things like "I love you.
I love Jesus. I love Healing Haiti"
and "God Bless you." Another boy, who is 16,
was writing a letter and kept asking me
for a new piece of paper. Unfortunately
I didn't have another piece of paper,
so I asked him what was wrong with the one
he had. He said, "I screwed up.. here,
here, and here."
He pointed to mistakes on the paper.
"You see. I can't have mistakes with
the name of Jesus." He was so
determined to write a perfect letter
about Jesus. I explained to the boy,
"It doesn't matter if it isn't perfect.
Jesus loves you and your writing
even if it isn't perfect. Jesus just
loves that you are spreading His
word and sharing the good news.
"The boy continued to write.. and
his letter was absolutely beautiful.

I felt so accomplished after the crayons
were picked up and the letters were
in a pile on the table.
"Thank you, Lord, for blessing me"..
was all I could think about. I looked
through a few of them and was so touched.
All the kids expressing their love for Jesus,
love for Jeff and Alyn, love for Grace Village,
and for Healing Haiti. (I can just picture their
little Haitian voices saying Healing Haiti...
brings a smile to my face). It felt so great
to know that my mission here was nearly
complete for this trip. Almost all the
kids assessed for nutrition; the
Feeding Center at Grace Village now
having a pantry stocked with peanut
butter and whole wheat flour; seeing
my buddy in Cite Soleil and starting
to make plans for supporting his education;
and completing the letters for the 5th graders
in Omaha. None of this.. absolutely none of
this could not have been completed
without the grace of my God.

I spent the rest of the day with the
kids and the two beautiful ladies that
will be spending a month with them
at Grace Village. My heart ached as
I hugged the children and rubbed
their backs. I didn't want to leave them..
I had drawn so close to them this trip.
I was slightly jealous of the two that
get to stay with them because I so
badly wanted to do the same, but
I knew God has other plans for me
and I need to trust what He has
written for me. I knew that
the kids will be in good hands..
the two ladies staying up at Grace Village
are so full of faith and love, and God
has brought them to Grace Village
for a much bigger purpose. He has
written this month on their hearts
and has prepared the way for them.
I was comforted watching the ladies
and Fanfan interact with the kids...
I smiled when I heard children singing
"Glory to God" in the shower...
in the bathroom.. in their bedrooms..
as they were playing... when they
were cleaning. Songs of worship
were being sung throughout the
whole village. I could not imagine
a more perfect place for these kids;
they have been so blessed. God
has been preparing Fanfan, their
spiritual director, for this job his
whole life, and it was absolutely beautiful
seeing what Fanfan has shared with these kids.

I will miss the warm smiles and
gentle hugs of these children.
I will miss their angelic voices
and their child-like faith. I will
miss their sweet giggles and lively
spirit. I will be longing to be reunited with them..


When I arrived back home to the guest
house this evening, I opened my facebook
to the most perfectly written letter.
It was the icing on the cake to my
fairytale day. A facebook friend that
I have never met in person, but
shares a deep love for Haiti and Christ,
sent me a letter with this devotion in it:

"I AM ABLE to do for beyond all that
you ask or imagine. Come to me with
positive expectations, knowing that
there is no limit to what I can accomplish.
Ask My Spirit to control your mind,
so that you can think great thoughts
of Me. Do not be discouraged by
the fact that many of your prayers
are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer,
teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust
Me in the dark. The more extreme your
circumstances, the more likely you are
to see My Power and Glory at work in the
situation. Instead of letting difficulties
draw you into worrying, try to view
them as setting the scene for My glorious
intervention. Keep your eyes and your
mind wide open to all that I am doing i
n your life. I love you." -Jesus

God spoke to me today.
He reviled Himself to me today,
and I am here to testify His great
love for me, for you, for Haiti, and
for this world. You weak and wounded sinner;
you imperfect servant of the Lord..
God is not finished with you yet.
He is still writing... He is still completing His fairytale.

Kristina Ann
Healing Haiti Team Member