one thing we love at RI is hearing about the trips through our team members. we love to see what God showed them & continues to show them through their walk with God & through their trips to haiti. today we have kelsey on the blog sharing a little bit about her first trip to haiti with us. kelsey, you were such a joy to have. you have such a contagious laugh & a beautiful spirit. God is doing a work in your life & we are so excited to be apart of your journey. we are so thankful for all you do for RI, how much you love these kiddos & your willing heart to go above & beyond.
for kelsey:
for months leading up to our trip, evanda kept telling me how excited she was to see all the kids there, and i couldn’t wait. the second we pulled into CAD, our car was completely surrounded by little faces with beaming smiles. i wanted to greet each and every face, but the only feeling i initially had in those first moments was loneliness. everyone on my team had their “person” they flocked to, and all i could do was stand there until one by one, kids started piling on the hugs. i didn’t have a person, but at that moment, it didn’t matter because i was surrounded by kids who were ready to love me like they had known me forever.
after meeting everyone, i couldn’t wait to sit down and get to know everything i could about the kids. next time, i will be more careful of what i ask for. i sat and listened as kid after kid told me they didn’t know who their parents were, let alone how old they were. some of these kids ran away from bad home situations; others were thrown on the streets as if they were old news only to end up in an orphanage for who knows how long.
talk about a heartbreak. talk about anger. that was about all i felt as i sat in shock listening to what some of those sweet angels had endured.
i grew up in a house that is filled with love with my parents and older brother. birthdays and holidays called for big celebrations with as much of the family as we could possibly get. i can’t imagine it any other way, so why didn’t these kids get the same love?
the love that poured out from these kids was unlike any other i had ever experienced. it was in those moments that i realized God had brought all of those kids to me, not the other way around. I spent so much time praying for God to show me how to love on those kiddos, but i should have prayed for how to accept all of the love i would get from everyone there.
God showed me so much in my short time in haiti. He reassured me that working with kids is exactly where i need to be. He showed me that i don’t need all of life’s luxuries to be happy. but most importantly, God opened my eyes to a completely new type of love, a love that bridges between english and creole. a love that truly represents Christ’s love for us.
i cannot wait to be back in that beautiful country again in july. thank you to everyone who supports me and what we’re doing in haiti.
mwen renmen yo -kels
for kelsey:
for months leading up to our trip, evanda kept telling me how excited she was to see all the kids there, and i couldn’t wait. the second we pulled into CAD, our car was completely surrounded by little faces with beaming smiles. i wanted to greet each and every face, but the only feeling i initially had in those first moments was loneliness. everyone on my team had their “person” they flocked to, and all i could do was stand there until one by one, kids started piling on the hugs. i didn’t have a person, but at that moment, it didn’t matter because i was surrounded by kids who were ready to love me like they had known me forever.
after meeting everyone, i couldn’t wait to sit down and get to know everything i could about the kids. next time, i will be more careful of what i ask for. i sat and listened as kid after kid told me they didn’t know who their parents were, let alone how old they were. some of these kids ran away from bad home situations; others were thrown on the streets as if they were old news only to end up in an orphanage for who knows how long.
talk about a heartbreak. talk about anger. that was about all i felt as i sat in shock listening to what some of those sweet angels had endured.
i grew up in a house that is filled with love with my parents and older brother. birthdays and holidays called for big celebrations with as much of the family as we could possibly get. i can’t imagine it any other way, so why didn’t these kids get the same love?
the love that poured out from these kids was unlike any other i had ever experienced. it was in those moments that i realized God had brought all of those kids to me, not the other way around. I spent so much time praying for God to show me how to love on those kiddos, but i should have prayed for how to accept all of the love i would get from everyone there.
God showed me so much in my short time in haiti. He reassured me that working with kids is exactly where i need to be. He showed me that i don’t need all of life’s luxuries to be happy. but most importantly, God opened my eyes to a completely new type of love, a love that bridges between english and creole. a love that truly represents Christ’s love for us.
i cannot wait to be back in that beautiful country again in july. thank you to everyone who supports me and what we’re doing in haiti.
mwen renmen yo -kels
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