This is my second trip to Haiti and I was so happy to be able to come back and hope to be coming back in the future. On the first day spent with the kids, we were driving by the old house that the family used to live in before they moved to a bigger house down the road until the new house was finished being built. We stopped for a brief moment to show everyone where they used to live and how small the house that fit 18 children and two parents really was. After remembering what the last trip was like, working in the tiny house with all those kids, I looked out the front wind shield and saw a group of children standing in the road jumping up and down and running around. I then realized who they were and what they were so happy about and it filled my heart with joy. I’m sure that if their parents had let them, they would have run down the road to greet us. Pulling up to the house, the kids in the windows laughing and smiling, I felt so happy to be back. When I got off the bus, the kids recognized me immediately and swarmed around me hugging and jabbering away. Jules and Jose were one of the happiest to see me and when I asked Pastor Lubin what they were saying he said “They are so glad that you came back. They thought you had forgotten about them.” Right then and there I knew that I would be coming back and told them that I would always come back for them. These children touch a special part in your heart and you never want to let them go. You want to do so much for them, but it’s the little things that matter the most. Just coming to see them and loving them is enough. They are so grateful for everything we do.
Today at the beach was wonderful. The kids, as usual, were so excited to go and jumped on the bus as soon as we arrived at their house. All dressed in their new bathing suits ready to go, we headed off down the bumpy road, singing and having a great time. After setting ourselves up in a nice spot on the beach we were hot and ready to dive into the ocean. We asked the kids if they were ready to go into the water and the funniest thing happened. They started taking off their bathing suits with boxers on under them and went running to the water. Have you ever thought of having a bathing suit being such a privilege that you didn’t want to wear it to swim in?
~Julie Herrick
May 2012 Restavec Freedom Alliance, BEM Inc., Volunteer
Photos from May 18th, 2012:
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