Saintana Smiles

A restavec (or restavek; from the French reste avec, "one who stays with") is a child in Haiti who is sent by their parents to work for a host household as a domestic servant because the parents lack the resources required to support the child.


Saintana is an 8-yr-old girl with a smile that lights up her whole face.  Every day for the past few months, we would see her carrying a water jug to and from the public water station a few doors down from the Hands and Feet compound, wearing the same dirty, tattered dress...and always that bright, beautiful smile.  Stacie, one of the other missionaries here, took a special interest in her, and began talking to her and getting to know her.  Stacie's girls spent an evening praying for her and trying to come up with a plan to rescue her from her situation. They decided to give Saintana a new dress. A few days later, she was seen, once again carrying the water jug, but this time wearing the new dress she had been given.  


We began to pray for opportunities to speak to Saintana's "hosts" and for the ultimate outcome that somehow she would be freed from this forced servitude.  Stacie asked the woman of the home if Saintana could come and play for the day. One play date turned into several, with even a sleepover or two over the course of several weeks.  Stacie contacted Tina, who runs the school that all of our children attend, to see if we could get scholarships for Saintana and another little girl to attend school this year. What a happy day when both "host homes" gave permission for the girls to attend school!! Saintana was so excited the day she came over to get measured for her school uniform! 


Then came the miracle we had all been praying for...One day last week, early in the morning, Saintana showed up outside Stacie's bedroom door, asking her to come meet her parents. Saintana's family lives in Cap Rouge, up in the mountains about an hour and a half from Jacmel.  They had come to ask Hands and Feet if we would take Saintana and her younger brother, Renaul, the two youngest of seven siblings because they were unable to care for them. They had already sent two other siblings to Port-au-Prince, and the father was preparing to leave for the Dominican Republic to try to find work. 


So, on Friday Saitana and Renaul officially became part of the Hands and Feet family.  Stacie had the privilege of doing the intake for both children.  She asked the dad what his dreams would be be for his children. He answered that he wished for them to grow up and do good, to make a difference.  That is our hope for all the children here at Hands and Feet! And it our honor to be part of making a difference in the life of one little girl with an unforgettable smile...

The Orphan Spirit - An Illustration

A couple days ago I was listening to the Grace Center podcast "Son or Orphan" again. It's SO good. If you haven't heard it, I highly encourage you to go to the website and download it. I've heard it probably half a dozen times since I have been part of Grace Center.

The message gives me new insight into the behaviors of children I have been working with at the Hands and Feet Project for the past 3 weeks now. Yesterday I spent a good part of the morning organizing the playroom in the Toddler House: switching out toys, pulling old or broken ones and putting new/different ones on the shelf. I had 2 piles of  toys: one pile that was salvageable with minor repair or new batteries, and one pile that was destined for the trash. Later in the afternoon, I saw one of the preschool boys playing with a broken See 'N Say, one of the toys I had put in the trash can in front of our house.  I took it back, telling him it was broken and didn't work, and returned it to where it belonged...in the trash.  He got mad and stomped off to sulk, thinking I was so mean to have taken away his toy... What he doesn't know is that in our depot, the entire back wall is filled with toys, some still in the original packaging, waiting for the opportunity to be used.  

We are all like that sometimes. We hold on to things that might look nice, but they don't work or do us any good: unhealthy relationships, miserable job situations, and wrong mindsets because we think we're better off having something broken than not having anything at all. What we don't realize is that if we would just let go of our tight grip on it (whatever it is) and allow God to "fix it or toss it", we would receive something so much greater in return. We forget that our loving heavenly Father has a "depot", a heavenly storehouse filled with every good and perfect gift that is our inheritance. It is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom... (Luke 12:32) 

A Series of Unfortunate Events

In the two weeks leading up to my departure for Haiti, I experienced several unexpected and unpleasant circumstances, which prompted someone to say,"Maybe this is a sign that you should not go to Haiti." Which got me thinking...Where would I be, where would any of us be if we stopped doing the thing we are called to do because we experienced failure, unexpected loss, inconvenience, disappointment, even pain? What about all the scientists, doctors, athletes, inventors, etc. that kept going against all odds? What about Jesus? I'm thankful He didn't lose sight of His calling in the face of incredible opposition and pain, even death. 

Despite a car accident, a stressful move out of my apartment, the unsuccessful transfer of the care of my cat to my brother's house (she peed on his carpet after he yelled at her so I had to find alternate arrangements),  my dad's hospitalization for food poisoning, which led to a shortened stay in Pittsbugh, AND the airline refusing to allow me to check the suitcase full of all my teacher stuff...I, and my luggage, finally arrived at the Hands and Feet Project in Jacmel on Tuesday afternoon. It feels so good to be settling in "at home" here. I love every minute I spend with these precious kids.  I spent all day today gathering supplies to start "school" with the toddlers on Monday. I can't wait! But for now, I should head to bed. It's "late", almost 10pm, and nearly all the lights in the houses are out. Tomorrow is Sunday, which means nursery duty bright and early...