There is something about an orphaned child that captures my heart every time. I can’t imagine not having a family to call your own….someone who loves you unconditionally. But I noticed something else, something special, about the orphans in Haiti….they have such a pure heart and love for the Lord. He IS their DADDY, and they aren’t afraid to let anyone know. These four girls in the picture below were no exception, but the one who really captured my heart is the little girl that’s looking down. 
Her name is Martine. These four girls came in late to the worship service on Tuesday night and sat down on the bench in front of me. I didn’t pay much attention at first until I looked down at the little girl sitting on the end. As I looked over at her, she looked up at me and we locked eyes. She had a HUGE smile on her face and was just as cute as ever. I put my hand out for her to “give me five” and she simply placed her hand in mine. As she did this, her smile got even bigger---which I didn’t think was possible. She then looked down at her hands and PROUDLY showed me her missing fingers on both hands. It was then that she did the same thing with her legs. I noticed at that moment she was sitting down because she was a double amputee---she had different portions of each leg amputated. I reached out both of my hands to her, and she FLEW into my arms. There she stayed for the majority of the service. She sang in Creole…I sang in English! But we have the same Daddy and I’m positive He heard us both loud and clear. It was so precious. She was so precious. Later on in the week I found out that Martine had lost her fingers and portions of her legs as a result of the quake. I loved watching the other girls with Martine…they carried her around and doted on her like she was their own. They always put Martine’s needs before their own and were so selfless when it came to caring for her!
This picture below is of me and Job. From what I gathered of his story, Job was dropped off at the gate of the orphanage a few weeks before we arrived. He has a sun allergy, and as a result, he developed a tumor in his eye. His eye had to be removed, and Job received skin grafts in the eye socket. Sadly, those skin grafts got infected and so he needed further medical care. 
My first interaction with Job wasn’t ideal. I was sitting outside of the ward talking with some of the patients when this little boy ran up to me and screamed, “AHHHHHH!!!!”. Then he proceeded to try and jump into my arms. I looked at his hands and face which had patches of skin with no pigment and I didn’t know what caused it. He also had a big patch over his eye. With all of these things combined with the fact that he caught me completely off guard, I gave him the obligatory side hug (when he was looking for me to hold him in my arms) and sent him on his way. It took me about 2 seconds to realize that I was an idiot….did I really just send a little boy away because he “scared” me? Did I send this little boy away because I was afraid of his medical condition? I went over to him and scooped him up in my arms and he just rested his head on my shoulder for a few minutes. I’m so glad that he was full of second chances because he became my buddy the rest of the week!
Job is now in the USA receiving medical treatment, and I’m hoping that I can make it down to see him sometime soon.
Here is a short video of Job and Martine at the worship service on Tuesday night. Once again, it’s really short and not steady at all….that’s what happens when you have little kids trying to take your video camera from you! I treasure it though because in this short video I can see their personalities shine through, and I love them to pieces.
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