Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousands words! This is one of my favorite pictures of my time in Haiti. This is my friend, Gaston. He is 12. He is an orphan. Looking at him, you would never know he is 12 because he has a developmental disorder that causes him to appear much younger. Gaston doesn’t speak aside from a handful of words. Thankfully, this photo speaks for him. It speaks of hope in his eyes. It speaks of the love that he feels each time I visit him and embrace him.
Despite not being able to speak, despite being small for his age, despite being 1 of only 3 boys at an all girls orphanage . . . this little boy knows who Jesus is, and he knows the power of prayer! This is Gaston praying with me. He may not be able to speak to me other than saying my name, but he knows how to speak to the one who will always hear him and love him.
This young man is Guyver. In a nutshell, Guyver is the heart of Haiti! It is young men like him who will turn Haiti into the country they are so desperately wanting to be! Guyver is 15 and lives in a displacement camp with his mom, 2 brothers, sister, and young cousin. Guyver accepted Christ following the earthquake and now serves as a missionary in his own country, traveling to the countryside and mountainside to preach the Gospel to those who are in bondage with voodoo and sin. At 15 years old, he is providing hope and faith to those living in the displacement camp with him. He is an inspiration not just to the peope of Haiti, but to me as well.
This is Guyver with his family. The 6 of them live in a tent that is no bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet. They own land, but thier house fell down in the earthquake killing Guyver’s aunt. It will cost $2,000 to rebuild a 25 foot by 25 foot concrete structure for them.
This beautiful woman is Madame Gustav. Her and her husband founded an orphanage together and took in about 20 girls and 3 litttle boys. Earlier this year, we were saddened to heat that Papa Gustav passed away due to poor health. Madame is now left to run the orphanage by herself, along with help from her daughter.
Madame Gustav has touched my heart and forever left an inspiration in me to reach out to the widows and orphans of the world. Madame has a heart for these kids, and a love for them that is like nothing I have seen before. I am almost certain that when I see God face to face, it will look something like this:
Please pray for my friends. Pray that God continues to give them courage and strength to go against the grain of thier culture, against the grain of thier society in order to advance the Kingdom of heaven in Haiti!
