Today was the day we said our goodbyes to those at EBAC. Personally for me it has to be one of the hardest things to do. Most kids won't even come out of their room because they know how hard it is to say goodbye to another group that comes and goes. After such a week with so much love for these kids and having them hang all over you for seven days, it's going to be weird not having that every day. Last year coming back from Haiti it took me awhile to get used to being back. I know with such an experience I had last year I would not forget these relationships that I have built. I was right, and throughout the year I wrote some of the kids I built relationships with and would send them pictures so they knew I wouldn't forget them. It seemed like this year the relationships got even stronger and it felt even harder to let go this morning. I made a promise to them that I would be back and I plan on keeping that promise.
Many memories were made this past week and I experienced so many different things while in Haiti. The most touching experience was last year I took a picture with three girls I got really close with: Woudeline, TeTe, and Ashley. I printed it out and sent it to them in the mail hoping when I went back they would show me it. Yesterday one of the older women showed me that she had the picture in her room of my three girls and me. She said she loved it and the relationship I had with these girls. That just showed me how much love they have for these groups that come down. I took another picture of Woudeline, TeTe, Ashley, and me and she told me to send it down and she will put it next to the one from last year. I plan on taking a picture with them every year I'm down there and see the collection of pictures of them growing older throughout the year. Seeing them grow up so fast within one year amazed me. I can't wait 10 years from now going back EBAC and looking back at how young they were when I first met them. Haiti may not be so beautiful on the outside with all the trash, the smell, and poverty but I got to see more this year about how God is really working in the Haitians lives. I saw this last night we had our final worship together with a couple of our Haitian friends. I can't even describe how beautiful their voices sound. I could easily sit there and listen to them sing for hours even when they sing in creole. We prayed together and worshiped together, and seeing these two completely different worlds coming together made me realize how great our God is.
There are far too many memories and experiences to type out on just one blog post. I can honestly say going to Haiti is a life changing experience. Last year going through the streets of Cap Haitien, Haiti for the first time made me speechless and it still does not seem real to me. I questioned all this year about how could there be such a never ending poverty? We got to walk out on the streets more this year and go further into the back parts of Cap Haitien. There is not one spot where everything looks ok. No matter where you go there is some sort of poverty or uncleanliness. The smell is so distinct that all of our clothes will probably have the Haiti smell on it for awhile. There really are no words to explain what Haiti really is like. The mental images all of us have from experiencing Haiti will stay in our minds forever and the relationships we built will forever be in our hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment