hannah elizabeth: Heart for Haiti (Trip 2)

I really don't even know where to begin. As I begin to type, my eyes instantly start to tear up. I feel so many emotions as I begin to write about this trip and the weeks leading up. A few weeks before the trip, I was sort of struggling with my emotions and feelings. I realized after a few days that I just needed to snap out of it. Being down doesn't help anything or anyone. As the trip was nearing, I was still not feeling like I was putting all my heart and soul into it but I knew that if I was going to go, I needed to get with the program.

The night before we left it really became a reality for me that I was getting to go back to Haiti. What a blessing that God had set aside for me! I started to feel super excited about the trip and I was determined to make this trip a great one and do what God had called me to do. No more being down but back to being who God had called me to be, happy & loved by Him.

Our flights to Haiti all went smoothly except our planes were uber small! But, we still made it! Our first night we just chilled at the guest house and had some amazing dinner. (The food was even better this time!) We had 4 straight days of clinics were all together we saw 2,125 people...in just 4 days!!! God was hard at work. We went to different sites this time for our clinics and I'm so glad that we did. The one that stands out to me the most was the one that was out in the middle of no where and about 2 hours away from our guest house. It was the poorest of poor. It reminded me of one of those "feed the children" commercials except this was real life. The majority of these people had no clothes, but when they would see our bus they would start jumping, smiling, shouting and clapping for us. They had nothing yet they were SO happy. As the bus would pass, you would see them run back and tell everyone they came in contact with. Heartbreaking. I think I can say that our whole group was crying before we even made it to the clinic. We knew that since those people lived so far out that there would be no way they could walk to our clinic and make it in time. We heard that this was probably the first clinic that these people had ever had and that it would probably be the last. Think about that, having medical care one time in your life...I cant imagine.

This trip was also one that brought our group together as a whole. Our first few days were rocky and satan was definitely under attack but God was still there. We had some things go on with our clinics that taught us all forgiveness and showed us how great God's love is for all people. We also got to really see the need that Haiti has for medical and financial help. It really is crazy how much I have...almost embarrassing compared to them.

One night I had the chance to go back to Ms. Dorothy's orphanage. I cant say it enough how sweet and loving those kids are despite everything they have been through. Most of them have full blown AIDS or HIV and still have the biggest, brightest smiles you will ever see. They want love. They want to be held. They want attention. They want to sit in your lap. They want hugs. They want you exactly as you are. I believe that I could hold them all day and be content. Some are true orphans and some are staying there until they get healthy enough to go back to their parents. I love, love, love these sweet kids. If I could, I would bring every single one home with me...and I'm not lying. I would love it.

All together, this trip was such a blessing and it came at the right time. God knows what I need. The Haitian people helped me way more than I helped them. They showed me the kind of person I'm supposed to be. The person that God called us all to be. Above all else, they showed me love.

I am excited to see where God will call me to next. I would love for Africa to be on the agenda in the next year or so. I feel at this time like this was my last trip to Haiti for a while. I will go back one day (maybe to adopt some sweet babies! haha) but for now I'll just have a Heart for Haiti. :]

About to fly out!

This was the really poor community. Look at the boy on the left. Have we ever been that happy to get medical attention? We are so blessed.

Our awesome team!

This little guy was just hanging out at our 3rd clinic. He was adorable!

We had a photo shoot. My favorite picture :]

My precious Johnny. He has AIDS but is perfect in every way in my eyes. He was my buddy last time and the first one to run up and give me a big hug at the orphanage this time. Melts my heart.