a little boy

i’m sitting here, wondering where to begin and how to describe to you our time in Haiti. so i figured i’d start by giving you a bit of background as to how my heart became so deeply connected to those people and that nation.

the first time i went to Haiti was when i was 19…that was a decade ago. it was shortly before Jake and I began dating. i had just finished my first year at UF, and was working at a law firm that summer. my life goals were to go to law school, get married, be a successful lawyer, and live in a big white house on the beach. (its okay…you can laugh!!!) The main thing missing from that equation was having children. i had ZERO desire for kids of my own. i was not one of those girls who grew up longing to be a mom. i had never had a desire to be a mom. i loved kids…that was for sure…but i just didn’t want any for myself.

well, on that first trip, i met a little boy named Henbeaux…pronounced “Ebway” who captured my heart and changed my life. He was 9 years old at the time, and in the little less than 2 weeks that i spent there that summer, i fell in love with him.

this picture was taken 10 years ago, on that first trip to Haiti. Ebway is the one in the red shirt, giving the “thumbs up!”

i spent everyday on that first trip with Ebway and a few of his buddies, playing games, singing, walking through the village, doing a VBS. On the day we were leaving, he woke up before the sun rose and walked miles to the place where we were staying to say goodbye one last time before we headed to the airport.

i can remember traveling home from that trip and hearing God speak in my heart. He clearly said to me, “if you can love a child who lives in a third world country that you have only know less than 2 weeks, and he can bring you that much joy, think of how much more your heart is capable of loving your own children one day, and the joy that they will bring.”

that was the day everything changed. i think its safe to say that this little 9 year old Haitin boy named Ebway changed by entire life’s direction. God used Him to show me what my heart was really longing for, and i have the two most precious gifts as a result!!

over the years, jake and i have traveled to Haiti many times, and there are many more stories of people and children like Ebway that we have fallen in love with. its not really seeing the despair and desperation and the plight of our friends that makes us want to come back (although we do desire to help in any way we can), but seeing the joy and reseliance and faith in the people in the midst of the despair that keeps drawing us back. i cannot put into words how much they teach us, how much the presence of God is in that nation and in those people.

the highlight of my trips is always getting to go see Ebway. he’s just as precious to me as he always was, even though now he’s offically taller than me! he’ll never know the impact he’s had on my life, nor how God used Him to change my heart, but i’ll love him dearly for it until the day i die.

Our Haitian friends’ lives are so vastly different than mine here in America, but each one has a story, just like us. i’m excited to show you more pictures and tell you the stories of some of the people we encountered on our trip. much more to come…