“…for me there lies, Within the lights and shadows of your eyes, The only beauty that is never old.” —James Weldon Johnson
I arrived home from Haiti late last night and, after a few hours of sleep, jumped back into "normal" life--making lunches and getting kids off to school, doing laundry and paying bills, editing articles and answering emails. But as much as I've missed my family and feel so happy to be back, my mind is filled with thoughts of this past week in Haiti.
It will take weeks for me to go through the hundreds of photos I took and even longer to process the emotions and ideas and hopes I brought home with me. Each photo I edit elicits an emotion or triggers a reminder. Looking at this sweet child, for example, I am struck again by the sweetness of her quiet spirit, the directness of her gaze, and the evidence of a strength and resilience no child should ever need to possess. This is what life in Haiti requires of her, yet it is my hope that that same strength and resilience will, with love and prayers and the right kind of assistance, help lift her above the circumstances of her birth.
More photos and stories to come in the days ahead. I hope you’ll follow along...
@alophoto Thanks, Amanda! I went with a group from a couple of different Christian organizations--The Haiti Collective, Know More Orphans and Mpower. It was my second trip and it was so encouraging to see the difference in just one year--two new wells, training for dental workers (to extract teeth--a huge need) and deworming program for the kids. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Haiti, it is a tough and beautiful country and people. I hope I am able to go back again next year.
@cjoye My local friend and photographer, Katie has gone several times. My church partners with Back to Back and goes twice a year. Last Nov, I took my first mission trip to Juarez, Mexico. Someday, I'd love to go to Haiti!
@alophoto That's wonderful! Missions trips can definitely be life-changing, particularly for those who go. I did a three-week trip to Ethiopia to help me make up my mind about adopting and it did the trick. I was back 11 months later to bring home my oldest daughter (and back again five years later to bring home my youngest). :-)
October 23rd, 2017
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