Good morning and Happy Monday once again to you. This might be your first time visiting this blog. If so, welcome to Day 4 of my journey to Haiti. We have all been given great gifts to do incredible things. I hope that you use your skillset this week and change the world. Enjoy the read. The next post will be on November 2, 2015.
Day 4…August 10th, 2015
The day has come, the night has fallen, and all those that are around me are down for the count. I can chalk it up as another successful day that was action packed filled with bible study, “real life talk”, projects and play.
The team divided and conquered again today ready to engage with these children. Activities were abundant ranging from bowling to bucket races to hand and card games to dancing and singing. Our team also was able to partake in some projects around the orphanage in efforts to clean up and fix up some items that were in need of some attention.
I won’t go into detail about every activity. I know that I get long winded. So, I will share the high level take-a-way. These children make use of EVERYTHING and appear to truly LOVE EVERYTHING. Give them a nail and they will make a dart board. Provide them an empty water bottle and rocks and you have yourself your very own bowling pin. Take an empty wash bucket with wheels and you have yourself a make shift go-cart for races. Give them a hug and their smiles are enough to light up the world. Amazing, right?
I think about all of the “things” that I have been blessed with back home. Breaking it down, it truly is something to reflect on. I mean I can only speak for myself but…I work as hard as I can to ‘provide’ in every step of the imagination. I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to excel for personal and monetary reward. In turn, I am always seeking the “next thing”.
When did this mind shift happen? Did it happen “big boy” responsibilities started to fall on my shoulders? Did it happen at “I do”? Did it happen after Rylee came into the world and the diaper bills started to rack up? Did it take another step with the birth of Hudson? Has it always been in me and I just never acknowledged it? I have no clue but the honest reality is I have gotten caught up in it and I didn’t even realize it.
There is a question that I have to ask myself. Do I really need all of this stuff? This really hard which should be easy question has plagued my mind since I got to the orphanage. Honestly, do I really need a ball for each kid to play with? Do I really need a set of hockey sticks for inside the house and another for outside the house? Do I need a new car or do I want a new car? Anyone reading this can shift these questions to their own world and their own things. The idea remains the same and the answer is pretty simple and these kids are living proof of how easy the answer is.
The answer is obviously “no”. I/we don’t need any of this stuff rather we do need to be thankful for EVERYTHING that we are provided. It is something I already know the answer to but it took an 8 year old rolling a rock into water bottles filled with rocks (bowling) and a 10 year old pushing his buddy down a concrete slab in an empty bucket with wheels for me to remember it.
I have said it countless times since I got here that these children are teaching me more about life than I can I ever teach them. I am truly blessed and go to bed with a racing mind and a thankful heart.
