Day 3: Ou Belle

The second I walked into the Home for Sick and Dying Babies, I sensed that these children desperately needed God's love. And I made my mission to do so. The first day of our missionary practice, I was asked what I wanted to be shown by God this coming week, and I answered in prayer with this: keep me out of my comfort zone. At home, I had gotten so used to my repetitive routine that I wanted a change. I wanted my eyes to be opened by even the slightest act of God. And today did just this...

The first boy I saw--as I walked into the room--reached his short and innocent arms to my torso. I picked him up, and immediately was warmed in my heart by the incredibly genuine smile he exchanged with me. "This is love," I thought. If he can put a smile on his face in these conditions, anyone can be happy. Today I pondered the thought of, "Why do I complain and worry about the smallest things, while these children, in their incredibly harsh circumstances, can be happy by just simply being held?"

God has been working in me these past few days to show me what I need more of, and what I need less of. He has guided me to love these children with all my heart. I have lived in the moments, embraced the moments, and enjoyed the moments of God teaching me to be his hands and feet. To serve the people of Haiti with the raw love and joy of the Lord.

With this in mind, I saw a little girl named Cedanielle sitting on the warm tile of an empty room, alone. She had looked incredibly malnurished, and completely frail. She appeared to be two years old, but she was actually a whopping six years old. I had wondered where God would go if he were me, and I felt that this was the place, this was the girl he wanted me to love unconditionally. I extened my hand to her little fingers, and she curled her hands around my pointer fingers. She had a dry scalp that looked like she had been uncomfortable with, so I lifted her up, and gently rubbed her head that was laying against my persperating chest. She felt warm and fragile. I wanted to squeeze her so tightly, but I simply sat down with her against my chest as she strattled me comfortably. I saw thin droplets of sweat dripping from her head, so I let her down for her to cool off. She looked up at me with her large and captivating brown eyes, as I looked at her with my somber blue eyes. I bent down to her, and said, "Ou Belle." This word means "you're beautiful" in Creole. It almost looked as though she had never heard his phrase in her life. She lit up the room with her smile, as I saw the beauty of her rotten teeth. This was the first time I had seen her smile the whole day, and I held her for abuot an hour. This moment. This smile. This girl. All of this was God showing me, that by a simple act of love and kindess, we can make someone so little put a smile on their face that seemed bigger than everyones smile there. 

On her wristband showed the date of 29/07/16. This was the day she was admitted to the Home of Sick and Dying, and this was one of my best friends birthay date. It is crazy how one could have their 18th birthday on the day a beautiful little girl could be admitted to the Home for Sick and Dying on the same day. I have learned to show compassion to everyone and everything. This just comes to show that we are all the same, and we all deserve the love that God wants to give. God Bless.   -Morgan Marxer