Jesus Appearance

They say I look like Jesus, but they are the ones ministering to me. This is all I could think about during my last visit to Haiti over the weekend of April 4-8 2013. It is a great privilege to be able to visit a child in a third world country that you send money to. We have sponsored children before through other organizations and would never have been able to visit them. In fact it wasn't even allowed. What a joy to know that through Freedom Global Outreach, visiting is encouraged! It is an honor to be able to write some thoughts down after having visited twice and be able to share them with you all. I am not an expert by any means, but I have eyes that see and ears that hear and have had every question answered by FGO about the ministry that I have asked. And I ask a lot of questions!

The first lesson I learned was on my first trip over New Years 2012-2013. I realized how lazy I had been with our gift bags. Often times putting them together the night after the deadline. To see the happiness on the children's faces when they receive something from someone that cares about them! I never asked what the kids like, what good presents are or anything. I never took the time to print out thoughtful photographs. I didn't think they really cared about us, but boy was I wrong! They LOVE the photos we send! I deleted about 150 photos from my camera of photos they took of photos that YOU sent them! They love candy too! It wasn't until april when Noel showed me some of the things that we had gotten him 4 months before that I understood that they care about us and remember us. All the girls knew who I was because of the photos my mom and sister sent down to their sponsor children. I will always take time, ask questions and be thoughtful about what I put into the bags now. NO MORE PUZZLES or LEGOS! To many pieces to get lost! If you aren't sure what to put in a bag, just ask! And as far as the deadlines go, the ones putting all these bags together and getting them organized are UNPAID! Anything I can do to make their volunteer work easier I will. And that includes getting sponsor bags, letters or returning emails done ASAP! As far as what we get back from the children, it doesn't matter to me. I realize it is very stressful to organize safe passage of what we send to Haiti, it is equally as stressful to have the kids prepare things for us and bring them back. We can print as many photos as we want from those that have visited. I realized that being a sponsor...it's not about me. It's about taking care of the children. They have been through so much already. It is not my place to know everything about their past. What's important is that I show them that I care about them and make an effort to learn about them. Many of the people that have visited would LOVE to share all about their experience with the child you sponsor!

The second thing I learned was about having my sponsorship money in on time. I met Pastor Abraham this April. He oversees the school and the orphanages. I can't begin to write about what an amazing man he is. Words will not do it justice. To me, he's the one that looks like Jesus. And he doesn't have a beard. Humble, grateful, calm, polite, loving and always taking care of the needs of others before himself. I realized that when I am late with a payment, he pays. This is haiti, people just don't have extra money floating around. So when he pays, it takes away from his family. The faith of this man is incredible. If you saw Haiti, and you saw what he is doing for the needs of the Haitian people, you would have no doubt that it is God working through him. So when it comes to paying my monthly dues, they will be on time. Pastor Abraham does not ask us for money, ever. As far as the double sponsorship goes. I think it is a great idea! Even if we solely paid $60, I know the money would go to benefit only the lives of the children at the orphanages. It is very evident where the money goes when you see how well these children are taken care of. Don't think they are in the Ritz though....it's still Haiti, they are still orphans, and they are still kids that require a lot of care! But the FGO team is doing a great job providing food, schooling, basic needs and more importantly, relationships!

For those of you that have been down to visit, you've seen first hand the difference you are making in the lives of these kids, their caretakers, their school teachers and Pastor Abraham and his family. For those that plan on going in the future, I can't wait to hear about your experience. Even if you have no plans of ever visiting, I want you to know from a guy who is not on the leadership team of FGO that they are doing an astounding job taking care of these kids. And to learn that they are all UNPAID is awesome. I have nothing against anyone in this line of work getting paid, but to know that they are all volunteers it makes me want to step up and do my part even more.

And lastly, there is still much work to be done. There is a "law" that has loosely been enforced in Haiti about how much affiliation a child has with the orphanage once they are 18. We need to prepare for life after 18 for these children. Savings accounts need to be set up for college educations, more children will be added to the orphanage due to the added space that has been made available, budget gaps need to be filled and so many other unforeseen expenses. Many hands make light work. So thank you all for all that you do in the giving of your money, time and other resources to make life better for these children! They love you!