Just as I promised.

*the photos below are not in the correct order of occurrence...however these are a few of my favourite shots whilst being in Haiti. So, please, enjoy! 

I fell in love with her perfectly pink lace Sunday dress, and shiny white shoes to match the bobbles in her hair. 

As many of you know, I have done my fair share of traveling and adventuring abroad. However over the past number of years, my journeys seemingly have brought me to the same distant lands; England and Ecuador. Now, please do not misunderstand what I am about to say, I am absolutely in love with those places and the people, which is what brings me back to them each time...however I feel like in some ways, life has become comfortable. I am not challenging myself, nor am I purposely stepping outside of my comfort zone. I used to be someone who 'lived on the edge' and tried new things simply to indulge in new experiences, yet somehow I have slipped into a life of comfort--and living in the 'known'...rather than the 'unknown'.

Ever since I was young I have had a dream list. It is a list that is continually growing as my dreams in life continue to multiply and expand. One of those dreams is to go to countries that start with every letter of the alphabet.  

I have been able to check off a handful of different countries from my list, however I would love to continue to have the list expand and grow as well! As well as being challenged and pulled out of my comfort zone as I humbly experience new places alongside new people. A few years ago, I came across a quote that I mentioned here and it said 'leave home, go as far away as you can, become a stranger in a strange land, and acquire humility'. 

I love that quote. I believe it has so much truth embedded in its simple words. I do know though, that being present where you live is also important as well....but living out life's dreams is a special gift to experience too.

Eyes that melt your soul. 

 This past fall I was asked to help lead a team from a local church on a mission trip to Haiti. Initially I was slightly intimidated and torn, because I had also been asked to join the team I have been a part of for years to go back and serve in Ecuador as well. After much deliberation, heartache, sweat, blood and tears (ok maybe that was a little dramatic....maybe just after much deliberation, heartache and tears) I felt like Haiti was where I was supposed to be.

Strolling in style

 After several months of planning and preparation, twelve of us drove down to Boston, hopped on a plane and made our way to Haiti.

Something beautifully unique about our team was that everyone of the youth on the team were friends. Now, I have been a part of many teams over the years, but this one was the most cohesive tight-knit group I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. I have loved being a part of the multiple mission teams that I was a part of in the past decade, however somehow this one was different. There was a level of intimacy and knowing of one another which was beautiful.

We as a team, interlaced like lines in poetry.

I felt tremendously privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of such a close group of people working alongside one another in love and humility as we were integrated in a new culture. As much as we all knew and loved one another before we went, there was a new-found level of knowingness we experienced as we served and loved the Haitians as well as one another. We all have different skills and abilities and lived them out alongside each other, knowing that what we had to offer was just as important and valuable as the next person. We held tight to the knowledge that God has designed each and every one of us uniquely and beautifully, giving us gifts and abilities to further His Kingdom, and being who God has made us to be was enough.

Captivating. 

 Our first six days in Haiti were spent at a Haitian-run orphanage called Heart-2-Heart in a small coastal town called Grande Goave.

I greatly recommend going and checking out their website and hearing their story of how H2H started. But for those of you who do not feel like dancing around the internet today, I will give you a little bit of a back-story for the orphanage.

the three amigos 

 In the early 90's Pastor Luc and his wife were living in Grande Goave. He was an associate pastor of a local church. Within the church there was a little school that had started, as well as there were about 60 children living at the church who either had been orphans or economic orphans (meaning the parents were still alive, but could not afford to support and care for their child--so they send their children to orphanages to be cared for). When the pastor of the church died, his family told Pastor Luc the children, the church congregation and the school had to evacuate the church immediately...leaving a school and 60 children on the street.

brilliant greens 

 Pastor Luc and his wife had 6 kids of their own, however the cared for the children in the orphanage, so they brought them home. Now, let me tell you, nearly 70 children seem like a large number in a great-open space however, the home the children moved into was a very humble two room house, with one toilet and one shower. It was cramped and cozy, but for years they made it work. It was so great hearing Pastor Luc talk about the times when everyone was squished in their little home. Mike, the pastor of the church group we went down with had the privilege of going and spending time with H2H 17 years ago, and he lived in the cramped house/church/school/orphanage for a few months with all of the kids and Pastor Luc and his family.

It was so fun hearing Mike and Luc reminiscing over their months together all those years ago. We also were able to meet some of the people who grew up in the home during this time, and were able to see where they are in life now, what their families look like and how their time in Heart-2-Heart changed their lives in incredible ways.

florals and blue skies

 In the mid 90's a sponsorship program started for the children in H2H so that Pastor Luc and his wife didn't need to support the children on their own. After a few years of growing support becoming more well known, Pastor Luc had enough money to buy a property just outside of the village.

The first thing he did when he gained possession of the property was dig a well for the community. He wanted people to know that they were a part of the heart-2-heart community...which I believe is a beautiful notion of what community should look like..what Kingdom life should look like.

little ones 

 Over the years they have built a church, a school, living accommodations for the boys and the girls, a guest house as well as homes for some in the community who cannot look after themselves. The community it is truly beautiful to experience to be a part of.  Now, there are over 115 children living in the compound, and over 500 attend the school every day.

The desire for the youth in Heart-2-Heart is to provide a home, food and love to each of the children living in their care. Each child has a mentor within the compound, someone who will make sure they are washing up properly, that their homework is done, that they are in bed on time, and getting the TLC they need. The older kids look out for the younger kids, and everyone looks out for one another. Each night Pastor Luc sings and prays with the kids, reminding each of them what they need to be thankful for as well as how they have been blessed by God in their community.

an over exposed shot of a tender moment

 The goal and hope for each of the kids is that they remain in the support Heart-2-Heart until they are finished university, so that they have the education and support they need to succeed.. and once they are finished school, they then go back to their communities to rebuild and share their gifts and abilities creating a sustainable community.

hustle and bussle 

 I am not sure what the numbers are in other orphanages in Haiti. However in H2H, 80% of the children in the orphanage are economic orphans. They have parents, they have families, yet their families cannot afford to support them. So Pastor Luc has made a deal with them, that if they can pay $3/year he will take their children and feed them, educate them and care for them. The parents are able to come and visit whenever they want, but they just knew that they couldn't provide the same opportunities for their children as they deserve and need. 20% of the kids have no family, and are true orphans, however everyone is treated the same in H2H and everyone is offered the same opportunities and TLC.

tranquil

 It was blown away by the passion and the drive by those who live and serve in Grande Goave. They grasped faith in a way I have yet to experience. Yes, I have faith...but not like that. They trust God in a way I never have. I trust God, but I feel like in some ways my faith is so small in comparison to the faith they have. They get what the Kingdom of God is about, and that is beautiful to witness..and experience.

my morning glory

 Love; from the centre of who you are don't fake it. Love the Lord your God, Love your neighbour as yourself...simply love. live. and live amidst others in community..

boy in blue

 There were times when our team would meet and chat about what we were experiencing, what we were seeing, what was challenging, what was growing, what was good, bad etc..and there were times that our conversations were so good, I would well up (me not being a huge crier) because I was just so blown away by the minds of those around me..the amount of love and passion they had for the people we were living amidst...the things God was revealing to them about life, the world, and themselves..it was beautiful.

mangos

One day, we were chatting about our purpose in life..how often we compare ourselves to those around us, and wish we were like them or that we felt what we had to offer wasn't good enough. When in reality, we each are made uniquely and beautifully, with purpose and abilities that are specifically ours to offer the world. A reference was made to the Mango tree out on our patio...how it is made to produce mango-fruit, and how it is amazing at producing just what it was made to do! We simply need to be who we were made to be, and do that well, not constantly comparing our abilities to others and diminishing them as being insignificant....that is disregarding ourselves as significant gifted creations!

sharing sunnies

 For me, it was an amazing opportunity to look around and see how God was using others in their own abilities and gifts...and snapping photos of those beautiful moments others were having--and that was something I was doing to use the gift of art and capturing beauty through the lens of a camera I have been blessed with.. I have an eye for noticing the small things...the little moments...so I used my abilities to capture moments in still frame for others to enjoy as well.

riverside companion 

 Due to my extremely limited language abilities I grasped onto the things I could do well...which were to sit and be present with people (making an effort to learn language), to creatively capture moments with my camera, and to encourage those around me to continue to be who they were made to be.

snoozing and sunning 

 I feel like I was able to see things in a different light.. I noticed the small things in ways I haven't in years! (i believe university has buried my creativity, and i'm only now just beginning to dig it out...after being hidden for four years)

a little show-off time

 I never have brought my camera with me to Ecuador due to sand getting into absolutely everything and the possibility of having it 'disappear' is pretty high...but I was asked to bring my camera with me this time so I took advantage of being one of the only people with a camera on the team, and I used it as my 'in' with the kids...they absolutely love having their picture taken, and they will show off for hours to then run up and see what they look like in the screen afterward! It is great!

hanging out on the toyota 

 *This photo below is actually part of the wall from the original Heart-2-Heart home we went to see one day...and I thought it was quite fitting that the walls of the home match the heart of the mission.

heart-2-heart

Being down in the south was such a treat from the bitter cold winter we have been experiencing here in the Northern part of the world right now....

a little detail

 There were SO many fruit trees scattered around the property..these mini-apple-cherry fruits, coconut trees, copious mango trees, banana trees, orange trees, 'bread-fruit trees' (when those things fall, they could do some serious damage). Whenever you heart a mango fall onto the roof, or hit the ground the kids would run like crazy to find where it was, so they could eat up the fresh mangos and share them with their friends. It was so great! Sometimes at night time, the kids would bring me a mango that had just fallen so that I could have a bed time snack it was so sweet. We would open it up, and I would share it with them..because really, they needed it more than I did!

perfection

 I know in life we are not supposed to pick favourites...however I may have had a few favourite kids I would spend time with on a daily basis. This guy, Mackinson is one of the boys who I found myself taking a liking to. Look at that smile, how can you NOT love that face? He and I hit it off, playing jokes on one another, and helping each other communicate in the other person's language...it was great.

hanging out with the goat

 I sat and stole a few moments to myself each morning before diving full-force into the chaos below...and I would watch the sun come up over the neighbours fields, and shine in through the mango trees. It was absolutely breath-taking.

'sunshine won't you be my mother..'

 On the compound there were a few dogs..and one of them who our team had decided to name Patsy, had puppies! On one of our first days at H2H we were sitting having dinner when one of the dogs snuck in, and Rebecca who lives there was saying 'leave' in kreyol to the dog, however it sounds very similar to 'Patsy' in english. So as a result, the team all started calling the dog Patsy..and from then on every dog was named Patsy. Her puppies we SO cute! I normally am able to keep my distance from furry creatures in southern places...but these ones were just too cute not to cuddle.

the cutest furry face

 Can you not blame me? I mean look at them!

a duo cute enough to melt you 

 These two dudes below 'my two' were special enough to be the new owners of my very special rings which I have had for years. Initially they both took my rings...but then I began to like them so much that I let them keep the rings (bag in kreyol). Mackinson (red) had my wave ring from when I lived in England, and Fritson (blue) had the ring a friend gave me in Ecuador nearly a decade ago. My hands feel naked without the rings now..since I have worn them every single day since I got them..however having the picture of these two, knowing they have them make it all okay!

my boys...

 We went to the market one day and picked up treats for the kids! Sugarcane and chip snacks! It was so much fun getting to celebrate with special snacks with the kids! Sugarcane is delicious too! Mmmmmmmm sweet sugarcane!

a princess munching on cheezies and sugarcane

My first sugarcane experience! 

snuggles with the cutest little boy

 This little guy ^ he never liked to wear pants...so he was always running around with his little bare bum showing. He was just too cute! I struggled with learning some of the names because I had never heard of them before...so this one, to remember his name I made a rhyme calling him Bumsley, when his real name is Comsly, because it was just so fitting!

a cheeky stare into the soul

 On our last day at Heart-2-Heart we went out at recess time to say goodbye to all of the kids, and they were all so excited to have their pictures taken! They may not look it in this picture below..however they got so excited to be in the photo--then i'd take it--they'd frown--then they would scream in excitement calling out 'mwen mwen' me me  when they saw images of themselves on the screen! It was so much fun!

a sea of faces

 This little face may be the cutest thing I have seen in ages. He was pure badness but oh so cute!

possibly the cutest kid 

 Lush. Tropical. Mountains. Haiti is beautiful. Especially the countryside and man oh man did I ever love being able to experience life, becoming a stranger in a strange land, and put in a place of pure humility to live and learn alongside such wise, huge-hearted people.

Haitian layers