God's Children - Haiti Mission Trip Journal Tuesday, January 8, 2013 By Ann Brau - President of Reiser Relief
“The weaker you are, the more gently I approach you.” Psalm 46: 1: Romans 12
Some say Haiti is not for the weak of heart. Many of the things we see are so far out of our realm of comfort that they are difficult for us to wrap our minds around.
This morning, we set off for a visit to Mother Teresa Orphanage, but there was a change of plans and instead, we ended up going to Gertrude’s Orphanage, home to about 50 orphans in Port au Prince. Some of the orphans appeared to be normal, healthy children while others had different ranges of physical and mental disabilities. God’s loving presence helped every person in our group know just what we needed to do for these children. And on our visit to Mother Teresa’s in the afternoon, God’s gentle hand again played a part as we held precious babies and small sick children in our arms.
Both visits were a quandary for me. I know how orphans are carefully protected and placed in loving homes in the United States, and I’m well aware of the many programs that are available for children with every sort of disability in our country. One part of me could say God is being unfair to the Haitian children. But yet, there was a sense of peace in both of the places where we visited and interacted. I realized that sense of peace was coming from God. Our Father was telling them, “The weaker you are, the more gently I approach you.”
Haiti IS a difficult country to understand. It IS a difficult country to walk away from after each visit without a sense of guilt. And it IS a country God holds gently in his arms.