Reunited!

Last night we FINALLY found Jean Bernard!  For those of you who do not know, he is an orphan my very first team in the summer of 2010 found living on the streets and helped out with school, lodging, etc... for a few months.  However, like many street children, he didn't like living in a family setting with rules, didn't like having to go to school regularly, and other structure.  So he would often run away.  We would track him down, find someone to keep him, offer to help them with expenses and the cycle would repeat itself.  Then, in May of 2012 when we had a team in Carrefour he showed up complaining of pain in his groin.  Praise God it was a medical team and they were able to examine him.  After examination, they concluded he had both an inguinal hernia and an umbilical one.  God provided the finances and doctors needed to get him surgery quickly and I was blessed to be able to extend my stay in Haiti for two weeks to care for him prior, during his hospital stay and a bit during recovery.  I left Haiti that year in early June and said goodbye to Jean Bernard thinking he would be staying with his aunt.  BUT, when I returned later in July I found he had run away once again and we have spent the past year and a half searching and asking for him.  Praise God last night we finally followed up on a tip that lead us to him and I had about an hour visit with him!  He now knows where our base is and when I will return with a team (December) so he will be able to keep in touch.

It was pure joy to hear his (now manly/deep) voice, to have him sit with his hand on mine and to have him keep hugging me over and over and over.  :-)  :-)  We gave him a soccer ball, some food, and some other things including a hygiene kit but he said he needs clothes.  I had some here but didn't anticipate it being so long until I saw him and how much he would grow. (12 year old boys do that!)  He is not in school- he said because he doesn't have his birth certificate to enroll.  The family he is staying with provides him with 3 meals a day but he has to sleep in a tent in the yard with two other boys- both a little older than him.  He said he has to do a lot of the chores for them.  I explained that they are providing food for him though and a safe place to live but he needs to get back into school.  I highly doubt this will happen since he told Redgi and me that he enjoys the fact that once his chores are done he can just hang out with his buddies and play soccer all day.

Please join us in prayer for Jean Bernard.  Pray that he will be safe and that he will come to realize the value of education and that rules/structure are part of life.  Pray he will come to know Jesus as his savior and that he will realize how much God loves him and has protected him all these years and that his life is valuable.  Pray that we can continue to interact with him (and maybe those who care for him) in the future.  Praise God for the way we have been able to provide for him thus far - with the surgery, foster families, education, clothes, food, etc...