Birthdays are difficult for some people but for me they have always been a time to reflect and thank God for the many blessings He has given me in the past year. Especially since I crossed the 48 year old mark. Each year is a GIFT from Him and I realize and celebrate that. I strive to honor Him with my life in general, but even more as I age. You see, my own mother passed away at age 48 from a massive heart attack. It was totally unexpected and I was 27 years old with my first baby (who was 8 weeks old to the day when my mom passed). She was a strong Christian woman and I have no doubt she is with Jesus, but I still miss her every day of my life and think about her so often.
There is nothing like the love a mother has for her child which is why I can relate to the plight of the mothers in Haiti and the many economic orphans. I can not even begin to imagine that feeling when you leave your child at an orphanage simply because you feel you can't give them what they need. Unfortunately, what most mothers do not realize when they do this is that they are trading one need for another. Yes, their child will now receive the food, clothing, and education they may not be able to provide. BUT, their child will often become one of many others at the orphanage and, thus, will lose the nurturing, love, mentoring, etc. his/her own mother could give- not to mention a sense of belonging.
That is the case at the orphanage we work with in Haiti. Some of the children are surrendered as mentioned above, some are rescued from being domestic servants, some ran away from abusive environments, and more. But they all have one thing in common. They need to know they are loved. They are special. They have a purpose. And God has not forgotten them! After 26 years I still pick up the phone from time to time to call and tell my mom something or think back upon the things she taught me growing up. (that was especially true when raising my own children)
We are in the process of hiring women to care for the children at the orphanage in Port au Prince and to serve as mommies to the children. They will be trained in child care for emotionally scarred children and how to deal with victims of abuse as well as other things. They will be responsible for doing the things a biological mommy would which are far too numerous to list. Most importantly, they will be a constant in the lives of these children and will provide a person for the children to trust, confide in, and build relationships with. These women we hire will be pouring into much more than this generation they will directly work with as well. How many times have you said, "Wow- I just sounded like my mother!"? They will teach the girls at the orphanage things about how to parent in a healthy way and that will continue for generations to come.
But, we can not do this program alone. We need people to partner with us as we move forward. We need individuals and/or groups to sponsor the salaries of the women monthly. Just like the women will be providing things for the children, YOU can provide financially for the women. While we anticipate the monthly salary for our women to be around $150 US, we are asking for any regular financial commitment. All donations will be put together into a fund from which salaries will be paid to the women.
This brings me to my birthday wish.... My wish this year is that we will get the "mommy program" FULLY FUNDED by the end of September! (my birthday is the 15th) We have some who have committed already but are still quite far from our monthly goal of $1200.
Will you pray about regularly supporting this program? I am also looking for groups to talk to and present this opportunity so if you know of a Bible Study, Sunday School, church, etc. that would benefit from this presentation, I would be more than happy to talk to them.
Contact us at heartsunitedwithhaiti@gmail.com for more information or to express your interest in a presentation. Thank you in advance for investing in the lives of these orphans! God bless!
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