Shayelyn's Blog

Today is our fourth day in Haiti.  We spent the day at the beach, and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.   I did not expect the water to be so clear and blue!  It was a good day to relax and take in everything that we have experienced so far.  Having never been on a plane, out of the country except Canada, and never on a missions trip, it has been very overwhelming, in a good way.  The community here amazes me more and more each day here.  Family here is not just blood, but your friends and neighbors too.  Random people walking down the street jump in to help direct traffic or help a vehicle maneuver the streets.  The love and openness is honestly contagious.  I think the thing that has hit me the most is that they are content and happy no matter what circumstance we have seen so far.  As Americans we were raised to do everything to succeed, which means make as much money as possible or have the most things.  Here in Haiti, material things are nice, but they don’t define a person.  The thing that has hit me the most was being up on the mountain our first day and finding a baby girl with a neurologic disability.  I was told that families here normally place these children in an orphanage instead of taking care of them.  This baby girl was so loved by her parents that they didn’t give up hope, and they came looking for us to help the moment we got there.  There was nothing that we could do, and that crushed me.  However, knowing that they weren’t giving up on her was a gift.  I am falling in love with the beauty of this country and people, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend my first trip out of the country.  Please continue to pray that God moves in and through us during the rest of our time here.  God Bless!

Shayelyn Agnes