Back in January, I traveled to Haiti to help with a team from the U.S. as they worked on a service project and ministered to the children at the Regency Children’s Home. I’m excited to share some excerpts from the journal I kept during my trip.
Sunday, January 26th
The team and I headed to the Children’s Home with two translators. When we got there, we went inside to see all the children. They were so excited to see us. We ended up hanging out with them and waiting for them to eat. It is unbelievable to see 100+ kids eat and what the staff has to go through to feed them. They ate rice with meat and a sauce and every kid ate everything in their bowl. No waste at all.
After they ate, one of our team members along with the help of the translators put on a VBS. The rest of us helped. The craft consisted of drawing on 4 pieces of paper, telling their story in crayon, and then stapling the pieces into a book. Some of the students did a really nice job. I was handing out paper and was the official stapler. I met more kids and got the translator to help me have conversations with them. I ran into a rambunctious little boy I nicknamed “Handful”, and had a neat conversation with a 9-year old named Benny.
It was during this time that I got a text from my son asking me if I had heard about Kobe [my trip took place during the accident that took the life of Kobe Bryant and 8 other passengers]. I told him I hadn’t heard and was shocked when he told me that he was killed. Being a life-long Laker fan and appreciating Kobe’s talent and enjoying the championships, it was surreal. I waited to tell the others because I didn’t want to interrupt the VBS, but I couldn’t help but think about the very different life that Kobe had from the 15 year old orphans that I was watching. These are athletic looking boys and I am sure have some physical talent. They will never leave Haiti and probably it will be some time before they leave the Home. They are happy and are safe (majority of the children have been rescued from slavery) and have a shot in this Home to learn a trade.
Wiley Kennedy serves as Director of International Ministries with Connect 2 Ministries. To learn more about Wiley, visit Who We Are, and to learn how you can make a difference, visit Join the Impact.
