Haiti: A Year Later

January 12, 2010. I sat on my couch with tear filled eyes, unable to believe what I was seeing as images of horror began to flicker across every news station. A small country already in turmoil shaken so violently that we all knew. Thousands upon thousands of lives had been lost. Families already living in extreme poverty had no where to go. Already overflowing orphanages had fallen with the infrastructure. And in the blink of an eye, more children became orphans. For days I sat there every chance I got, almost in a daze, obsessed with the information coming from Haiti. Not since the tsunami had I been so desperate to run into the disaster of a land unknown to me to do something, anything, to help.

As the weeks passed we wanted to find a way to help. Other than financially supporting our favorite organizations that were sending emergency relief to Haiti, we also wanted to be hands on and prayed for a way. We thought maybe even AAB could play a small role in the lives of Haitian orphans following this disaster. But it wasn't to be.

Through the year my heart has remained heavy for those still suffering in Haiti.

January 11, 2011. The night before "A Year Ago Today..." plays out in the media tomorrow, I sit here preparing that still heavy heart for my trip to Haiti.

On Feb. 24 I will travel to Haiti on a mission trip with our church and Global Orphan Project. We will be working with children in the Leogane village and children living in other orphanages throughout the area.

This is not an AAB trip, but it will be beneficial to the operation of AAB.

I am so excited about being led on a mission trip outside of Guatemala by people far more experienced than me. I have never been on an international mission trip outside of Guatemala and I have never been on a mission trip where I wasn't the team leader. It feels a little strange to be six weeks from traveling and having nothing to do but wait, pack and meet the rest of our team at the airport. This is going to be interesting and I'm pretty sure...amazing.

I can't wait to be filled with more knowledge. Seeing extreme poverty in another country first hand and spending time with these children while learning from more experienced directors and ministry leaders will help us be more effective in Guatemala.

More than that, I can't wait to wrap my arms around the precious children of Haiti. A year later.