Haiti Mission Possible: Day 7 (Beautifully Yours)

“No I am not dressed up and yet I’m beautifully yours; cause I’m showing my praise to you.  And this is no vain pursuit, and there’s no need to be cute, I’m a beautiful soul in you.   
When I appear to complain, all this world brought me was pain, I was left to love myself.   
But when I looked in your mirror, Lord I saw things much clearer I’m wonderful in your sight.
Beautifully yours, your love from inside me pours, there is no average or ugly in me…”

Those are a few lyrics from a song called “Beautifully Yours” written by my friend Hakeem. I’ve loved this song from the first time he Iet me hear it, and I often listen to it as a reminder of the beauty all of us have in God’s eyes. Today I want to reflect and talk about some of the people I’ve met during my time in Haiti thus far. There have been so many great people with beautiful stories that I’ve encountered here in Haiti; these are a few of their stories.

Denny – is a 6-year old Haitian boy who lives in the rescue center. He was born with hydrocephalus (a condition that retains water in the brain); the condition takes on many different forms in various children depending on how quickly the condition is detected and operated on. Denny was about 2 years old when his family abandoned him at the gates of the rescue center. A team of doctors from the University of Miami and various philanthropic organizations banded together to perform the surgery of Denny, but it had been untreated for far too long, which caused Denny to have an abnormally large head from all the water swelling. He can live a long life with proper care and so long as the shunt does not shift; if it shifts, he can die instantly. He’s lived in the rescue center since he was left here 4 years ago; the clinic has not sent him to an orphanage because of his condition, but they have tried to work with various orphanages to try to get him adopted; there have been many initial interest about adopting him, but for one reason or another those proceedings have fell through. He has such a magnetic personality and seems to have taken a liking to me (although I’m sure he wouldn’t mind anyone who would shower him with love and attention). I give him as much love as I can on my short stops at the rescue center daily. Despite his physical deformity, he’s beauty shines through every time he smiles.

Yves – is a RHFH staff who does random odd jobs around the facility and basically serves as a right-hand to Zack (the ministry patriarch). Yves was born and raised in Haiti, and has worked for Real Hope For Haiti (RHFH) for a quite a while; he is faithful and has an infectious personality though he is shy and quite. I’ve chatted with him a few times (I’m been practicing my Creole so much since I’ve been here). The thing that strikes me the most about Yves is that he seems to think he is not good enough to interact with our team because he is a RHFH worker. A few of us were taking a ride the jobsite and there was room in the truck’s cab, but he stayed outside the cab’s cage and held on to the outside, we asked him to come on in and he said he couldn’t because he was just an employee. After a few more pleads, he agreed to come in and sat off to the side. I think that was my first time holding an entire conversation with him; we talked about our families and discussed various topics surrounding Haiti, the earthquake and his hopes for the future. If you ask Yves if he thinks he is beautiful, he’ll probably say no because he’s focused on the outward beauty, but I say his beauty is his wisdom and his willingness to be of service. He has a warm spirit that puts all at ease; and that beauty beats out any outward appearance any day.

Jess – is a college student from Minnesota who decided to come to Haiti as a volunteer to RHFH after finding their blog and donating supplies and goods to their storage distribution center in Minnesota after the earthquake. She contacted the ministry and asked about volunteering and arrived here in May after her semester was over and will be here through the summer. I think back to what I was doing during my summer term at 21 years-old, and it comes nowhere near the level of compassion and willingness to serve that she displays. At such a young age, she recognized a need and immediately answered the call. Her heart is amazingly beautiful, and is meeting a specific need with such joy in her heart.


These are just a few of the people I had the chance to interact with since being here. They all radiate beauty in such unique ways, which makes me wonder how I exude beauty in my everyday life…