Meyers/Cornerstone Day 6

Greetings from Haiti…Today we visited 2 orphanages, Dios and Monfort. Dios is an orphanage for special needs children and Monfort is for deaf children. As always, we think we are going to go and bless the children, which hopefully we do. But in reality, it is both them and US who are blessed! Whenever we are obedient to Christ and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, we can rest-assured that the blessings WILL flow…I especially liked communicating with the deaf children using the dry-erase boards. I played tic-tac-toe and complete-the-square with several of the children. A lot of the children wrote their names on the boards and knew English. They absolutely LOVED having their pictures taken, and of course, we HAD to show each one of them their picture! The special needs children did not seem to let their disabilities hinder them in any way…They enjoyed kicking the soccer ball around, wheel-chairs and all!!! One little boy really went to town on the maracas. Huge smiles and hugs prevailed in both orphanages. Before visiting the orphanages, we went to Kwadebouke Metal Mart. Here local artists specializing in metal created beautiful art. We were able to support them by buying our families and friends Christmas gifts. The verses that came to my mind today were Matthew 25:44-45 which says “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” That tells me I need to be deliberate in my obedience. I guess my challenge tonight for both myself and anyone reading this is the following: who is “the least of these?” and what can we do to be obedient? -Ramona

Today was absolutely AMAZING! We got to visit the metal mart, a deaf orphanage, and a special needs orphanage! The artists that sold the metal were extremely talented and so excited to see us. The orphans at the deaf orphanage were so smart and spoke very good English. We took white boards to write on, and I had multiple conversations with different orphans in English! I was very excited to see God answer my prayer about language barriers. At the special needs orphanage, everyone was so excited to see us and interact with us, it was amazing! Today was a phenomenal day and I am so blessed to be here this week doing what God has called me to do! Thank you for all your prayers and support! -Sidney

It never ceases to amaze me the relationships that can be built in such a short time! Ramona and Sidney did a fabulous job of summarizing our day. We did have a wonderful time at the metal market and at the deaf orphanage. When we arrived at the special needs orphanage, I immediately remembered my previous experience and really wanted to duplicate that. The previous experience included singing and playing guitar and experiencing worship. It was beautiful and wonderful. This time we did not bring a guitar or a keyboard. We brought many other activities so I knew my experience would be different. For the first ½ to ¾ I truly wondered what I was doing. I was not drawn to a child and didn’t have one latched on to me. I wandered and spent short amounts of time with several. The next thing I knew, there were 2 children coming down the wheelchair ramp. One was pushing another in a wheelchair. The moment my eyes saw her, they were drawn to her. I wandered over and started interacting with her. I would tickle her and her face would light up. I decided to pick her up out of her wheelchair and sit down on the ground with her. When I did that, little did I know that she could walk! I lifted her to her feet to do a little weight bearing and she started turning circles. When her legs became fatigued, she would sit on my leg. She would stand and lean into me and we would rub cheeks. It was a beautiful thing. Another team member, the only guy on our trip, came over and sat down. The precious little girl stood up and began walking (truly almost running) to him. Her face lit up with a huge smile and their cheeks would rub. She would turn back around and walk back to me with the same routine and excitement as before. At one point and time, we locked foreheads and the beautiful moment of true connection happened. She stole my heart right then and there! She did several more “laps” back and forth and at the end had the hugest smile. The male team member wandered off and I picked up this precious gift from the Lord. We danced and sang and played together. The time came to put her back in her wheelchair and she became stiff as a board. The connection that we had in such a short time was absolutely beautiful and so strong. I called our driver over and he helped me to put her back into her wheelchair. I made sure to tell her I loved her and that Jesus loved her. My time was done with her for this trip. I am so grateful for the blessing of getting to know this precious child of God’s. The impact that she has made on my heart is one I will never forget. Her beautiful smile and signs of affection have impacted my life in so many ways. The Lord is good and faithful, and I am so blessed by this beautiful girl. Keep your eyes open as you never know what God has in store for you and who you are to bless! Don’t underestimate the power of a shared smile or laughter. You may just change the life of a person for eternity! -Stephanie