Haiti Orphange Essay, Research Paper

I do not like kids. So why I decided that I had a calling to go to an orphanage in Haiti to build a school, I still have not quite figured out. Children have always been a minor annoyance to me, with their constant chatter and energy. Often I have thought that had children in our society been taught better manners, perhaps they would not get me agitated so quickly. I spent many sleepless nights wondering why I had decided to go to an orphanage. I was sure that the children would be exactly like the ones here in the States, only poor, black, and parentless. As the day drew closer for us to leave for boot camp my apprehensions grew.

Two weeks before my team was scheduled to head off to Haiti for the summer, we went to what was called The Lord s Boot Camp. The thought of it made my stomach somewhat queasy only because I knew I was not physically in shape and the thought of going through a military style boot camp before leaving on a mission trip just blew my mind.

The intensity of boot camp kept my mind off of the approaching trip overseas. We were kept so busy learning how to build with bricks and mortar, saw and piece together wood, cook, tie steel, and work as a team that my edginess about heading to an orphanage for a month and a half soon wore off. Graduation day from The Lord s Boot Camp came quickly and it was then time for my team to head to Haiti. Everyone s nerves quickly became frazzled as we boarded the bus that would take us to Miami International Airport.

Actual flight time in the air was only about an hour and fifteen minutes, which came as a surprise to us all. It was a definite comfort to know that we were that close to US territory if something were to happen. At the time we were going, there had been a number of riots happening in Port-au-Prince and a hesitation to let us go was obvious. Everyone was nervous to be going over to this unstable third world country and none of us new what to expect.

The smell of raw sewage overwhelmed our nostrils, having been carried by a humid breeze that was flowing around us as we stepped off the airplane. People engulfed us in hopes of getting money or food. Many tried to take our bags for us, in hopes of keeping them. we wondered, as we ventured from the airport towards the bus that would carry us to the orphanage, what we were getting into. little did we know that someone s heart would be forever captured and changed.

The children, upon our arrival to the orphanage, were just getting over the chicken pox. Because the virus was a strain different than what we were prone to, we were urged not to come in contact with the children. This forbiddening was quite difficult to obey, despite the fact that I do not like children. These children were different. Had special needs and wants and we were there to meet them. What happened over the course of the next couple weeks would forever change lives.