Day 10: Heading home

I leave Haiti today.

I’m sure it will never leave me.

I’ve seen too much, felt too much. I will think of this place often. More importantly, I will think of its people often.

A village puppy

Just another day in the village for one boy

There have been, to be certain, some horrible, unimaginable parts of Haiti — the poverty, the diseases, the hunger. I’ll think of those things, too, serving as reminders as to how fortunate I am in my life and how wonderful a country the United States really is.

Peeking around a car

Peeking around a corner

Above all, else, though, I’ll think of the humanity I found here. The kids, as I’ve mentioned in previous updates, are amazing. Their singing, their smiles, their handshakes, their hugs — everything about them made each day better, and it will be difficult to go back to a place where kids are (rightfully so) afraid of strangers.

“Won’t let Satan blow it out … this little light of mine”

Coloring with kids

It’s already been difficult saying goodbye. I said personal farewells to a few of the friends I’ve made here, giving them some clothes to help in the days ahead. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

They’ve given back to me, too. One villager, Gustave, who is about my height, sat with me after I gave him a pair of khaki pants and a dress shirt. Through an interpreter, he wished me a safe return — both in terms of arriving back in Kentucky and, eventually, coming back to Haiti.

“You are here from God,” he told me. “I prayed for you to arrive, and you arrived.”

I had no words.

I still don’t.

Thank you, Haiti.

All smiles