Speaking a universal language in Haiti

As our team arrived at the Port-Au-Prince airport, I couldn't help but notice the darkness surrounding us. This country is still hurting, still broken, and still yearning for a glimpse of hope in the destruction of the earthquake nearly two years ago. My heart grew weary, knowing there was no way we could help all of them. We were only 13 people, and the nation of Haiti needs a God-sized miracle.

Miranda Moon, a student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, on a GoNowMissions assignment in Haiti, with new friend. (Photos by Coley Taylor)

We piled into the van and began our drive through Port-Au-Prince to the house of Pastor Jean Alix. Along the way, we saw many people displaced and living in tent cities, many buildings still on the ground, and people still roaming the streets, searching for hope in voodoo, and looking for any valuable things they might find as they walk.

The first day that we got to go into the village of Guibert, my heart was touched as I saw the school children in their precious blue uniforms, and I saw the faces of the 32 boys who live in the boys' home. When we first got there and were gathered as a team, my teammate Jeff picked up one of the boys, named Mackenlay. As soon as Jeff put him down, Mackenlay ran into my arms and gave me the biggest hug a 4-year-old can give. I could've held him all day. That was the moment I knew that it was all worth it. God is so ever-present in Haiti, and his hand constantly was felt in the village of Guibert. God's love in those people made me feel at home. As we began our tasks, which ranged from cleaning a storage room to pouring concrete, my heart knew that I was supposed to be there.

At the end of our work, we got our first opportunity to really meet the boys. Each person on our team was just surrounded with love, laughter and hugs. In Haiti, the people speak Creole/French, and with only one person on our team who knew how to speak one of those languages, the language barrier was the biggest difficulty we faced. But to me, it didn't matter because of the universal languages that exist—play, love and laughter.

As the week continued, we took on new tasks, such as sanding and bleaching horrifying amounts of mold off the ceiling and walls of thelittle boys' room; mixing, pouring and passing buckets of concrete to create new walls and columns in the central room of the orphanage; and painting the new storage building and the little boys' room. We knew little thing that we did was going to make a positive impact in the lives of the boys and in the kingdom of God.

On Sunday, we were blessed with the opportunity to worship at the church in Guibert where Jean Alix is pastor. We discovered the beauty of worship is another universal language. We all worship one God, one Creator, one King, through song, dance, prayer and lifestyle. The presence of God in the church there was amazing. We couldn't help but to join our Haitian friends in making a joyful noise to God.

The next day, we finished the boys' room and began begin moving the 14 "little" boys' (ages 4-12) things into their room. Since the earthquake, they have been sharing beds and rooms with the older boys, and that didn't really leave much room for anything else. Three of these boys also finally got a room that was for them! All they had known was sharing beds and rooms. It was beautiful watching the older boys help move and clean and prepare the room for the little ones, and to watch joy of the little ones.

On Tuesday, our last day with the boys, we spent a lot of time in the room just soaking up the joy of it all. We celebrated Christmas with the boys and gave them presents. They were overjoyed getting crayons, hats, pencils and coloring books, when most of America isn't even content getting iPads, cars, laptops and 80-inch TVs. It was very exciting and humbling to watch them enjoy their gifts, and then use their crayons to color Christmas cards for people they have never met and probably will never meet. They wrote things such as: "I love you and I am praying for you." It filled my heart with joy. These boys know how to love—really love. Not only do they love the people who care for them, each other, and strangers that they may not ever meet, but these boys love Jesus. It is evident in the way they live and interact with people.

I told the team that it was difficult to say goodbye to the boys, but it made it a little easier knowing that their needs are being met, especially spiritually. They are learning in school, they get to eat hot meals, they have safe rooms to live in now, their building is being reinforced in case of another disaster, and most important, they are surrounded and being raised by people who love the Lord. The village of Guibert is a gleaming light of hope for all of Haiti.

Join me in praying that these boys would be used in radical ways for the kingdom of God, and praising God for the things he has done and undoubtedly will continue to do in Haiti.

Miranda Moon, a student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, served in Haiti with Go Now Missions over Christmas break.