Closing Doors

I have been thinking about this post for a while and now have a little time to write it.

If you have been to Haiti with me you might have been to visit the children at Tree of Life Orphanage.  In fact, when I first visited Martine and her beautiful house full of children, there was a big part of me that thought this was where god wanted me or my church to form a partnership.  The kids are well taken care of both physically and emotionally and they share so much joy with each other.   There was something about them and their quaint house and school rooms that seemed manageable.  I thought, if I could just take care of these 30 kids, and make sure they succeed, all would be right with the world.

Well, god had another plan.  Tree of Life is closing.  Martine is ready to move on and start her own family, there is not adequate and sustainable funding.  WWV's commitment has always been for supplemental food supplies, basic health care, fellowship and programming for the children.  At this point it would be a lot for WWV to take on owning and operating this home and to be honest, not a sustainable solution.

So the interns have been placed in a challenging position.  We are, for lack of a better term, supportive advocates for Martine and the remaining children.  24 of the 29 have been sent home to their families.  We have no idea what this means for them as they were sent to Tree of Life for a reason - lack of money, food, interest, and limited access to education.  I pray every day that their needs are being met and that they are adjusting to life with their family.   2 of the remaining 5 were just placed in a wonderful facility very close to Tree of Life, but they were only able to accept 2.  The 3 left are becoming more of a puzzle.  Ultimately where to place them is Martine's decision.  We help to facilitate phone calls, rides and a sounding board for her thoughts.

Truth be told, it is really hard to be in the middle of deciding someone's future.  Wondering if the decisions Martine makes will lead to abundance of life or not for these precious children.  One thing I know for sure, they are strong and filled with god's spirit and joy.  For this I am grateful.  I pray that wherever they end up they will not loose this faith and spirit.

(I hoped to add some pictures and a video - but we have been without city power for a couple days and I just don't think the generator or batteries is powerful enough to upload!  I will post some asap!)