How do I describe landing on foreign soil,
sitting on an old rusted school chair in the back of an open milk truck,
traveling through a forgotten city,
watching a new world unfold before my eyes?
The heat bore down on my bare arms,
the smell of hot trash overwhelming me,
the city in ruins breaking my heart
and the people…
Everywhere,
Hungry,
Homeless,
Naked,
Forgotten…
they filled the streets.
This is the country of Haiti.
We traveled over an hour before we reached our final destination,
Canaan Community, an orphanage.
We stepped out of our truck,
relieved the old rusted truck didn’t break down before our arrival,
and we waited…
Slowly, little faces appeared,
peaking around corners and standing in doorways.
Curiosity wins over apprehension
and they soon approached us.
It’s not long before I feel little warm hands on my back,
heads in my lap,
fingers through my hair
and hearts entangling with mine.
Here is where I met and fell in love with many abandoned children,
abandoned by their parents, but not forgotten by their God.
They are fought and cared for because
God called his people to love the forgotten,
to fight for the broken hearted…
And a couple, Gladys and Henri responded,
“Here am I Lord, send me.”
As I watched this couple live and love like Jesus,
I wanted to become more like them,
Seeking HIM,
Hearing HIM,
Obeying HIM,
and opening my heart to a world in need.
If you read the Bible, it doesn’t take long understand God’s heart for the forgotten,
the poor, the orphan, and the widow.
He has called us to open our hands, to give generously,
to spend our lives on behalf of them…
However, you don’t have to travel over oceans to love the forgotten.
They fill our neighborhoods, our cities and our countries.
Ask God to open your heart to the world around you in need,
Open your bibles and read these scriptures. They beautifully articulate God’s heart for the forgotten, forgotten by this world…
Not forgotten by their Creator.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Isaiah 58:6-11
Ezekiel 34: 2-4
I John 3: 17-20
~written by Rachel McKenna
sitting on an old rusted school chair in the back of an open milk truck,
traveling through a forgotten city,
watching a new world unfold before my eyes?
The heat bore down on my bare arms,
the smell of hot trash overwhelming me,
the city in ruins breaking my heart
and the people…
Everywhere,
Hungry,
Homeless,
Naked,
Forgotten…
they filled the streets.
This is the country of Haiti.
We traveled over an hour before we reached our final destination,
Canaan Community, an orphanage.
We stepped out of our truck,
relieved the old rusted truck didn’t break down before our arrival,
and we waited…
Slowly, little faces appeared,
peaking around corners and standing in doorways.
Curiosity wins over apprehension
and they soon approached us.
It’s not long before I feel little warm hands on my back,
heads in my lap,
fingers through my hair
and hearts entangling with mine.
Here is where I met and fell in love with many abandoned children,
abandoned by their parents, but not forgotten by their God.
They are fought and cared for because
God called his people to love the forgotten,
to fight for the broken hearted…
And a couple, Gladys and Henri responded,
“Here am I Lord, send me.”
As I watched this couple live and love like Jesus,
I wanted to become more like them,
Seeking HIM,
Hearing HIM,
Obeying HIM,
and opening my heart to a world in need.
If you read the Bible, it doesn’t take long understand God’s heart for the forgotten,
the poor, the orphan, and the widow.
He has called us to open our hands, to give generously,
to spend our lives on behalf of them…
However, you don’t have to travel over oceans to love the forgotten.
They fill our neighborhoods, our cities and our countries.
Ask God to open your heart to the world around you in need,
Open your bibles and read these scriptures. They beautifully articulate God’s heart for the forgotten, forgotten by this world…
Not forgotten by their Creator.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Isaiah 58:6-11
Ezekiel 34: 2-4
I John 3: 17-20
~written by Rachel McKenna
