Thursday, November 17, 2011

Voulez Vous Chante?

Mwen kontan fe konoses ou!
That's the Creole that I'm taking away from this trip, it means I am very happy to meet you!

I can't remember how many times I said it this week, but there is one that stands out.

I met Shaika at a Compassion project in Versette, an area hurting more than most in Haiti for jobs. I brought Shaika's child packet with me when we visited her project today. I picked it out for the same reason I picked Fabi 8 years ago: she loves to sing.

If you've had the privilege of listening to a Haitian or African choir, you know that American kids don't sing the way these kids sing. It's an amazing experience. But I wasn't sure if Shaika loved to sing the way I loved to sing when I was seven! Hey, my mother thought it was beautiful.

So when we say down together at the project, my translator asked her, "Voulez vous chante?" - Do you like to sing? She smiled and said, yes, she did, and she would like to sing me a song.

I went to Haiti looking for another child to sponsor and if I had any questions about whether it was going to be Shaika, I forgot them.

God has a way of speaking to us that seems silly, small or surprising at times. I should know by now that it delights God to set His spirit on seemingly unworthy or inappropriate places, like a little shepherd boy who'd rather sing than go to war, a vain weak-willed man with long hair, a persecutor of the church, or a shy little Haitian girl singing on a concrete floor in the middle of one of the poorest countries in the world.

It is so very right, because He used the weak or foolish things to shame the wise. And God used this quiet little girl with the priceless secret smile to bring praise to His name.

Mwen tre kontann fe konoses ou, Shaika.

5 comments:

  1. Yay! It is so good to read a Haiti post :) What a beautiful girl...can't wait to hear more stories.

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  2. So sweet - are you sponsoring her or are you looking for a sponsor for her?

    Can't wait to hear more!

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  3. That is really neat. I cannot wait to hear more Haiti stories. Listen to this and if you can, please help- I know of a sponsor who lost her job and can no longer sponsor her 12-year-old boy. His name is Jean (John) he goes to the Passe Catabois Child Development Center in the mountains of Petit Cabosse (approx. 30km sw of Port de Poix) Haiti. He has five siblings ranging from 1-17 years old. Jean does above average in school, but he asked for prayer to become more intelligent in school (LDP in future?!) :) Jean will have someone writing to him, so it would only be $38 a month and no extra time commitment. But, if you did want to know more about him, his writer would probably share some about him with you. If you are willing to sponsor this sweet child, please comment reply, and I will get you connected with the sponsor. Thanks, Lizzie

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  4. Rebecca I have a dozen cooking, I just have to sort through the thoughts :) I also have a little present for you and Jill ;)

    Jill I am sponsoring her!! My tour leader had 4 packets from the project for us to look at the night before we visited and hers was the one I pounced on. I got to spend the whole day with her! She's a sweet quiet little thing but you're absolutely right, she's beautiful!

    Lizzie, I'm so sorry! I will definitely be praying for your friend and Jean. Has she already cancelled her sponsorship? If not see if she's willing to call Compassion and see if they can works something out. They have the ability to offer reduced sponsorship rates to people who are having a hard time or even suspend the sponsorship for a few months while she's job hunting.

    I would advise her to hang on to Jean as long as possible because it is important for these guys, especially the older ones, to have some consistency in their lives. I can't imagine the stress she's under right now but have her call the office, they really can do a lot to help keep her sponsorship afloat until she finds a new job.

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  5. Thanks Sarah Elizabeth! Yes, she called Compassion UK (she lives in the UK). And, I do believe that she will be hanging on to him as long as possible.

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