A Dream Is Born

One day I was talking with some friends in the States. I was dreaming out loud. Every visit to the States still blows me away when I look at all that we have here. Running water, electricity, Internet, restaurants, huge shopping centers, etc. I was thinking how cool it would be to have a way to beam kids out of Haiti and in to the US for a few hours. We could take them shopping. Pile them high with clothes, shoes, school supplies, food, etc. Then we could send them back and beam in another batch. Unfortunately this dream seems a long way off. We don't have those cool transporter beamer things like the ones Star Trek used to have. I have learned though, that often these type of lofty goals can still be accomplished, even if by more difficult means.

Since the beginning of the Happy House a little over 3 years ago, we HAVE been beaming kids in. Throughout the year we have groups of kids come in from all over Haiti. We sent for kids from Mapou where floods killed 3,000 people last year. They were 7 kids that had never flipped a light switch before. They had never been around a fan. Never eaten a pancake. Several of them were/are living in makeshift tarps in place of the huts that they lost in the floods. We took them to the market in Ti Goave. We filled about 3 hockey bags full of clothes, shoes, school supplies, food, etc. We sent them back loaded to the gills with enough to share with their families when they went back. Then we had another group from back in the mountains of Chomeille. The same thing again. A little girl from Cite Soleil. Some ex TB patients from Carrefoure. A batch from the backwoods of Ft Royale. A few visits to the doctor to treat Malaria, ear infections, worms, etc. Another batch from Delmas, and on and on. It's not as easy as beaming but it accomplishes the same thing. Kids come empty and leave full. It's also a great time for us to bond with them. They become part of the big extended family that call the Happy House home.

Since it’s beginning in July of 2002, hundreds of kids have passed through our doors. Each has their own story. Yves likes Ti Goave because we have "cool water." We are usually able to get ice. Something he never gets in Mapou. One thing that makes Jerillian like the Happy House is that we have water in basins in our own yard. The people of her village walk miles to get their water at the nearest spring. Jesila likes sleeping in peace, without the fear that a stray bullet will pierce her tin shack when the gangs are fighting in Cite Soleil. They all like being able to eat every day. And more than anything, they feel a love and security there that only the Lord can give.

Of course it's a sad occasion for many of them when it's time to go back to their huts, but we teach them that the same God they felt at the House can be felt in their hut. God's presence can make anything sweet. Some of my happiest memories were born out of miserable places. Once the Lord is in a place, the whole equation changes. The kids also have great joy in knowing they will be coming back (if they didn't misbehave too badly :0) We did have that one little guy that we just couldn't housebreak.

We still travel and go out to the highways and byways and visit them where they live, but it's awesome to be able to "beam" them in to our house for a few days. ............Fre Ed