Insight from Friends

One of our new friends was introduced to us through our adoption agency, Adoption-Link.  Danielle is a grad student in Michigan who interned with the agency at the end of her schooling.  Once her internship was complete, she providentially determined to spend a year at the orphanage where the girls reside.


When Danielle returned home after a year of living in Haiti, she "prayed without ceasing" for a family to be found for the girls.  We were fortunate to meet Danielle last month, and continue to be in contact.  She provides us with a wealth of stories, memories, and insights into the lives of the children in the orphanage.


When the wind picked up this afternoon, and the rain began to fall, I thought I would share the following insight from Danielle.

One thing to think on when the girls come home is their fear of the weather.  It seems very irrational from an American perspective, but for them, it is a norm that exists no matter what age you are.  So many times, I had to explain my lack of fear of the rain to the kids and staff, asking them, "Are you afraid of the sun hurting your skin?  No?  That's because you have never had reason to be afraid of a sunburn.  This is how it is for me with the rain."  They understood, to a certain degree.  It's difficult to understand when your world has always taught you how quickly everything can change.  If it starts to sprinkle, the children will often run inside and watch from within the safety of the walls of the creche.  It is understandable when you think on the destruction that has been done in their country from rapid weather changes.  Rain, for example, has flooded the streets and uprooted homes, sending them crashing into other homes, taking lives.  Winds pull the metal "roofs" from homes and send them flying haphazardly.  Coconuts fall from the trees.  People die from these things.  They never know when it is coming and it causes them to sometimes live in fear.