All her
earthly possessions fit in three bags, packed and ready to go.
Today Megan,
James (our moto driver) and myself went with Catherine* to her home to get her
things so she could move into The Freedom House. Catherine has been stopping by
the house, with her 8 month old child, a little more frequently lately. Her
father is alcoholic and abusive.
Today as I
entered Catherine’s small room (it fit a bed, small table, and a couple small
stools leaving barely enough room for the three of us to stand) with walls made
of tin and tarps, and as Megan and I took a second glance at her “bed” I held
back tears and was ashamed that I had complained about my mattress be
uncomfortable and springy, that a spring was actually poking through my
mattress, ashamed that last night as I lay on an air mattress I thought, “well
this really isn’t as comfortable as I thought it would be and I still can’t
sleep.” It hit me why two months ago when another of the girls who will be
moving into The Freedom House asked, “why can’t we move in now?” We said, “because
it’s not ready.” We considered a house made of bricks and cement not finished because
not all the floors were finished, the kitchen sink wasn’t installed, there wasn’t
power hooked to the house yet, the kitchen needed shelves, etc. Four sturdy
walls with a real roof over their heads, even if there wasn’t a bed, was better
than what these girls were used to.
You want to
know what Catherine’s bed was? Megan lifted the sheet and under that sheet,
with no sort of padding, was an old metal door. An old steel door with a single
sheet, being held up by cinder blocks, is what this girl and her baby were
sleeping on.
We had a
short encounter with Catherine’s father as we were walking from the house, he
started to cry and with no emotion, not even a flinch, Catherine told us, “ignore
him.”
We sent
Catherine off on the moto (to her cooking class) and Megan and I walked back to
the Respire House.
Later as I
lay in the hammock with Catherine’s child sleeping in my arms I stared at her
sweet face and I realized how much The Freedom House means not only to the
teenage girls moving in but also to this sweet little 8 month old. Her mother
will be able to go to school! What kind of opportunities will that giver her to
give her child a better life? This sweet baby will now go to school from the
very start! What kind of opportunities will that give her to make a life for
herself? I was again moved to tears as I thought of how bright that darling
child’s future is because of The Freedom House; because so many have been
faithful to follow God’s leading in their lives, to make sacrifices in order to
care for these young girls who were so helpless and hopeless but whom I now see
smiling, laughing, playing, singing and living life together every day.
I read a
verse this morning and as I lay in that hammock looking into the face of that
precious child I couldn’t help but think of it, I had one of the girls bring me
a Bible and I read these verses over and over…
But you, God, see the trouble of the
afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the
fatherless.
You, Lord, hear
the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the
oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Psalm 10:14, 17-18
*name changed for protection
You can support The Freedom House with the purchase of a Free 1 Otterbox case www.respirehaiti.org
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