Where He leads...: Meet Abigail

Meet Abigail

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Abigail is a teenage girl who lives at El Shaddai Children's Home near Croix Des Bouquets, Haiti. I had the privilege of meeting her on Sunday during my third visit there since early last year. When the children found out I spoke Creole, several of them flocked to me. I soon found myself answering a number of questions that have become pretty common during moments like these...

"How did you learn Creole?"

"Do you like Haiti?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Do you have children?"

"Are you married?" (Yes, typically in that order.)

Several of them remember me as the lady who brought suckers and elastic bracelets to them last March. I was surprised and impressed by that memory from well over a year ago. One informed me that his bracelet has since broken and I apologized and pointed out the much better one he has on his wrist now, recently given to him by someone on a mission team.

One fun exchange with them started with one girl asking if I was from America and when I responded, "Yes, I'm from the United States" she was confused. I explained that America and the United States are often used interchangeably and another said, "Someone from the United States is an American." That turned into a game that went like this...

Child 1: "Someone from Canada is..."

Me: "Canadian"

Me: "Someone from Haiti is..."

Children: "Haitian!"

Me: "Someone from Africa is..."

Children: "African!"

Child 1: "Someone from Madagascar is..."

Me: "Mad-a-gas-car-ian?!" We all laughed. "Where did you hear of Madagascar?!"

Child 1: "A map."

Me: "And the movie?"

Children: "Yes!" which was followed by the seemingly universal song and dance, "I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. I like to--MOVE IT!!"

But back to Miss Abigail. She too was asking me tons of questions about my life and was very interested in the children at Hope For Life Children's Home when I told her that I was involved there. She was asking how far along the older kids were in school and what their plans were after graduating from school and/or "graduating" from the children's home.

When Abigail graduates she wants to become a doctor. I asked if she wanted to be in a doctor in Haiti to help her own country. With a big smile on her face she said, "Yes! I want to become a doctor and then build a hospital and have doctors and nurses and everything to help the people of Haiti!" And she's dead serious. She told me that she has three years left before she graduates from secondary school. After that she said she'll have seven years of school before becoming a doctor. "So that makes ten years and then I'll start my plans to build the hospital." She told me that I'll be old by then and I laughed and said that's fine because when I'm old that's when I'll need her to be my doctor.

Meeting Abigail and discussing her future plans was such a sweet time. I tried to do my best to encourage her to continue following her dreams. I can already tell she's a leader at the children's home and helps look after the little ones. She has a special light in her eyes and her smile is so contagious!

Often I find in Haiti that kids don't really know how to dream. That's in stark contrast to how I was raised. Since I was a little girl I dreamed of what I would be when I grew up. My siblings and I kept a journal each year from kindergarten to high school graduation and that was one of the questions to answer. Each year it was something different. I remember around 1st grade I wrote out all the days of the week and each day was for a different occupation. I need to go back and look at those, but they included everything from zookeeper to teacher to doctor. And I suppose on any given day in my life now, I'm fulfilling those roles! I was always told that I could be whatever I wanted to be, and I believed it.

I realize it's different here in Haiti. Children grow up understanding the reality of their situation and the often limited reach they have for anything different. I've asked dozens of children what they want to be when they grow up, and the majority of them--after taking a while to even process the question--respond with practical answers such as moto driver, food vendor, mechanic, and builder. And not that anything is wrong with those answers, certainly we need those professions, but I find hope in young people like Abigail.

Somewhere along her journey Abigail has learned how to dream big and dream confidently. After meeting Abigail and hearing her story, I'm encouraged to pray more. To pray for Abigail that her dream can be realized. To pray for Haiti that it can become a country for dreamers. To pray for these kids that they can see beyond the reality of today and hope and confidently dream for a better tomorrow. And I tell you this so that you can pray too. And that we can put our heads and hearts together for how to make Haiti, the U.S., and the world all places where dreams can come true--however big or little they are. I'm thankful for the ministry of El Shaddai and how they are trying to raise up a godly, determined, and hopeful generation of children. And I pray that Abigail can be one of many children who despite the odds, can prosper and bring hope and healing to her own country--and be an example for others to follow.