![]() Looking back on it, the 6-day trip I had in Haiti was the best thing that ever happened to me. Something so small to you makes more of a difference than you could ever imagine. I encourage all of you just to give up a few hours of your time this holiday season. Whether you love helping children or the homeless, there are people all around you that would love your time more than anything. I’m not asking you to go to Haiti, I’m just asking you to go find people in your community that need your help. Think about the homeless shelter down the street, or the food pantry just a 15-minute drive from where you live. Think about schools in your area that would love to have you in the classroom. Think about some of the local charity organizations in your community. The time you spend with the less fortunate is life changing. This might seem a little selfish, but it’s the best example of a win-win this world has to offer. Here’s the best part: When you give your time, you get more in return. We’re talking about something much more valuable, something much more reasonable to ask for. We’re not talking about a few toys, a TV, or a cut of your paycheck. The thing you can give right now that would make the biggest difference in this world is your time. What you have is something so easy to give, something so powerful and world changing, but only a few step back and realize what is. You have something that people 15 minutes down the street would die for. ![]() If there’s anything I want you to leave here with, I want you to know you have something millions of people in this world want. Every time he showed me a picture, his face lit up brighter than the sun. He quickly became quite the little photographer. He started taking pictures of me, and he couldn’t get over the fact that he could see my face on a little screen. One day I pulled out my camera, and I let one of the little boys play with it. In Haiti, the technology we take for granted is non-existent. I was giving my time, but I received a smile from his face that will stay with me to my grave. You might laugh, but the child I was playing with was having the time of his life. We would kick it around, with no goals, just for the heck of it. In your mind you might be picturing a soccer ball, but in reality we didn’t have one. It was a concrete hole.ĭuring the trip I got a chance to play soccer with one of the children at the school. This (the photo on the left) was the only bathroom for a school of 100 children. This was the only bathroom for a school of 100 children. It sounds so cliché, but until you actually see the people who have nothing, and see how eternally grateful they are for even the smallest of things, you haven’t seen what it’s like to be genuinely happy. We set out thinking we were going to give, and that we did, but we also received something that wasn’t physical. We created a second bathroom for a school of 100 children (see picture below), and we conducted a few medical clinics that helped over 300 individuals get the medical treatments they needed. This might sound strange, but it’s the most legitimate thing I’ve ever written. Our time was something priceless that we knew was a desired commodity in such a poverty stricken land, but when it all came to a close, it felt as if we were the ones who had done the receiving. We set out hoping to give, but instead we received. We left on Friday, November 18th, and got back the night before Thanksgiving. Over Thanksgiving week, while some of you were catching up on sleep, spending time with relatives, and kicking back and relaxing, I was on a mission trip in Haiti. I was singing at a Haitian church in Croix des Bouquets, a city in the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. After the song was over, they all cheered and clapped, and even though we weren’t the best singers they had ever come across, their gratitude for this simple gift was enormous. Midway through the first song, I looked up, and I saw 300 Haitian men, women, and children, all listening intently, despite the fact they couldn’t understand a word (they spoke Creole). Zach, the guitarist, started playing, and before we knew what was happening, we started singing. ![]() Singing was never my thing, yet I had to get up, walk over to the microphone, and stand next to four others who would be partaking in this musical event. This is a guest post entered in the Spirit of Giving Blogging Contest.
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