Cara made her first trip to Haiti in the summer of 2013. A non-medical volunteer, Cara was willing to help out in whatever way was needed. Where she ended up being needed was in the pediatric ward. A little boy, B, with some special medical needs had been abandoned. Cara fell in love with B and spent much of the week loving on this special little guy. Once B completed his treatment at the hospital, he went to live at an orphanage in northern Haiti. But that wasn't the end of Cara and B's story.
Cara returned to Haiti the next spring, and that was when we first met. I heard all about her little buddy B. She cared for B so much that, she made the trek from Port Au Prince to Cap Haitien, just to be able to visit him for the day at his new home. When she got back to the hospital she told me more about B and where he now lived, Children of the Promise.
A few more months passed and in the summer of 2014 I was preparing for another trip to Haiti. I was going to be volunteering at Bernard Mevs again, but wanted to also visit somewhere else after my time at the hospital. I started looking into some different organizations. That's when Cara suggested that I should check out COTP. After reading more about them on their webpage, I thought it sounded like a pretty amazing ministry. So during my next trip to Haiti, I ended up visiting COTP for two days.
I spent less than 48 hours at COTP that weekend. But by the end of it, I was pretty sure that God was calling me to move there. I had felt a calling to Haiti for many years, and I had finally found the right organization to partner with. After a few months of prayer and another visit to Haiti, I announced to my family and friends that I was moving to Haiti. For the majority of them it came as no surprise. God had been growing my heart for Haiti and for orphan care for many years, and now it was time to follow His call to serve in Haiti full time.
This February, was Cara's first time back to Haiti since I moved here. It was pretty neat to get to have her visit COTP again, now that I live here. So, Cara I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for caring for a little boy when he was all alone in the hospital. Thank you for loving him and caring about him not just during that week, but even after you returned home. Because of your love for B, I found my way to my new home in the little village of Lagossette with a ministry called Children of the Promise. B and I have both been blessed by your friendship. I look forward to many more visits with you in the future!
Children of the Promise has given permission for the posting of the photos on this site. Photos taken of the children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.
Lovely share. Thanks, Courtney, for doing such important work in the world. We each have a part of making the world a better place. You were seeking, and when presented with an opportunity, you saw it as such, and then embraced it. You both are repairers of the world - practitioners of Tikkun Olam.
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