Forget the pain........

My trip to Haiti was not a fun trip-although many parts of it were funny, and very enjoyable.  What was not fun, were the images of malnourished people of all ages.  We got sick, had butt sores from riding 5 hours on the side of a small truck bed, got bitten by numerous mosquitoes and ants, braved large tarantulas in the shower, used an outhouse, dealt with some very unpleasant people-but all of this pales in comparison to what the citizens of Haiti go through on a daily basis.  No matter what part of Haiti you live in-you have to deal with a corrupt government-that cares nothing for it's citizens. If they did, wouldn't they help them out more?  It was so sad to see, and the feeling that you want to fix everything is overwhelming-if you let it be.  But you can't. You just have to realize you are one person, working with other people to begin to help. Andy help there is much appreciated by it's recipients-we saw that time and time again.  All of this said-and still nursing some sort of upper respiratory infection I had when I left, that got worse on my trip-I would go back tomorrow. I liken this feeling to that of a woman going through labor pains while having a baby (something I am fortunate to never have had thanks to C-sections!).  The pain of it is HORRIBLE while you are going through it. You wonder why you did it to begin with, and swear you will never do it again.   But then you see that sweet little baby, and all of that goes away. That's sort of like my trip to Haiti.  I was tired while there-my body sweat more than it has ever sweated-but now that I've been home a few weeks-none of that seems so bad, or prominent in  my mind.

This mission trip was a life-changing experience for me, it shed new light on how many things I personally take for granite. How fortunate I was to be born to a mother who lived in America. Please remember to be thankful everyday for the little things because the little things really do matter to those who don't have them.

Much love and many blessings ~
Rhonda

Originally drafted 2010, forgot to post