Haiti #7: Baselais

So everyone on the mission team met one or more kids that especially touched their heart for whatever reason. Usually it is one of the beautiful 4-8 year old kids with smiles and bigger personalities.

Michelle has followed young Jo-El for three years now, and is haunted each time by his cries when she has to leave. She has not seen him grow very much between mission trips and is working hard at home to get him out of this place.

Usually it is one of the beautiful 4-8 year old kids with smiles and bigger personalities. Most of them had pot bellies (unfortunately swollen from poor nutrition and not overeating) and were diseased and filthy, but their desire for love and affection drew us in.

Maybe it was a young boy with an effervescent personality who could dance, sing, or just jump around and holler. Or a tender young girl dragging a filthy doll that was too dreadful to be stolen from her. Some of the girls instinctively looked out after the babies and toddlers- they could really warm your heart with the care they provided without much to offer. It is always worse for the women and we had a sense of dread of what the future holds for them.

Perhaps one of the infants, usually sick and especially ill-nourished as there was no pedialyte or anyone to give it to them. There were few wet diapers as they did not get enough water to wet the diaper- who would give it to them?

Few were drawn to the teen boys, who were relatively strong, were able to come and go and take care of themselves. Fewer still were drawn to the disabled, though we all felt very bad for them. I must admit that I am a very emotional person, and I feel so badly for the disabled that I find it hard to even speak to them. I just nod and smile, and move on my way.

But in Haiti everything is different and I felt God taking me in many different directions. I got to meet Jonathan, a blind teen who spent his days alone in a dark room, playing old hymns on an old toy piano. The familiar tunes haunted us a we tried not to think of his awful plight and get our work done, draped in healthier kids who were able to pursue us for attention.

But it was Baselais, a 14 year old boy with one leg that I really befriended. He has a warm smile that only leaves when he discusses his disability. He said that he lost his leg do to a “voodoo trap”: Haitian code for anything bad that happens. It is likely that he had an injury and lost the leg to poor health care or lack of antibiotics.

Out of the 71 kids, I chose him to lead a work party on the roof of Rose Mina, calling him “Le Boss!” and telling him he was “En Charge”. His beaming face told me that this was not a common occurrence for the young man. Still, he did a great job keeping the project moving, organized the other boys, and told us who worked the hardest, and who did not. He was smaller than many, had one leg and hobbled on a broken crutch, but still commanded respect from the other kids. This is a kid who needs some help. The other boys were thrilled to get $2.00 for a few hours work over two days. Perhaps out of emotion for his sorry state, I gave Baselais all of the cash I had with me on the last day: about $30.00.

I had him video a message to my son James; I taught him our secret handshake.

I have been trying to get someone to look after him, and handle money that I wanted to send him. The orphanage could not be trusted with money, so I needed someone else to look in on him. Despite asking several people that I have contact with in Haiti, nothing was going together.

Finally today, Jonas lined up  a man we met in Haiti named Paul, who agreed to check on him once per week and report back. I sent $150 today by Western Union to get him started. I am hopeful that he will get a prosthetic leg and the training to go with it. I want him to begin to learn English as the most successful people in Haiti speak that language. You cannot be more than a peasant in Haiti if you don’t speak English or at least French.

I want them to teach him about nutrition, cleanliness, fitness. Perhaps because of his disability, I want to see him have opportunities that other kids in Haiti do not have. Most importantly I want him to learn about Jesus, and know that any good that the missionaries do for him is out of Christian love.

I don’t know where it will lead, as I really can’t speak to him and don’t really know much about him. But I have to trust God who put him in my life and on my heart that some good purpose will happen from my involvement with Baselais. Below is a picture of me and him: he is not smiling as he knows I am leaving.

May God lead him to do great things in Haiti!