I left my heart in Haiti...

One of the absolute best weeks of my life was one in which I didn’t have air conditioning, “showered” under a cold trickle of water (on a good day), had heat exhaustion, and was surrounded by people with infections and in poor health. The. best. week. ever.

I love to help people. It’s what I do. It’s what makes me feel most alive. Have you ever felt like your heart is literally smiling? That’s how I feel when I’m helping others.

While always attracted to international work, I didn’t know how to do anything about it. An “uncle” (those friends of your parents that aren’t really uncles, but you call them such) became really involved in helping orphans in Russia. I had met people who had made trips to Africa. But it all seemed so far away, and something that I could never actually do.

The Haiti earthquake happened, and I watched with the world. I made my donations, but longed to do more – to really help. I’m not a doctor, nor an engineer. So even if I wanted to go, how would I? Join a medical team? Nope. A construction crew? Not that either.

Haiti had always been in my periphery. My parish is “twinned” with two parishes in Haiti, whom we help to support monetarily. Back in the 1980s, there were some medical mission trips, but there hadn't been any in decades. A few folks from our church’s “Haiti Committee” had visited in 2012 to get a lay of the land and see where our help was needed. Then, in 2013, the bulletin noted an upcoming meeting for anyone interested in possibly traveling to Haiti.

And my dream was born.

I didn’t have to think twice. You can bet I was at that meeting. Having absolutely no clue what I was potentially getting into.

Surprisingly, it took me a few weeks to make the final decision to go. It was like every potential fear creeped up and into my head – what could go wrong, the health risks, the political instability.

Malaria? Maybe. Political turmoil? Check.

Life changing? Absolutely.

The Haitian children walk miles to school every day. They are all dressed in bright, vibrant colors - and all the girls have ribbons to perfectly match their dresses.

From the room of the Church in Thomassique

The trip wasn't about me. It wasn't about doing something that made me feel good. It was about using myself. More so, allowing God to use me. I was a vessel.

Learning to give prescriptions in Haitian Creole: "one, two, or three pill(s) per day"

The Haitian people need so much. Diseases which are "no big deal" in the U.S. are literally life-threatening in Haiti, without the proper medicines and tools to diagnose and treat. Health education is extremely difficult, given that most don't have basic education on which to build.

In the "clinic" - an empty building where we set up camp

Shortly after I returned, I wrote, "my eyes and heart have been opened and stirred more than I can describe. The refrain in my mind as I think about the past 7 days: Take the time to love people. Everything else will fall into place. Nothing is as important as love."

The little girl in yellow would have come home with me if I had my druthers. She was attached to my hip the moment she came in and was giggling and smiling nonstop.

We gave this little boy a matchbox car - you would have thought we gave him the world. He and his mom were so grateful.

Painted at the orphanage. "Let the children come to me..."

I learned so much in Haiti. And not just how to diagnose worms and scabies. I learned about unconditional love - and all the ways that Haiti is truly 100x richer than American will ever be. I learned that when a voice in your head is telling you everything that could go wrong, it probably means you should do it. And I learned that when you do things for God, you will never, ever go wrong.

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." ~ Mother Teresa