Hi Everyone!

Since I've arrived home from my 3 months in Haiti, everyone has been asking me, "how do you feel?" and "is it good to be home?" I always reply by explaining that Haiti honestly feels like my home away from home. As difficult as it was to say goodbye to the kids, I knew I would be back. I truly left with a heart filled with love. The BLB family truly embraced me and I was able to create such amazing bonds with so many people. I can't wait to be back!

As you may know, I was the BLB photographer while I was in Haiti. I love sharing my photos on our social media accounts (follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter!), but I thought it would be fun to share with you a few stories behind the photographs. Enjoy!

This picture was from the day I was taking all of the updated sibling pictures. Most of our kids gathered together, put their arms around each other, and smiled. But Wisely took a different approach and immediately knelt down and put his sister, Daffecat, on his knee to pose for the photo. I captured this one as the caregivers and staff were laughing and shouting. No one expected him to do that! Wisely looked over at them smiling ear to ear. Such a funny/cute moment!

This photo is one of my favorites. One of my favorite parts of the day in Haiti is sitting down for a meal. It isn't just a time to eat, but a time to sit with family, pray together, and laugh together. Before every meal, everyone closes their eyes, thanks God for their food, and they pray for those who will go without. These kids are seen as lucky for many reasons but one is that they eat 3 times a day when the average Haitian eats once every 2 days. I love this picture of Chachouna praying before she ate her rice and beans!

This photo was from our field trip to a Botanical Garden in Les Cayes with some of the older kids. It was such a beautiful day and I loved seeing all of the tropical plants. I also took tons of pictures in just a few hours! The kids were pulling me in every direction to have me to take their photo. Love this one of Dalandya, Steeve, and Mackenlove.  

This summer I was lucky enough to go to a few of the house blessings. This one was by far my favorite. The Britsionary group that week built a home for Mirta, who is an employee at Brit’s Home. Mirta is someone who loves life, has great positive energy, and is so fun to be around. In this photo, she held a sign that one of the Britsionarys made, that reads “Espwa” meaning “Hope” in Creole. During the house blessing, Mirta repeatedly said “love you, love you” to all of us and explained how thankful she was for her new home and for the BLB family. I remember seeing her the next day and asking how her first night in her new home was. She smiled so big and hugged me. “Very good Danielle. Very good.” 

At this point, the children were back to school and I was starting to learn everyone’s new routine. I walked to the mango tree and found my friends Jameson and Cico, who are English teachers at Brit’s Home. They told me that each afternoon they teach English to the staff! I sat down to observe them teach Madame Frank and Geniese and snapped this photo when the class was finished. The learning never stops! 💛