Corey and I are hanging out with Lucson and Pierre in this photo. They are roughly the same ages as Carter and Owen and we have been sponsoring them through Mission to Haiti for a number of years.

On our trip to Haiti in the spring of 2012, we had the opportunity to meet these guys and give them a few gifts.

I thought it was important to introduce them to the best college in our nation. Go Cyclones!  We also gave them soccer balls with air pumps, school supplies, some toiletry items and beans and rice.

They were very appreciative, (a good soccer ball is like gold to a Haitian kid), but I think they would have preferred going home with my camera and my cell phone. They may be poor, but they are not naive about cool electronic gadgets!

The language barrier made conversation a bit tricky, but Corey kicked the ball around with them and when it was time to go, they wanted to know when we would be back.

“When will you come see me again?” “Don’t forget me.”

I have no idea when I will see them again, but I most definitely will not forget them. Mission to Haiti is excellent with communication, and they make it easy to send food and gifts to sponsored children. We get to watch them grow up through their photos and letters. And our children get a tiny glimpse of the life of a child who was not born into a country of wealth and opportunity like they were. It is a small way of helping them see a bigger picture of the world.

I mentioned last week that I would be focusing on child-sponsorship for a while. I plan to post a child’s photo each Tuesday this month. I have no desire to guilt anyone into taking on a child sponsorship, but maybe someone out there will see a child who tugs at their heart like Love Mara tugged at Jessica’s.