Testimonials

Helping Haitian Angels was founded on Debbie Harvey’s story so it only makes sense that we like to celebrate each and every story that weaves the tale of what HHA is and what it does for those who get involved.

Lisa Ennis, HHA Volunteer

“The first time I heard about the children was when Debbie had just returned from her July 2008 trip. I was truly overcome by the emotion and caring she had for these kids that she had just met. Listening to her talk about how poorly they lived and how sick many of them were, made me desperately want to help. So I contacted Debbie and my journey began……..Arriving in Haiti was exciting and yet a little scary. The poverty there is overwhelming, but when you really start to look at the people on the streets, they don’t look scary at all. They look like lost souls. The children especially, many of whom don’t even have clothes to wear. When we arrived at the orphanage to meet the children, they all ran to the gate and hugged every single one of us! It was so awesome to finally be there with them! As the day went on and we colored and read with them, I realized how very smart these children are. They are talented is so many ways, it’s amazing! Their only hope for a future is to get an education, which is not free! After spending a week getting to know and quickly falling in love with these children, I’ve decided to commit myself physically, emotionally and monetarily. If just one person reads this and decides to help…….then god has answered my prayer.”

John Youngblut, Construction

“The first thing you notice is the smell, the second is the heat.  The two together assualt your senses in away that’s difficult to describe but impossible to forget.  The third thing you notice is the trash…everywhere, and the forth thing is all the people.  People waiting for you at the Airport -hustling for a dollar, people standing on the streets -hustling for a dollar, people everywhere all trying to earn a dollar because that’s what it takes to eat in Haiti, a dollar.”

“Imagine you’re in the states and you haven’t had a drink of water in half a day.  Try it.. try to not drink anything for half a day.  Where would you go to get water, if you didn’t have a home.  A friends house? McDonalds? the bus stop?  You could probably find clean water in any of these places.  Now imagine all those places don’t exist, and if they did, you wouldn’t be allowed inside because you were not the right color or didn’t have enough money.  That’s Haiti.  Clean water is only a half dollar away, but in a country where most people earn less then two dollars per day, clean water is a luxury few can afford.  People ask me why Haiti.  My answer is simple, if not me who?”

Leila Leigh, HHA Volunteer

July 2009 HHA Trip) “As we come to the end of our week, my heart is both saddened and electrified. We have to go home now, back to the states where a flip of a switch for electricity is well taken advantage of by we Americans. These kids know were are leaving, and their expressions are drawn. It will be another 6 months before we see them again, but I can guarantee you this….I will spend my time praying for them, thinking of them, and loving them despite the miles between us. These are my children now, and I promise to always be there for them. You know you’re lucky to fall in love once in your life, but to fall in love 24 times in a single lifetime, well that’s just miraculous.”

April Farms, Volunteer  “My first trip to Cap Haitien, Haiti was in January of this year. There were a few things I noticed in just the first few minutes I was in Haiti; the vivid colors, the big skies, the dark secrets, feelings of joy, feelings of great loss and undenying sense of hope that seemed to waver in the air like the plague. The Haitian culture and the orphans completely entranced me from the first moment I met them. Looking into each child’s eyes I found peace and I saw God. It was an awakening experience, one I am grateful for and will never know exactly how to articulate. The biggest lesson that my work with HHA (Helping Haitian Angels) and the orphans has taught me is “Let Go, Let God,” and with that there is no looking back.”

Mary Lu Hertz, Volunteer   “Haiti has become the place my husband and I dream about over a bottle of wine. It is a place that makes me think I could change the world, a place where I could make a real impact, where I could be the hands of Christ to the poor. It is also a hard place’; it is a place my husband disappears to 4 times a year, leaving me with 3 rowdy kids and a lot of lonely moments. It is a place where sucessful projects still look like hovels and where even the desired endstate is often unclear. I have only been to Cap Haitien once; pregnancies and new babies have kept me stateside. But something there, something in the promise of change, the potential for living out love, that keeps me dreaming of it.”

Liz Warren, Director of Operations & Board Member of HHA

 “Today we surprised our kids with Cassava Bread – sweet flat bread typically sold in the markets of Cap-Haitien. When we arrived at the orphanage, the children sat quietly as we divided the bread into pieces. They smiled as they held it in their hands; some of them taking the time to just look at it before slowly enjoying it.

As the children were eating, I noticed 11-year-old Floumens didn’t have a piece. I had guessed we must have missed him in all the excitement of passing it out. I got another piece of bread and tried to hand it to him. But, he shook his head and said he had already eaten his. I looked at his younger brother, Nodwidge, who was sitting next to him. This small boy held two pieces of bread in his hands.

I didn’t understand why he had done this. Didn’t Floumens realize he was being taken care of? That he didn’t have to worry about going hungry again? That it was no longer his burden to sacrifice his meal for his brother?

I took him by the hand and showed him the overflowing bags of bread. I handed him another piece and told him that we had enough for everyone. As he walked back to his seat with the bread in his hand, I realized what I was asking him to do. I was asking him to set aside the past realities of hunger and abandonment. I was asking him to trust a group of people from another country to provide for him and his little brother; something HE had done for most of his life.

I found it difficult not to cry. I have never seen such an unselfish act in someone so young. I prayed that God would give victory to Floumens and all our children. Victory to conquer their circumstances and the ability to embrace the love we were offering. Little by little, I believe they will.”

Larry Warren, Director of Fundraising & Board Member of HHA

“HHA is saving and changing lives! I am proud to say that I am part of the HHA team. I was “hooked” from day one of my first-ever missions trip to Haiti in January 2009. I fell in love with the people and especially the kids. To make a difference in the life of a person–especially an orphan–is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to us! For me, my involvement in HHA has been life-changing! If you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself, to see God working in amazing ways and to come away from the experience blessed and a better person then you need to be a part of the HHA team!”

Mike Hertz, Director of Travel

“The following prayer really struck me as encapsulating my experiences in Haiti:” It helps, now and then,      to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

“I’ve been going to Haiti for about 4 years, and helping lead teams for 3 years. When I’m here in the US, I have such grand plans for all the activities that we will accomplish on one of our mission trips. I desperately want to make significant progress in a bunch of different areas and to help the people with whom I have grown a deep friendship. However, on every trip, no matter how well planned, or how much effort I’ve put forth in trying to tie up the loose ends, there is always something that happens that seems to unravel months of planning. At those times, it is hard not to get frustrated or even depressed. A good friend in Haiti once told me “Haiti is the place where good intentions go to die.” I certainly understand that positions when the months of work prior to the mission fall apart due to some unforeseen issue. However, it is in the difficulty of that moment where this prayer fills in the gap. The prayer says to me that it doesn’t matter if everything goes according to plan or not. No matter what happens on any given trip, it is not enough; it does not bring wholeness; it does not complete the mission; there are always more objectives to be met. I don’t take this to mean that no matter what we do, we won’t be successful, but just the opposite. Everything we do in Haiti, if it happens according to plan, or if nothing on the agenda gets done, is part of the greater good of God’s work.”

Paul Archibald, HHA Haitian Translator & Volunteer

“By the way, I personally thank God for the opportunity to (have) met Mike & Bill (my boss man, HHA Board Members) and through them I have met a lot caring people. These two guys have so much in common and they are very creative. It’s a blessing to be a part of HHA. It’s (been) almost 3 years now and we’ve been looking forward and not turning our heads back.

We’ve accomplished so many projects such as:
-Water: We got it for the community of Bel-Air ,that water come from always to the mountains. It’s about 3-4 kilometer.we’ve layed at least 200 pipes that 40′ long.
-Church: We’ve reconstructed CALVAIRE CHURCH
-School:We have 22 kids that we sent to school,even though it ’s a public school
we still have pay.
-Baseball: We have the first baseball team in Haiti. That’s amazing!
- Orphanage: Three month ago ,we called our orphanage “KAY ANJ HAITI” . At that moment we have 22 lovely orphans.

I’ve committed myself to HHA and my dream is to have the best non-profit organization in town. Yes,we can! If you join us, you too can be a member of the HHA team.”