40-40-40 ... Day 3: PEARLS in Haiti
PEARLS in Haiti
In September 2009 I led a team from my church to Haiti for a short-term mission trip. During that trip we visited a missionary friend of mine who ran a boy’s home. I always visited my friend when I was in country, with or without teams, and looked forward to spending a Sunday afternoon with her and the boys. My friend had unexpectedly taken in an infant girl the month before, named Rachenaelle (a Haitian version of Rachel). The baby’s birth mom had suffered from pre-eclampsia and stroked during the delivery. Mom was alive, but paralyzed on the left side and could not care for her newborn daughter. I always took every opportunity to cuddle a precious baby, so of course I immediately scooped her up! I had held dozens of precious Haitian babies over the years, but this time was very different. In an instant God gave me a mother’s love for this precious child. It was a visceral reaction, as if I had given birth to her myself. Thankfully God also stirred my husband’s heart so upon my return home we jumped headfirst into the adoption process.
Since my name is also Rachel we wanted to choose a middle name and use that instead. As I was praying, Rachel Emmanuella (Emma) came to me. Emmanuella is the feminine version of Emmanuel. We later learned that her birth father’s name is Emmanuel and her brother’s name is Emmanuelson. It is Hebrew for God with us, and He certainly was!
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| The very first time I ever held Emma in my arms at my missionary friends home in September 2009. A team member snapped this photo. |
I returned to Haiti in early January 2010 for my job and stayed with my friend so that I could bond with our daughter. Her pack-n-play was set up next to my bed and I cherished every cuddle, bath and feeding. It was so hard saying goodbye on January 9th as I prepared to fly back to Ohio! I was already counting the days until I would hold her again that coming March.
Seventy-two hours later a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and our precious 5-month-old baby was in the middle of the wreckage.
For thirty-six hours we didn’t even know if she was alive. I collapsed on the floor when we received the call that she was safe, but our relief was quickly replaced by fear. What about access to formula? Where would they find clean drinking water? We felt so helpless! Thankfully when God has a plan, nothing is going to stop it!
At that time Haitian adoptions were taking two to three years to finalize, but under these disastrous circumstances the U.S. Government made an unprecedented decision to allow families adopting Haitian children to apply for Humanitarian Parole. Seven weeks after the earthquake I flew back to Haiti to bring our daughter home! (You can read more about that adventure here!) Five months TO THE DAY that God had told me she was my daughter she was sleeping in her crib in Ohio. He literally moved mountains to bring her home.
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| Emma being handed back to me on the tarmac in Port-au-Prince when she was granted Humanitarian Parole on February 26, 2010. |
After Emma’s adoption was finalized stateside I was determined to find her birth family. With the help of an expatriate, I traveled out to a village called Bonnet (pronounced Bow-neigh) in the winter of 2011 and met Emma’s birth mom and siblings. Seeing the mud and stick hut where Emma was born without prenatal care or assistance was haunting. Her birth family had moved to a one-room plywood house after the earthquake, but their living conditions were shocking even for someone who had been working in Haiti as long as I had. I immediately committed to assisting them in any way we could. This was the beginning of what has now become "PEARLS in Haiti".
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| My first trip to Bonnet in January 2011. This was the hut Emma was born in. |
Over the past seven years I have visited Bonnet at least once a year and developed relationships and trust. During that time, Director Exius from the village school where my husband and I were sponsoring our daughter’s Haitian siblings' educations, persistently inquired if we would consider helping other families in the community. He could see, firsthand, how our involvement had positively impacted Emma’s birth family. His community was falling through the cracks and needed a champion. At first I declined. I was busy working with a non-profit that ran a children’s hospital in Port-au-Prince. I also felt my efforts in Bonnet were personal and didn’t think that Haiti needed another non-governmental organization (NGO). Haiti is already known as the NGO capital of the world! But, with the Holy Spirit's prompting it became clear what I was being called to do. So I resigned from the organization I was involved with and turned my focus to Bonnet.
I am in awe of what God has done since I took that step of obedience! I traveled back to Bonnet in late September to gather information on the needs of the community and by mid-November "PEARLS in Haiti" was officially incorporated. On January 12, 2018 - the 8th Anniversary of the devastating earthquake that brought our daughter home and led me to Bonnet - PEARLS received our tax determination letter as a 501(c)(3)!
The name PEARLS was chosen for three reasons. First, the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price - Matthew 13:45-46. Second, Haiti was once known as the Pearl of the Antilles for its beauty - a beauty that is still there, but often overlooked. And third, PEARLS is an acronym for our vision of Partners Enriching Academics and Resources Leading to Sustainability. Through a partnership with Director Exius at the Village School of the Future, PEARLS is currently focused on providing educational grants for children, nutritious food for the students, and clean drinking water and filters to every household in Bonnet. Our efforts are requested, targeted and measurable.
Rachel Mills
Founder and Director
ACTION STEPS:
LEARN more about the work of PEARLS in Haiti by visiting their GORGEOUS website: PearlsInHaiti.org
FOLLOW their very active Facebook page: PEARLS in Haiti
ATTEND an event in Ohio or Michigan: Paint & PEARLS
REQUEST a visit from Founding Director Rachel Mills to speak to your group about PEARLS in Haiti: pearlsinhaiti@gmail.com
DONATE: PEARLS has 4 options for donating: to education grants, fresh water, nutritious meals for school children, or "where most needed" so that administrators can determine how to allocate the funds. Donations go through PayPal, though you don't need a PayPal account in order to donate. You will be given the option to pay via credit card. All options are available at: PearlsInHaiti.org/Donate. (I couldn't help myself. I had to give more than my $40 allowance for the day when I found out that $50 would provide two weeks worth of healthy meals!)
Please join me in supporting this incredible organization, and the faithful leading of its founders to the people of Bonnet.
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