My Broken Heart

Hi!  This is Phoebe! Another emotional day! We visited the elders. The first one we visited was Izna. Izna is a 91-year-old who used to live with  her son in a tent. Her son was an alcoholic and stole from her. Thankfully, now she lives in a cement house where she is visited often by Healing Haiti. When we arrived at her house, she was sitting alone on her little chair. I then ran up to her and gave her a hug. She looked at me and smiled. Suddenly, I was feeling sad that all Izna had was a mattress and a chair, that she was alone, and that people had tried to steal from her in the past. I thought, "Why can't she live in a retirement home where she gets 24/7 care like my grandmother.? What was God's plan for this 91-year-old woman?" Emotions overtook me and I started to cry.  Balling. We sang with her and brought her food. We then prayed over her and asked if she had any prayer requests. She answered her pain.  As we began to leave, I gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. She spoke to me in Creole which I still do not comprehend, but I thought it was beautiful.  How could I leave this woman?  I went outside and cried thinking about how I would have to face my fear to leave this woman alone. This woman has truly changed me and broken my heart.

Written by Phoebe (age 13)