She seems quiet to the point of being shy.  Making eye contact is more an effort than a challenge.  A bigger challenge only to making her smile.  For a stranger -- forget it!  You'll have to try to break the ice on your next visit.

Christella is a very special girl that has lived most her life on the streets of Port-au-Prince.  She's a survivor.  Hard as nails.  Crafty.  A fierce competitor who loves to play.  Knowing more than she ever wanted to know about the ugly side of life.  But beneath the tough exterior is a sweet little girl who is just trying to reclaim a lost childhood.

At thirteen, soon to be fourteen, she has lived and seen more than most people ever will in a lifetime.  The streets are hard anywhere in the world but in Port-au-Prince a child becomes an adult if they want to live.

As one of our newer residents, when I told her I wanted to profile her in our newsletter, she was excited.  Asking a few questions about favorite things to do, favorite school subjects and best friends was easy.  But when I asked her to tell me about life before the orphanage she just broke down.  No words.  Just tears.  There was nothing she wanted to say.  Nothing she could say.

We know little about her pre-MDL life.  There is no family to speak of but she claims they are out there somewhere.  We found her after she had shaved her head and was pretending to be a boy to get into a special home for street boys.  When she was discovered a friend who was involved in the program called and basically said, "She can't go back to the street."

We know that most street girls would rather take up residence in a person's home where they are regularly abused than to subject themselves to the unknowns of sporadic and ofttimes frightening abuse on the streets.  Even though we had no space at the girls home we took her in and are so thankful we did.  God is moving dramatically in this young girl's life -- and the best is yet to some.

Although she has endured much in her short time on this earth she now has a new, very real relationship with Jesus.  And He is healing and restoring her in an amazing way.  She says with enthusiasm that her two favorite things in life are playing and praying.  She loves sports -- soccer and basketball specifically, and any other game she can learn.  But her passion is prayer.  She loves to spend time with God regularly throughout the day and prays for people she knows.  She's a prayer warrior.

Her teachers say she is very bright -- especially in mathematics.  She's been told her she can become anything she wants because with Christ "all things are possible" -- but that is a little too hard to grasp right now.  A future, especially a promising one, is just too abstract to comprehend at this point in her life.

That's o.k.  God is taking his time with this gentle flower and He has great things in store.

A dream come true! 

While here to build houses and help with other repair projects, a team from Wellspring Christian Fellowship in Washington state began one of our biggest post-earthquake projects - putting a roof on part of our sports and recreation center.

Immediately after the earthquake, we started holding church services in Ben's (our little sports center next to the boys home), up on the basketball court.  It was a place where local people could "come as you are," heal and find hope and fellowship with God's people.  They could come without worrying about how they were dressed or what they looked like to participate in a Spirit-filled Creole/English service. The service was attended by many of the families in a nearby ravine area we serve.  The MDL staff and kids put on the service every week.  It was a beautiful time.

We have not held services in Ben's for a while but it has been our prayer to start doing so again.  Although it is not completed yet (it  still needs crossbars and a tin sheeting roof),  the new roof structure will help make that possible. In addition to church services, the roof will allow us to better conduct our muTch feeding program as  it will serve as a shelter from the rain and sun.

Praise God for this new addition and the incredible team of servants from Washington.