Names

Names hold significance.  I've often wondered how parents pick a name for their child.  How much of our identities are bound up in the names we are given when we are newborns?  

Stepping out of the truck yesterday and having the kids gather around and shout out "Miss Jessica!" made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved.  Being able to talk with them, remember their stories, and catch up on a year of life is a rich blessing. Here are just a few of the beloved names from today...

Kevenson came to Christian Light Children's Home after being cared for at a nearby missionary's home that specializes in caring for sick and malnourished infants.  Only a few years later, Kevenson is thriving in so many ways.  Today he "helped" me do some work in the sewing room.  Sorry for the blurry pictures, he was busy scooting around the room on a wheelie chair...

Miselene really did help with sewing.  As we sewed, she was sweet and shy talking about her school experience this year.  She was in the "late bloomers" class, which is full of the students who have come to CLS with an inconsistent schooling history.  In this class the students have a modified curriculum and extra support.  From the conversation today, it sounds like Miselene is doing well because she is going into the mainstream third grade classroom next year.  We had good times taking some silly "selfies" in the middle of our sewing project.

Octaline, who is Miselene's older sister, joined us in the afternoon after spending a long morning cleaning the new home for the orphanage.  She came in and sat right down at the sewing machine, eager to get to work.  Over the past three summers I have watched Octaline grow into a beautiful young woman, each year more committed to her Lord and serving those around her in very practical ways.  

Knowing the friends at CLS by name is meaningful.  Having them know me by name moves my heart in a unique way. Is it the level of familiarity?  Or maybe it's the feeling of belonging and acceptance?  To be known and called by name holds some kind of special significance.

This Easter I went to a sunrise service with a dear friend. The gathering was small and the service was brief in the cold of rural New Hampshire in early spring.  During the service, the pastor had us read the account of the resurrection from John 20...

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.  They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."  

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, 

but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

The pastor noted that it wasn't until Jesus called her by name that Mary recognized Him.  What an amazing and awe-inspiring thought, that the Lord of the universe calls us by name.  What a beautiful reminder of God's sovereignty, that He knows us intimately and cares for us deeply, whether we are a school teacher from rural New Hampshire or an orphaned child from Port au Prince.  

Thank you for your continued prayers and for following along with me on this adventure in Haiti!  

Love in Christ, Jessie