Live Inspired - From the Lips of Children

"From the lips of children and infants, you have ordained praise..." Psalm 8:2

Meet Kristine, my little Haitian buddy and a girl who has captured my heart and mind since my trip. I can't believe how efficiently she dug under my skin. Kristine may look 4, but is probably closer to 6 or 7 due to malnutrition in Haiti. Her hair tinges orange, a sign of her dire need for food.

This little angel found me walking through the deaf community and latched on. When we returned a couple of days later, she found me again, wrapping her arms and legs around me like a monkey with a death grip.

Angel may be too kind a word. Kristine is a handful. She takes your stuff, bites, kicks, hits, all to get attention. My teammates dumped her into my arms, glad to be rid of the sunglasses-stealer. In my broken French and her fluent Creole, we formed a working understanding.

But, still, I fell in love with this little girl. She's a fighter. Her smile is contagious. She's curious. And because she lives in the deaf community, one or both of her parents suffers from a hearing disability. They can't hear the sound of her sweet laughter or sense her cries. Because she is a child of the physically impaired, she is looked upon as low in society, and unless cultural prejudices change, she will be forced to fight for everything she gets.

On my last day with her, we stood in a circle in the middle of a makeshift soccer field. The pastor of the deaf community led us in prayer and then led his community in a worship song while the hearing sang along. As I held Kristine, her eyes lit up and her impish smile turned my way. She began to hum in the sweetest voice, her hands moving with the deaf community - a beautiful picture of the best of two groups of people. I hummed with her and her eyes widened as she swung her legs, her whole body engaging. Kristine is a handful but she gets it. She hears a song praising the Creator and sings with both her hands and her heart.

For some reason, she laid heavy on my mind last night as I drifted to sleep. I prayed for this little girl to grow up and bridge the gap between the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf. I prayed she would fall passionately in love with Jesus and that He would protect her in a culture that has different standards than ours.

She is the future of Haiti. Will you join me in praying for her and children like her?