Ronald

Remember Haiti: A story of Hope of a rejected and abused boy named Ronald (“Whoa-nal”).

Ronald’s mother died a few years ago. His father got remarried to a woman who hated Ronald and would not allow him to live with them. His father sent him to live with an Aunt who was very abusive and made him beg on the streets of Petionville for money and food. Our Haitian pastor saw him on the streets and went to his father and asked him to let Ronald come and live in our boys’ home. If he were to come, he would receive not only food, clothing, shelter and an education, but love and daily teaching about the Lover of our Souls, Jesus. His father agreed and Ronald came to live in our home on Jan 11th, 2010. The very next day, Petionville was completely destroyed in the earthquake. The streets where Ronald roamed were completely covered in rubble. If the Lord would not have lovingly placed Ronald in our home, the day before the earthquake, he surely would have died.

When I met Ronald (10 years old) for the first time in January 2010, he was a broken little boy with no life in his eyes. He had seen no love and had obviously been abused. He cried all of the time and was shunned because of the horrible skin condition that he picked up from the streets. He had never been to school, and didn’t even know the alphabet.

At the New Year’s Eve celebration this year, only a few minutes after I had seen Ronald during this trip, he immediately took my pen out of my journal and quickly wrote his name in cursive on his hand. When he raised it up to show me, there was such joy and excitement in his eyes. He was so proud of himself and was beaming! He knew how big of an accomplishment this was and couldn’t wait to show off his new skill!

I’ve been able to watch Ronald transform before my eyes over the past year. He is no longer the empty shell of a boy that he once was, but has a beautiful new soul. He has the Love of Christ in his heart and it’s evident in his eyes!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)