What GLA Means
But mostly, my heart was touched by the precious children. They are the reason that all of the above-mentioned people work so hard. I was moved by the big tears – and big smiles – of the babies in the nursery. Okay, the smelly diapers were moving too, but in a different way! I was amazed at how many developmental changes I saw in two short weeks, due to the willingness of volunteers to work with the babies and toddlers, and to show them unconditional love. These kids have been through more trauma in their short lifetimes than we can even imagine here in Canada.
So what does GLA mean? It means a lot of people working relentlessly to battle the hardships of life in Haiti, to battle forces of spiritual darkness, and to be a light to the children who need to know that love exists, that they are worth it, and that somebody wants good things for them.
I could literally write a book about the ways that GLA has impacted our family but I’m just going to share a bit of the beginning of our involvement with GLA. It all started while having coffee with a couple a few “towns” over from us back in 2003. They have two kids adopted from Haiti and at that point, we were in the middle of our “search” for where God wanted us to go to find our children. We had confidence that God was telling us He had one “or more” children waiting for us – we just hadn’t found them yet.
During the evening of discussion, I remember clearly asking them, “So what would you recommend we do?” His response was very clear – call Dixie and set up a time to go down and volunteer – you’ll see for yourself at that point. So, we did. In June of 2003, we spent time volunteering at GLA and were at once touched and saddened. Touched by the difference that God’s Littlest Angels is making in the lives of the children and saddened by the situations that so many children in Haiti find themselves in. Oh and deeply impacted by the beauty of both the Haitian countryside and the Haitian people.
We came back to the US, finished up the process and welcomed two Haitian children into our home the next year. We are so glad that they told us to call Dixie. Our lives are better, richer and deeper because of it.
Please help GLA by going to http://givingoflife.com/browse/gods_littlest_angels_haitian_baby_ministry/ and voting for us in the campaign for $50,000. Also, if you could help and make a donation to help us meet our year end goals, that would be awesome. You can do that at http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/hairless-for-haiti/.
Thank you for your support!
Tom Vanderwell
tom@glahaiti.org
When our middle son’s family adopted two beautiful children from God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti, we had no idea how closely connected we would be to that orphanage in the future. Not only did we get two more grandchildlren, but we were blessed to become a part of a mission that is so impressive.
GLA has so impacted our one granddaughter that she is now preparing to enter nursing school because the summers that she has spent at GLA have made her want to spend her life doing that kind of mission. We have personally met many of the staff and are so impressed with their total dedication to caring for children and providing excellent health care not only for those who hope to be adopted, but those in the community that need medical care. In addition, the nannies are there for extended periods of time so that the children are given continuity in their care. That care was most obvious after the earthquake rocked that whole area.
The phyiscal aspects of the care of GLA are incredible. They provide care that is superior to many of the hospitals in the area. But they also provide love and care that is provided by volunteers from around the world. When you look at their website and pictures that our family takes, you see well dressed children who play with bright colored toys. The children in GLA receive both wonderful care and lots of love. They certainly receive our personal support!