Aaron Choi
Aaron Choi visited Haiti after its massive earthquake and shares his experience in learning from a young boy.
Last month, I had the privilege to visit Haiti, the small Caribbean country regarded as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
After the catastrophic earthquake struck this January, Haitians have struggled to continue their everyday lives. Among the chaos is a small orphanage that nurtures about 200 orphans. I went with my church group to spend a day at the orphanage. We passed out coloring sheets and colored pencils to the children for them to color. Hoping to help them, I sat in between two kids. Their names were Naisson and Rafael.
I noticed that while Naisson was completely engaged in his coloring, Rafael was motionless. Suspecting some sort of mental illness, I let him be. Soon, Naisson was boasting about his completed drawing. But ten minutes later, he handed me his second completed drawing and pointed to Rafael. Then he gestured for me to give the drawing to Rafael as a gift.
It was a demonstration of grace I don’t see in grown-ups, and I was embarrassed at myself for such a rash understanding of him and for assuming the worst. He was, after all, a compassionate young man who probably has more maturity and wisdom than me.
