Her Name is Belandina

Her name is Belandina. She looks to be eight or nine years old. She is one of four small children Kenny Kennedy brought from a desert area of Haiti called Ange Rouge. Their parents had died and an aunt was trying to care for them but she had no source of income. Kenny decided to bring them to the village where they are being cared for and are attending school and church. She has lived through poverty and loss that none of us, having been raised in the US, can imagine.

Belandina is always happy and always helpful. Through her poverty she has maintained her positive attitude and is always smiling. She is the first to start cleaning up after a meal or helping where ever she is able.

As I watched her, so happy and content regardless of her circumstance, it reminded me of how our Lord expects us to be or perhaps, how a life in Christ should look like. I’m reminded of Paul, singing in prison. His condition was pretty awful but his heart was filled with God’s love and joy.

Her joy in spite of her sad and sparse life is an indictment to me. I wonder why so many of us, in the US, who live in such abundance, find such joy so elusive.