Limita - One of the Girls

1995
I was single. George had long hair - I knew him but he wasn't even on my radar.
I was Resident Director of McKee Hall at Geneva College. It was the best job I could imagine - I was a college grad and my full time job was living with around a hundred college women. We just did life together. I loved (almost) every minute of it. We laughed and we cried together. I gave advice on everything from outfits to classes to boys to careers. Those were memorable years.

One of the most memorable parts of my job was a Discipleship Group that I started in 1995. I invited 2 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 2 juniors and 2 seniors to be a part of the group. We decided to study the bible together and hold each other accountable to living as Christ calls us to live. Each year as the 2 seniors graduated we added 2 new freshmen.

One person that never left the group was a little girl named Limita. Limita was 5 years old the year we "chose" her from among hundreds of other Compassion children. We chose her because she was a girl, and we chose her because she was from Haiti. Together we supported her financially and wrote her letters on a regular basis. After I left Geneva College I took Limita with me. I've supported her now for 15 years. Limita is now the age those students were when they were a part of our Discipleship Group. Wow. What a different life she has lived.

I can't shake the images of Haiti that have bombarded my computer and T.V. screen. I don't know that I want to shake those images. I am desperate for a world without pain, poverty and earthquakes. I give a few dollars - but I know that's not enough. I pray - yet I want to do so much more. I trust in a God who holds the world in His hand and who promises not to let go. I wonder what He wants me to do. A few more dollars and a few more prayers. My eyes are open and my heart is broken and I want so much more for my life than just the next big thing. I want the next big thing to be doing the right thing for a girl like Limita and a country like Haiti. As I sit here in my big, beautiful home planning ski trips and menus I fight the guilt. I am so blessed. I want my life to make a difference. I praise God for the opportunity to love a girl like Limita.

Please say a prayer for Limita. We have not heard whether she is safe or not. Pray that our nation will not shake the images, that we will continue to have compassion for the people of Haiti.



ps Chrissie, Dawn, Rachel ... who else remembers "picking out" Limita at Jubilee? On one hand it seems like yesterday, on the other hand it seems like a life time ago. As I pray for Limita I say a prayer for you all too - what good times those were!