Three Angels Orphanage is a place of family; from the toddlers in the upstairs nursery that throw their chubby little bodies against you begging for love, to the older children who come into the nursery to cuddle the babies when they are crying. All of the children have a place. Here the kids call everyone "momma" or "daddy." It's common practice in Haiti. But at the orphanage they mean it. Everyone who comes treats them special. Everyone who comes applauds their work and laughs at their jokes. Everyone who comes is about these kids, and showing even the children who don't have adoptive families yet, that they are very special. Birthdays are remembered. Toys are shared. Individual time is given to each child. The children have nannies who bathe them multiple times a day, feed them and shower the kids with kisses and comfort. One can often hear their rich voices singing lullabies in Creole. The children at three angels are not only nourished with food, but attention from each other, nannies, mission teams and live-in employees.

The children at Three Angels attend church each Sunday in a small courtyard between the orphanage and the new medical clinic that is being built. Bible books and stories are provided. Worship songs are sung and music is played. Here the children are not only taught about Jesus, they are shown Jesus through the example of those taking care of them. Again and again the employees here have time for a hug, or a kiss, or a tickle while on their way to do something. There is always patience left over for another problem, another dirty diaper, another need, another skinned knee or grief observed. There is gentleness, kindness and discipline with love. No child is told that there isn't time for them, or left unattended and without attention.

The children at Three Angels wake early in the morning because the sun comes up early in Haiti. Their talking, yelling and laughing begins before 6 am. After being fed, bathed and dressed by nannies the learning and playing of the day begins. Mission teams provide toys to be played with by bringing great amounts of them in big duffel bags: puzzles, chalk, coloring books, bubbles, Barbies, trucks, Legos, blocks and crafts. The children play outside in the courtyard or inside in a big open room. Their toys fill a wall of shelves. They often play together on their see-saw, with Legos, puzzles or by coloring. Creative and bright, one can often hear them imagining and sharing. Even at the end of the day they can be heard telling stories by lantern light due to the sporadic lack of electricity in Haiti.

The children are split into two levels of the orphanage. Upstairs are infants and toddlers. Downstairs are children from about ages three to nine. The older kids often go to the nursery to hold and cuddle little ones. The babies are fed at a little round table in their nursery, and bathed in tubs on a big red counter in the corner of their room. Afterward, the nannies take the little ones on their laps to powder legs, necks, bellies, and arms so skin will stay fresh in the humidity. The kids down stairs eat at three little tables, and then run outside to be soaped up and washed down in cast iron tubs.

Three Angels not only ministers to the children of Port au Prince. It also provides jobs for many local Haitians. Two groups of nannies have been hired: one during the day, and another group at night. The nannies wash, feed, play with, and put the children to bed. Three Angels has also hired a laundry staff, cooks, and local teachers to teach in a one room school house at Three Angels Christian Academy. Administrators and clinical workers have been hired as well.

The body of Christ is evident at Three Angels. Aside from local employees, those who love Christ are constantly serving Three Angels. Most of the supplies at the orphanage are brought down by mission teams: formula, towels, clothing, baby powder and lotion, toys, school supplies and uniforms, bedding, cloth diapers and shoes. Several people donate new and used clothing, shoes and supplies. Other donors provide much needed funds. Mission teams build on the Three Angel's facility, clean, work on projects and play with the children. Staff members come from around the United States for months at a time to live onsite and serve the children and the ministry. Angela, the house manager, is constantly opening her upstairs apartment to guests and staff. She always has a moment to give to a kid who wants her comment on a picture drawn, or her sympathy for a scratched knee.

The children at Three Angels are not treated as a whole, but instead as individual people who need individual attention and care. Names are known. Separate personalities are laughed at and talked about. Birthdays are celebrated. Each day on the staff member's calendars is marked with a child's name because a continuing cycle gives every child a day where they are treated special; whether they be taken upstairs for individual play time in Angela's apartment, given a treat to eat or invited to sleep with a staff member.

Surrounded by local markets and tropical plants, Three Angels is located in the heart of Port Au Prince, Haiti. Radio Haiti can be seen from the Three Angel's school. The scenery is beautiful: mountains and beaches. Coming here is an incredible experience, not only in working with children and serving Christ selflessly, but culturally, in learning about another place. Haiti is teeming with life: radios, singing, cheering and laughing can be heard well into the night. Traffic is an experience in itself. Flying into Haiti from the air is eye opening also. One can see brown water surrounding the island offset by blue and green water so bright it seems dyed. The clouds cast purple shadows. Your plane flies over breathtaking mountains and tropical landscape. But Haiti is a land of stark contrast. Soon you'll see tiny tin huts with dirt floors, people covered in dirt and filth and rag-like clothing hanging out to dry. There you'll have to catch your breath, and focus on what you're seeing because it's almost surreal. There you will see why Christ brought you to Haiti: whether it be to serve in the orphanage, adopt a child, or sponsor Three Angels. Haiti is a country of abundant need. Here at the orphanage that need will come in the form of little hands reaching out for your love and attention, little faces looking up for your kisses, and little hearts crying or laughing- all wanting your attention, love and to call you "momma" or "daddy."

Three Angels children know the system of adoption by now, and bond quickly with adoptive parents. After meeting their new parents, a new light comes into their eyes. A new lilt in their walk. They are different. They belong. It is very evident. The children smile differently. They live differently. They stand out. Here at Three Angels one of the first English phrases the children learn is "I'll be back!" They know what it means. They believe it. They wave goodbye to their adoptive parents with tears, but heads held a little higher. They have seen it before, and they know what will happen. Sometime soon their parents will be coming back to take them away to their "forever home." They have new hope. Angela put it well when she explained to one of the boys, Caleb, about his parents leaving: "they are not going to quit you." He nodded, and went on his way to wait for them to return.