Eyes to See and Ears to Hear
Anna admits that she wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into when she and her family first traveled to Haiti with The Global Orphan Project (GO Project) in January 2008. Anna was 11 years old then and the youngest traveler on the trip by more than a decade.

But being young has its advantages.

“I think that because I was so young, the kids could really relate to me,” Anna says, her face lighting up at the memory. “They kind of flooded to me; they saw someone who was like them.”

Now almost four years later and with another trip to Haiti under her belt, Anna still vividly remembers two orphans from her first trip. The first was a boy named Titi.

“Right when we got there, Titi hugged my dad and started crying,” Anna remembers. “The earthquakes hadn’t happened yet, but his mom and dad had been swept away in the hurricanes while he and his sister watched from the roof. It broke my heart knowing that story and seeing how he hugged my dad.

“The other was a girl around my age—and I could tell she was a natural leader. One time we went inside the orphanage and saw the kids getting their food. She helped the others get their rice and beans and then she offered hers to us. Then all of the kids bowed their heads.

They were praying for us!

“I used to think that orphans were sad people who never smiled,” Anna admits, “but the kids I met were just like me. They love to play, have a good time, laugh. I was amazed at the joy they had. These kids had been given more than food and a place to live through the GO Project. They had been given Jesus.”

A Song from Above
Back at home months later, Anna couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful people she met in Haiti. One night, overcome with emotion at the difference between their lives and hers, she cried out to God through her tears. That night she clearly heard words and music in her head.

“When the music and words came, I wasn’t trying to write a song,” Anna reveals. “I was just asking God what I could do. I started jotting dots on a Post-it® note by my bed so I’d remember the melody in the morning. It was the beginning to ‘Heart For Haiti,’ a song from my heart written and sung to share my experience and help the children I met.”

A violinist since age 5, Anna decided to create a CD along with her family and some musical friends. All donations go to the GO Project to help build more orphanages and transform the lives of children by introducing them to Jesus Christ.

What You Have + God = Amazing
Anna’s initial goal was to raise $5,000 to build one orphanage in Haiti, but God had even bigger things in mind. The CD came out in the fall of 2009, then the earthquakes hit Haiti in January 2010.

“Once the earthquake happened, people became even more aware of what we were doing,” Anna says. To date, Anna’s organization, Heart for Haiti, has raised more than $65,000.

“It can be overwhelming when you hear statistics of all the people who need help,” Anna says, “but it’s important to focus on doing what you can. I’m just an ordinary girl, but I’ve read in the Bible about God taking someone who didn’t have a lot to offer and making it so much more.

“God has given everyone strengths and talents. Your talent doesn’t have to be an art like the violin or something physical such as sports. It can be a quality about you—like listening. Listening to someone who really needs to talk is using your gifts for God’s glory.”

Speaking of Talking ...
“Sure, I’m good at music,” Anna says, “but I’m also naturally shy. Little did I know that after the CD came out, I’d actually have to talk to people about it! God took me way out of my comfort zone.

“Maybe it’s not even about your talents,” she continues thoughtfully. “Maybe God is nudging you to use something you think is a weakness. Maybe He wants you to share your faith or talk about tough topics.

“If God has opened something in your heart, you need to take hold of it and use the opportunity,” Anna states earnestly. “God will use us—even when we have doubts. Moses thought he wasn’t good at talking, but God used him.”

It’s stepping out in weakness, knowing that God is strong, that has really stretched and grown Anna’s faith.

Good Doesn’t Mean Easy
Anna wants to be clear that she doesn’t have all the answers and that following your heart can be hard work. No Sunday school fill-in-the-blank answers here, she says, shaking her head and laughing.

“Sometimes I would get so discouraged. Satan can really discourage me if I’m playing my violin and I can’t ‘get’ something. It’s easy to get caught up in my own life and fears. I have to take it day by day so it isn’t so overwhelming and keep the big picture in mind.”

Just As You Are
No matter where you are in your faith or how old you are, Anna believes it’s never too soon to start making a difference! In fact, she believes God has used the fact that she’s young to attract attention to her work with the GO Project.

“I really believe that God uses kids. Don’t put it off and think this is stuff you’ll do in the future. Right now is the most important time, because it’s the foundation of our lives. If we wait, we’ve lost an opportunity.

“And,” she adds with a gleam in her eye, “sometimes when people think of teenagers, they don’t have high expectations for us. Why not show them what we’re capable of?”

Back to Haiti
In the summer of 2011, Anna headed back to Haiti with the GO Project to see the villages she was helping to build and meet the children and mommas living in them.

“It was good to go back and be reminded of what it’s like,” she says. “This time was really neat because I went with some friends and their families.”

She says going back also gave her a fresh focus. She admits it’s easy to get wrapped up in one’s self—especially in high school—and to become distracted by things such as Facebook and texting.

“Living here (in North America), life gets so busy. Even reading your Bible can seem tough. But in Haiti, they don’t have the distractions.

This woman who led the worship just sang her heart out. Even though it wasn’t in our language, it was so pure and powerful. Just holding up my hands—not wondering what people might think of me—felt so uninhibited.

“I talk a lot about Haiti, and I’d definitely encourage anyone who can to go on a missions trip, but this is all true about your community and your school, too. If you invest in a few people to the point where they’ll invest in others, it’s a ripple effect that goes on and on. It feels small, but it’s so much bigger—and God can turn it into something huge. The person who’s left out at school ... the elderly couple in your neighborhood ... they could all be changed by what you’re doing.”

God-Sized Goals
Work has already begun on a second CD, and Anna is currently in the midst of determining the direction it will go. She’s looking forward to seeing how God will shape the process this time.

“The first CD was easy—well, not easy, but once God gave me that song, it fell into place. It’s up to God if I’m supposed to do another song, so this time we have a lot of possibilities. I think a contemporary version of hymns would be cool.”

Anna has also adjusted for a God-sized goal, and hopes to be able to support 50 kids and mommas for three years in village orphanages through the GO Project until they can sustain themselves. $15,000 added to the $65,000 already raised will get her there.

“When we went back to Haiti last summer to see the village we’re building, a pastor told me that orphans and kids are Haiti’s future. So if we can help these kids go to school and church to learn about Jesus, they can be the new leaders and turn the country around—toward God.”

One open heart plus God sounds like a good start.

Heather Knight is the executive director of SUSIE Magazine. She is over the moon that two of her favorite ministries—SUSIE Magazine and The Global Orphan Project—are partnering to help orphans this Christmas season.

Extra stuff:
Go to www.annafromtheheart.com to view Anna’s video and hear “Heart for Haiti.”

About The Global Orphan Project:
The Global Orphan Project, Inc. mobilizes local Christian churches in some of the poorest areas on earth to care for the neediest orphaned and vulnerable children in their communities. For more information, visit www.theglobalorphanproject.org.

OPEN your heart with SUSIE’s Real Gift of Christmas! Go to www.openherworld.com to see how YOU can make a difference in the lives of orphans this Christmas.