Samuel works at Peace Inn where we stay in Mizak, Haiti. If you ask him what he does at Peace Inn he will grin and simply say, “I do everything!” He carries bags, makes beds, he serves meals, he cleans up and so much more.

Samuel also plays the piano. On our last trip in August, Benjamin and I were sitting on the porch with Samuel talking. He brought out a photo book and showed us pictures of his family and friends. Proudly naming off each person and telling us stories about what was going on in the photos. At one point he walked in the house and came out carrying some sheet music and a keyboard.

He ran the plug through the open window to plug it in and turned it on. Nothing. He tweaked the wires a bit twisting them together and finally…we had a working keyboard! He started playing and singing some of the tunes from the sheet music he had given us, old church hymns. After a bit he belted out Can You Feel the Love Tonight from the Lion King. I swear I had the biggest grin on my face and tears in my eyes. The huge love that comes from Samuel is incredibly overwhelming.

When we arrived at Peace Inn on our last visit in January this year, he saw us and his eyes got huge and lit up. And through a huge grin, he exclaimed, “OH! I’m so glad to see you!” Talk about a warm welcome, Samuel made us feel like we had come home after a long journey of being away.

And when it was time to leave, he kept repeating “I don’t want you to go” and grinning mischievously, would motion like he was going to carry our bags back up the stairs.

Thanks for always taking care of us, Samuel. We will see you April!

-Amanda