As I am deciding which student’s home to visit today, I ask my co-workers which students have no parents. They reply, “Rosny.” Rosny, an 8th grader, is new to Grace Emmanuel School this year.

In mid-December, my husband and I go to Haiti for a long weekend to visit Grace Emmanuel School. I bring two special deliveries for the school: 275 crisp, blank Christmas letters for the students to write on (or color) for their sponsors, and the students’ ID badges.

There are many stories of struggle, pain, and grief among the 275 students of Grace Emmanuel School. There is one student’s story in particular that leaves me both brokenhearted and encouraged, all at the same time—a story, I’m convinced, far from over.

He’s an artist with a sweet demeanor, incredible smile, and loads of love to go around. Outside of class he can be found caring for his kindergarten sister, hanging with his best friend Dieunal, or creating a masterpiece.

It was the second day of school when we heard the news: the home of Dany and Carlos, ninth and tenth grade students and brothers, had burned down in an electrical fire during the school day.

Playing the violin has always been a dream for Alberte. A tenth grader at Grace Emmanuel School, she has asked me multiple times if there is any way we could offer music lessons. Last June she asked us if she could ask her sponsor to send her a violin for her birthday.