On our very first trip to Haiti, we met a little boy. His name was Donalson.

We came home from that first trip having met many, many people. A few of them we just couldn't forget. Donalson was one of them. We knew him, and he knew us.

In fact, when Jared and I went back to Haiti a few months later, Donalson was one of the first people to greet us upon our arrival. To say we loved him would be an understatement. There was just something special about him.

And so a friendship began. With each trip to Haiti, we looked forward to seeing Donalson and spending time with him. He frequently came to visit. He was bright, inquisitive, ready to learn. He never once said, "Hey, YOU. YOU!" and he never asked for anything. We knew his name, he knew ours, and what we shared was shared out of love.

He gave us beautiful drawings, and we often gave him the paper and pencils with which to draw.

When Haiti Awake was founded in October of 2014, Donalson began to come by our house to visit. He then started coming to the neighborhood Bible schools, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable. He wanted to be with us, but he is not a child anymore.

Soon Donalson was helping us at Bible schools - distributing crafts and snacks, helping with crowd control . . . even doing some interpreting.

And at some point . . . he became part of the Haiti Awake family. He's an essential part of our team.