Evenine* and I met while interning at a Christ-centered nonprofit, Compassion International, that works to release children all over the world from poverty through holistic development and giving them the greatest gift one could ever receive—the truth of the gospel.

Crouched beneath the classroom desk, trying her best to hang on to hope as bullets flew across the school campus in a violent gang altercation. Her mind racing with thoughts of others who had passed away from literally being caught in the crossfire, she couldn’t help but think “Am I going to be one of them?” Gang violence is an everyday reality for the people of Haiti, with many years of struggle in its rear, and current battles still being fought. But, amidst this painful reality and the long-term hardship this country has faced, there lies the lovely and joyful people of Haiti—one of whom is Evenine: /ɛvənɪŋ/. Clearly coined from the creativity of a musician father, the name Evenine lays a beautiful sound to the ear. But what is even more beautiful is the person who bears it.

Haiti, a country with luscious landscapes, beautiful beaches and mountains covering most of its land. It is easy to marvel at the natural beauty that engulfs this island; each eye-catching natural attraction purposefully designed by our Creator. But beyond all the scenery Haiti is known for, the nation also has a reputation for some of the most resilient people. Haiti has time and time again been hit with crises, a lot of which has been out of the hands of man. But no matter what the people are faced with, they find a way to pull each other up and fight another day. How? The key, Evenine says, is community. It is much easier to fight when you’re not fighting alone. Evenine recalls her younger years in her home country with its lively neighborhoods, the ceaseless sound of music, contagious joy and communities where everyone knows everyone. “It’s easy to be happy because you have people,” says Evenine.

Beknown to most, this country has faced tremendous hardship, from natural disasters to poverty to political crisis and the more recent headliner, gang violence. Occurrences of gang violence were not foreign to Evenine, and as much as those unfortunate events terrified her, the scariest time in her life she recalls was the earthquake of 2010. She remembers waking up to a regular day, with everything business as usual. Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to shake. Her family quickly huddled together for safety as they listened to buildings collapse around them, wondering if they were witnessing the end of the world. All they could do was stay close together and wait for it to be over. When the noise stopped and they looked around their neighborhood, it was definitely not business as usual. Evenine, just nine years old at the time, was horrified as she saw high-rise buildings that now lay flat on the ground, corpses that littered her surroundings and a horrifying stench that lingered in her memory over time. She had to deal with the loss of close friends and neighbors that she was used to having around. But also, she had to deal with the fact that it could have been her.

What do you do when everything around you is falling apart and you have no control over your circumstances? For Evenine, she decided to look up to One who controls it all. With the hardships around her, she learned to trust God in everything. “You don’t really think about five years, you just trust God for tomorrow,” she stated. She sometimes finds herself wrestling with survivor’s remorse and doubts about her ability to do the great things she knows God wants her to do, but her hope remains in the Lord and not in herself. “I didn’t put myself where I am, so I can’t provide what I need”—only God can.

God had great plans for Evenine, and they are reflected in where she is today. Being the daughter of musicians, she has the melody of music flowing through her veins, which led to her singing in her church and eventually joining a choir group in Haiti, Hope Haitian Choir, that also had concerts in the United States. In 2019, Evenine was brought to the U.S. by missionaries who picked up on God’s calling for her life and wanted to present her with opportunities she otherwise would not have had in her hometown. Evenine does not take this for granted; she recognizes every day the favor God has so generously poured on her and she is determined to live her life in full devotion to Him, going wherever He calls her and doing all that He asks of her. She wants to show her brothers and sisters in Haiti that there is still hope and that they can still make it in life.

“God is writing a story so I can tell it to people.”

She wants to testify of what God has done in her life by telling her story and drawing other people in so God can begin to write theirs. She is living her life preparing for the day she is going to face God and answer the question, “What have you done?”

So, reader, what have you done?

*Evenine’s name was given to her by her late father who combined the names of two women who impacted his life greatly: Evelyn and Nina. Evelyn was a nurse who took care of her father when he was still a child, and Nina was the woman who adopted him years later.