Not many things are for certain in Haiti, but most can count on poverty and death. So how do children, most of whom are orphans, survive such depressing realities while also living in an orphanage? I discovered the answer when I visited Haiti earlier this month with my wife, Kayla, and Orphan's Tear director Elisabeth Walter.

We've seen all kinds of poverty this week in Haiti: economic, political and spiritual. It's not hidden, like in much of the US, but as if intentionally exposed for all to see.

Fight the French! Kayla (my wife) could not believe her ears. She had just returned from a much-needed restroom visit midway through a 3-1/2-hour Sunday church service—which I learned was pretty standard in Haiti—feeling very confused.

What do you want to be when you grow up? is a familiar question to most of us. We often hear (or said) things like a firefighter so I can save lives or an astronaut so I can explore space. (Ask enough children and you'll probably get one that says firefighting astronaut!) Almost always the answers are fanciful, or extend far beyond the likely reach of that child—or so we think.