Salitasyon…Greetings,

My name is Kirk Huehls.  My sons and I recently returned from yet another trip from Brit's Home in Haiti. My history goes back much further however to when Britney actually came to a bonfire I hosted for a junior high youth group many years ago…. I remember her as being sharp, a bit cheeky, and was always surrounded by friends. Time past, events unfolded, but a few years ago my path crossed with someone who told me they were going down with Be Like Brit on a mission trip. I asked if they needed any more volunteers, to which I committed immediately! That was the beginning of what in my family, has become an incredible journey. When asked to write this I was both Humbled and Honored. Without a doubt my trips have changed many things in my life, but more importantly it has changed many things in the lives of my two sons, and to witness that has been a journey unto itself.

If I had to say that there is one thing that makes the experience worth it, I would be really hard pressed to identify it. Yes, the children at the orphanage are amazing, every year I see them growing, learning, and becoming more confident, but that’s not entirely it, nor is it building a house for a family that live in truly desperate conditions. Last year a Britsionary on our trip stated “I came here expecting that it would be the big things that would have an impact on me, But… it’s the Little Things that really stand out!”  

Haiti to me has become this Dichotomy (a division or contrast between two things that are represented as being opposed or entirely different… Webster) Haiti is a beautiful country with an equal and opposite harshness, deeply stricken with the reality of poverty. Its people are as poor as I have ever witnessed, Yet…. They are an open, loving, joyful and beautiful community. Many have stated that they have gone to Haiti to help make a change, but Haiti changed them. If one stops to consider that for a moment, you’ll quickly realize how strong a statement it really is, Brit got that, most that have volunteered I venture to say have gotten that, my sons and I have gotten that for sure!

The title song on my new album “I can’t say” was written based on my trips with BLB and it goes, ”When I stand here in this valley, and I look across that sea, I can see the hope that lives there, and a sun/son that rose for me”. Year over year, I see improvement, thou not all huge, every step forward is improvement. More lights in Grand Goave from the roof at night, the children conversing in English, French, and Creole ( heck, I barely speak English), more piles of concrete mix at every turn, more little things…. My grandfather had a saying, to eat an elephant, one must take one bite at a time… My father taught me that….man drives hammer and hammer drives nail, one step, then another! That’s Haiti… And for the foreseeable future, I look forward to seeing the children at Brit’s Home grow, hearing the roosters and the children in the morning, the lady’s in the kitchen that greet me with a smile and a hug , embracing the chaos, and sharing it with as many people as I can, None the least, My children.