Haiti Bound

Article from LA TIMES

2010-06-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Please read this article about Haiti's current condition

LA Times - Opinion

P.E.Q. T. E. PART 2

2010-05-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

The kids have all grown up so much! It's amazing! All those little boys are all talking so much and have left so much of the baby behind!!!!
The little house thay they have been living in is such a blessing, as so many in other places are still stuck outside in the elements. It is quite a hot little building, but 6 ceiling fans help a lot. There are some holes that need to be patched up, as we discovered when it really pours hard, some water finds its way in! There are three little rooms, and everyone has their own bed. The workers have been doing a great job of making do, and the kids look so healthy! For sure the regular scabies and impetigo, but nothing too crazy to deal with right there, thanks to all the supplies that I was able to bring in! THANKS SO MUCH for the polysporing and anti-fungal creams, and the funds to get many other medical supplies that we so needed! It was so wonderful to have everything I needed while I was there! I was also able to purhase some supplies while I was down in Haiti, and this really helped in some areas that were lacking.
The first few days were tough....so much to try and tackle, and then Yvenel's funeral, taking Michael back to his Haitian family, and then having a little baby get really sick, all in one day, really fried my brain for a couple days. I really had to slow down and one night my mind was just whirring and God just spoke to me about some things that I hadn't thought out too well in all of that, so I just had to slow down and pay attention.

It was funny to be there, with this big house that appears to only have superficial cracks, and have everyone outside! Really hard to kind of wrap my mind around!Though, I did decide, that in the future on really bad mosquito nights, I will most certainly be pulling out a tent!! Best bug net ever!!!!
Things are running pretty well, but I did decide that if the kids are going to be in that circumstance for a while, there is going to be need for a large cement pad to be laid in the back yard, with a shade of some sort! There is not really a clean place for the kids to play, out of the dirt(mud when it rains) and out of the sun at some times of the day. This would help a lot with the scabies we have been struggling with as the kids seem to always end up in the dirt after bathtime!
Please continue to pray for the planning of the future of HCH as there are a lot of things on the table right now and some big decisions to be made in the near future!
Mathieu, our Haitian director, has been doing an amazing job! He has taken many projects on to make things as they are as best as possible. I was quite blessed and amazed to see him getting his hands dirty along with everyone, really striving to make the best of things! We are so blessed to have him there! Please pray for him as he carries this huge responsibility!

It was so different to be there with so many of my kids gone! I always felt like we were missing someone, especially when we took the kids swimming or on walks, and well, we were! The group is so young now compared to when I arrived in 2007!! There are only 6 kids over three years old now! Crazy! So different! I was thinking onw night that I need to ravamp my kids songs repetoire, as most of them are a little old for the huge group of toddlers that are part of the singing group! And they LOVE to sing!

Please continue to pray for adoptions. They are opening up again, and we have about 33 kids who need homes! Lots of little boys looking for a family! We do have some files already on the way, so it's pretty exciting to see things moving along and God answering prayer!

P.E.Q. T. E. (post-earthquake thoughts and experiences) PART 1

2010-05-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I am on my way home and I figured I might as well start to jot down some thoughts about my trip. Mostly, I just can’t believe how fast 2 weeks can go by! Crazy! And Lame!
So…thoughts, notes, experiences, etc…
I drove in Port a few days after I arrived to drop a volunteer off at the airport and pick up a few things for HCH. On my way in I had seen a few glimpses of the effects of Jan. 12th, but not too much in the airport area. It blew my mind.I have NEVER seen anything like the effects of a huge earthquake firsthand, and it was really hard to absorb. I had seen many,many pictures, but actually seeing the destruction was quite devastating. I think it hit home the most when I saw the little store that we used to go to to do back-room-money-for-cheque-exchanges with the friendly Syrians(it’s not nearly as shady as it sounds). It was in a three story building that had been reduced to 2. The first floor was completely flattened. You could have literally walked in the door of what used to be a second floor store, now right at street level. I hadn’t known until that point that “One-Stop” had been destroyed and no one around seemed to know anything about our Syrian friends, or the super-nice owner Terrick who used to give us discounts and stuff that wasn’t selling in the store. This really threw me for a loop and thankfully we were just a couple blocks from one of our destinations cuz I wasn’t in a good state for driving in crazy Port-au-Prince. I was really thankful to find out that everyone inside had managed to make it out before the building fell! AMAZING! Hope to see those friends next time I am in Haiti. Word is they are planning to start over in a new spot.
Building after building was closed and blocked off, merchants making use of the miles of now free-for-all fencing and such to display their goods. There is rebar poking out all over like a pile of pick-up-sticks, and everwhere you look, piles of cement arranged just-so in an attempt to be neat despite the overwhelming amount of rubble. And this is almost 4 months later! Still so much to do, and yet there was no mistaking the reality that the Haitian people have and continue to pull themselves out of the rubble. One of the hardest things I think to absorb was the tent cities that have sprung up in every nook and cranny not already taken up with a house or the remnants of a house. There were some streets that are now one way because one side of the street has become the property of the people who have literally been forced to camp out on the street. In some places, there were even tents set up on the meridian dividing traffic flowing in opposite directions. And by tents, I don’t always mean actual tents. Many were wanna-be shelters, made up of bits of cloth and plastic, and for the lucky ones, also a tarp, somehow stitched together like a giant puzzle, attached to some piece of wood or PVC pipe.
Made my tent look like Chateau Lake Louise.
It rained like nothing I have seen for a long time in Haiti on Sunday night….I almost started complaining. Then I thought of the fact that my tent was still dry (which was not the case for all of us at HCH actually….definitely had some stuff to dry out) and that we had the edge of the house to escape to during the majority of the downpour. Seriously, the majority if the yard was a lake. And a large number of Haitians had nowhere to go, the floor of their “tents” the very lake we watched grow in our yard. I got an even bigger understanding of this when I flew out today, the usual green-ishness of Haiti seen from the sky scarred with hundreds and hundreds of little blue dots, tarps housing those who had lost so much a few short months ago.

She's back!

2010-04-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

I am here! Safe and sound and sweaty and surprised at all that has changed in the last 4 months! The trip was long, and I now know how to say this is the TSA blurb at the airport in Spanish, just from hearing about 3000 times on the long layover I had in Miami. To top off the ridiculous long layover, we got on the plane, and proceeded to sit there for 2 hours, then we all got off the plane and then 25 minutes later got back on the plane, then sat on the runway for 45 minutes to wait for a spot to take off! I FINALLY arrived in Haiti at noon yesterday, and it's so wonderful! As soon as we landed it was obvious how much things had changed.
Black helicoptors by the runway. Huge tents all around the airport area. New buildings. We got off the plane walked down some stairs, and then got into an airconditioned bus(!!!) to go to the new temp. immigration building! Crazy! Along the way we passed the old airport building, and you cuold see so so many cracks and damage on the outside walls. 3 plane had arrived at the same time, and all of those people were trying to find their stuff! And most of those people were N.American volunteers who all seemed to have as much luggage as me! Too much! But all so needed! Met some cool people, Haitian and North American alike who are doing great stuff in Haiti!
Totally surprised everyone! It was so great!
The kids look so great! Some have a few sores, but that is normal here, and considering they are outside 24hours a day pretty much, except to sleep, they are doing quite well! They have all grown so much! And all those little toddler boys are jsut talking up a storm! Too cute!
There are some things that make me cringe, but I constantly have to keep reminding myself about what happened here just a short time ago! The people here have done so well despite the circumstances! And the volunteers here are just so great!!! they have really helped to move things along here!
I've already started itching! Welcome back!

Needs List

2010-04-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hello all:
Many of you have been asking me for the list, so here it is!

This is the first list I received from Melissa who is at HCH right now. The items with ** are the things she sees they really need, the others would be nice to have for the kids, though not as high on the list!
So, I think I may be home on the weekend some to pick up things at my mom's and anything peoplet get together, as well as picking up things in Edmonton as needed. If you would rather give me funds and get me to pick up the items, I can do that as well.
Thanks so much for continuing to stay involved.
You can call me at 780-907-1340
Lori

Costco sized box of cheese and crackers(the ones that you spread the cheese on in the little packages)
Granola bars-large box, no nuts
**Bug spray (3/13.99 at costco)
2 Large tarps
Inflatable mattresses (2) and pump
**Pepto bismol 3-6 bottles of tablets
**Large bottle adult Tylenol (500 count or so)
**Immodium extra strength( 4 boxes)
Gravol 2 bottles of tablets
**Children’s gravol 3 packages
Battery powered or chargeable lantern
Costco sized box of Fruit-to-go
**2x2 gauzes…non sterile 4 large sleeves (easily found at medical supply stores like (Healthcare Solutions)
**4x4 guazes….non sterile. 4 large sleeves
**Gauze rolls (2”) 100 count
****Medical Gloves (size medium, non-sterile) 4 boxes
**Clotrimaderm (medical grade 1%) large tub or 10 tubes
**Triple antibiotic/polysporin 20 tubes+
**Tylenol and Advil childrens concentrated drops 20+ bottles
**Children’s cough medicine 3 large bottles (Dimatapp)
Small toys for toddlers 1-3 years
**Lysol wipes 3 regular containers
**Baby wash cloths-40 (ones at $ store are 3-4/$1 )
Normal face cloths
**Dust pan
**for Kettline: size 5 shoes for church. As flat as possible
Assortment of birthday gifts-small things like balls, cars, toys, books, etc…mostly for toddler aged boys, and then 3 aged 1-2 girls, one gift for ketteline
**Bottle nipples for Playtex bottles. “natural latch” 10 each in slow, medium and fast flow
**8oz bottle liners -500+, any brand
**Nipples for regular hard bottles 10 each in slow, medium and fast flow

Why God is cool...and many other incredible adjectives!

2010-04-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I spent visiting one of "my" kids that just came home recently after the earthquake. While I was heading home, I was in tears, with a mix of really missing Haiti, and thanfulness for how God placed this little guy in the home he is in.
Then, I decided I needed to go to Costco.

Shortly after arriving, I ran into an old friend, who also happens to have a heart for Haiti, and we talked Haiti and many other things, blocking the mini cucumbers the whole time to many shoppers' annoyance :) God knew where I was at emotionally and I felt so blessed that He sent that friend my way.

An hour later, on my way down the last aisle, I heard a smattering of what I thought was Haitian Creole, and after doing some eavsdropping, introduced myself to the man and woman setting up one of those delicious littel "taste-me" stations that we all know and love about Costco. I was soon in a fast paced conversation with my new Haitian friends, Merite and Carlo Moise. They were so surprised to meet a Creole speaking white girl in Edmonton! And to top it all off, they are from an area close to Mirebalais and know some of the same missionaries I do!! We have plans to get together soon.

Cool thing: I would not have met them if God had not slowed me down by having me spend an hour in a much needed conversation with the mini cucumbers.;)

Incredible thing: I had recently(as in 5 days ago) contemplated NOT renewing my Costco card.

And that is why God is cool. Amazing actually... and does things so much better than me.

so what is happening in Haiti at HCH???

2010-03-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

So much has happened and is happening....

1. The biggest thing perhaps is that the house has been deemed unfit for the kids due to structural instability (engineers reports). So, until a few weekends ago, the kids were staying in tents outside in the yard(The UN had provided a large tent for them, as well as many tents that were brought in). The HCAS (Haiti Children's Aid Society) board and Melinda are working on figuring out when/where/how to move on . We are so blessed to have the Branson's on board with Paul's experience and willingness ability to help!

2. Melinda's new husband Massenat and Amanda, were given humanitarian visa's from the states right after the earthquake. This was an answer to prayer! However, it means that Pat and Melinda are in the states for a couple of years with their families. Melinda had been planning to go in and out of Haiti, but has recently been held up with complications of a new pregnancy. They are staying at a mission compound in Florida, but would like another place to stay over the next while.

3. All of the kids who were in the adoption process were united with their forever families on or before February 3rd/2010. There were a few weeks of incredible stress levels as people waited to hear what was happening with their children. I was cleaning out my inbox the other day after seeing that there were over 1000 emails in there. As I was cleaning it out, I realized that over 3/4 of them were from the 5 weeks after the earthquake! Crazy!

4. Minnie has stayed on in Haiti (though she will be leaving soon for a much needed and deserved break as more volunteers are coming in) and was joined by Hannah and her brother James. They have all been such a blessing, and we were actually really lucky to have James around to help out with his shed-building experience!

5. We put out a plea a few weeks ago to some volunteers who had spent a lot of time at HCH who we felt would be able to be effective and handle the new circumstances at HCH. God was already working in their hearts, and within a few weeks the calendar was full, and we have now have at least 4 people there throughout the summer months and into the early fall. God is so good! We didnt know what would happen as we are only taking expereinced volunteers, but God knew all along!

6. Shae Hellman, a longtime friend of the Smith's, and fellow Haiti lover/addict, will be heading down in June for a more long term stint. This is something God has been preparing her for for a while and has really worked out the timing with Pat and Melinda being in the states, and Shae's job being able to let her go earlier than initially thought! She was also able to go in for about 2 weeks after the earthquake and was of great value!

7. We are slowly hearing little bits about adoptions perhaps starting up again. So many "stories" and such to muddle through, but it seems that IBESR (social services) is up and running again, and so hopefully in short order we will be able to connect our kids with many great families who have had adoption on their minds long before the earthquake slowed things up! Pray that we would get all of the correct details and that God would really work through all the UNICEF hoops that seem to entangle so much of the process!

8. We have only had one child join HCH since the earthquake, due to the instability of the situation and many unknowns. Currently, due to housing and other factors, we are not taking in any children for permanent care.

9.Food prices have been driven up drastically in Haiti since the EQ, and at times it has been difficult to locate necessities due to the dramatic increase in population Mirebalais has seen since the EQ. People fleeing Port-au-Prince have gone to the larger rural areas, Mirebalais being among the many now grossly overpoplulated areas. We have been blessed with many supplies from two groups of friends across the border in the Dominican, the Yoder's and the Branson's. They also helped bring in and take out volunteers shortly after the earthquake when the airport in Haiti was not running.

10. The kids have been quite healthy. Some typical sores and such that we expereince on a regular basis with the heat and dust in Haiti, but God has been so good. He has really kept them in the palm of His hand!

11. Melinda is hoping to get a computer up and running in her house soon, and will be able to communicate via email and the blog and such more easily. Right now they only have a few minutes here and there at the mission office, and Melinda has actually been on bed rest. Please keep her in your prayers.

12. Pat fell a few days ago and hurt her arm. There was some concern for a while, but she seems to be healing well and as of Thursday was getting back into doing what she usually does! Can't keep her down for long!

what else?? please ask me about things you are wondering about. I will try and address them here as I have been realizing how many questions people have.

The finished product

2010-03-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

Please read the Branson's blog. The experience was a blessing to many! http://www.houseupontherockministry.blogspot.com/

Building

2010-03-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

So, I was recently chastised ;) for not keeping this up, because not everyone uses facebook when I post updates about what is happening in Haiti. So, I will try and start again and catch you up.

I also realized I need a place to hash out life a bit again. So, here we go!!!

The first weekend of March, a Canadian missionary from the Dominican named Paul Branson, along with some Domincan friends and Canadian volunteers came to HCH and put up a temporary building for the kids.

Our connection with the Branson's (Paul and his wife Sharyn) came because they adopted kids from HCH a few years ago, are friends with people connected to HCH in Canada, and well...God saw fit to draw us all together, and it has really been a blessing!! Funds had been provided from the mission that the Branson's work with, as money was designated for HAiti, but they have no ministry in Haiti. So, God led them to support HCH and get out kids out of the rain! They have also come in previously to deliver food and milk, propane and dogfood( as crazy as that may seem with all that is happening in Haiti, it's really important to keep our guard dogs fed!!) and other necessities.

Here are some pics from the last trip. More from the previous trips to follow.

You can also read about their blog from the trip on their blog (just click on the weblink) http://www.houseupontherockministry.blogspot.com/

I'll post the next few in the next post. Pretty sweet HUH!

CTV Interview with Lineda's mom

2010-01-13T22:35:00.000-08:00

Check this out! Amazing to see the different ways the word is getting out there!

CTV British Columbia- B.C. mom who adopted Haitian tot sends plea - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian Television

Earthquake

2010-01-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

As most of you have heard by now there was a earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday afternoon measuring 7.3. Since then there have been over 40 aftershocks which continue to be felt. Port-au-Prince was hit very badly and from news reports is quite flattened. Mirebalais, where Haiti Children's HOme is located, was in contact with us abot 1/2 an hour after the quake reporting that everyone was alright and were all outside the house away from danger. We have not been able to communicate with them in any way since that time.
Relief groups are just begining to get a grasp as to the magnitude of this catastrophe, and it is seeming overwhelming as Haiti has no emergency response system...no teams, no especially trained personnel, no machines to lift the tons of concrete that have fallen. There are a huge number of teams being mobilized and arriving on Haitian soil to begin this huge job of first finding people and attempting to rescue them from where they are trapped. There is also of course the huge jbb of tending to the wounded and shocked.

There is much to pray about.

Please dedicate some time in prayer for the country of Haiti, its people and toil this is placing on such a fragile and destitute country. Pray that the people of Haiti will turn their eyes upon Jesus. That He will sustain them with His peace in the midst of all this turmoil.

Thanks to all of you who have written and called. I so appreciate all of you thinking and praying for me. I am admittedly stressed and concerned about the people I love and the people of Haiti who have become so important to me. I have been watching and reading all the news I can get a hold of, and sit with tears streaming down my face as I absorb what has happened to "my" Haiti. It seems very surreal...I have seen footage of places I have been a number of times and some of them only a few weeks ago, almost completely unreckognizable. It's really hard to be here...and to understand why exactly it is I am here once again when a disaster happens in Haiti. I am however finding consolation in the fact that it was "God's Haiti" way before it was mine. I would love to jump on a plane as soon as there are flights again, but I know that for whatever reason, God has made clear that I am supposed to be here right now. Please pray that His peace will reign in my heart.

Please keep updated!www.cnn.com
www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com (friends living in port au prince..lots of news there)
www.haitichildrenshome.com
I will also post anything I hear and confirm on facebook.

2009-10-18T07:46:00.001-07:00

AOnce again, I am somewhat exasperated to realize that I have fallen into having to do "catch-up" blogs every time I blog! But, that's just how things are around here! So here you are:what's been happening since the last time i blogged! (I started this post on Oct 18th....here I am finishing it the 1st of November....thus updates since I started this post are in this color!)

1. I got really sick with some crazy mix of malaria and this fever bug that has been going all throughout Haiti. It was NOT fun. I have NEVER been that sick, nor do I wish to feel that way again! I experienced every symptom in the book:fever, chills/shaking, profuse sweating, swelling, diarrhea, vomiting, insomina, nausea, aching all over, sore eyes, poor blood circulation resulting in purple toenails(well, under my toenails), inability to eat or drink, shortness of breath, etc etc etc. I was on IV's for 7 days, oxygen for 2, a crazy mix of IV antibiotics, anti-malarials, anti-nauseants, etc etc etc. I wish I had gotten a picture of how swollen my hands and feet were! That was a really weird thing that accompanied all of this! It all started with feeling sore and really exhausted and realizing I had a fever on Tuesday night. I felt a bit better the next day, though I was still feverish. Then by Thursday it was obvious that I was quite sick. I spent the first few days at the orphanage being cared for by Melinda, but by the time I was at the needing oxygen stage(Monday), they promptly loaded me into the truck(I could not even walk there myself) and took me off to Port. There we found a gem of a doctor named Dr.B(I nicknamed him myself) who promptly admitted me into the French hosital in Canape-Vert where I recieved really good care and spent 4 days getting better. I ate for the first time on Thursday morning, and my teeth hurt as it had been almost a week since I'd eaten! I was really blessed to recieve such great care both from Melinda and everyone at HCH, and then at the hospital in Port-au-Prince! I also had a great group of people all over the place praying for me, and I am so thankful! It was really a comfort knowing I had that backing!

I was definitely shocked at the price tag! Coming from Canada where our healthcare is basically free, having to pay a doctor and a fancy French hospital carried a good sized price tag let me tell you!

I feel pretty much back to normal for about 2 days now. It was hard the first few days being back as I quickly realized how weak I was from being so sick, and really had to slow down and not feel bad about sleeping all the time and jsut not really doing anything! So thankful to feel like a normal person again! God is so good and I know that He really carried me and everyone who was caring and worring about me through that crazy week!

2. The day after I first started feeling sick, Pat and Melinda had to go to Port for something, and of course, wouldn't someone show up needing help. A father with a set of newborn twin boys showed up, having just lost his wife and not knowing what to do with his two little boys. I felt quite yucky and didn't want to touch them and make them sick too, so between looking at them and getting Minnie to come and help me out, we talked to Melinda and then called Mathieu over to come and talk the dad about what his options were as far as HCH is concerned. He had already decided he needed to give them up as he had no way to care for them. The father was not a young man, already having some adult children, and I felt bad for him as he looked so lost with these little babies. It was a bit difficult to get things sorted out as the dad had no form of identification whatsoever! Thankfully, Mathieu, our adoption guy and Haitian director for HCH, deals with this stuff all the time and came and took care of it all. We got the twins bathed and cleaned up as they were a little dirty, and thankfully they latched right onto a bottle and drank it all down! Their names are Monel and Moliere and they are quite cute! They are about a month (almost 2 now I guesss!!) old now and are quite cute!

3. Remember Loner? The little guy that came down to us from Lori and Licia up in Cazale? He's doing really great...still has some problems with chronic pneumonia and has a reflux problem, but he is getting quite fat and has everyone in the house in love with him!

4. The one year olds that moved downstairs over a month ago are loving being downstairs, and Kervens and Kendy are now walking all over the place, while Jolanda has just realized how fast she can crawl and that standing up is actually kind of fun! Adam is happy to stand up, but any attempt to get him to stand unaided ends up with him on the floor upset and just wanting to scoot instead! Just a couple days ago Adam decided he needed to catch up with me..and there he was hot on my heels looking so very cute as he concentrated so hard not to fall down.

5. Minnie started school with the kids and they were so excited as a volunteer that just came brought in their new school books. So, they have all been talking for the last week about how they have "bel liv" (pretty books)! Minnie has been quite happy to see that they had not forgotten near as much as she was afraid they would, and they are all well on their way into this years schooling! Gerald and Robinson have joined the ranks full time in the classroom, and are so pleased with their big-kid books and are quite industrious. Golson-3, has decided that he too thinks school is pretty fun and does his best to sneak up there whenever possible, so Minnie has taken to bringing him up on Fridays when it's more of a relaxed day in the classroom, and he is so proud that he gets to go to school too! Last Friday Minnie gave them all mini notebook and a pencil crayon to call their own, and my afternoon was spent drawing cars and boats and houses and trees and flowers and bikes, and well....what I drew kind of looked liked those things I suppose! But the kids were happy!

6. There are two great volunteers here right now. Two friends, Melissa from LaCrete,Alberta and Rachel from somewhere in Virginia. They are both jsut great and have jumped right into things which was so wonderul with things being so crazy here when I was sick...and of course there were sick kids in the midst of all of it!

7. Speaking of sick kids, please keep Derson in your prayers. He's a little boy, 9 years old, with inoperable hydrocephali(water on the brain). He has been holding his own for a long time, but lately he started refusing to eat, and was on IV's for a while, and is currenlty being tube fed and needing a catheter as his bladder is not working properly. We moved him upstairs where we could keep an eye on him. He is doing better than he was a week ago, but it's so hard to know how he really is doing, and what extremes to go to as it is quite possible that his body is shutting down. Please keep him and us in your prayers as we wait and see that the future brings for this little boy. As of Oct 27th Derson is doing much better and is once again feeding himself and giggling at the antics of the other children. He was able to go back to his room downstairs and we are thankful for his fill recovery!

8. As most of you know, Melinda is getting married November 27th! Please keep her in your prayers as she plans a wedding in the midst of the normal chaos around here!

9. I have decided that if I do get into nursing school for January, I will be going home in December. I have been thinking about this for a long time(since I was in physio school) and it seems that it's now or never. I am not at all happy thinking about leaving, but I know that this is something God has laid on my heart, and that though the timing seems so not great, in reality the timing would never be great as far as leaving here is concerned. There are a lot of details to work out and I am quite attached to being here....love a lot of people I would love to stick in my suitcase and just bring along. Please pray for me as I wait and figure out all the details!

10. Yestarday I met a Haitian family from Germany here visiting Haiti. Their two girls speak French, Creole, English and German...all fluently! Amazing! SO-o-o jealous!

11. We've gotten a couple more adoption files and there are a couple more on the way! Exciting to see more kids find families! PLease keep the throng of little boys we have in your prayers...there are currently 13 little boys between 1 month and 3 years, as well as a 5 year old, two 8 year olds and a 14 year old all needing families! We have a lot of boys in this house!

12. Lately I have been having this hate relationship with beans. No love, all hate. I have never been a big fan of beans..the kidney, pinto, black, lima, yucky kinds. And here in Haiti, the main staple is rice and beans and beans and rice and rice and beans and beans and rice. And if it's not beans and rice, it's rice with bean sauce! No joke! 2 years of this very mundane diet have started to take a toll on me, and there are times when I see that bowl of rice and beans that I literally just want to pick up the whole thing and throw it off the porch! We do eat N.American style foods for supper, but the main meal of the day is very Haitian, and while there are Haitian foods that I really do love to eat, my tolerance for beans has run very thin! I feel kind of shallow and picky, but this is a reality for me...mom, I think I now dislike beans even more than you know! They are a wonderful source of protein and such, and provide a simple healthy way for Haitians to eat! But, I do not like black beans and rice. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like black beans and rice. I do not like them. Lori I am. (courtesy of Dr.Suess...I really feel a deep sense of comraderie with Sam)

13. It has been ridiculoulsy hot here. It's October now...well into October, and it's supposed to be cooling down. But no!! Instead it's hot and muggy and discgusting! And they keep taking the power! You know it's bad when a two year old suddenly stands up in his bed and starts dancing and chanting "yo by kouran, whey!" (They gave the power, yay!!). The last week or so it has started cooling down and you can actually feel a little cool in the evenings! Makes for a really great sleep!

14. I recently had a delivery of After Eights, Hawkins CHeezies, supplies to make seafood spread, and a lovely spread of other things via some volunteers that arrived. I believe I have eaten half a box of after eights since I turned my computer on an hour ago. Gotta get them before the ants do!

15. I cooked onions in the microwave last night. We ran out of gas for the stove, and were just about done making supper....it worked pretty well actually! I have learned all kinds of tricks since being in Haiti! Not to mention I can now whip up a batch up really fluffy biscuits for 40 in minutes!

16. Please pray for our milk situation. For the past few months we have been very thankfully blessed to have a huge supply of milk in storage provided to us from our friends at CAM(Christian AId Ministries). However, our supply is almost out, and they don't have any shipments coming that they know of, so we may be back to having to buy milk once again. With 31 kids under 3 needing milk at least 3 times a day, plus babies on bottles, that's a whole lot of milk! Plus the older kids who get milk once a day!

17. We had some very sad news come our way a week or so ago. Remember Yvenson, the little preemie that came last September about the same time as the hurricane? Well, he turned a year old just a few weeks ago, and I am not sure of all the details, but there are some rumours about meningitus. We were all very shocked and saddened to hear this, and can't imagine how his mother must feel as she was so happy with her little boy that made it despite being such a fragile preemie. Please pray for his mother Wilda as she is grieving.

18. I am tarantula hunter! I used to be so terribly scared of these critters, until I learned all you have to do us get a stick and swipe across the ground and hit their legs which are incredibly fragile, which then break and they die! Haha! So now when the kids find one, I no longer run after a guy to come and deal with it, I find a stick and send that little critter to gloryland! Though I wil admit if I woke up with one on my leg or something, I might very quickly turn back into a wimpy screaming girl!

13 Cakes Later

2009-09-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

The birthday gang chanting "GATO, GATO, GATO. GATO!!!" (cake, cake, cake cake!!!)

The Decorating Committee
Gabo(wanna be decorator), Melinda, Pat, me, Valdo, Cherub, Margaret.

(Nancy and Sandra had already escaped the birthday bash bedlam!)
Baked cakes all day Thursday, started decorating at 8a.m. Friday morning, finished 13 cakes by 4:00 p.m. just in time for a 5p.m. PART-A-A-A-A-A-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y!!!!

Jamesky 2: Nemo by Sandra

Lony 8: Lion by Margaret

RoseLissa 2:Bumblebee by Lori

Lineda 2: Ladybug by Cherub

Golson 3: Frog by Cherub

James 8: Train by Lori

Adam 1: Fish by Valdo

Kendy 1:Touring Car by Nancy Overholt
(It was very scary!!)

Julie 2:Dragonfly by Margaret

Kervens-1: Heart by Nancy

Ester-1:Heart by Nancy

Amanda-11:Heart by Melinda

The June/July/August Birthday Party gang, with a few extra newly one year olds who had birthdays earlier this year.

September catch up!

2009-09-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

I know. You don't even have to say it. At least I am finally here.

I know that last time I blogged it was a catch up blog, and well, here we are again, catching up from the last catching up!

And you are VERY thankful ;)

So, what's been happening????

-we had 5 one year olds move downstairs.(thanks to the people who provided us with the funds to get 9 new cribs...they arrived and are full!) That has been interesting! I can never get over how much our dynamic has changed since I arrived 2 years ago(oh yeah, my 2 year anniversary in Haiti has come and gone, since August 9th). We have 41 kids and only 13 of them are over 3! I think that lets you know a little of how things can be around here!

-a new Steevenson arrived, sent to us from Lori and Licia up at Cazale, weighing all of 2lbs and a few ounces...his mom went into premature labour while away from home, ended up at Licia and Lori's and then came down here to make use of our incubator. We weren't sure for a while how he was going to do, but he's pretty stable now, though he still has trouble keeping a steady temperature. He's getting 18cc of formula by tube, and is hanging out in the incubator which we have jerry-rigged with a heating blanket as it's not running the best right now. Pat and Melinda are in the states for 2 weeks, so Valdo and I have been busy taking care of him....I should say Valdo as he has been amazingly attentive and is spending the 2 weeks while they are gone caring for him, really only asking me when he is unsure about something. And is doing a great job! I am so thankful for him as it is stressful running the house, without having to be ever watchful of a preemie 24/7!!

Valdo with two of the preemie triplets that came last July

-we have 2 super awesome wonderful stupendous gals here from Ontario. Cherub(who I met the first time I came here in 2006) and her sister Margarat are here for 7 weeks and they are the best thing since sliced bread! Seriously! They see something and just do it, and understand how to make things easier, and are not afraid to get their hands dirty. One things that helps me a lot too is they are comfortable re-directing bad behaviour, and lately our little gang of 5-7 year old boys has been quite naughty!

-RoseLissa started standing up straight right around her 2nd birthday, still holding on of course, but very awesome! She continues to get stronger and more able to do things, though her latest feat of climbing up on a bench on her belly and flipping over to her bum makes my heart jump every time! The combination of being 2 and suddenly being able to start doing what her friends do is a crazy combination....and she's jsut a little determined! Her two smallest toes have now gown normal flat toenails, and the nails on her other toes seem to be following suit. She still has 5 toes that have no nail growth at all

-Minnie is coming back on the 11th! I am so excited to have her back, and the kids are ecstatic to be starting school soon! Please pray that she does not have any more health problems and that her parents have a good visit here for 2 weeks.-Melinda is getting married towards the end of this year, and will be living off the compound with her new family. Please keep her in your prayers and she prepares to start this new chapter in her life, and for the changes that will take place here at HCH

-Melinda got to put a needle in me again. I had been feeling tired for about 2 weeks, and then one day I woke up with diarrhea that would not stop and by that evening I was short of breath and quite week. She took no time at all jumping on the oppotunity to stick me...apparently I was a little dehydrated as it took 3 litres of fluid before I even had to pee!

-I recently endeavored to re-endeavor so master doing black hair...i had started a while back, but didn't have too many girls with long enough hair, and Kettline jumps around so much that it's a workout, so I had let things go for a while. Since then, I have started again as the toddler girls have long enough hair now, and am happy to announce that I am getting pretty good! The best was when Haitian lady commented that she was sure it was a Haitian who had done RoseLissa's hair!Yeah for me! I am not as fast as the ladies here, that's for sure, but the kids are very paitient with me for the most part!

This is called "shou" which means "cabbage". The way it's done here is by taking a small section of hair and braiding it, the attaching that braid into the next so they stay flat against the head. You make as many rows as you want and then they all meet at the crown of the head. This is the 2nd time I have done this style and it turned out pretty alright!

-the other night we watched a movie and hippo's, elephants and monkeys. I had forgotten how funny it is to watch an animal movie with over 20 todddlers...i really heard nothing the movie had to say, due to the kids all shouting "Lori, gade!!"(which means "look") every time an animal moved! Hilarious way to pass an hour!

-I have decided that there is a silent alarm that goes out the minute Melinda and Pat go to the states....because every time , without fail, old families come asking about their kids who have been gone for 10 years and get mad that I don't know who they are talking about! Really sick kids show up, and I have to decide how best to help them with the knowledge I have learned since being here(it's scary sometimes having people depending on you like that, but when there is no other option for them, the least a person can do is try!) or like it happened the very minute they were leaving, a 13 year old boy showed up with a huge gash in his leg where he had fallen on a piece of iron while playing soccer. They had stopped at the clinic in town but found no-one there, so a girl that used to bring her baby brother here for milk, came and brought the boy down here. I managed to get it to finally stop bleeding and close it up as best I could. He's been very faithful about coming back for dressing changes every morning at 11 a.m. Walking about 30 minutes . Each way. Haitians are amazing.

Valdo and I taking care of a nasty scrape

-yesterday a young woman showed up with her six month old baby who I could tell instantly was suffering from the effects of kwashiorkor(protein deficiency malnutrition) as his cheeks had that "look" (puffy and kinda stretched) and as soon as I pulled the blanket off the state his hands and feet were in confirmed that diagnosis. Steeven(yes, this seems to be the name of the year) mother had recently found herself in a bad place as her own mother died and the people that they had been staying with kicked her out. She's seen her son going downhill for about 3 months as she is not producing enough milk, and recently realized she needed help. She was prepared to give him up, but after I talked with her and told her we could help her with milk she was alright with taking him home and coming back in two weeks to reasses things once Pat and Melinda are back. These situations never get any easier to see...and in this case, the mom needed as much help as her son. Please pray for her and her child as they face such difficult circumstances.

Swollen feet

Steevenson Jean Paul

-a bunch of the guys around here are involved in a community soccer league that is only about a month long, so we've gone to watch/play in a few games, which also makes a fun outing for the older kids. The weirdest thing happened the first day. I got introduced to the local witch doctor, who lives just a stones throw from here, and a few minutes later just about dropped my jaw when he told our team they needed to pray so that the the game could get started!! Such a contradiction!! We couldn't help but make a few jokes about who he would be praying to, and if we won, who it would be who gave us the victory?!?!? The sad reality here in Haiti is that there is such a cross between voudou and christianity, and it can be very difficult to recognize the differences as there is such an overlap. For the record, the game ended 0-0.

Hot. Heat. Sun. Sweat. Gross.

2009-07-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's hot here. Can't believe how hot actually! There is nothing like suddenly realizing sweat is running, not dripping cuz it skipped that step, but running in rivlets down your legs. If you ever need to be reminded what it used to feel like when you peed your pants as a kid, come on down and join the fun! Even the Haitians are complaining about it. It's somewhat incredible actually! The saving grace is that we have had pretty steady electricity through most if it, and there are plenty of fans and one very lovely air conditioned room to escape to once in a while. However, that being said, leaving one of those places of refuge requires a person to venture out and for the umpteenth time feel that same feeling when a big truck goes flying by you on a hot day, and you have to absorb the heat of the air and the exhaust all while gasping for air through the dust. Yep, it's just lovely!

Besides the heat, things have been going quite well. We have been blessed with a couple cooler evenings, and that really makes things much better! The kids are doing well, though we have had to deal with the diarrhea that comes with the heat, and then runny noses and fevers here and there. But for the most part, they are doing quite well!

I didn't write about this yet, but the two babies that I wrote about 2 or 3 posts ago both died within a week of each other. They both had severe complications due to perferated bowels, and they were jsut too weak to make it through. It was a lot deal with, as at that same time I found out that my dad had passed away as well. My parents divorced when I was about 12, and I have not had much at all of a relationship with my dad for the last 15 years, so it was a difficult experience, trying to deal with and absorb all of that while being here in Haiti. Spent lots of time thinking and praying and deciding what to do as far as attending the funeral. It's very wonderful to have a great mom who spent lots of time talking with me and supporting me as we decided what to do in that regard. I ended up deciding to stay, and I am thankful that I feel peaceful since that decision was made, both before and after the funeral.

Two new children have come our way this last week or so. One is a brand new baby girl named Claudia, whose mom died very unexpectedly during childbirth. Her family did not know what to do as they were in such shock and asked us to take care of her for a week. They came back at the end of that week and asked if we would keep her as they did not have a way to care for her. So, we have a very cute chubby little baby girl who has joined the ranks in this house very heavy on the boy side! As well, this week Lori and Licia up at Zach's Clinic in Cazale called and asked if we would be willing to take over the care for a little baby boy named Loner. Terrible name huh?!?! He's 2 months old(though Melinda and I are sure he's older cuz he's so aware) and all of about 4lbs. He'd been at Zach's for about a month and a half, and they are so full there and he needs so much special care, and he would just not put on any weight. So, Loner came down and joined us here for the time being. He's very weak, and Pat and Melinda took him to see a doc who is quite sure that he has whooping cough, so this little man could sure use your prayers!

Speaking of Loner, he needs to be fed. So, this post stops here! More to come soon!

Pajama Picture Shoot

2009-07-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Andre

Lony

Levi

Ketteline

Carlos

Melodie

James

Golson

Evan

Robinson

Samuel

Eddison

A few new things

2009-07-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to the new town square for an outing. They were busy looking and being looked at by the other kids there, most of whom were selling some form of something or other. We bought some chips and juice and visited with them. Then I had a small heart attack when I realized that two kids who didn't go with Sadrack and some boys who had to pee, decided they wanted to go, and ran across the street by themselves to join them! They have a very basic(aka small and minute) understanding of traffic safety, and are used to always having someone directing them and looking out for them. I caused a bit of a scene as I jumped and ran to the edge of the park and then barrelled across the road after them! Thoughts of Needless to say, we had a little lesson that afternoon about being safe and asking permission to go anywhere, even if you see someone else doing something you want to do as well!

This is Mike, the son of our cement worker, Boss Doudou(ok, you can stop laughing at his name now!) In Haiti, all significant events(graduations, weddings, etc) have a godmother and godfather for the event. I was asked to be the godmother for Mike's kindergarten graduation. It was a long, long event, but an interersting array of old and new culture mixed together...and a LOT of people squashed into what was, when the event started, an airconditioned room. At one point a fellow we were sitting with got up to take some pictures and this lady and her friend squeezed themselves down the small aisle in between chairs and took his chair. So, when he came back everyone had to shuffle their buns and get cozy. Just another day in Haiti!

Here is the family and godfather and me. It was really funny as the two girls on each end were arguing over who got to stand by the "blanc"(aka me). I think every picture we took outside has a shoulder or hand or something that got in the way as people just continue on Haitian style and barrel their way through!

Catch up!

2009-07-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i don't know that to start with as it's been so long, so here goes. I am thinking that this list is going to be random and such, but hopefully will give you an idea of where things are at!

-Thym's wedding went well from all I heard from Pat and Melinda. Lots of jokes made about needing to come back to Haiti to get a rest!

-we have had a number of sick kids coming through the doors...a set of month old twin boys...were here for a while, one went home, the other stayed not doing too great at all...now he's fine and headed home soon. thank you Jesus!

-new baby girl came in yesterday...not sure of all the details of her history yet....mostly just shell shocked as we know her dad is 60 and her mom was 21!

-Carlos, Samuel and richard are all walking, along with Ester and Aneve

-Carlos refuses to hold his cup for himself, but this morning the little imp stole a cup Odette was using to feed Bertho and plopped on the floor and proceeded to drink from it by himself! Things like that are a big deal in this house!!

-we moved the 10 babies up to the classroom. They are getting too big and starting to walk and crawl more and they needed more room! They are so happy!

-RoseLissa is doing great. She got her casts off about 3 weeks ago and is now getting used to things again. She was really fragile for a couple weeks and her feet were really sensitive. Now she is starting to try and stand though, and use her legs more normally. She still has problems with her knees, but it will take some time to see how much they will correct on her own

-Speaking of RoseLissa, about a week and a half ago, we went to Port to get groceries and go find the place that the doc. in Port had referred us to. Two hours later, after her dad Sadrack had gotten in and out of the truck probably 30 times(this is how it goes in haiti when you need to find a place...you get out and ask and get this or that pointed out and then jump back in and go until you don't know where to go again and jump out and...well you get the picture) he came back to the truck and said that he thought he had found the place. However, something about how he said it made me wonder what in the world he had found. Much to my chagrin, we squeezed into this horribly smelly, tiny little 20x20' room, full of leather, shoes in various stages of making, a tiny little old man and a rather large and volomptuous(spelling?) lady who did not have the most flattering aroma. I knew were were experiencing OIH(only in Haiti). Our "wonderful" doc had referred us to a place that he himself had never been, only knowing of it as someone had dropped some paper off with some very general information he had not bothered to follow up on. Sadrack could only say(though too polite to say it in front of the tiny man big lady), "the shoe place in Mirebalais is nicer than this one, not to mention we didn't want a shoe place anyway!"
We got back in the truck and burst into laughter. It was all we could do really. All that time driving around the streets of Port and to find that delightful place. Next thing to do is to try getting into St. Vincent's hospital and get what we really need...hopefully!

-the bridge has been going out on a regular basis. Every time it rains, it washes away the temporary fix they have made with rocks and dirt, and they start again. This bridge is the temporary one they made after the hurricane last fall. It's not holding up so well, and hurricane season just started! There have been some adventures walking across a little piece of the bridge that is not broken, about the width of a baby formula can! I have enough of a time keeping my balance, and have huge respect for the steady stream of people crossing with a 5 gallon jug of water or a basin full of this or that balanced on their heads!

-the impetgo and such seems to be mostly cleared up. Seems like there are a couple kids who are just hanging on to their infections, but it's much better!

Ok. need to stop as there is a lady here who I promised to give a picture of her nephew. Will write more soon!

Late email post

2009-07-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

Wrote this email a few weeks ago...for all of you who are not on my email list, here you go. For those of you who were really hoping this was a new blog, I am in the midst of doing that too!

Hello all! Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how things are! It's quite insane running the house by myself for a week! Definitely looking forward to pat and Melinda getting back on Monday!I am trying to deal with an impetego infestation:there are 18 kids with some amount. The ladies have been really great about bathing them all with permagamate(this herbal purple stuff that is an awesome infection fighter) and I've been dousing them with polysporin. Looking better already...this made day 3 of that regime. Takes about an hour each time. morning and night.We'll keep on trucking! I've been feeling a little bit like a chicken with its head cut off. So much to do. Had a baby come in Monday morning, breathing like an 80 year old smoker...thankfullly we had oxygen. That took up a few hours today, then we sent her to the hospital, then our own kids sick with this and that along with fevers, and then community kids coming in with high fevers.I had been busy trying to get the new girls organized and familiar with things....hard to do when I am running in 300 directions, but I am so glad they came. However, since they came, one girl just can't seem to handle things, so they left to go to the CAM mission where it is much quieter and a little more comfortable for a few days. Hope to see them again soon. In the meantime, I have to cook suppers too, but that's not been so bad as we kinda established a menu, or at least some simple meal ideas, a few months ago, and it's easy for me to get what I need for the most part. Thankfully the kids are not picky! Makes me really appreciate our volunteers who come and take care of evening meals for us! Madam Cedieu, one of our workers, came home from the hospital Saturday a week after her mastectomy. walked here by HERSELF from her house, abuot 5 minutes, in the heat, to ask me to change the dressing. I chastised her a little bit for not just sending one of her kids after me...told her I was more than happy to make house calls. Oh yeah, that's what else I did tonight after the kids were in bed. She seems to be healing well except for that a few of her stitches have come loose and she is going to need them redone sooner than later. It's been quite the learning experience caring for her and I know that God has given me the strength to tend her wounds encourage her, despite the fact that I feel so inadequate. There have been a few kids coming each day with fevers, diarrhea...definitely a bunch of likely malaria too! A girl who was about 10, her mom didn't know exactly when she was born(this is really common in Haiti) came with the side of her head covered in sores and a terrible ear infection. She was really brave and not too scared of me, and so I managed to get her cleaned up quite well, sent some meds home with her mom, and told them to come back so I can clean it again and see how things look. So, what can I say, I'm busy! I have been managing to get some good sleep though, so for the most part it has not been too bad. Lots of help to be had when I need it, so that does make the load lighter...the hard part is delegating...it takes time also to get people to do what you need them to do! One more story:Had a lady come yesterday...she walked what later took us at least half an hour to drive in the truck, starting at 3am in the morning. She came because she is 9 months pregnant and she has 4 other kids, and is a widow. She cried and cried asking for help, as she has seen her kids become sickly since she has no one to provide for them. We got her some food and milk for her kids, and attempted to take her home. We got near her house, but then could not pass due to the mud, and we had to get the truck back to pick people up that were coming in. So she walked the rest of the way home. We wanted her to stay at the orphange, but there was no one to stay with her other kids. Late this morning she called to let us know that she had given birth to a little boy at 7am this morning. I had a hard time dealing with feeling so helpless in this country....there are so many people who need help and there is only so many we can help. It was really hard for me to realize so blatantly yesterday that she is just one of so many women who are so desperate. Had to walk away and collect myself before we talked with her more. Next week once Pat and Melinda are back we will see what else we can do for them. I feel so blessed to be able to care for the kids in our home here, and that God has seen fit to provide for us, and in turn allow us to bless those around us! However,it's great to be back! The kids are all so big and so many of the toddlers suddenly have so much to say! They are so funny! I feel like I haven't gotten to spend enought time with them yet, as there is always someone calling me away to do something, but that time will come! The older kids have been grilling me about who and what I saw in Canada and ask to see the same pictures everday! Please keep me in your prayers as I do feel tired, especially at this time of the day, but really wanted to share all that has been going on thus far! I will be blogging...just not this week!Talk to you soon

Aneve's Arrival

2009-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

On February 10th, a little boy named Aneve joined our household. His father and grandfather, both of who are also named Aneve, brought him to our door. It was very apparent that this little boy was suffering from the effects of Kwashiorkor, which is a form of malnutrition caused by a lack of protein, which causes edema(swelling), thinning of the hair, irritability, and other serious issues including liver damage, and this is the cause of many childhood deaths in Haiti. Aneve's mother had died suddenly about a month before, and they had been trying to care for Aneve and his two older brothers. Thankfully they took the perogative to come for help before it was too late. It was really a sad thing to see them come, knowing that this little boy was so sick, knowing they could not provide for him, and knowing that they were going to have to give up their namesake. That is one of the things that I still struggle with so much in Haiti...knowing and seeing so often that people love and want their kids, but even more so, they love them and want them to live. I wish so often that we could just take kids in more often and get them on their feet, and then send them home. But, as I have learned, that's not always possible. We do have a number of community kids that come and stay for a short while here and there, but they have mothers. Mothers are the key to a lot I have learned. I was recently reading an article about a doctor who works with new and expectant mothers in Africa, and she addressed the reality that when mothers die, families fall apart, and when families fall apart, society is not far behind. This such a stark reality in Haiti. God really knew what he was doing when He invented the family.

Aneve has come a long way in the last 3 months. He cried a lot the first while, and we spent lots of time holding him and just comforting him. His skin has almost cleared up now(he was covered with impitego and ringworm) , and has lost that dried/cracked texture. He has become a very smiley cute little boy! Not to mention he wins the award for the blackest little Haitian in the house!

Minnie holding the newly bathed and shaved little Aneve

Aneve's skin was swollen and loose and infected and...oh he was a mess!

Swollen hands

Kids with Kwashiorkor face many challanges, one of which is that their cells begin to absorb water, causing swelling, which then over time causes their skin to start cracking(you can see this really well on his leg), and soon after fluid starts seeping out as their body cannot contain all the fluid build-up. Aneve came to us just before his skin started seeping fluid.

This is Aneve 5 days after he arrived. He started smiling and it was amazing to watch the healing take place in his body and spirit.

As you can see, Aneve is beautiful BLACK baby! (notice the shades of brown!)

Derson's New Wheels

2009-05-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Many of you know Derson and his story. He is a 10 year old boy who is hydrocephalic, which in the simplest of terms means he has water on his brain. This causes pressure which affects development and abilities in many ways. Derson is unable to walk, though he used to pull himself to his feet in his crib when he was smaller. Now that he has gotten so big, he is not able to do so any longer. However, he does feed himself, and when he chooses to be, can be very interactive. He loves to laugh, especially when one of the older children is getting scolded about something, or when someone takes the time to sit with him and just chat. A great guy who was here last year managed to put together a wheelchair for Derson with pieces of other wheelchairs we had around here, and that held out for almost a year. I began looking at somehow getting another chair for him a few months ago...and to be honest, had no idea where to start. However, I was checking out the blog of our friends who work up in Cazale, and low-and-behold (is that even how you write that...I just realized I have NEVER written that phrase before!) there was a little story there about them having a chair in the states that they wanted to get on their container! On a whim, I wrote and said "hey, when that chair gets here, if you haven't already designated it for someone, we have a little boy who would love it!". Lori or Licia wrote back and said "we would love you to have it! And in the mean time, we have another one in storage you can have too!!" So, a few weeks later we met up with them in Port-au-Prince and Thym brought home Derson's new chair. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw how almost perfectly it fit him! I am always reminded how God knows....he knows our names, our needs, our hopes....way before we even realize them ourselves!

Derson and his stylin' new chair

There was no seatbelt for the chair, so I found some luggage straps, ripped apart some seams, made some new seams, and wa-la (again, how do you spell these expressions!?!??) Derson smiled much more than usual that day, as everyone came over to compliment him on his new wheels, and he burst into laughter and shook his head no when Grandma asked for a ride!

Feb/Mar/April Birthdays

2009-05-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Samuel-1...and there goes the cake!

With all of the craziness at the house, we got a little behind on the birthdays. A couple weeks before I came home, I realized I had better get on organizing the birthday bash, or when I came back we would be even farther behind! Thankfully we had a lot of people(big and small) around to help decorate all 6 cakes (which sometimes be a little stressful on my sometimes perfectionistic self) , and help put up balloons and streamers! So, for all of you who have been wondering what cakes we came up with this time, here you go!

Richard-1st Birthday

Ketteline-8(Thanks for the 5 lbs of Mini Eggs Mom, they made this butterfly delish!)

Conleigh reminded everyone of a little madamoiselle with her hat!

The Birthday Gang

Jay-2, Ketteline-8, Conleigh-2
Richard-1, Naika-4, Samuel-1

Conleigh was full of dramatic faces...excited and a little overwhelmed at the attention!

Pardon the lack of Naika pictures. I was holding her, and thus the pics of her are on someone else's camera. This is her watermelon cake. I will post some pics of the birthday girl when I figure out whose camera they are on!

Everyone enjoying Chico's(cheesies from the Dominican) and Tampico(fruit juice from Haiti) and cake and excitement!

Jay turned 2. It was his first birthday with us and he wasn't too sure about everything, but definitely didn't mind when he realized he could eat the boat!

I have decided I need to make my cakes less appealing...or at least use fewer fun candy embellishments!!!! Just look at Conleigh's face...she was ready to go in for the kill...and she did, of course heading straight for the poor bunny's eyeballs! I actually LOVE making cakes for the kids...though now I personally have obtained this "wanting as close to perfection in Haiti as possible with my newly learned and limited cake decorating skills" attitude, which is very annoying as I realize I have spent WAY too long on a cake! But, it's always a labour of love!

Parent's beware:these children now accept only really cool cakes! Or at least ones with lots of love poured into them!

2009-05-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

67= the number of days since I last blogged. Crazy! Can't believe that much time has gone past! So much has happened that is definitely worth blogging, but so much was happening it wasn't worth taking the time blog! And I did indeed have many days where I specifically had to make a point of going to the bathroom. Glad to share that information with youNow I am home for a month to visit and relax, and now I will begin the quest to catch you all up on what has been happening in Haiti! Thanks for continuing to look at my blog everyday, curse me under your breathe, and do the same thing the next day, for the last 3 months!

The last time I blogged, before I blogged about not blogging, I was headed to Cap Haitian to take Rose Lissa for bilateral clubbed foot surgery, and my youngest brother had decided to come to Haiti for a visit. So, that is where we will begin!

Trip to Cap Haitian

Our Ride...I really wondered what Rose Lissa and her dad Sadrack would think, especially when I realized how loud this little plane was! But, Rose just fell asleep right away and Sadrack didn't say too much, just grinned a couple times.

We arrived in Cap Haitain(Rose Lissa, her dad Sadrack, and myself) on Feb 15th, and were picked up at the airport by Pat and Clark Moore. They are a great couple in their 60's who have been married for 6 years, though have been in Haiti prior to being married for many years. Pat is a nurse and oversees 2 clinics in the O-Kap area,along with many other things, and Clark has spent many years doing amazing archeological research regarding Colombus and the original inhabitants of the island of Hispanolia(Haiti/Dominican). I had never met them before, and was delighted to be so welcomed into the home of these wonderful people.

The view from Pat and Clark's balcony. Amazing!

Pat Moore and Rose Lissa

We got settled in and headed up to the Justinien Hospital the next day to meet up with Dr.Nelson and his team. I was amazed at the HUGE number of people waiting outside the ortho unit to be seen by the CURE team. Children and adults with all sorts of deformities of upper and lower limbs, as well as scoliosis and other similiar issues were patiently waiting in the heat, sitting wherever they could find space, hope etched across the faces of them and their families. We were kinda led to the front of the line as they knew we were coming, and Dr. Nelson took a look at Rose quite quickly and they scheduled her for surgery that Wednesday. During this time, I could see that though they had a couple of good translators, there was a lot still to be done. So I asked if they wanted some help translating for a while, and was greeted with "seriously!? Please!" So, Sadrack and RoseLissa and Clark headed back down to the house, and I assured them that I would get back before dark.

A few minutes later I was in my element! The little 10x5' room was constantly filled with people, sharing their stories and eagerly waiting for what the doctors could tell them. I had tears in my eyes a number of times, especially when seeing the joy on parent's faces when I translated for them that "yes, your child can be helped this week!" It was an amazing experience! I spent about 4 hours with them before I realized I had better head back to the house! I had never translated in such an intense setting before, but I remember thinking, man, I need to do this more often! I felt so thankful that God has blessed me with the gift of speaking Creole!

The Docs

This piece of bone had worked its way out of this little boys leg after CURE teams had done surgery back in September.

His xrays showed that the bone had regrown and completely healed, and had effectively gotten rid of the piece of bone that had been injured. It was kinda fun to see the doctors so amazed!

The next day, we headed to get lab work and xrays done for RoseLissa. We had quite the treck across O-Kap to find an xray place that actually had a working machine(good old Haiti!) and then spent the majority of the day waiting to be seen...apparently everyone being seen by the CURE team had all come to the same x-ray clinic! Much of the time there was spent smiling and listening to everyone share their two-bits about how I should and should not take care of RoseLissa, and answering all kinds of questions about why I was there with her, and what was wrong with her, and why in the world if I am from Canada do I not speak immaculate French!

During the time we were at the xray clinic, I got a very sad phone call from Pat. They had called earlier in the morning to let me know that Vens was sick and on his way to the hospital. The second call was to let me know that Vens had died en-route. It was very difficult to deal with that news in front of a roomful of Haitians, trying to stay in control and not give them anything else to question me about. I felt myself wishing I was more Haitian, and could just let out these gut-wrenching sobs that were threatening to overtake me. God carried me through, and shortly after that phone call we got called in to have RoseLissa's x-rays done. She started screaming as soon as I walked in and put her down to take her dress off, and as soon as I put her on the table, she started to pee. Not a little bit either:a definite flood! We all laughed. We had to. And that was how God distracted me from my grief for a while and allowed me to focus on caring for RoseLissa. It reminded me of when Simon died and shortly after we discovered a wasp nest in the baby room and had to focus on getting them all out! God is in control!

During that time, we realized that we were not gonna be done in time to get to the airport to get Caleb who had flown into Haiti and was flying up to meet us in Cap Haitian. So, Pat saved the day and went to meet him for me! So when we got back to the house, it was so great to be met my little brother who was a little surprised at how little I was!

Caleb and I

That brought us to Wednesday, the day of RoseLissa's surgery! We got to the hospital around 7am and waited with the other people scheduled for surgery for the docs to show up. They soon came hopping off tap-taps and we headed to the OR. We had to wait for a while, and in that time, Dr. Nelson and company stole me off to translate for them, as they went and looked at x-rays and saw people who had had surgery the day before. When I got back, the nurses had already taken Rose Lissa to get prepped for surgery. I walked down the hallway and when I saw Dr. Nelson I asked him if I could get a pic of Rose before they started operating. He asked if I wanted to just come on in and watch her surgery! I jumped at the chance, and 5 minutes later they had me all scrubbed up and peering over their shoulders...from a safe non-germy distance of course! It was amazing! I had tears in my eyes a number of times, seeing the gifts that God has given to His creation and their abilites to do such incredible things!!

Right before surgery....you can see how crooked her little feet were

Rose's little feet straight for the first time!

Putting casts on

Recovering. Rose's dad came in and immediatly pulled back the blanket that was covering her legs. He looked at her straight little feet, covered them back up, and then uncovered them again...and left them uncovered. And then he proceeded to take a bunch of pictures. It was really moving to watch him absorb the reality of the amazing change already visible.

Sadrack and a new friend we made there arriving after surgery

I was lucky to have a good relationship with Dr.Nelson, and he allowed us to leave a few hours after her surgery and go back to Pat and Clark's house instead of staying at the hospital! That was a huge blessing, cuz staying at a Haitian hospital is no cup of tea! It is NOTHING like a hospital in Canada! Rose recovered really well...she cried a lot the first few hours after we got back to the house, though we seemed to manage her pain fairly well with Tylenol and Advil. I thought for sure I was going to be up all night with her, but God was gracious and allowed her to sleep through the night. At this point I cried a lot about Vens, I think finally able to relax that the hardest part with RoseLissa was behind us.

Bathtime took on a whole new meaning...and Rose hated it!

Caleb and Sadrack spent a lot of time teaching each other their native language...and running over to me to translate for them!

It didn't take long for Rose to get back to her normal little silly self, and she loved being the centre of coddled attention!

We went back to the hospital 2 days later, where the docs removed her first set of casts, ensured everything looked good, and put on another set of casts that she would wear for 6 weeks, at which time another set would be put on for 6 more weeks! We all had a good laugh, because as soon as Rose saw the doctors, she started screaming! Everything looked great, and we were given the go ahead to head home. We stayed there until Saturday, during which time I had such wonderful help from Pat and her friend Pam who provided such care to all of us, and really shared the load with RoseLissa. I am so thankful that God has plans that surpass all of my best laid plans and hopes!

Rose and her Daddy
Rose and Caleb...she still wasn't so sure of this big white guy who insisted on making weird faces at her!

Rose Lissa is doing great! She recently had her casts changed and has 3 more weeks until she is done. She insists and pulling herself all over the floor, and recently standing up, effectively wearing out her casts! It is so fun to see the determination she has! After her casts come off, she will need some ankle-foot orthosis(a suuport for her ankle/foot, and it is likely that further surgery will be required for her knees and hip. Please continue to pray that God will continue to heal and restore her! Thanks to all of you who supported this endeavor for RoseLissa with your prayers and finances! It's been amazing to know the power of prayer!

2009-02-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks have been absolutely nuts! I look back and can't believe everything that has happened! I know God has been carrying us through, cuz without Him, I can't imagine how we would have survived. I have hardly had time to go to the bathroom since I got back from Cap Haitien with Roselisa! I have a LOT to blog about....which I will...after I find time to go to the bathroom!
Please keep us in your prayers as we are all exhausted and emotionally spent!

My youngest brother is.isn't.is.isn't.is coming to visit!

2009-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is my brother Caleb. He and the wind are one. He called early last week to say he was coming down for a couple weeks before carpentry school started its March term. Then there were so booking issues, so he wasn't coming anymore...that was Friday or Saturday last week. Then today I got an email and then a phone call shortly after. You got it, he's flying in on Monday. Gotta luv him. And the wind.

Prayer Request

2009-02-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

This is Roselisa. You might remember her being referred to back in July as Ti Chat(little cat). She came to stay with us last summer as she had become severely dehydrated and has been here since. I'd been looking for someway to get her some help for her clubbed feet and other abnormalities she has with her legs, when I came across CURE Caribbean while I was home last summer. They work in the Dominican (and worldwide) and do clinics 4 times a year in Haiti. I got in contact with Dr. Scott Nelson who immediatly told me how happy he would be to help Roselisa.

So, this Sunday, Feb 15th, we are heading to Cap Haitien in northern Haiti to meet with the CURE team. Some great people who I am looking forward to meet, Clark and Pat Moore, have opened their home to us while we are there. It was such a blessing to get in contact with them and not have to worry about those details anymore!

Roselisa and her dad Sadrak. He'll be staying with her at the hospital after her operation

Her little feet

Rose was actually born the day I got to Haiti:August 8th, 2007. Her dad brought her down to us as her little legs were crossed up over her stomach/hips and it was apparent something was not right. I worked with him to show him some range-of-motion exercises that he could do with her. At this time, Rose can't crawl because of some mishapen and immobile joints, but she scoots herself across the floor on her bum, propelled by muscular forearms that would put any body builder to shame.

Please pray for our safety on the trip there and back on some little dinky plane. Pray that Rose will be calm and perhaps a little less fiesty than usual as she interacts with the doctors and surgeons. Pray that God will guide the medical professionals as they plan and carry out the plan for treating Rose's condition. Ask that God would quicken my Creole tongue as I am heading north where the Creole is not quite the same.

How to make Coal(chabon) in 7 Easy Steps

2009-02-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

1. Find yourself a tree that NEEDS to be cut down...please don't pick any old tree, because we have a huge deforestation problem in Haiti!

2. Get some kids really excited about hauling ridiculous amounts of branchs and leaves to the truck.

Ridiculously excited kid #2

Another ridiculously excited kid!

Loading the truck up:first of 3 loads...leaves and kids!

3. Make some kind of Joan of Arc looking pile with the bigger branches.

4. Cover it with a good thick layer of leaves.
5. Start the pile on fire...? (I kinda missed this step)

6.After 1-10 days, depending on the type and amount of wood, spread it around and let it cool. Then decide which pieces are worth cooking over and fill some sacks.

We managed to get 4 bags like this full of coal. We use about 3 bags of coal a week. A bag this size sells for about $5-8 USD. Coal is the main source of cooking fuel here in Haiti. It burns incredibly hot for a long time and there is a huge market for it here in Haiti. However, the heavy dependency on this fuel source has effectively depleted the forests of Haiti. This has resulted in poor crops and gardens as there is not sufficient rain/wind cover, as well as incredible devestation as a resut of hurricanes with nothing to block the wind and rain and stop the soil from running into the ocean. It seems to be an endles cycle as the majority of people in Haiti are too poor to be able to afford another fuel source.

Meet Lony

2009-02-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

This is Lony

This is Lony's left hand
Lony came to us just over a week ago. We are still finding out all the details, but there seems to be some issues going on related to the hospital closing and changing hands. Apparently Lony was abandoned there a few years ago when his mother died there. Here the details get foggy, but through a series of events, he ended up being boarded by a family who has a pharmacy close to the hosptial...there was some foreigner funding his schooling and room and board. Another man who has been involved in Lony's life and the hospital director brought him down. He had a really nasty burn on his hand, which we soon found out was due to a hot plastic bag being purposely put on his hand as a punishment for eating someone's leftover food by the man of the house where he'd been living.

It's taken a few days, but Lony's doing fairly well getting into the swing of things here. It has been interesting to have him become a part of our routine, because it really reminds us of where our kids were at a year and a half ago. He is really bright though, and is so eager to please! I gave him a bath not long after he arrived and when I handed him a pair of underwear he said "You already went and bought these for me?" I almost cried. Then when we were putting him to bed I showed him his bed and he just got this little grin on his face and said "This little mat is just for me?!?!?!" Tears definitly hit the surface.

Please pray for this little boy who has already experienced so much in his about 6 or 7 years of life! His hand is healing nicely with some good care, and he is basking in the love and routine that our children thrive in. Please pray also as we decide what should happen as far as his future is concerned. He's a little old to stay here, and has already spent to much time in Haitian culture that we can already see that he is going through a huge transition. We also have a number of boys the same age who have been waiting a long time for an adoptive family who are feeling a little threatened at times by his presence in our home. Please pray for wisdom as there are a lot of decisions to be made regarding Lony.

Long overdue photo blog

2009-02-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

We had 480 cans of formula donated to us from Christian Aid Ministries(CAM) . This will supply the need for our babies for the next few months. God is so good.

Lots of babies to hold right now

Peelin' banana's for bananna bread

6 of 17 of our between 1 and 2 years toddler group

Buddies:Daniel and Joseph

A few Christmas pics...better late than never????

2009-02-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas January 10th. We had to wait for everything to arrive through customs, and had a lot of fun getting things all sorted. It was great fun watching all the kids open and explore the wonderful things wonderful people had sent for each of them. Thanks to all of you who helped make this day special!

Baby Barrage

2009-02-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

We've had a flurry of baby activity this past week. Check out Pat's blog for the details.

Update on Alyssa

2009-02-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

None of us were prepared for what ended up happening with Alyssa. Her mom returned on Monday and told us that Alyssa's father refused to reckognize her as her his daughter, and would therefore not sign any papers regarding releasing us into her care. So, Melinda detailed to her everything she needed to do at the court house declaring publicly that the father had forfeited his rights and obtain the papers we needed to permanently take Alyssa into our care. We even said that we could pay for any paperwork she could not afford. She left again with Alyssa and we assumed she was heading to the court house.

Then the unthinkable happened: we recieved news that someone had found a baby in the mud by the river. None of us even dreamed that baby was our little Alyssa. However, we soon began to hear of the details, and were shocked to hear that indeed Alyssa's mother had left here and walked to the river and left Alyssa in the mud.
Yes, in the mud.
This little girl who God had literally brought back from death's doorstep was left in the mud like a piece of trash.
Thankfully, God sent some young girls who found her shortly after and took her up to the court house.
I was devestated. Shocked. Disgusted. Angry. Sad. Hopeless. I think I experienced almost every emotion in the book.
Then we heard that the brother(and his wife) of one of the leaders at the church we attend here was planning to take in Alyssa.I really just wanted to march up there and demand they give Alyssa back to us, but then realized that perhaps I needed to let God work out His plan. But, I was mad. Mad at the woman who gave birth to Alyssa. Mad at the circumstances that brought Alyssa here initially. Mad at the man who fathered Alyssa and refused to take any responsibility for her, even if it only involved writing his name so we could legally care for her. Mad at the reality that though I don't have a lot of love for Alyssa's birthmom, I also realize that she is not in a good situation herself. Mad because it seems so unfair. Mad because I don't understand. Mad because we see things like this over and over and over. Mad because the cycle seems endless. Mad because sometimes our hands are so tied up. Mad because caring so much can really hurt a lot. Mad because I can't see why.

The last we've heard about Alyssa is that the family that has been taking care of her is going to take her to Port-au-Prince to live with her aunt who has no children. It's totally out of my hands, and I have some sense of peace knowing that He holds Alyssa in His hand. But I still have this hope that jumps in my heart each time someone bangs on the gate.

Cakes cakes cakes

2009-02-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

Pat whipped up these cute blocks for Vens
Amanda, Jennifer and I had fun putting this balloon boquet of cupcakes together for Derson

Jennifer, Eddy's mom, had a great time making Eddy's rocketship cake with a little help from us slowly-getting-sorta-experienced HCH cake decorators!

I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but when I saw the name of this cake I had to make it for Gerald:Geraldine Giraffe

Minnie pulled out her piping skills and made this really cute fuzzy bear for Joseph

Dec/Jan Birthdays...oh and one November birthday!

2009-01-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Derson turned 9 December 31! He was quite tickled by the contageous excitement and had a lot of smiles to share with us.

Also celebrating were Vens-1, Eddy-6, Joseph-2 and Gerald-3

Please pray for Alyssa

2009-01-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

Alyssa arrived in July 2007. Severely malnourished and literally wasting away.
God worked and healed Alyssa. Here she is 6 months later!

Alyssa went home today. Her parents have been very uncooperative as far as providing us with the papers we need to keep her here at HCH, so after weeks of waiting for them to cooperate, we had no choice but to send her home. From what we know of her parents, they are not together and Alyssa's father refuses to take any responsiblity, even to get Alyssa a birth certificate so she can stay here. It is so frusterating because we did not by any means want to send her home, but legally she can no longer be at HCH without paperwork. It is even more difficult when we think back to the state she was in when she came!

Alyssa went home with her mom, and we sent food and milk for her, and told her what she needed to do if indeed she did want to give Alyssa up for adoption.

Now we wait.

It's hard, knowing and loving this precious little girl.

But, God is in control.

He knows the plans He has for Alyssa.

Though we sure wish we knew them in advance!

Please keep Alyssa and her parents in your prayers, as well as all of us as we wait to see what will happen with this precious little girl who has a place in all of our hearts!

Frogs, sand and a pump.

2009-01-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

So, a few weeks ago we had a nice little frog do a very not nice thing: he/she crawled up into the pump and got stuck in there and died! The stench was incredible. Apparently this has happened before, and so the guys knew how to take the pump cover off and take out Dead Mr. Toad. We also found a bunch of sand in there, and a little spoon....sand+spoon+42 kids=suspicion.
Once things were back together, the pump was not putting out much water for the amount of work it was taking. So, we got a hold of Blue Ridge(a Mennonite mission here in Haiti who do a lot of wonderful work with wells) and asked them to come. They managed to squeeze us into their schedule and in a few days arrived to see what the problem was.

Zach and Charles, the guys from Blue Ridge, soon discovered that a piece of what reminded me of rebar had broken off inside the pipes, just below where they could reach it with some hand tools. So, in order to be able to get their big rig in there by the pump, the guys had to do some incredible work with a machete to cut off a bunch of branches hanging over the pump. I have NEVER seen the power of a machete like that before....gave me some respect for them!

Pulling the first piece of pipe up...I have no idea if it's even called pipe...or for that matter any of the other names for any parts/tools/machinery related to fixing a well!! So, for those of you who actually do know, please be kind and just smile and nod!!

These trucks are just amazing! Can't think of another time when I've been more thankful for hydraulics! It's kind of a funny feeling when you are personally so impacted by the same thing that you think about affecting others less fortunate than yourself! I am SO incredibly thankful for our well, in a way I really appreciate having a new outlook!

The first piece of pipe came out looking great. The next two had a lot of eyebrows going up! Some parts were almost rusted right through!

And then they found a sandbox in the cylinder. The child with the sand and the spoon really pulled a good one. The guys were fairly confident that the sand was what had broken the piece of rebar that had initially stopped the pump from working. So we had some little conversations with the kids and with the nannies responsible for them....never a dull moment!!

But, it all worked out. There was gonna be some significant issues with those rusty pipes in the near future, so perhaps Dead Mr.Toad and the sand child did us a favour after all!

Zach and Charles:Thanks so much for being such a blessing to so many in Haiti!!

New Years in Haiti

2009-01-11T18:19:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to make sure you all clicked over to Pat's blog where we posted some pics of the Haitain New Years Pumpkin Soup Celebration.
There are a few other pics there to see to. Should be some pics of Christmas soon too! We just finally got to celebrate yesterday as the rest of the stuff arrived just this past Thursday!

Some more faces

2009-01-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

Chrisla

Samuel

Deanna(our super volunteer who is coming back soon!) and Roselisa

Roselisa is having clubbed foot surgery in February. It is going to be a bit of an adventure heading up to Cap Haitien and meeting all the great folks from CURE International.

Lineda

Carlos

Kendy

Chris and James

Alyssa

December Faces

2009-01-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

Jenny

Chris

James
Moise

Moise and Michael

Golson

We took the kids on a walk and when we were almost back home I noticed these little puff ball weeds that reminded me of dandilions when they get all puffy. The kids thought it was so fun to run and find as many as they could! I was worried some of them were going to pass out from all the blowing!!

Joseph..............Daniel..........Golson

Merry Christmas

2008-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Figured since I haven't posted in so long you should all know that yes, we are alive and yes, we are getting ready for a Christmas bash! Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in...it's been fun seeing all the beautiful stuff for the kids!

The kids have been having fun learning Cristmas carols and getting a grasp on the meaning of Christmas. There have been some very funny Cringlish comments about "pray for baby Jesus paske li pa genyen bed" (praying for baby Jesus because he doesn't have a bed)(funny how they connect how we sometimes pray for other kids in our community who are not as fortunate as they are, and and those children not having beds comes up all the time...they were really feeling bad for baby Jesus!) and then "sa pa bel"(that's not nice) referring to the angels scaring the shepherds. Sure has made me think things through differently as I share the miracle of Christmas with these beautiful children!

Luke 2:8-12
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said,"Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town,

a Savior who is Messiah and Master.

Another lazy blog referral

2008-12-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

Please check out Pat's blog. I spent some time putting a few update pics on there, and don't have the time to do it here too....it takes a ridiculoulsy long time to upload photos here! It's been another one of those "where did the week go" weeks.

Malnutrition in Haiti

2008-12-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

Please check out this article at RHFH Rescue Center. (and check out the rest of the blog as it's very amazing what they do up there! This is the place where I went in June)

It really got my attention as we were just informed today that the Social service department in Haiti found out about a group of children starving to death in Jacmel (southeast Haiti). Their parents were getting so desperate that they were selling their children for 1000Gourdes, about $25 in order to feed the rest of their family. The social service department has asked us and all the other orphanges/creche's to take in a few of these children if possible as they are going to go and remove them from this situation and they need somewhere to place them until they figure out what to do regarding this situation.

50 Children have already died in this area.

There are 70 that need somewhere to go.

We don't know for sure how many kids will be coming to us.

If anyone would like to help to provide the food and medical care that they are going to need, it would be most appreciated.

Please pray for the people of Haiti...they are getting more and more desperate as prices continue to climb.
Please pray for wisdom and longevity for us as we could be getting really busy.

Photo Blog

2008-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

Alyssa just loves any attention she can get!
Richard came and stayed with me for 3 days. It was so great to see him looking really good though he was running a high fever and we treated him for malaria. He went home yesterday and was feeling a lot better. It was really nice to spend some time with him again, though now I miss him again!

Andre is getting to be such a big young man now and has become such a help around the house! He turned 13 in October and sometimes we have to take a double-look because we aren't sure who this big boy is in the yard!

1 hose+6 large basins+25 kids=a lot of fun and water everwhere!

Janae:c-section baby

2008-11-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

She's already getting so big and loves, loves, loves her milk! She has the softest head of hair aall the Haitian staff comment on how dark she is going to be!
Minutes after I got to see her born by c-section. One of the most amazing things I've seen up to date!

Meet Nadieu(Jay)

2008-11-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

This little boy came and joined us last week. Please see www.haitichildrenshome.blogspot.com for the details about him. I help Pat to keep her blog updated and so don't always want to take the time to write things again when I could be putting something totally new on my blog!

Getting ready for his first bath here at HCH(Jay wasn't impressed with the shower head at all!)

Jay's been here for just over a week and is adjusting well. He has quite the attitude at times, but is starting to smile and interact with both adults and children and settle into the routine. He has had quite the time adjusting(and so have we when we have to change his diapers!!) to the healthy food he is now eating. He is spending some time upstairs while he gets strong and settled into the daily routine.

Minnie and her gardeners

2008-11-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

Minnie planted some plants and flowers with the kids a month or so ago and spent a couple days last week preparing the garden and planting them. The kids are quite excited to see their plants thriving in their garden!

Comment about Comments

2008-11-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you have been leaving little notes of news and encouragment for me on my blog! I really love reading them and even "meeting" new people! Just so you all know, anyone can leave comments. You just have to make up an account(even if you never use it except to leave comments) and then write me a little note!

It's a mad mad mad mad mad mad world

2008-11-23T08:23:00.001-08:00

This week was another one full of surprises. Early Tuesday morning, we were informed that a group of people had broken into the hospital early in the morning and tied up the doctors and some staff and threw feces all over the whole hospital! Apparently they were angry about some staff that had been let go and were trying to make a point. They terrorized the hospital staff and patients and made a huge mess. So, later that morning while I was teaching school, we found out they they had taken us up on our offer to help them out and were sending all the pediatric cases down to us! So, the next while was spent running around trying to change the classroom into a hospital ward! Funny, cuz the classroom was originally built with a clinic in mind!
Anyway, the doctor came down with 4 patients...a new baby, 2 boys about 6 yrs old, and a 15 year old boy. In Haiti, families are required to provide all the care for their family members who are sick, as the hospitals here only provide nursing care...as in putting in IV's, giving meds, delivering babies, that kinda thing! So, all these kids showed up with their mothers and little coal stoves and sheets and food and such in tow!! Which was kind of a relief as it was already so busy here! They were all stable and we were given a crash-course(though very thorough) in giving IV medications and the like. There was simply no nursing staff available to come and they were desperate.
Ok, all you nurses and docs and such, B-R-E-A-T-H-E! I know you are all freaking out right now! And trust me, it was crazy, but I had this peace about it all. Not that I plan to do that on a regualar basis! It has made me think more seriously again about pursuing nursing. Jury's still out though.
They were here for 3 days and then Dr.Toussaint started discharging them. They were all gone by Friday, and then we had one new lady come with her one month baby girl who she had out some weird powdery stuff on, and she stayed for a night so the doc could make sure she did not have access to the people who were doing that stuff to her baby. He really was frank with her about the danger she was putting her baby in and spent a lot of time educating her.
So, by Saturday moring, our ward was empty. Whew! It sure gave us a chance to breath again!
Well, sort of anyway, as it seems like everyone wants to get sick somehow...ear infections, pneumonia, one of the little boys got himself a huge problem while riding his bike, and jsut everyday "we have 42 kids here right now" stuff!

In the midst of it all, on Thursday we had a new little boy join us. His name is Nadieu(Nadjay..we're calling him Jay) and he is 21 months old. His mom died in May and he has been with an aunt who is not able to provide for him. His dad and the aunt came and asked if we would take him as they could see he was getting skinny. Jay is indeed a little skinny, weighing in at 9kg, so definitely a little small for being almost 2. But, he's settling in and doing quite well considering the huge change in his life! He loves to sing, and is quite independent, and we have been learning that he has quite the attitude at times! He has been displaying some of the typical indicators of malnutrition...getting mad at his food, throwing his food, inhaling his food one bite, and not eating it the next.

The incident at the hospital has really had people talking. Some doctors were really angry, others sad that it happened but all wishing it hadn't and wondering how they can avoid it happening again! They hospital has been cleaned(it took about 4 days it was such a mess) but remains closed until the security issue is addressed. The other patients are staying in the home of one of the doctors here until something else can be arranged. It has been so hard for us to understand wy things happened as they did. It's such a crazy thing to wrap your mind around! It also feels so much more personal as we all feel so much more connected there, due to seeing that c-section and getting to know Dr. Ulysse and having Dr.Toussaint so involved here at HCH. A lot of Haitian people feel very betrayed and angry and embarrased at the actions of their countrymen.

I was able to get a really good sleep last night. Then I stayed in my room and read until 9:30 a.m. and now I am up in Pat's nice air-conditioned room...and I don't feel a bit guilty! I feel much better already, and plan to take advantage of the kids being kept busy with their weekly movie this afternoon! There was a couple days this week when I could have fallen asleep on my feet! One afternoon I went to my room at about 3:00 to get something and woke up at 5:30! Somehow I fell asleep! But I was so thankful cuz that same night our night worker did not show up and so we had to do 2 hour shifts to take care of the kids. I just about died yesterday when I realized it was Saturday...I don't remember Thursday or Friday being Thursday and Friday! And December is one week away! Gotta pull out the Christmas music this afternoon!

September Birthday Pics

2008-11-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

Levi-1, Evan-1, Daniel-2

Daniel and his new duck
Levi wasn't too sure about the she-bang!

and Evan put so much energy into eating his cake he went right to sleep!

This week...

2008-11-16T04:44:00.000-08:00

Melinda and Minnie left for the states for about 3 weeks.

I went to the hospital to pick up a baby, and ended up watching a c-section!

There was a mouse in our room...very eventful time trying to get it out!

Janae(c-section baby) joined our ever-growing family. Her mom had come to us before she was born and for a number of reasons wanted/needed to give her baby up.

Just two hours or so after our nurse(Melinda) left to catch her plane, I went to the hopital to pick up another baby. This one was a premature (28 weeks) baby, so very tiny and so very cold. This little boy was the tiniest baby to ever come to HCH. The wonderful pediatrician here, Dr. Touissaint, needed the use of our warming table and incubators for this little one.

For the first time in my life I performed CPR... on that same tiny little baby! I never would have thought that those CPR classes would be put to use on someone so tiny. Pat and I brought him back twice, but then the third time God decided to take him home. That was really hard. It gave me an even deeper appreciation for Pat and Melinda, who do this all the time, putting their all into a child and sometimes losing them. It's way harder when you've been hands on. However, seeing how that little baby struggled so much in his short life, there was also some comfort knowing that he is with the best Healer of all.

Levi stood up without holding on to anything!

Lineda 2nd front tooth came in the rest of the way! Finally!

I started teaching school while Minnie is gone. I don't know how she does it! I've learned that I can teach just fine, but how she keeps all those kids going in their books with all of them being at such different stages I DO NOT KNOW!! As well, there was a lot of "testing the waters" going on. I am not regularly in the classroom, and so many of the kids were trying to find out if I was the same Lori in the classroom as I am downstairs! Some of them didn't like it too much when they realized that I could(and did) put them on time-out even in school! However they did quite well, and they are all still alive (jokes) and I was very thankful for Hannah(one of our great volunteers) and all her help!!

I've acquired a nasty cough/sore throat/plugged ears..very annoying!

There has been much laughter over how the toddlers have all started to say "brush your teeth". Not "brush my teeth" but a perfect copy of how we say "brush your teeth" when we call them to do so.

In my preschool class I've been working on the kids' English vocabulary. One day I held up a picture of a bed and asked them what it was. Gerald responded "go to bed"!!!!! Then they all looked at me in sheer beweilderment as I collapsed into laughter!

I continue to be so blessed by being here. There are times when it's hard(especially cuz I am a wimp when I'm sick cuz I rarely get sick...except for this time it seems!) and I wonder what I am doing here. I never thought potty-training would be such a learning curve...and not just for the kids! I've finally re-adjusted to the weather, and thankfully November is slowly but surely bringing its gift of cooler weather! There was one day when one of the kids said "you bath again?" because my hair was soaking wet with sweat! Sick, I know!
Yet, despite the sweat and feeling like I look like crud almost everyday, and the very difficult days, and all the everday issues, there is so, so, so much joy in being here and knowing I am doing what God has called me to do.

I have called you and you are mine
-The Lord

Visit to RoseEvelyn

2008-11-09T12:22:00.000-08:00

This beautiful little girl was under my care the minute I stepped off the place back in August 2007. She had just come to HCH and had to be brought down to Pat in Port as she was doing poorly. It didn't take long for her to get back on her feet and be a happy little girl!

While I was gone after I cut my thumb, her dad(who was not really in the picture) decided that he would not agree to have his daughter signed over to an orphange. So, in Ferbruary she went home with her dad as her mom was very ill at the time. Recently we discovered that her dad ran off to the DR and left RoseEvelyn with her mother and 3 other children to care for on her own.

While we were there, RoseEvelyn's mom told me that Rose always calls me her "Maren" which is Creole for godmother. She then asked if I would like to be Rose's Maren. In Haiti, this is a significant thing, and so I was happy to be asked. Rose's mom also shared with me that she was having a hard time financially supporting all her kids, especially in regards to school. She had sent her 3 oldest to school, but two were sent home after a couple weeks as she could only afford to pay for one to stay in school. So, at this time only the oldest boy is in school. In Haiti, everyone has to pay to go to school, and when kids are younger it costs $100-$200 in addition to uniforms and meals. This is a big deal for the majority of Haitian families, when you think that the average annual income is $350USD. Some families are able to find extra funds to cover these costs, but there are still hundreds of children unable to go to school. There are a small number of schools that are supported by churches or other organizations where children can attend school free of charge, but they are few and far between, and the criteria for being admitted to these schools is necessarily rigorous. In Haiti, children start school when they are well able to sing and talk...which for most kids is about 3 years old. They are required to have three years of kindergarten and be able to read before they can graduate from kindergarten and start grade one. Some children in the free church school here are 12 and 14 years old and just starting school! Such a late though welcome opportunity!

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot since our visit with RoseEvelyn. About how difficult it is to access so many things here, and how easy it is for us at home in North America. I sometimes feel so overwhelmed on the behalf of the people here, especially when I really stop to think about how much they struggle for just the simple things of life.

I am blessed.

The children in this home are blessed.

And I hope that during my time here I can in turn be a blessing to the people of this country with my time, my heart, my funds, and my Jesus.

Fun, fun, fun!

2008-11-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

Chris and Moise

These rocks made many, many trips!

"Can we play 'catch the ball' ?"(James)

Who is that anyway??

I get the funniest glares from the washing ladies when I pull out the chalk...but we just keep drawing...even on ourselves!

Our very own petting zoo!

2008-11-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

An adoptive family purchased some livestock for the biological family of their daughter. The kids were more than happy to share our yard with them until we could get a hold of the family. The only thing that they decided they didn't like so much when the animals went home 3 days later, was the goat poo everywhere!

Checking out the cows

Worth dancing about!

They all had these silly grins all afternoon!

Can I feed it? Will it bite me? It's greedy!

Non-stop chatter for 2 days. Every child that can talk can now say goat and cow and recognize them without hesitation!

Happy Birthday:August in November

2008-11-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Due to a flood of new and fragile children, an actual flood, the activities co-ordinator(me) being gone, and a number of other reasons, we are just now catching up on our August/September/October birthdays, just in time for our November party!

James-tickled pink with his motor-cross cake!

Golson grabbed the Oreo nose right off the cake!

RoseLisa turns 1 year old!

A well as Golson-2, Robentzson-4, Amanda-10, Lineda-1, James-7, Jamesky-1

We are currently working on getting bikes for the older toddlers and children here.

Thanks to all of you who have been a part of this project! There are some kids who have been really happy this year, and we nearly have enough bikes for all!

Grandma Pat's Babies

2008-11-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Please check out Grandma Pat's Babies to catch up on what has been happening here at HCH. Things have been busy and every time we go to blog the power goes out or a baby shows up or something else!! So I managed to help Pat get her blog caught up and so now I will be working on getting mine caught up!
I am doing just fine except for a scratchy throat! Our house has recovered for the most part from the crazy sickness that we were dealing with and it's amazing what a difference that makes in the everday runnings of things!

Lots of great stories and photos to follow...and if you are not already going to the fundraiser on Saturday, you should get yourself on the phone and get registered!

The Downstairs Mini's

2008-10-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Bertho

Josef

Lineda

Schilintzsky

Gerald

Princess Conleigh

Isaiah

Jamesky

Daniel

Julie

Levi

Golson was really sick and on IV when I got back. He had been sick for 2 weeks and has lost a lot of weight. However he is now on the mend, which we can tell as his usual naughtiness is coming out in full swing!

Evan has joined the toddlers downstairs. He's become a very vocal little boy and is constantly babbling on about this or that...hard to believe he was such a tiny little preemie just a year ago!

Naseau, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea

2008-10-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

The last 3 days were spent experiencing all of the above! Fun! Nasty!

The kids here have been really sick with some sort of illness brought on by the flooding, and on Thursday 5 of us North Americans woke up feeling sick...with the same symptoms as the kids. There was a revolving door on the bathroom for a few days but somehow there always managed to be a bathroom available for whoever needed it(thanks Dave and Kathy!)!! I ended up needing an IV on Friday night as I got dehydrated and it started affecting my breathing! It was really weird, and then amazing what a difference some fluids made in just 20 minutes. I spent Saturday and today just resting and taking it easy but I feel so much better now it's amazing! Most of the kids are better now, and that is a big blessing. Three of us ended up on IV's over the weekend, as well as two of our Haitian staff. Melinda had a regular hospital going on upstairs! We are so blessed to have her knowledgable and skillful hands here....I cannot imagine still being sick cuz there was no-one to put an IV in! Thanks so all of you who were praying! I am so thankful to be well on the mend...there is nothing like being really sick, away from home, in the heat with 40 children still crying for your attention! Please continue to pray for the children here and the people in our community who are being affected by this and other similiar illnesses.

Just Cuz we had nothing else to do!

2008-10-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we realized that once again there was a back-up in the sewer system. The toilets wouldn't flush and the drains kept backing up. This has happened many many times and we thought it would simply be a matter of taking a plunger to things as we have done before. Alas this did not happen, and early Tuesday morning I was awakened by David knocking on my door to tell me there was water everywhere! Sure enough, sewer water had back up right out of the bathrooms and was making its way down the hallways. I went to wake the other girls up and we began the job of getting all the kids outside, along with everything they would need for the day and all the furniture that might be in way of the water. Cedieu, one of the Haitian guys around here began breaking up the cement covering the sewage draingage hole, and it was soon discovered why things had backed up. As soon as we got the lid off we could see hoards of clothing and diapers, shoes and empty toothpaste tubes and other such paraphenalia that had been thrown down the toilet and blocked off the drainage! We got the kids situated outside and fed breakfast, and then joined Melinda and her crew to begin cleaining things up! It was stinky work, but it was made much more bearable by the fact that we had water hoses running everywhere which really cooled things off. And the house has never been cleaner!Thankfully no damage was done and everything is in working order again!

Melinda trying to control the flow of sewer water

We had to break a hole under the door to access another place to sweep dirty water out of the house.

4 of these totes were filled with decomposing clothing and diapers and such that had been thrown down the toilet! It is now a royal crime to wash diapers in the house...thus the temptation to throw diapers that are just a little too dirty down the toilet is removed!
Melinda getting in there like a dirty shirt!
The Ark "floating" in the dirty sewage water in the playroom

Our cleaning crew: Many willing hands made the load light! Thanks everyone!

While I was gone

2008-10-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Check out this posting! I helped Pat start to catch up on her blog, and I was amazed at some of the things that they'd seen while I was gone. I had heard about some of the somewhat overwhelming cases that had come through the door, and this only gives me more appreciation for these ladies that I work with!

Upstairs Faces

2008-10-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

It is so great to be back! I have a lot to write about, but I know a lot of people are wondering how the kids are doing, especially the ones who came to us recently in such poor shape! I had tears well up in my eyes a number of times when I first saw a number of the upstairs children. It is absolutely amazing how God has brought so many of them through so much hardship in their short lives and restored them. I am in awe of the miracles that have happened here at HCH and feel so priviledged to be a witness them. Thank you for all your prayers both for these children and for the staff here as we cared for them!

Can you believe this is Alyssa!?!?!?!?!
Samuel is such a happy healthy baby now!
Vince: just biding his time until he makes the treck downstairs

Rose Lisa: having some problems with skin/head infections, but is doing great and is kind of the surrogate mom in the baby room. She scoots herself over if someone's crying and plays with them or gives them their soother back. So cute!
Adam:let's just say this picture is very appropriate!
Steeven: smiling all the time now, and just 2 days ago held his own bottle and started to play with his feet. Amazing to see how far he's come!
Valentzaka, Paulentzska and Viventz. They will from this point on be referred to on my blog as Va, P and Vi...typing those ridiculous names is ridiculous! They are even considered ridiculous in Haiti!!
Yvenson(Even-son) our tiny tiny preemie. Apperently he is one of the tiniest HCH has ever had. He's doing alright, though is down to 2lbs at this point. That is a thing of baby wipes beside him for size comparison. Thanks for the preemie nasal cannullas everyone!

This is the new Richard. We are not yet sure if perhaps he is hydrocephalic due to the size of his head. However he is a happy little guy!
Jean Kendy was blessed to have an adoptive family almost from day one!!!
Ester has lost her ET look and is so cute!!
Carlos had gone home and was doing poorly and so finally his family agreed to bring him back. His skin is a mess, but he is now leveling out and is a very happy little guy. He has not needed any anti-seizure medication for a long time, and we are praying that the "shakes" that he experienced after his close call with life will not bother him again!

Guess Who

2008-09-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Can you guess who this is? This precious little person came to us a few months ago and has changed so much. You can see who it is and see more new pics at Grandma Pat's Babies.

As I am preparing to go

2008-09-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I pulled off a newsletter I was sent from a humanitarian group working in Haiti. This was taken just shortly after Hurricane Hanna hit Haiti, and it really hit me when I saw it...no pun intended. And this is just a glimpse of what people are facing, and these homes are still standing...
I've been thinking about what I am going to be seeing when I arrive in Haiti, and the many things that I won't see but will hear about. Please pray for me as I am realizing more and more how the lives of the people in this country that I love so much have been completely overturned once again. Please pray for a divine measure of strength and grace and love that I will need to show to these people, and that in doing so I can show them Jesus.

And back I go

2008-09-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

So it's official. I am flying back to Haiti on the 7th(well, arriving on the 8th) of October! I am so happy! It has been so great being home, though I had a really hard time not flying back a couple weeks ago during all of the Ike craziness!! The weather has been so beautiful and it's been great for spending time with friends and HCH kids and may other great Alberta things. I even kayaked 16km one weekend. I know you are all now wishing you could be as outdoorsy as me! The next three weeks will be busy getting ready for Laura's wedding and organizing all the stuff I am going to be bringing to Haiti, and the other stuff I need to have ready for whoever comes next from this area. I am really going to try and do things AHEAD of time, and avoid the stressful crunch I seem to get myself into as I plan and prioritize the heaps of stuff people have provided!
Things continue to carry on at HCH. I got an email from Melinda yesterday regarding a little girl named Jeana that had been admitted who was 14 months and weighed 8lbs. Then this morning, I was informed that she did not make it...she was simply too far gone. We are slowly but surely beginning to see the effects of the nearly 50% rise in food costs in Haiti, and now the devastation that Ike caused has made so many people absolutely desperate for help. Please continue to keep Haiti and its peoplem as well as HCH in your prayers as more children are brought to our door.

Update on what's Happening in Haiti

2008-09-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

The bridge leading to town:No, you're right,there is no bridge!

Canoeing across

Night at the hospital

Water Line high above this toddler bed at a nearby house

Preparing things to distribute in the community

Most of you have heard by now that Hurricane Ike has passed Haiti, but in its wake left many parts of the country devastated. All over this island nation, countless families have lost loved ones, their homes, belongings and livelihoods.
God has been faithful and merciful to Haiti Children’s Home and though the flood waters passed the orphanage, water did not even TOUCH its walls. The staff and children were forced to evacuate early Sunday morning(Sept 7th) and were safely brought to the hospital where they spent the night in very cramped quarters. Early Monday morning it was obvious that the water was not going to effect the compound, and so they packed all of the supplies and returned everyone home. During this time they discovered that upstream in the Artibonite River, two trucks that had been washed downstream had jammed on the bridge in Mirebalais, and after effectively damning the river, the force of the water and rain from Hurricane Ike caused the bridge to collapse. The water that had built up then flooded the area downriver from the bridge, adding to the destruction it had already been caused upriver by the damn the trucks had made. The same type of incident occurred west of the orphanage, and thus HCH has been left on a sort of island. This means that they are unable to get a vehicle across the river to go to the city to obtain supplies and if necessary, emergency medical aide. There are makeshift boats carrying people across the river, so it is possible to get across, but then there is the very expensive need to find and hire a driver, and with gas at $5/gallon it is very important to make sure trips are planned effectively. The pastor from the church HCH attends has been very gracious and has offered the use of his vehicle when possible.
At this time, the staff at HCH has had to tighten the belt a bit, as they do not know how dependable the food supply is going to be. Many farmers have lost their land and produce, and so already they are finding it harder to obtain staples and then there is the chore of getting it across the river. Milk is not available in Mirebalais at this time, and so they have had to cut back to giving milk only to those under 2 years, though they continue to use milk in the preparation of all the children’s food. There is milk available in the city, but the funds are not yet in place to make it a worthwhile trip (it costs approx. $40-50/day to provide milk to 40 children and babies). A psychologist was sent to debrief the children, and he was amazed at the behaviour and education shown during his visit. He said he had never seen anything like it and was very happy with how the children were coping with their experience.
However, God continues to care for HCH and they have been given food from the World Food Program which has helped them and also neighbour’s close-bye. There are 30 families near the home who have lost everything, including their homes. The staff at Haiti Children’s Home is seeing that they have been spared from the damaging effects of the flood so that they can help those around them. The last few days have been spent helping one neighbour a day remove mud and debris from their homes, and sorting and finding extra clothes and supplies to help neighbour’s and other people in Mirebalais who have nothing. Every afternoon they open the gate and allow people to come and take water from the well, filling a huge need in the community. The mayor from Mirebalais has been very helpful, and through his efforts the hospital and orphanage were able to obtain power yesterday morning. This has allowed Melinda and Pat and other HCH staff to share their thoughts and pictures with their friends and family, and we have attached some of that information to this letter. Please prayerfully consider financially supporting Haiti Children’s Home during this difficult time. There are many needs to be filled both within and outside the compound walls, and your involvement will make a significant impact on the lives of many.

HCH Evacuation

2008-09-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone.
I just got news that the orphanage had to evacuate this morning at about 7:30 their time(8:30 our time) due to flooding. They had lots of notice, and managed to get the necessary medical supplies(incubators, etc) to the hospital(no they do not have incubators at the hospital) along with all of the children. The flooding is of a slow nature at this point, so there are still people working to move things out of the danger of the water. The cooks were still down finishing preparing lunch for the kids as the work to secure the orphange was finished. Currently the road leading to the orphange is covered in water(there are other back ways to access the orphanage), and continues to creep higher, so they are prepared to stay the night up at the hospital. Please keep all of the staff and children in your prayers as they prepare to spend a day out of familiar surroundings. Pray that the peace of God wil reign in the hearts of all the children and adults, and that they would feel His hand of comfort and reassurance throughout the day. Pray that the water damage would be minimal and will not keep the orphange unaccessible for the children for an extended period of time. Pray for wisdom for Melinda and Pat as they care for sick and fragile children, and for Minnie and Hannah as they care for the other children along with some of our Haitian staff.
Please keep the Haitain families who are our neighors in your prayers as well, as many of their homes are currently being invaded by water, and they are losing what little they have. Please pray for the people of Haiti, as Hurricane Hanna hit the coast quite devastatingly, killing hundreds of people, and Huricane Ike is now ravaging the northwest coast. Pray that the people of Haiti will turn to God in this time of need, and that His presence will be felt in the lives of many.
Cuba is going to be hit hard by Hurricane Ike, and your prayers for this other island nation would be of great value.
There are a number of sites where you can go to glean information regarding the hurricane, including http://www.weather.com/newscenter/hurricanecentral/2008/ike.html (here to track Hurricane Ike)http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/07/naturaldisasters.weather (article about Haiti)http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080906/haiti_ike_080906/20080906?hub=World (another article)
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4SKPB_enUS248US248&q=hurricane+ike%2Bhaiti&meta= (link to a whole bunch of info regarding Haiti)

Thanks so much for your prayers. Please feel free to call or email with questions!
Luv, Lori

The Associated Press: Hanna dumps more rain on flood-plagued Haiti

2008-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Please read The Associated Press: Hanna dumps more rain on flood-plagued Haiti. Many of you have been asking about how these storms are affecting HCH. We are located high in the mountains, though somewhat close to the L'Artibonite river which floods during hurricane season every year. The majority of the affects that HCH feels are wind and rain, though not the deverstating winds felt on the coast. There are many people in our area of Haiti affected by the swollen river, and I have not yet heard if we have lost any of the people living close to the river. Last year a family was devestated when a flash-flood tore away their home and one of their young children. Please keep us and the people in our area in your prayers, and well as the country of Haiti. As well, keep in mind the many organizations who are trying to help Haiti in this time of need.

To catch you all up

2008-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

So Pat has finally managed(and I mean that with utmost respect given the current busy situation!!) to post pics and info on the triplets that arrived while I was boarding the plane in Port-au-Prince!! There are also 2 other new babies in their care, so needless to say, it has been a little crazy there!! See Grandma Pat's Babies
The rest of the children are doing well and started school part-time in August as they could not allow Minnie to make them wait for September!! There are a number of files on the way to HCH from families that are intersted in adopting some of our kids, so that is really exciting as its been quiet on the new adoptions front for a while!
Please pray for Rose Lisa(Ti-Chat)(please see #12 on the July 20th posting, as well as the one about her from September 2007) as I believe that after much waiting and not really knowing how to go about it all, that we have found a surgeon who will operate on her clubbed feet and begin to address the involved situation her legs present!! I was so amazed and blessed and excited when he responded to my email. They do surgeries in Haiti quarterly, and have a hospital in the Dominican where they do work all year round. Please pray that it all comes together and that the funds needed to sponsor this family come together. The surgery will not cost anything, but may involve travel across the border to the Dominican and other related expenses. Since her birth I have been struggling as to where and how to seek the best medical care for this little girl, and God in his infinite timing showed me...when I have time to do research and email a lot!
I am really enjoying my time at home, visiting with family and friends and just relaxing! I didn't really realize how tired and emotionally drained I was from the last few months at HCH...seeing and working with all those pitiful little sick children takes a lot out of a person, in addition to 27 other kids who are impatiently waiting for you downstairs! I've shared a couple of times about the work at HCH, and I am excited at people sharing with me that every time I come back from Haiti, their eyes are opened a little more to what it really is like there!
I plan to head back to Haiti likely the 7th or 8th of October, as I am waiting to head back until after being a bridesmaid in Laura Grant's wedding!! I am missing the kids a lot and really look forward to going back, though I know I need this break and really have been enjoying myself!
Thanks for all your phone calls and such since I've been home. It's so nice to be around "family" again!

My day in numbers

2008-07-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

5-the number of hours of sleep I got last night
6-the hour I left for the airport this morning
1 1/2-the time I spent in line at the airport in Port-au-Prince
1 1/2 -hours to fly from Haiti to Florida
2 1/2- the number of HOURS I waited for my luggage at the carousel in Ft.Lauderdale (never before have I had to wait longer for my luggage than to fly somewhere!)
20-minutes to make my connection in Ft.Lauderdale after my luggage came
3-inches that my drool spread on my sleeve when I fell asleep on the plane
4-the number of minutes by which I missed my connecting flight in Chicago
1-long sigh I let out when I realized, all sweaty from running, that I wouldn't get home until tommorrow
30-minutes I waited for my shuttle to the complimentary hotel
1-really cute little blond 18 month old girl who kept saying "otel, otel!"
15-dollars I got to spend for free on an amazing salad and pizza
4-blisters I have on my hand from running with my carry-on
4-soft cushy pillows on my bed
2-heavy blankets on my bed
8-hours until I have to get up

A Day at Haiti Children's Home

2008-07-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

Some people that were recently here thought it would be neat for me to post what kind of activities I do with the downstairs kids on a weekly basis. So here's a glimpse into the kid's daily schedule.

5:30-6:00 a.m. or some other unearthly hour- Wake Up, run around, wake everyone-else up
6:00-Nannies and other workers arrive
6:15- Bathtime
7:30-8:30-Breakfast(happens anytime during this time depending on what is being cooked)
8:30-Head outside if it's not too wet for morning playtime, or head to school upstairs with Minnie
10:00-Snack
10:00-12:00-Babies and toddlers up to age 4 take a nap
10:00-12:00-Morning activity with Lori, and/or school upstairs with Minnie
12:00 Lunch time-Haitian food
12:30-1:30-Playtime in the big playroom downstairs
1:30-3:00-Afternoon activity with Lori and other staff/volunteers
Monday: water activity-sprinkler, hose on curvy slide, etc
Tuesday: Outing-go for a walk to the river or through the corn fields, and every
other week we go for a treat at Thym's little store
Wednesday:Craft
Thursday: Game Day-parachute games(thanks Jen!), tag, hide-n-go-seek etc
Friday: Wading pool in our yard
Saturday: Wading pool again as the water's only good for 2 days in a row'
Sunday: Movie (this allows all of the American staff to have the afternoon off)
3:00-4:00-Mon-Fri-Bible Story Time with Melinda
4:00-:5:00 Bath Time (yes, twice a day!!)
5:20-First Supper-Downstairs babies and toddlers are fed North-American style meals prepared and served by our North-American staff
5:50- Second Supper-School aged children (age 3 and up) same meal
6:00- Daytime Nannies leave, one night person comes on for babies upstairs, bedtime routine starts downstairs
6:00-7:00- Singing and praying, then looking at books in bed while they are called in groups to brush their teeth while we change diapers.
7:00-Bedtime

Other Activites:
Sunday: Church-gone from about 9:30-12:30
Once a month outings-consist of going to the pool at a nearby hotel for the afternoon

It's funny looking and seeing what a busy day these kids have! No wonder I am ready to go to bed as well at 7:00pm!!! It's been very interesting to see the kids change over time and start to really thrive on their schedule, knowing what to expect throughout the day. We always joke that our kids are going to arrive home with their adoptive families and cry "entertain me"!! Thanks so much to all of you who have sent and brought the things we need to make so many of the daily activites possible!!

2008-07-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

A quick (it ended up being a little long...a LOT has been happening I guess!!) update on the last couple weeks happenings:

1. My mom came to visit and see just what her lovely daughter has been up to for the last year. It was so awesome to have her here and be able to show her all the things I've talked about and have her meet these kids that I love so very much. I though the heat would nearly kill her, especially as the week before she came we were all in shock over the heat wave that July and August bring, but she jumped in and scurried around, with or without me, a freshly cooled facecloth laying across her neck!! The workers here made a huge fuss over meeting here...she never knew she was such a celebrity in Haiti!! I was very busy that week with mom being here and many many other things happening and so for those of you who didn't know, surprise!! My mom has come and gone almost 2 weeks ago already!! And she left her heart with Berto! It was such a blessing to have her experience my life here with me, and see how much she loved it as well, and know that she now understands with her own eyes why I can't help but be here!!

Mom and I

Mom and her "grandaughter" Naika

2. Dave and Kathy Nelson came along with mom, or she came along with them...whatever! The arrived the same day their daughter and my friend left! Funny how that worked out! Anyway, they came and worked like dogs and sweated(well, Dave sweated a lot, Kathy glistened) as they renovated our volunteer bathroom and painted 3 beautiful murals in the playroom. They were such a treat to have here, being so willing to jump in and do whatever on top of their already full days! Their work here is a great blessing to the children everday as they play in a beautiful bright room and as myself and the volunteers use the new and immmensly improved downstairs bathroom!

Favorite pic of Kathy

One of 3 lovely new murals in the playroom

The bathroom before

The bathroom during

The final product:Beautiful!

3. Joanna got her passport and her parents arrived on Tuesday, and she leaves this Tuesday! She was so stoked to meet them and seems to be doing quite well!! They are really great and have been a huge help around here in the midst of our business! I'm so happy that they live so close at home in Alberta, and that I'll get to see her soon again this summer! It's so great that she is FINALLY going home, but I am really going to miss that busy little bundle of girl.

4. Alissa arrived on Wednesday. She is 2 months old, weighs 2.5kg(which is also what she weighed at birth) and was born 2 months early. She wasn't drinking, as she didn't have enough strength to suck breastmilk, so some bumbo told her not to bother giving her milk but to give her baby cereal and such! Seriously, as Melinda said, someone needs to be slapped!! Her mother is a young girl who we felt so bad for as the Haitian staff here started giving her a hard time about not getting help sooner, but she had been trying really hard to keep a very premature baby alive without any know-how! So, now we have this little so-very-very sad looking little girl in our house. She cries a lot, but seems to be slowly coming along. Myself and some volunteers agreed that she looks like those pictures you see on World Vision. Once again it's so shocking that it's right at our door on such a consistent basis!

4. Carlos got malaria. It was the beginning of the same crazy day I went to go and pick up Johanna's folks. While I was gone a little(actually he's a mammoth baby!!) 3 month old boy was brought in as his mother had gone crazy and he needed to be cared for until the father could figure out what to do. I honestly have not taken one picture of him and only seen him 3 times and heard him cry a lot, but he's doing alright and from what we hear his mother seems to be on the mend.
Oh yeah, so Carlos got malaria. He seems to be doing alright now, though at the time it was a little scary as he shook so hard for so long! He still has the shakes a little though he is otherwise fine, and Melinda is trying to figure out what is happening with him.

5. Steeven continues to do well. He's eating cereal now and starting to become more interactive, and aware of his surroundings. Please continue to pray for healing of body and mind for this precious little boy.

6. Jamesky and Lineda are both downstairs now. Jamesky just moved down and Lineda has been down for close to a month. They are both doing really great and are enjoying their new big world! Lineda is really close to walking and Jamesky is busy standing up and pushing anything he can get his hands on.

7. David's Aunt and Cousin went home last week. They were here for close to a month and I know that God sent them in his perfect timing. Katie kept the kids busy with summer school, and David's Aunt was a lifesaver when all those sick babies came in. It was such a blessing to meet them and get to know some more of David's family.

8. Some more files came out of IBESR(one of the often long waits as part of the adoption process) which means now there will be 4 kids(David, Schilintzsky, Moise, Jon) going home hopefully around Christmas time!!! Lots of happy tears shed!!

9. I am going home in 10 days! I can't believe I just wrote that! Oh my word!! I was not at all prepared for that count! I am really looking forward to going home, but I am going to miss things here a lot!! And I still haven't decided when I am coming and going! Minnie comes home in 8 days, so it'll be so good for everyone that the consistency will stay much the same.

10. My hand has been sore. I think I overworked it one day, forgetting that it's still not completely healed, and I've been paying for it since. Nothing huge, just achy and sensitive, so I've been doing my best to rest it, as easy as that is here!!

11. My bridesmaid dress for Laura's wedding is a size 12!! I just had to put that on here! Mom brought the dress here for me to try on when she came to visit, and I was like, uh-huh, a size 12, is Laura nuts?!?!? But it fit! I guess it's hard to realize when you wear skirts that have been too big for 8 months already!! I think that size 12 may be a roomy size 12, but it's still a size 12!

12. Rose-Lisa, the little girl who was born with clubbed-feet the day I arrived in August, has been staying with us for a couple weeks, and will be here for a while. She's a very, very willfull child, and her very young and inexperienced parents spoiled her, likely largely due to feeling sorry for her due to her deformity, to the point that she became dehydrated and very sick. She arrived in a very poor state, and after a few days of her staying here with her mom, it became apparent that she was going to need a short-term stint to get her used to eating and drinking properly, and to work on her strong will. Her mom and dad were so relieved when we offered to let her stay for 3 months or so and get her back on her feet and work on her issues. So, she's been doing a lot of screaming to get her way, but she's coming along and is gaining weight and becoming more independent. We lovingly refer to her as "ti chat"(little cat), as she does a lot, though less now than before, of whining that sounds incredibly like a ti chat!

Beautiful Ti Chat

13. Berto is doing well and has moved over to the baby room. He seems to be enjoying life over there for the most part, though he sometimes has to wait a bit longer now to be fed as he's 1 of 7 and not 1 of 3, and is as ornery as ever over that!

14. We have had a ton of really awesome volunteers here this summer, and I don't know what we would have done without them! It's been so great to have such willing people here to do "whatever" and jump in with 2 feet! They've made what could have been a really stressful time with all these sick children coming in, into a very manageable time. And others have been awesome with helping me keep the older kids busy throughout the day! Definitely couldn't have done it on my own!

15. Ran into Troy Livesay at the grocery store this week. Reckognized him from their blog http://www.blogger.com/www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com, and it was neat to chat with him and meet the couple who are taking he and Tara's place at Lifeline as they move on to other things in Haiti. I got to meet Noah as well and hear all about his cats, as he proceeded to climb the deli counter! Their blog does not exaggerate!! It's been neat to start to get to know some more missionaries here in Haiti and make some connections, and it seems to happen more often than not by "randomly" running into people at the grocery store. Guess God and food bring people together!

Update on Carlos and Steven

2008-07-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Please see Pat's blog Grandma Pat's Babies for an update on these precious little boys. It has been remarkable to see them progress and be amazed daily how God chose to spare their lives and keep them in our care. Please pray for Melinda and Pat as these sick little boys as well as a little girl we now have with us have greatly disturbed their sleep patterns!!

Baby Boy Baby Boy Baby Boy

2008-07-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

So much has been happening in the last 3 days I don't know where to begin. Sunday afternoon at about 4:30 brought us a brand new(3 hours old) little boy who we named Micah. His mom is very anemic and somehow managed to WALK, yes WALK down here with her baby and her mom(who works for us) before heading to the hospital to get much sicker. She asked us to take care of her boy until she is better, and as she was so obviously sick and unable to breastfeed, we took him in. We have not heard much about Micah's mother yet, but Micah is doing great!! He weighed in on arrival at 3.8kg and seems so huge in his health!

Then, Monday mornin, my friend Melissa and I hopped in the truck at 7:30 to go and buy some hair as she was planning to get her hair put in extensions that day. As we headed up the hill we saw an lady carrying a baby walking with an old man, and as we approached them, they stopped to look at us quizically and then we passed them. I said to Melissa, "I wonder if they are headed our way?", as the time they spent looking at us was more than the usual stares us white girls driving a truck usually get!

When we arrived at our gate just before 8:00, there they were! I drove the truck in the yard and went to see what was happening. My first glimpse of the baby shocked me, as I was not at all extecting to see a completely listless baby with no blood flow to his hands, feet, eyes or mouth as all of these areas were completely white! I told them to follow me quickly and left them in the porch and ran upstairs and said "I found a baby for you and he needs some oxygen or something really bad! And I'm not kidding!!!"(there are a lot of practical jokes that get played at this house!) Melinda came downstairs and took one look at the baby, who we learned was named Carlos,and whom I lovingly refer to as Calliou, and she said to the family that she would do what she could, but she could not guarantee that he would make it. They looked a little shocked, but then nodded in agreement that Melinda could take him and do what she could. We immediatly started him on oxygen, but he was so dehydrated that we could not find a vein. Melinda tried over and over to get an IV in him, but could not, and resorted to using clysis (inserting fluid under the skin close to the spine) to hydrate him . After 10 hours she finally found a vein that didn't blow, and we were able to give him a blood transfusion. His family told us he was 8 months old, but as he has gotten stronger we can see that he is more like 18 months, as he tries to hum songs, and is very particular about how he plays with his hands and such. Yes, he is alive and geting well, twiddling his thumbs and all!! It has been amazing to see his toe and fingernails turn pink again and watch him literally come alive. He still has a long way to go, but he has come an amazingly long way the last 48 hours!!

Carlos was/is severly anemic and was desperate for blood. His is the foot on top compared with a healthy baby his age

This is Carlos "Calliou". The "pudginess" that you see is all water collecting in his cells as his body is unable to circulate it properly.

That same morning, at about 11:00 one of our workers came up the stairs and said that there was another baby on the back porch. I didn't believe her at first, as 2 had already come in less than 24 hours, but sure enough there Stevenson was. Tears flooded my eyes at my first sight of him, and Pat had a hard time keeping her tears under control as well. This little boy looked like an old old frail man, his body covered in dead skin, sores covering his head and his skin literally folding over on itself there was so much extra. We took him upstairs and Melinda was able to get an IV started in him quickly. Pat and I washed him up and while she and Melinda fought with Carlos to get him stable, I sat and fed Steevenson a bottle of which he drank about 1oz before he was unable to suck anymore. When Carlos was somewhat stable for a while, Melinda cleaned Steevenson up the rest of the way, and shaved his head and removed all the dead skin that she could. 4 hours after wrapping his head he looked a lot better, though he is by far the most pitiful baby I have seen since being in Haiti. He is 16 months old and weighs just over 9lbs....the same weight he was at one month old. Over the past few days we found out a lot about what has happend to Steevenson, and it's so terrible it hasn't really set in as reality for us yet. His mother left him with his father and at some point some woman did something that they believe cursed the child, and when Steevenson began to get sick his father took him to the doctor who was unable to get him well. Then out of desperation and superstition, he was taken to the witch doctor, and after his father realized the witch doctor could not help him, Steevenson's father brought him to us. We are not sure all of what the witch doctor did, but he is passing some very odd stools, and the hair all over his body has been singed off, and it is quite likely the same heat that did that also damaged his skin integrity even more than it was damaged due to malnutrition. At this point Steevenson is holding on, though he cannot maintain a temperature and just moans pitifully for hours on end.

Steevnson:after his bath we still could not see what was sores and what was dead skin. Notice the unhealthy light pink color(it should be much darker) of his tongue

After getting more dead skin scraped off and his head shaved and wrapped

It has been very surreal to be seeing the very things that you know exist and happen but don't really understand. Lots of feeling have been coursing through me. Anger, fear, resentment, pity, frusteration, and an all over inability to understand WHY these things have to happen before these children come to us. I've been reminded over and over of how Satan come only to steal, kill and destroy and how so many people are missing out on the abundant(though they still may be poor) life that they can have in Jesus. It's so blatant here!

Please continue to pray for all three of these new little ones in our house, as well as for the rest of the staff and children as these very involved cases affect the workings of the house!

On another note, my mom and some good friends arrived on Tuesday to spend the week painting and tiling and helping out and getting to be a part of what I am doing here in Haiti. I am so excited that they are experiencing what I love so very much, even when things are so sad and frusterating!

The reasons the bugs aren't so bad

2008-06-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

Once upon a paper chain

2008-06-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

This project took 3 weeks (of once a week craft afternoons) and the finished project lasted just over 24 hours...but they loved it while it lasted!! I was silly enough to go to Port-au-Prince the day after we put it up, and James and some gleeful toddlers managed to get a hold of one end of the chain, and well, we once had this beautiful paper chain...

Out on the playground

2008-06-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Update on Berto

2008-06-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

Berto has been with us for just over two weeks now and has come along remarkably!! Pat and Melinda were gone for the first week or so that he was here, and so it was fun (and tiring) to be a very involved part of helping him get back on his feet! He spent the first few days being tube fed every four hours, and after a few das graduated to eating cereal and still receiving liquids via the tube. He started to eat really well and also started to interact a lot. He would respond to you calling his name with a little coo, and then would "talk" back and forth for a while if you took the time. He started smiling a lot, when he wasn't mad as he realized that when he cried, he would get food! It was amazing, and sometimes frusterating, to see how his character changed once he gained some strength and realized there was food on demand(well, within a schedule of course!) I was very tired after getting up a few times each night to feed him and settle him back down, and was so happy when he started sleeping through the night. Pat and Melinda came back and took back over caring for him, and he has continued to do well. Pat says he's been eating like a horse, and we've had him drinking from a pliable rubber nipple sippy cup, though he can be really stubborn to get to drink due to his high pallet and lack of patience! I'm back spending most of my time downstairs, but still get a few minutes here and there to spend with him. He's really starting to get quite the attitude, which I've learned since being here is common with kids who have suffered from malnutrition, and can get very indignant when he realizes no one is holding him!! He laughed out loud for the first time the other night and it was very precious to hear. We got him dressed up in a new outfit Pat brought home for him and he looked so cute! Thanks for your prayers for him and please continue to pray as we wait and see what his family is going to do regarding leaving him with us or attempting to care for him again after he is completely healthy again. gn="center">

Berto's Arrival Day

His feet and hands were covered in scabies and very infected. He didn't really have even a layer of skin on his feet or hands.

One week after being with us

Berto's feet yesterday

Berto 2 weeks after arriving

A Day at the Rescue Centre

2008-06-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally was able to do something I've been wanting to do for 2 years: I got to go and meet Licia and Lori who run the clinic and rescue centre up in the sticks of Cazale. I've been reading their blogs(http://www.haitirescuecentre.wordpress.com/ and www.xanga.com/haitinurse4life ) for a very long time now, and so it was so great to actually meet them. Melissa and I took Jon along as his older adoptive sister is volunteering up there, and headed on the long, dusty,hot and sometimes ridiculously bumpy road to Cazale. We stopped for a dip in the ocean as it was the first time Jon had seen the ocean, so it was really special to be able to experience that with him.

We arrived just before lunch and met up with Jon's sister Tori and had a great meal together, and then got to see and meet the kids there. Right now they have 70 admited patients, mostly children, who are malnourished and/or are severe burn victims, who they keep and nourish and heal until they are ready to go home. They have a large number if babies who they keep for two years until they can be sent home, as their mothers have died and their fathers cannot care for such small babies. The children come through the clinic which Lori runs, and then some are admitted to the rescue centre which Licia runs. I could not get over how much they do in such a small space!! It made me so appreciative of the large home we have and yard for the children to play in! However, the children are very happy and loving and it was so neat to be a part of their day. It was bathing time, so we got busy stripping down kids and helping to get them cleaned up...and my word did that keep us busy. Besides bathing kids we were keeping kids out of the clean water buckets and having kids saying "mwen-mem" over and over hoping the new "blancs" would pick them to bathe next! I very quickly got nicknamed "ti-blanc" (little white) thanks to this little pixie named Sophia who you could just see the mischief ooze out of! It was fun to recognize some of the faces from Lori and Licia's blogs and see how much they have changed!!

Seeing all the children that they are helping and how they are so known in the community and are loved by the people was a neat thing to witness. Somewhat different from here in Mirebalais where we have disputes with landowners trying to close our road! Licia and I talked for a while about what I was thinking about being in Haiti, and once again I spent the ride home thinking about what God's plans are for me. It's an interesting feeling to know how much you are needed in one place, yet to see another form of serving the people of Haiti and wonder how many more areas in Haiti do not have anything like the clinic in Cazale. I am really happy that I got to see some more of the ways that God is using people in Haiti, and it's amazing how experiencing that makes me feel even more attached to this country!

Sad Little Berto

2008-06-10T06:04:00.001-07:00

This is Berto. He arrived Sunday afternoon after we received a call from a neighbouring pastor who had come across this sad little boy when he arrived to pray with Berto's grandma. Our first sight of Berto brought tears to my eyes as he was by far in the worst condition I've seen first hand since starting to work in Haiti. His whole body was covered in sores, and his fingernails were embedded into his hands. His feet were covered in sores and scabs and his toenails were jelly-like. Berto's head was filthy and also covered in sores, and right away we could tell there was some form of brain injury by the telltale flitting back and forth of his eyes. I was amazed to suddenly realize how much he resembled Naika, another brain damaged child we have here. We asked his mother if he had been dropped or had fallen and she said no. SO, at this point we are speculating trauma at birth or perhaps shaken baby syndrome. Berto has a very high pallet and so Melinda figured that he is so small because he cannot suck, and his mom did not have the means or knowledge to feed him other food.

Giving Berto a bath

The dirt in the water is the filth from his head...we hadn't even gotten to the rest of him yet!

His feet were all swollen and covered in sores and filth

We weighed him and he is 9lb 4 oz....oh, and he's one year old.

Melinda calming him down after she finished cleaning and bandaging him all up.

Berto is holding his own at this point. He is being tube fed and is doing well with 4oz of formula. His head and feet are looking much better today. He was seizing constantly so he is now on an anit-convulsant medication called Phenobarbitol, and this has helped tremendously. He responds when we call his name, though is not able to focus at all. Please pray that he continues to improve and that stay well when Melind heads to the states on Wednesday.

More Bon Fet

2008-06-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

We had ourselves a good game of Musical Chairs!

(and the kids did so great actually PLAYING a game)

Down to four!

Yes, that is a chair breaking! But both Moise and Bedza managed to get their bums in it! The laughter lasted a long time!

May/June Bon Fet!

2008-06-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Pat and I got together for my First Attempt at Cake Decorating

Happy 1st Birthday Julie(cake turned out pretty good huh?!)

Happy 6th Birthday Joanna!!
(she lost a front tooth the next day!!)

Whoot whoot!

For I know the plans I have for you...

2008-06-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

So, I've emailed everyone I have on my list, and talked with other people, so I figured it was now safe to blog that I AM OFFICIALLY STAYING ON AT HAITI CHILDREN'S HOME!! This decision came after a few months of not knowing what God had in store for me, but the peace I have about this decision makes me feel like there was really nothing else I could have done but continue to serve here. I am really excited about the new things we are going to attempt to do this fall(more details to follow), as well as cotinuing to develop the programs that are already underway. Minnie(the gal who is also here long term) has gone home for a couple months, and will return before I head to Canada for a while at the end of July. My friend Laura asked me to be in her wedding on Oct. 4th, so I am not yet sure exactly how my coming and going will all come together, but it will be nice to be home for while. Your prayers regarding everything falling into place both for me and for HCH this summer/fall would be greatly appreciated. There are some other new events happening here, but they'll have to wait because I've been gone to Port-au-Prince the last two days in a row(another story for another blog, but please be assured that Air Canada continues to be as lame as ever) and I am exhausted!

How we look today

2008-05-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Isaiah...look, I have a face behind those cheeks!!

Vens...joining the football team we are starting!

Levi...setting records for scooting backwards!

Samuel...feed me...yes, again!

Ti Pwason

2008-05-24T04:52:00.000-07:00

For our weekly outing we went on a walk through the area behind the orphange. I've walked there many times, and thought the kids would really like the change of scenery. As soon as we headed out the gate, the kids told me that we were going the wrong way. I said that no, we were just going another way today. We headed past a bunch of little mud and stick houses, and then everyone stopped when James looked back and said "Gade, lakay nou!!" which means "look, our house!". Few of the kids had seen the house from that side, and were amazed at how big it was compared to the rest! We continued with our walk and soon our troop grew as the village children started to tag along. We stopped along a little stream, where the kids were enthralled with the "ti pwason" "little fish", which were actually minnows. We stood on the bank for a long while, watching the activity in the water and interacting with the village children who kept giggling when our kids said "whoy, pwason!"

We then continued on our way, and as we headed around a tall cornfield, David said, "we need to go back!" I asked him why and he said he didn't know where we were going. I explained to him that I had already walked this way before and he got this really cute look on his face, like "why didn't I think of that", and then ran to the front of the line. Along the way we would catch glimpses of the house, and the kids would cause a big clamor, and we'd have to shoo them along.

They had a great time seeing new kinds of trees, especially the ones with the picks on them to keep animals away, and many other new sites along the way. As we walked towards the river we came across a cow who had recently given birth and was eating the afterbirth. Try explaining to a bunch of concerned children that, no, the mama was not eating the baby!! We also got to see a cow being milked, and a few had some concerned looks on their faces when they realized that was where milk came from!!
They were nice and wonderfully tired out when we got back, and a few of them announced that we would be going that way every week!

Gade! Pwason!

Shannon and some of the troop

May's Special Event

2008-05-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

We had lots of extra help with made it really fun!

Golson refused to get out of the pool...so he fell asleep in it!

Pat and Michael

Moise after resurfacing!

So, on Saturday we went to a place called Wazo Plaza where there is a great pool where the kids can swim and eat and have a great time. The kids were very excited when they realized what was happening, as we all were at the prospect of a nice change in routine. We loaded the truck up, and headed out across town. On the way, we stopped in town to pick up some snacks, and I saw the truck for IBESR(Haitian social services who renews the licences of orphanges) and said as much to Pat. She raised her eyebrows and said, "I sure hope they aren't coming to see us cuz we're not there". About 30 minutes after we arrived at the pool, Melinda (who was in Port-au-Prince) called to say that they had indeed arrived at the orphanage, and had called her, and after interviewing some people there, they were going to come and see us at Wazo Plaza!! We had a good laugh when Pat said, "Well, I better get out of the pool so I'm not dripping all over them!". Anyway, the interview went well. And the kids had a great day. They are becoming more and more comfortable in the water, and we had a lot of fun just playing and interacting in a diferent setting. IBESR was very happy to see the kids out on an outing, as this is something that they are starting to stress: children in orphanges being exposed to life outside the compound. It also spoke very well for us that the children are taken on an outing every week, as well as to church every Sunday. So, it was a blessing that they got to see us there, despite Pat having to sit and talk with them in her swimclothes!

Going to the Bucket

2008-05-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

The electricity has stayed on for another posting. I am happy.

Some great people in my church agreed to sponsor the outings I take the children on weekly, as well as the once a month special events. This has been so nice as it ensures that we have the ability to do these activities without taking the funds from the homes budget.

We go out on walks every week, and every other week, a part of our walk involves going to a little porch-front shop and having a treat. The kids look forward to it all week, and lovingly refer to it as the "bokit" which means "bucket" in Creole, which they mistakenly say instead of "boutik" which is Creole for "little shop". The workers here all have a great laugh when the kids realize we are going out and starting shouting that they are going to the bucket! Now it's just a big joke and they refuse to say it the correct way!! Along the way there is much excitement as they use their ever-increasing English vocabulary, and make connections between their school-books and the real world. It also gives us a chance to teach them about traffic safety..and my goodness, if they can survive in Haiti, crossing the street in N.America will be nothing!

The beginning of the catch up blogs

2008-05-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

We've had another week of thoroughly annoying, not there when you need it, and then only for a minute or two, electricity...or at least what they like to refer to as electricity...I'm still not convinced.

A few interesting things have happened since my last post so I'll try and catch you all up. I think I'll split it up into a few postings, just in case the "electricity" decides to part with us again.

The week started with a bang Monday morning when at about 9am a new arrival knocked on our front gate...well, his father did anyway. The little boy arrived with his father and maternal aunt, and I knew after all the pics I'd seen on The Rescue Centre's site that he had kwashinors syndrome. That is, for all of you who are still trying to pronounce the word, a form of malnutrition caused by a lack of protein in the diet, which then causes the cells to absorb fluid and then the child starts to swell. Isaiah, as he came to be called, had the hugest cheeks I have ever seen. He looked absolutely pitiful, his face so puffy he couldn't even really open his mouth to let out a cry! Melinda was gone to Port, so Pat and I got him cleaned up, and found out his story. Apparently Isaiah's mom has been paralyzed since his birth, and the family had decided that they could not care for him. I asked how long he'd had the puffy face for, and they said, "oh, he's alwas been a big boy"...they really had no clue that he was as sick as he was. They told us he was 6 months old, though we are wondering if that's short a few months, as he's become quite interactive,
and seems to be past the 6 month markers. He is doing quite well, and it was amazing to see how much he changed, even within the first 24hours of being provided with proper nutrition,.

Isaiah: Day 1

Isaiah Day 2....already starting to look better...especially with that nasty hair gone.

Out on the town....well,more like the dirt path down to the river

2008-05-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

And there is no night there

2008-05-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday arrived and brought with it the event that I was not sure how I would handle...the death of a child. Simon arrived at HCH on April 5th, perfectly matching his twin brother Samuel, except for Samuel's funny shaped left ear. They had been born that morning, at home(or perhaps in the car..the details are not too clear) and their mother had not survived their birth. They both seemed to be healthy, full term and weighing in at about 4lbs each...excellent for twins in Haiti.
About a week after they arrived, Samuel got a little sick and Melinda had him on IV for a while, and he went through a couple days of jaundice. Shortly after that, Simon also began to show signs of jaundice, and the last 2 1/2 weeks were busy keeping them on and off IV's, through bouts of antibiotics, bili lights, bloodwork and few hours of sleep on the parts of Pat and Melinda. Then Samuel seemed to pull through and start eating and passing non-green stools. However, late last week it appeared that Simon was still not recovering, and progressively got worse as the week went on. On Friday, Melinda pulled me aside and asked me to contact a doctor I knew of at Lifeline mission, known only to me through the Livesays blog, to ask her for any help she could provide. Suddenly the reality of what was happening was very stark. This of course was on a day that the internet decided to part company with us again, so I headed up to town praying that the internet connection was working there. I sent an email describing what had happened so far with Simon, and that evening Dr. Jen called and affirmed what Melinda was suspecting..Simon was in organ failure. She affirmed the things Melinda was already doing and was planning to do and gave her a few more ideas, but also was honest in that things did not sound good for our little baby. I was so thankful for her call, even just to affirm for Melinda that she was doing all she could for Simon. Through it all once again I have been amazed at how God brings his people together through the internet!
Pat and Melinda stayed up with him, and in the morning when I walked into the room, Melinda greeted me with, "It doesn't look good". She had sung to him all night, as when she quite he would not stop crying. However, in the morning he had stopped responding even to that. It was so sad to see him, laboring to breath, even with oxygen, his skin and the whites of his eyes orange. We spent the good part of the morning praying, and at about 10:00 I went downstairs to check on the kids, and when I walked back in the room at about 10:10, Melinda looked at me as she was walking over with the stethescope, and said "he's gone".
I cried...lots of quiet streaming tears. It was a very sad new feeling for me...very real ,yet almost not, so foreign a feeling it was. We had a little service that afternoon and buried him in our little cemetary acoss the road. That morning was a hard one around the house...and then God in His infinite wisdom sent a nest of mud wasps into the baby room, and distracted our tear-run faces as we moved them to safety. It was amazing to be carrying a very alive little one down the hallway, and realize how God was speaking to us in our grief.
Simon's death not something I really understand...yet, being in Haiti I think I appreciate even more that Simon is in a much, much better place. Just seconds after Melinda confirmed that Simon was truly gone, the words "and there is no night there" popped into my head, and these words kept repeating themselves over and over throughout the day. I finally got the chance to look those words up and this is what I found:

No Night There
by John R. Clements

In the land of fadeless day
Lies the city foursquare;
It shall never pass away,
And there is no night there.

Refrain:
God shall wipe away all tears,
There’s no death, no pain, nor fears,
And they count not time by years,
For there is no night there.

All the gates of pearl are made,
In the city foursquare;
All the streets with gold are laid,
And there is no night there.

All the gates shall never close
To the city foursquare;
There life’s crystal river flows,
And there is no night there.

There they need no sunshine bright,
In that city foursquare;
For the Lamb is all the light,
And there is no night there

Pictures...and another notable achievement!

2008-04-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

We forgot the CD player in the playroom last night. 9 months ago that would have meant in the morning we would have had a replica of a machine that used to play CD's , san buttons, cord and any other removable parts!! Instead, I got up this morning to one of my little informers telling me that I had commited such an irresponsible crime, and that they had had one of the workers put it on a shelf until I got up! Once again I am in awe of how God is changing the hearts and minds of the children here at HCH!

Look how far we've come!

2008-04-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

So, I've been back in Haiti for just over a month already! Hard to believe!! It seems that just yesterday I was arriving back in Edmonton, woeing about how many weeks I was going to be stuck in the snow!
It didn't take long to get back into a routine and find my niche, and it feels like I've been at it forever. The noticable difference is that I am fresh, and I know the Lord had this up his sleeve in all the nonsense of cutting my thumb. I love the fact that now I notice everyday how far the kids have come, the mountains we have climbed together(and don't get me wrong, we still have a lot of mountains!), and how some things that used to be such a chore are not even an issue everyday! For those of you who have heard about the things we've had to work through, or have been here to work through them with us, here are some things I've been amazed to realize have changed.
1. We hardly ever have to chase kids out of the kitchen! You have no idea what a huge feat this is! Thank you Steve for the door that has helped us a lot!
2. Very rarely do I have kids banging down my door in the morning, yelling "Low-wee!". Don't get me wrong, knuckles still fit very well into the groove worn into my door, but it is not an incessant knocking starting at 5:45 a.m! Sometimes I catch myself missing it, and then I slap myself and roll over in my bed!
3. We can now leave children in the bathroom unattended for a few minutes to brush their teeth, and still have a tube FULL of toothpaste!
4. Time-outs have become the correctional tool of choice, as the kids now respond to this and avoid it at all costs...except of course when they are pretending to be me or Minnie and are standing kids in the hallway with their noses to the wall, saying "You need to stand there until I come and tell you you can go!". Very humerous!
5. The kids now know what our expectations are for them, and are willing and able to obey them...for the most part of course...they are KIDS! This makes a huge difference in how they interact and respond to situations.
6. Because they know what is allowed and what is not, they have started policing themselves, which makes for much less intervening, though my job as(excuse me, reporter Johanna has just arrived to inform me that James and Chris don't have their noses touching the wall) the downstairs problem solver is by no means even close to being phased out! At this point in the game, there is a lot of "M' ap di Lori sa!" ("I'm telling Lori that!"), which sometimes drives me nuts, but shows me their growing understanding of right and wrong!
6. Right now we are learning to say "I'm sorry" in the right context! They have not yet totally wrapped their heads around the concept of not bopping someone on the head and just saying "I'm sorry!" However, they are learning how it works, as well as the whole "not hitting someone in the first place concept". I thought we would never make it to this point!
7. The attention spans of the kids have increased dramatically. One significant area that I've noticed in the last weeks is when we are coloring! In the fall a coloring activity consisted of 20 some children holding one crayon, rarely actually sitting down, more concerned about what everyone else was doing, and not all totally sure what to do! Now, we sit at the table, each child with a cup of crayons(and they will tell you if any colors are missing!), coloring beautiful pictures, "pa deyo"( not outside the lines...that was a steep learning curve for them), for an HOUR at a time!!

Reading this brings to mind that these things were so significant and frusterating not so long ago! It's funny because some of the issues seem to be so trivial, but when you multiply them by 20 something, they were very BIG! I am so thankful for the wisdom the Lord has given me in regards to working with these kids, because the many tears of frustration that fell quickly showed me I could not do any of this on my own!

The rest of the Pablum Gang

2008-04-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

Meet Vens(Vince). His real name is Lovensky(as in lovin-ski...crazy Haitians!) He's 5 months old and growing fatter everyday! He's really started talking a lot and is our little Huggies model baby
The thumb/finger/whatever suckers:Danae and Lineda having a Bumbo chair hen party.
Jamesky:we're in the midst of signing his NFL contract...our BIG little boy, came to us at 5 months, now 7 months and as big as the toddlers downstairs!

The Pablum Gang

2008-04-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we have a room full of babies upstairs again, and the six of them keep the upstairs nanny quite busy!! They are all very interactive at this point, and bring lots of laughter to the house, as we chase them back down the hallway or get caught up in the world of baby talk. They are all doing great and need a mommy and a daddy!

Levi: all about scooting on his belly, backwards!:now 7 months

Danae:a chubby little pumpkin at 9 months

Evan: I didn't recognize him! Now 7 months

Lineda: came to us in Jan. now 7 months:all about clapping and raspberries

Julie: she's a grown up girl now at 10 months and moved downstairs last week:still screams as ridiculously as usual!

Pottymouth "Cringlish"

2008-04-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

So, the kids here are learning English,and often we hear very funny sentences made up of English and Creole words. Sentences like "Kote shoes mwen?", ("Where are my shoes"), are a regular part of the day. We ourselves use a lot of "Cringlish", a mix of Creole and English, when talking with the kids to encourage them to use the words they know in English, and to ensure they are still able to understand. Then today, I was in the middle of directing some toddlers to sit, and mixing English and Creole together completly, I combined the English word "sit" with the Creole word meaning sit, which is "chita"(prounounced sheet-a), and loudly blurted "shit!". They did. Sit, I mean. Never have I been more thankful that the toddlers are only beginning to understand English, and have no idea what I had said. But, boy did it cause some laughter at the dinner table, as it was just to funny not to tell!!
On the same note, there is a little girl here who is a beautiful chubby little one year old, and I call her a little Budddha all the time...she resembles one to a tee! I was informed over some more tears of laughter that "bouda" is the profane way to say bum in Creole!! Me and my pottymouth!

Thing 1 and Thing 2

2008-04-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

So, officially you are supposed to call un-named twins Twin A and Twin B. But I had a lot more fun referring to them as Thing 1 and Thing 2 (thank you Dr. Seuss). They have names now, Samuel and Simon, and they are one week old, yesterday. They arrived to us the day they were born, having been birthed in the back of a car on the way to the hospital. Their mother died, and a very sad aunt and cousin brought them down to us. They are about 4 lbs each, and doing quite well, though we are noticing a little jaundice. The amazing thing is that just a few days before they arrived, we had an adoptive file orrive from a family wanting to adopt siblings...but we had none! Talk about a gift from God!

My stylin' boys

2008-04-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

Eye opener

2008-04-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

This is what much of Haiti has looked like at various times throughout the last 4 days

Things seem to have blown over in Mirebalais. Town was quiet yesterday and we even were able to go and get water.Praise the Lord!! What seems to be happenening is the riots are moving from town to town across the country, though the unrest is continuing in the bigger centres.

I have to admit it's an odd feeling to be in Haiti when things like this are happening! It makes the reality of being in a 3rd world country much more real! There have been reports from nearby orphanges and clinics that they are being flooded with children. People are finding themselves unable to feed their families, and are giving up their children. Here at HCH we came to the conclusion that we are not going to take children unless they are babies, as until we know what is going to happen with food availibility, we have to ensure that we can properly feed and care for the children we already have. This was a tough decision, but Pat and Melinda have been through hard times before in this country, and have experienced being unable to provide for the children as they would like.

Here are some shocking numbers that might give you an idea why things are so tense in Haiti:

(thanks to the Livesays for this info)

1 bag of rice (50kg) 1200gds ($31.37us) is now 2000gds ($52.28us)

1 bag or beans (50kg)2000gds ($52.28us) is now 3000gds ($78.43us)

1 bottle of cook oil 175gds ($4.57us) is now 300gds ($7.84us)

1gallon of gas 175gds ($4.57us) is now 230gds ($6.00us)

1 can of powder milk 1000gds ($26.14us)is now 1800gds ($47.05us)

These numbers are very significant when you think that one of our workers makes on average 2500gds(~$50)/month....doesn't go very far in the first place! The people in Haiti simply cannot absorb the cost of living!

News from Haiti

2008-04-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

So, as some of you have started to hear, there are some hungry, angry people in Haiti. Prices of food here have risen about 40 percent since last summer, and many people are at the end of their rope. I can't say I blame them.
Things got a little testy here in Mirebalais yesterday. There was a roadblock on the bridge to town, and thankfully Melinda was able to get back after the weeks market shopping...nothing like pulling the "I'm feeding orphans" string! The rioters warned the market sellers to be gone by noon or they would steal and rampage the market. The police did manage to break up the roadblock, but the word is the rioters in turn went to the market and created havoc. We sent our Haitian workers home early, but things seem to have quited down here overnight.
Below is just one of news stories out there. There's a lot out there to read, most of which is true. Especially the reports of food rotting in containers in the ports...that has a lot of people wild around here!

However, in all of this please pray for us, but do not be overly concerned. We are not concerned for our safety, however the reality of food availibility may at sometime be a real issue. Please keep us and the hungry people in our community and this country in your prayers.

Uneasy calm in Haiti after food price protests International Reuters

In our Sunday Best!

2008-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Mum's the word

2008-04-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I woke up and started out the day normally, and then I tried to talk. I couldn't. Nope. Nada. The first time in my life I totally lose my voice it has to be at an orphanage where talking is a necessity of life! I had to whisper what I could into some kids ear, and have them say things for me! They thought it was quite funny, and there were definitely some kids prancing around saying "Lori pa kab pale!"(Lori can't talk). But surprisingly, most of the time they would do their best to listen and say what they thought I was going to say even before I said it. But, there were definetly some times when it was super frusterating...one doesn't realize the power of a voice attached to a stern face! Today I was able to talk a bit better, though definitely not very loud...and the toddlers were very disgusted when I could not sing "the wheels on the bus"!
Anyway...
Richard came to visit today. He went home about 3 months ago and has been coming for check-ups every 15 days....or is supposed to be. He hadn't been here for six weeks, and today he showed up with sores all over and looking kinda droopy. He hadn't lost any weight, but we were so not impressed. He was here for the afternoon and eventually started to perk up a bit. We got a few of those great smiles we know so well! He's supposed to come back in one week...and we really razzed his grandma about making sure she bring him!! So frusterating when service and care is being provided, free of charge, and they just decide to ignore it. Aarrrggghhhh! Ok, venting done!
Jessica and Jarod's mom and grandpa arrived yesterday. Last night they weren't too sure what they thought about these new folk, but this morning Jarod pointed at the gate and said, "Mama vini?" (Is mom coming?) We were amazed he had the idea down already!! They'll be going home next week along with Judite...our house seems to be emptying by the minute!!! Soon, we're gonna be down to just boys for the most part!! Oh, and for some reason we keep hearing that we have no babies to adopt out...which is funny as there is a room down the hall chalk full of 7 little chubbs under 8 months...just a note!

Finally...pictures!

2008-03-30T20:21:00.000-07:00