We've run the course, kept our minds on the new road laid before us. There have been great obstacles along the way, changes to be made, bumps to smooth out, lessons to be learned, but we are stronger and smarter now because of it.
We're as ready as we'll ever be to get back to Haiti. We never forgot anyone, never stopped loving them all and always knew that if God wanted us there, He would show us how. He didn't just show us,,, He laid out the red carpet, lined up the guards and is now waiting to see if we will carry out the tasks He has set before us.
It's been alot of work getting all the 800 pounds of medicines collected, donated and purchased. I have to make sure we have a qualified team, which is better than we could ever ask for. I have a wonderful friend in Judi who is my right arm and leg and together we get the job done somehow! I couldn't ask for a more wonderful church staff team who have been there to support us and prayed with me and for me. It truly takes a team of people who put their minds and talents together to make all this possible and I can't thank them enough.
So, Paul and I leave at 2:30am on Tuesday morning. Drive with our team of 8 plus the church's other team of 5 to JFK and fly direct to Port au Prince. We 8 will make up the LifeClinic team and head to Carrefour, Haiti. A badly impoverished and overcrowded area. Our other team of 5 will head in the other direction to Fond Parisien which is almost due east toward the DR border. They will be building a beautiful new playground and basketball court for the earthquake's refugee children out at Love A Child. All because our head pastor Randy Landis knew this was something that had to be done.
Our team will stay in a compound in Carrefour where field workers commonly stay. We will be only 2 miles from Pastor Eddy who we will now work beside and with in his community. He alone has started 15 churches in Carrefour and knows his people and what they need. We will learn from him and listen. We will respect the people, value them and treat them as equal to us and nothing less as they deserve.
We have very full days planned, whether they all work as scheduled is another story as things in Haiti usually change all day long. Here are just a few of the many things we will be doing;
-Pick up extra medicines at a pharmacy behind the downed palace.
-We will be meeting up with another wonderful non-profit organization who has offered to help install a clean water system at no charge to Pastor Eddy's community no matter what it takes!
-Attend a huge church service with many local pastors and thousands in the stadium in Carrefour on the 12th to remember the quake. At 4:52pm, when the quake hit, there will be loud celebration and praise that God spared their lives. Can't wait!
-We will run 2 full days of clinics with 3 docs, a nurse, and the rest of us to treat 600 patients.
-We will look at possible vehicles for our new mobile clinic.
-We will go out to Love A Child and see all the hurricane and earthquake proof houses being built for 380 refugee families, a huge Cholera tent just put up, another area of homes being built for the village of Le Tant who have lost their homes from flooding in the lake and look at Love A Child's mobile units to get ideas.
-We will run another very special clinic day to begin our work treating 100 Restavek (slave) children. They will be brought to one location for us to treat them and the pain will be hard but our message of hope and love is what we must focus on. There are over 300,000 child slaves in Haiti right now as I write this in the year 2011 and this must end...
I will try my best, if connections do not fail me, to update this blog every so often as I have time and or energy. I want to thank every single church member in LifeChurch Allentown for making this a reality. I also want to thank all my family and friends for their love and support as Paul and I go back to do this work. It means more to me than you will ever know.
I am so happy to once again go serve God in this way by trying to do our little part in helping the precious Haitian people. God bless!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Saturday, July 17, 2010
One week to Go...
It's funny, before this summer, missions trips seemed like something other people do. We love travel and I always wanted to go, but never had the nerve.
I guess something inside of me changed. Now if only the cold and fever I have on the inside would change to! I feel yucky but know it will all be ok. All I need to do is pack. After Haiti, I already have everything Anna and I need which is great.
A new adventure, a new sense of giving back to those who have so little and knowing God is watching over us and allowing us to venture out once again. This time, no real planning, organizing, helping so many other wonderful people with the trip. It's just Compassion International and a great guy named Sean doing it all for me.
Thank you buddy for taking care of everything and in exactly one week, Anna and I will be in El Salvador, switching planes onto Guatemala City. Now for some more tylenol, hot tea and rest :)
I guess something inside of me changed. Now if only the cold and fever I have on the inside would change to! I feel yucky but know it will all be ok. All I need to do is pack. After Haiti, I already have everything Anna and I need which is great.
A new adventure, a new sense of giving back to those who have so little and knowing God is watching over us and allowing us to venture out once again. This time, no real planning, organizing, helping so many other wonderful people with the trip. It's just Compassion International and a great guy named Sean doing it all for me.
Thank you buddy for taking care of everything and in exactly one week, Anna and I will be in El Salvador, switching planes onto Guatemala City. Now for some more tylenol, hot tea and rest :)
Friday, July 9, 2010
It's Time to switch from Creole to Spanish or Maybe Qiche?
This summer has been so incredibly different than our normal summer breaks. I used to think that resorts and nice hotels were the best thing since sliced bread. Not anymore...
Our world has opened up to us and we are beginning to realize what it means to see someone else's country through their eyes. I thought we were before but I think it was slightly limited and protected. We expect to just get away from it all for awhile. Stress, sleep deprivation, hard work are everyday problems. For some reason though, now that our family has chosen mission trips over luxury, we actually feel better over the long term. Why is that? We didn't get to sleep in. No nice beds like before. Cold showers. Unusual bugs and unsanitary conditions at times. So why is that we go away, knowing what we face and yet feel so much more alive and useful and grateful when we return? I think because it's not what looks good on the outside that matters anymore, but instead what bends on the inside of our hearts that sticks.
It's not ok anymore to just ignore the majority of people in our world who struggle to survive. It's certainly easy to allow that to happen if we wish. Many people I'm sure think we have lost our minds. Maybe so, but I will take the pure excitement of arriving in a destination where most people don't want to travel because it doesn't have the comforts of home and at the same time reap the rewards from experiencing people that give me so much more than I could ever begin to give them. It's really not about the "things" we can take back for ourselves. It's about what we can manage to pull out of our dusty minds and hearts and learn maybe once again or possibly discover for the first time just how incredible it feels to give simply our love and time and help in anyway possible to those who have less.
Throwing money at people cannot fix problems permanently. It takes more than that. You have to step out of your comfort zone and reach out and touch the people who we just occasionally hear about on a special news broadcast or article in a magazine. We are all human. We all have feelings and hopes and dreams. Each of us has felt loss and disappointment and maybe even grief. We cannot expect those who have never been taught the basics to simply do what needs to be done. And that's why the rest of us are here...to lend a hand, open an incredible book, teach cooking, sewing, math, show someone how to do more than simply survive because if we don't, than aren't we just hording all this knowledge for ourselves? How selfish of us to critisize others for something no one has ever taken the time to show them.
I know we hear this every single day and it becomes like the teacher talking on the Charlie Brown specials. We are so blessed to live where we do and have what we have and be able to accomplish what we can because of our opportunites. "Wha, wha,wha,wha,wha,wha,wha". What was that? Did you hear it? It's the sound of simple compassion for others being sucked right out the window. Don't you hear it? We are allowing everyday life to rob us of what really matters.
I can't let that happen anymore. I can only speak for myself. I'm glad I chose to break the norm this year. Now I can't wait to do more when Anna and I leave July 24th for Guatemala. It's cool guys, to do more work but somehow feel more rested, I guess in my heart, after helping others. I hope everyone one day will break the mold as well and step out to discover what an awesome world we live in filled with different people,languages,cultures and cuisines coexisting somehow in this big blue world we call home. Forget how much we think we need and instead learn how to give back more than you even thought you had in you.It's amazing what you will discover from within yourself when you do it. Not because you are forced to but simply because something just seems more complete when you can. There's someone out there just like us who at the end of the day lays down their head where ever it may be and sees the same stars at night when they look up into that vast black sky simply hoping for a better tomorrow and someone to take their hand and show them how...
Our world has opened up to us and we are beginning to realize what it means to see someone else's country through their eyes. I thought we were before but I think it was slightly limited and protected. We expect to just get away from it all for awhile. Stress, sleep deprivation, hard work are everyday problems. For some reason though, now that our family has chosen mission trips over luxury, we actually feel better over the long term. Why is that? We didn't get to sleep in. No nice beds like before. Cold showers. Unusual bugs and unsanitary conditions at times. So why is that we go away, knowing what we face and yet feel so much more alive and useful and grateful when we return? I think because it's not what looks good on the outside that matters anymore, but instead what bends on the inside of our hearts that sticks.
It's not ok anymore to just ignore the majority of people in our world who struggle to survive. It's certainly easy to allow that to happen if we wish. Many people I'm sure think we have lost our minds. Maybe so, but I will take the pure excitement of arriving in a destination where most people don't want to travel because it doesn't have the comforts of home and at the same time reap the rewards from experiencing people that give me so much more than I could ever begin to give them. It's really not about the "things" we can take back for ourselves. It's about what we can manage to pull out of our dusty minds and hearts and learn maybe once again or possibly discover for the first time just how incredible it feels to give simply our love and time and help in anyway possible to those who have less.
Throwing money at people cannot fix problems permanently. It takes more than that. You have to step out of your comfort zone and reach out and touch the people who we just occasionally hear about on a special news broadcast or article in a magazine. We are all human. We all have feelings and hopes and dreams. Each of us has felt loss and disappointment and maybe even grief. We cannot expect those who have never been taught the basics to simply do what needs to be done. And that's why the rest of us are here...to lend a hand, open an incredible book, teach cooking, sewing, math, show someone how to do more than simply survive because if we don't, than aren't we just hording all this knowledge for ourselves? How selfish of us to critisize others for something no one has ever taken the time to show them.
I know we hear this every single day and it becomes like the teacher talking on the Charlie Brown specials. We are so blessed to live where we do and have what we have and be able to accomplish what we can because of our opportunites. "Wha, wha,wha,wha,wha,wha,wha". What was that? Did you hear it? It's the sound of simple compassion for others being sucked right out the window. Don't you hear it? We are allowing everyday life to rob us of what really matters.
I can't let that happen anymore. I can only speak for myself. I'm glad I chose to break the norm this year. Now I can't wait to do more when Anna and I leave July 24th for Guatemala. It's cool guys, to do more work but somehow feel more rested, I guess in my heart, after helping others. I hope everyone one day will break the mold as well and step out to discover what an awesome world we live in filled with different people,languages,cultures and cuisines coexisting somehow in this big blue world we call home. Forget how much we think we need and instead learn how to give back more than you even thought you had in you.It's amazing what you will discover from within yourself when you do it. Not because you are forced to but simply because something just seems more complete when you can. There's someone out there just like us who at the end of the day lays down their head where ever it may be and sees the same stars at night when they look up into that vast black sky simply hoping for a better tomorrow and someone to take their hand and show them how...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Four last things I Need to Share with You
You know me, I could go on forever but there are four things I just wanted to share with everyone.
The first is that we also went down the road from our medical clinic to a nearby orphanage for special needs children. My husband Paul wanted to also help check and treat the children and the nuns and workers there a day after our clinic closed. I had been told about what was in their building by the TV crew but was hoping I wouldn't have to see it myself. In all fairness, the nuns and workers there are overwhelmed, many are older and none of them are properly educated in how to deal with special needs children. They simply do the best they know how. But what was inside is not something I can easily accept. Paul tells me to not be so hard about this but I cannot help it. There is a girl there who when she had an eye infection in one eye years ago, the local doctors simply proceeded to remove both eyes. She also eats her mattress materials and messes herself. What they do though to keep her in one location at night was what I saw for myself when going upstairs to get some new croc sandals for the nuns with foot problems that our teams had brought them. I followed the head worker up the dark and dank stairs. There is nothing on any walls, everything is brown and yellow tiles with metal bars on all the windows. As I get to the top of the stairs, I followed the lady into the children's room to the left. Straight ahead were just simple metal beds, very orderly, not a problem. Then, to the left I saw it.There was a very large metal animal cage on legs. No mattress inside it, no blankets, no pillows, nothing. The bottom of the cage was also just cold metal bars. This is where they keep the girl with no eyes at night undressed... I can handle guts hanging out of someone, bad smells when need be, but this made my stomach turn and it took everything within me to not say a word. I wanted to take a photo of it but the woman was watching me like a hawk. I couldn't risk her catching me taking a photo. I just wanted to get as far away as possible from this building as quickly as possible but couldn't. There is also the boy they tie down with ropes behind his back and our special needs team that also came to help saw the permanent rope marks in his skin because of his seizures. There is also the older boy who they lock in a bathroom for hours while he goes to the bathroom because he smears his feces everywhere. When finally done, they just go in and clean up after him...
Also, the Voodoo temples. There is one directly behind the clinic where Paul and Andy stayed and also one down the road from the orphanage. Paul and Andy talked about the beating drums, squeeling animals and singing for hours in the middle of the nights. Anna heard the pigs squeeling near us for sacrifice through the nights. There was also the women yelling while this all occurred. It was disturbing. They say that around 80% of all Haitians also practice Voodoo. I learned something else about Voodoo. There are the zombies. The locals believe people die and then the high priests and priestesses bring people back to life. The truth is that if someone crosses those who practice Voodoo, they poison them which temporarily slows their heart rates to the point that uneducated people do not think they are breathing and also causes their muscular systems to freeze up. They then wrap the bodies in white sheets and "bury" the body. Within about 3 days, the poisoned people come back out of their misfortune and dig their way out of the shallow graves. The high priests know the timing of it all and just happen to show up to "bring them back to life". This enforces their "satanly power" that people believe they have over everyone!
The third thing is I quickly learned to do exactly what was needed to get the heck out of the airport in time before missing our plane after this HUGE corrupt scheme was setup by the local Avis rental car company at the airport.Remember the cash they fold into a tiny wad and then place in the palm of their hand as they shake on something for a bribe? Well, I won't go into the long drwan out details or how entirely incompetant many "businesses" are but Julie Berger proceeded to payoff a police officer to simply get Avis from charging us for a totally bogus charge that has no validity!! I felt like I was living inside the TV screen while in an episode of The Sopranos or something. I do not like that show about the mob, but at that moment in time, if I hadn't done something we might have still been sitting in the airport in Haiti, while 6 police officers showed up early for work in uniform just to watch the World Cup but when we needed a police report to be filled out saying the car had lost a tail light because of a slight mishap, they look right at you and tell you they have the authority to sign off on the form BUUUTTTTT, they are not on the clock yet and so too bad but no one can help you. I could give you example after example but you get the idea. I had one man throwing a pen at me because I was not the type of woman who was going to let Haitian men look me in the eye and flat out lie to me from sentence to sentence, making things up as they go along. They really don't like women like me but then again the older high school boys had no problem telling our children in their school when I went in with them to take photos how they think I would be perfect for their fathers!! Okay...
And the last is the schools that people must pay for, uniforms to purchase that they cannot afford. Old books being used with missing pages and all men teaching the classes because they are the ones who are able to get educations many times (only 33% of the population are able to attend school, so they are also the only ones who actually speak French) even though it is the official language. Go figure. Creole is the real language but President Aristead tried to change all that when he took over before the current president. You will see the photos and the classrooms are nothing more than cinder block enclosures from the ground to the walls but there are no ceilings and there are no roofs where I was. The floor is nothing more than dirty cement with mud and water to walk through in places. There is one blackboard for each enclosure. I would compare the "classrooms" to a larger size office cubicle but that's where the comparison ends.It is so sad when I looked around me on the streets later, the doorways of shacks, the kids walking with animals everywhere but none of these children even have the opportunity to ever go to school.Never a chance to know there is a bigger world out there, never believing they can be anything they want, never thinking they matter.
So, that's my thoughts about the environment set in place by those who don't care about the people around them and how much suffering surounds them. But the local Haitian people and the landscapes that have always existed since first created are like nowhere else I have seen. We must learn from the Haitians. We must understand that when a Haitian waits in line for 8 hours in the heat, no meal since they left home early that morning and never complains there is a reason we have not yet learned. When I am told that one of the mommies that works in our orphanage STILL sleeps on top of cement slabs in a tent while three of her family members below her have been buried alive and their bodies still are laying where they fell, they are the ones we must admire. When a woman is willing to give up two of her children in order to be able to work and survive even though her heart is breaking, she must not be forgotten. The stories go on but our minds seem to have left them so very long ago. I only hope that if we are ever faced with the incredibly horrendous situations as they are, we will be able to stand up just as they do and keep on wanting to live without anti-depressants, therapists, spas, airconditioned buildings with clean water or medicines to keep our family members or our own children alive. How strong are we really? Or are we merely hiding behind our fears of what it would be like if we had to face what they face? I believe in all of us and in the simple things that makes us human beings who share the same blood, no matter the skin color. We all love, we all hurt, we all want happiness and to see our children do well in life. I will hope that we can all just reach out to others and show them they matter, they are loved and they have some sort of hope to hold onto in this thing called life...
The first is that we also went down the road from our medical clinic to a nearby orphanage for special needs children. My husband Paul wanted to also help check and treat the children and the nuns and workers there a day after our clinic closed. I had been told about what was in their building by the TV crew but was hoping I wouldn't have to see it myself. In all fairness, the nuns and workers there are overwhelmed, many are older and none of them are properly educated in how to deal with special needs children. They simply do the best they know how. But what was inside is not something I can easily accept. Paul tells me to not be so hard about this but I cannot help it. There is a girl there who when she had an eye infection in one eye years ago, the local doctors simply proceeded to remove both eyes. She also eats her mattress materials and messes herself. What they do though to keep her in one location at night was what I saw for myself when going upstairs to get some new croc sandals for the nuns with foot problems that our teams had brought them. I followed the head worker up the dark and dank stairs. There is nothing on any walls, everything is brown and yellow tiles with metal bars on all the windows. As I get to the top of the stairs, I followed the lady into the children's room to the left. Straight ahead were just simple metal beds, very orderly, not a problem. Then, to the left I saw it.There was a very large metal animal cage on legs. No mattress inside it, no blankets, no pillows, nothing. The bottom of the cage was also just cold metal bars. This is where they keep the girl with no eyes at night undressed... I can handle guts hanging out of someone, bad smells when need be, but this made my stomach turn and it took everything within me to not say a word. I wanted to take a photo of it but the woman was watching me like a hawk. I couldn't risk her catching me taking a photo. I just wanted to get as far away as possible from this building as quickly as possible but couldn't. There is also the boy they tie down with ropes behind his back and our special needs team that also came to help saw the permanent rope marks in his skin because of his seizures. There is also the older boy who they lock in a bathroom for hours while he goes to the bathroom because he smears his feces everywhere. When finally done, they just go in and clean up after him...
Also, the Voodoo temples. There is one directly behind the clinic where Paul and Andy stayed and also one down the road from the orphanage. Paul and Andy talked about the beating drums, squeeling animals and singing for hours in the middle of the nights. Anna heard the pigs squeeling near us for sacrifice through the nights. There was also the women yelling while this all occurred. It was disturbing. They say that around 80% of all Haitians also practice Voodoo. I learned something else about Voodoo. There are the zombies. The locals believe people die and then the high priests and priestesses bring people back to life. The truth is that if someone crosses those who practice Voodoo, they poison them which temporarily slows their heart rates to the point that uneducated people do not think they are breathing and also causes their muscular systems to freeze up. They then wrap the bodies in white sheets and "bury" the body. Within about 3 days, the poisoned people come back out of their misfortune and dig their way out of the shallow graves. The high priests know the timing of it all and just happen to show up to "bring them back to life". This enforces their "satanly power" that people believe they have over everyone!
The third thing is I quickly learned to do exactly what was needed to get the heck out of the airport in time before missing our plane after this HUGE corrupt scheme was setup by the local Avis rental car company at the airport.Remember the cash they fold into a tiny wad and then place in the palm of their hand as they shake on something for a bribe? Well, I won't go into the long drwan out details or how entirely incompetant many "businesses" are but Julie Berger proceeded to payoff a police officer to simply get Avis from charging us for a totally bogus charge that has no validity!! I felt like I was living inside the TV screen while in an episode of The Sopranos or something. I do not like that show about the mob, but at that moment in time, if I hadn't done something we might have still been sitting in the airport in Haiti, while 6 police officers showed up early for work in uniform just to watch the World Cup but when we needed a police report to be filled out saying the car had lost a tail light because of a slight mishap, they look right at you and tell you they have the authority to sign off on the form BUUUTTTTT, they are not on the clock yet and so too bad but no one can help you. I could give you example after example but you get the idea. I had one man throwing a pen at me because I was not the type of woman who was going to let Haitian men look me in the eye and flat out lie to me from sentence to sentence, making things up as they go along. They really don't like women like me but then again the older high school boys had no problem telling our children in their school when I went in with them to take photos how they think I would be perfect for their fathers!! Okay...
And the last is the schools that people must pay for, uniforms to purchase that they cannot afford. Old books being used with missing pages and all men teaching the classes because they are the ones who are able to get educations many times (only 33% of the population are able to attend school, so they are also the only ones who actually speak French) even though it is the official language. Go figure. Creole is the real language but President Aristead tried to change all that when he took over before the current president. You will see the photos and the classrooms are nothing more than cinder block enclosures from the ground to the walls but there are no ceilings and there are no roofs where I was. The floor is nothing more than dirty cement with mud and water to walk through in places. There is one blackboard for each enclosure. I would compare the "classrooms" to a larger size office cubicle but that's where the comparison ends.It is so sad when I looked around me on the streets later, the doorways of shacks, the kids walking with animals everywhere but none of these children even have the opportunity to ever go to school.Never a chance to know there is a bigger world out there, never believing they can be anything they want, never thinking they matter.
So, that's my thoughts about the environment set in place by those who don't care about the people around them and how much suffering surounds them. But the local Haitian people and the landscapes that have always existed since first created are like nowhere else I have seen. We must learn from the Haitians. We must understand that when a Haitian waits in line for 8 hours in the heat, no meal since they left home early that morning and never complains there is a reason we have not yet learned. When I am told that one of the mommies that works in our orphanage STILL sleeps on top of cement slabs in a tent while three of her family members below her have been buried alive and their bodies still are laying where they fell, they are the ones we must admire. When a woman is willing to give up two of her children in order to be able to work and survive even though her heart is breaking, she must not be forgotten. The stories go on but our minds seem to have left them so very long ago. I only hope that if we are ever faced with the incredibly horrendous situations as they are, we will be able to stand up just as they do and keep on wanting to live without anti-depressants, therapists, spas, airconditioned buildings with clean water or medicines to keep our family members or our own children alive. How strong are we really? Or are we merely hiding behind our fears of what it would be like if we had to face what they face? I believe in all of us and in the simple things that makes us human beings who share the same blood, no matter the skin color. We all love, we all hurt, we all want happiness and to see our children do well in life. I will hope that we can all just reach out to others and show them they matter, they are loved and they have some sort of hope to hold onto in this thing called life...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sharing the Orphans with You for a Moment
You know, I had made up my mind that I was going to try really hard to memorize the 11 children's names before arriving at the orphanage. I just thought it would be really cool for them to know that they are important enough to do that for. It has to do with dignity instead of being labeled simply a orphan that people are coming to meet. So, I had an information packet that had been given to me. It had each of their photos on it. I cut out all the photos and attached them to 3 x 5 cards with their names below. Then, I made sure to make a note of the ones who were siblings or even siblings to some of the Haitian ladies working at the orphanage.
I studied and studied them on the plane. I pretty much had them I thought except for 3 of the boys who are around the same age and looked so similar. I was determined to be able to arrive there, not have anyone introduce them by name to me and be able to tell them their names when I walked in the door.
The fiasco at the airport threw me off a little until Luz arrived to meet us there to help get all the medical luggage delivered even though we were renting a SUV as well. When I rounded the corner of her car, there was Roberde. Just like his photo. I went to hug him. I knew he loves to build things like when he took banana leaves and built a helicopter out of it and then added a mini battery and actually had the propeller rotating around so I knew he was smart. But what I didn't know was how tender and sweet he was. Almost 17 years old and one of the kids there whose mother had died and had been sold off as a child slave. He later told a few of us his story and just watching his expressions and telling it in such a tender voice made me understand why he is so quiet. I made up a questionaire for each of them so I can use it for future sponsorship information. One of the questions was if you could ask God for anything you wanted what would it be. His answer,,,that God could help the orphanage to grow bigger and stronger and that his country will be transformed into a better place for all people...
Ofcourse we didn't first arrive at the orphanage, but actually many places before that. I was fascinated by the tent cities, the incredible medical clinic and all they had done to get ready for the grand opening but I really was excited to get over to the orphanage and finally meet the kids.
When we pulled in, they were only a few children outside in the walled area. You have to remember that almost any house of any size beyond the tiny shacks have walls around them with gates to stop looting,kidnappings, etc. I knew this in advance or else it would have made me very uncomfortable. Then, the other children started coming out after a few moments. I told them to keep their names a secret and instead make me say their names.They seemed to like this. So, here goes...
There are 4 girls and 7 boys. I knew the girls would be fairly simple. The littlest is July. She is 4. Easy for my bad memory since she and I shared the same name! They are all small for their age and that is mainly because of the rampant malnutrition from their younger years. She is a cutie! Has this HUGE smile with those little teeth she clenches forward when she smiles so you see her teeth. She loves to laugh and loved Anna.She is very curious and wants to read and learn when adults are willing to work with her.
Then there is Stevenson. He just turned 8. What a fireball. I love him too. He is clearly very smart. They said they have had to keep him at the orphanage for awhile because the teachers couldn't handle him and so Mommie Kettley who works there with the kids has been homeschooling him. I just think he's bored because he's so smart. At home and school. He needs lots of stimulation and it's hard when there are so many to look after. I will later share photos with you of the most incredible kites that Stevenson made both he and I out of banana leaf veins, string and a garbage bag. Sooo cool and they do fly because we did it together. He has the greatest laugh in the world and is quite the actor!
Then there is Widlyn. She is 7 and is one determined and head strong little girl but also very sweet. She needs alot of positive reinforcement and things to keep her busy. She LOVES to talk and it has affected her work in school and her grades lately as well. She is more distant toward affection until she gets to know you but that is to be expected considering her past. I also think she lives sometimes in the shadow of the two older girls because she falls in the middle of the girls group and the two older ones excel in things that I don't think she feels she can ever do as well in. She really just wants to be loved and is craving that in any way she can think of in her own little mind. Alot of the kids are behind in school because of the ways they were living in their previous orphanage before our teams became involved.
Francois is just a great kid. He's 8 years old and not hard to deal with, pretty easy going and loves hanging in a threesome with Rogere and Jeff Allan who are all around the same age. I would say that Francois knows how to hold his own pretty well when the wrestling matches and competitive arguments come out between the three boys. He has a beautiful big wide smile and likes to write.
Rogere is just a piece of work! He is 10. The kids did some drama skits for us on two different nights and Rogere was hilarious! He could imitate others there so well. He's funny because there are times he can be very deep in thought about things and then other times he is just wide open and all boy! He also knows quite well how to push some of the others buttons but a really sweet kid. He is also the brother of Mafouna who is 12. They look just alike and both have this sense of wanting order in their lives with everything they do. It comes from not having it in their lives before. Rogere can also throw a winded moaning temper tantrum for long periods and has a lisp. I taught him a little lesson the other day when the whining wouldn't stop. I got out my cell phone with the video recorder and secretly video taped him so he could hear himself. When I played it back to him he was shocked but also I think a bit interested in how I managed to do that. He had never heard himself before and I explained to him that when he does that, it does nothing to help him since the Mommies and all of us would not be paying any attention. I gave him other ideas instead of ways to work off his frustrations quietly when he gets upset. Who knows if it may help but he did pay attention atleast for the moment.
Jeff-Alande is a sweet 8 year old. Very quiet. He is very careful with everything he does and takes his time. He wants things just so but not in a picky way. What we didn't know about him when we got there was how badly he was feeling. By day two he was laying on the ground under my bench and then began crying. I immediately told the mommies his temperature needed to be checked and he had a fever. He was crying from severe stomach cramping so I alerted Paul to look at him even though Paul and Andy were not staying there but at the clinic. I suspected appendicitis and do did Paul.It turned out not to be that but, sure enough, after giving him liquid tylenol and some lemonade for sugars he needed, he proceeded to throw up later that evening right when Paul and I were attending to him all over his bed. I felt so sorry for him. Paul became Jeff's guy to love because Dr.Paul had saved his day and made him better or so he thought lol!!
Mackson is 14 years old and one of my favorites even though I really try to not have favorites. He is very quiet also until you act interested enough in him and engage him in conversations and then he really warms up. He loves art and loved alot of the reference books I brought them. I also gave the two oldest boys quietly a small short wave radio which he loves. He is clearly bright and just needs encouragement and a pat on the shoulder occasionally to be told he is doing a good job. Mackson also has a sister Christiana who does the laundry and helps clean at the orphanage. The mommies are all very grateful to have work and are never treated as less than anyone else there. They are told how much they are appreciated and do work hard. His sister Christiana is a whole separate interesting story. As I write this, someone who visited with the team and I cannot mention who right now wants to adopt one of her children who is 4. He came over one day and is a sweetie. She cannot keep him and was ok with giving him up.The father of the boy though wants to be able to see his son however often so I don't know how that will go. Another team member is interested in adopting her baby she is carrying now. Again THAT father will have to give permission but she is open to it. A white US couple not associated with us at all approached her from somewhere else about adopting her little 1 year old girl but THAT father would not allow it. Christianna goes through relationships for survival and also knows she cannot keep her children and be able to hold a job as well, so we shall see...
Mafouna is a very tender hearted but walled in girl. She was sexually molested repeatedly before our teams came on the scene and the poor thing struggles to ever trust anyone or be able to open up.I could never blame her for feeling this way.She is so pretty and she was very thoughtful and caring to me always. Anna and I never once asked or wanted anyone to do this, but she and Marie-Victoire (the oldest girl) set up our mosquito netting by tieing them up with their hair ribbons and perfecting the bed sheets we had put on our air mattresses so they looked more neat for their standards. I was very impressed! Although Mafouna is only 12 she looks older which I think works against her as far as what others expect from her and her maturity level.
She is a very sweet girl and again, just like her brother Rogere, craves order and cleaniness because of her past.
As I mentioned, Marie-Victoireis is the oldest of the girls. At first, she comes across as a little tough but kind. Of all the kids I had no idea the special bond she and I would later share. When we left yesterday, she would not stop crying and it was extremely hard to see her this way knowing I was leaving. We just kept hugging and I wiped her tears and told her to be strong and how proud I was of her. She asked special permission from Luz to be able to write me letters through our teams when they go back and forth and then she let me know what she wanted to do. I was so deeply touched and still am... Marie-Victoire brings order to the kids. She is very mature and knows what she wants in her life. She was also a child slave and shared stories of her past. She would wake up early, crochet for awhile before breakfast or getting ready for school. Sometimes, she loved to make jewelry also before school. She is a letter writer and I found out late yesterday she had also written a long letter to Andy and given it to someone to give to him. Nothing bad or wrong just about how much she likes us being with her and asking when were we going to come back and see her. She says she wants to not get married until she turns 40 because she wants a man who will treat her right and who she has known for a very long time who she can trust. She wants to become a nurse. On the last day there, Pastor Ramon and his wife Luz were kind enough to take us all somewhere to eat outside of where we had been working.Each child had to be assigned one adult to be with always. We had to hold hands and never let go. There are kidnappings that rarely occur but have happened with orphans from American orphanages. I picked Marie-Victoire. We had such a special day that day and she told me how funny I am. I don't know about all that but we had a blast together!
Last is Rodlin who is 11. It was really special actually because his birthday fell on the week we were there so we all got to celebrate with him. Rodlin's favorite thing to do there is help wash the car. He really enjoys it and wants it just right. The car looked all shiny and clean when he was done! Rodlin is another one of the boys who I think is very bright and gets bored and then finds ways to bug the others because he has too much time on his hands. Rodlin probably runs in second place for the best whiner but it's only because he and Rogere have helped each other perfect the style of whining lol! Seriously though he is a really cool kid and I enjoyed being with him and watching him when I was teaching them about the solar system or the organs of the body and his eyes just showed me how inquisitive he really is.
These children have been through so much and are survivors. It is really hard on them when so many teams come through and then leave them. They have wonderful mommies that help them and Pastor Ramon and Luz and Carmen back here who has spent so much time with them. They also have a very solid and loving dad figure in Dave who is the house father who came from here and agreed to live there permanently to protect them and also Johhny from SC at Hope Point Church who has known the children longer than any of our teams. He has been involved since the first orphanage needed bailing out of finanacial problems with the previous woman in charge. What he wasn't aware of was how bad conditions were at that first orphanage because he trusted the woman. This is very common in Haiti. Orphanages are set up everywhere, money is being sent to help keep them running and in the mean time the conditions are completely unnacceptable and the children are not being properly cared for at all. The money in the mean time is being sifted out into the director's pockets, etc.Johhny comes across as this big bad business guy who looks all cool but deep down he is such a total teddy bear for those children with a huge heart and loves them very deeply. He comes down to Haiti alot and wants only the best for them just like Pastor Ramon and Luz and all the others.
You know, we all love the kids in our own special ways but what the kids really want more than anything in this world, is a family of their own where they don't keep losing people they fall in love with and they can get the special one on one time they need to bloom. Right now, the orphanage is not in a position to handle adoptions but maybe someday they will. Everything in Haiti takes 10 times longer to get approved and payoffs are high.
I would warn you of something. If you choose to ever look up Rescue Children Orphanage, go to Facebook to find it, not on the web. The site on the web is NOT our's but from the previous woman who gave these children up but yet refuses to delete this site. It is complicated and illegal but is being dealt with through the attorneys. People come from all over to find opportunities to take advantage of Haiti and it's people. It is wrong but is rampant throughout their country. Payoffs, bribes, threats, voodoo killings for wrongs, all kinds of things. But what you need to focus on is not the wrongs but on the incredibly resiliant people of Haiti who continue somehow to keep their faith, go get all dressed up for church in their only nice outfits early in the mornings on Sundays, sometimes 3 or 4 people riding on the back of one moped or motorcyle to get there just to go thank God for what they have. While some here make every excuse known to man of why we can't get up in time to go or are too busy, our friends in Haiti make it their number one priority....
If we have one bit of sense in our heads, we should all reflect on what this really means. It' so much more than just about going to church. It's about understanding that no matter how bad things get we can't give up. Next time things seem really bad, think about the little tiny girl Anna saw with a burned face from the boiling water during the quake when it hit her or the women with no arms or the children begging just to eat. I gave one a coke I had. Too bad. I didn't care what anyone told me to not give it to him. I have never seen a boy drink a 12oz coke in 10 seconds. If that was the only sugar he could get to sustain him since he had no food, so be it. And you know what, he said "God bless you Madame" when he finished...
I studied and studied them on the plane. I pretty much had them I thought except for 3 of the boys who are around the same age and looked so similar. I was determined to be able to arrive there, not have anyone introduce them by name to me and be able to tell them their names when I walked in the door.
The fiasco at the airport threw me off a little until Luz arrived to meet us there to help get all the medical luggage delivered even though we were renting a SUV as well. When I rounded the corner of her car, there was Roberde. Just like his photo. I went to hug him. I knew he loves to build things like when he took banana leaves and built a helicopter out of it and then added a mini battery and actually had the propeller rotating around so I knew he was smart. But what I didn't know was how tender and sweet he was. Almost 17 years old and one of the kids there whose mother had died and had been sold off as a child slave. He later told a few of us his story and just watching his expressions and telling it in such a tender voice made me understand why he is so quiet. I made up a questionaire for each of them so I can use it for future sponsorship information. One of the questions was if you could ask God for anything you wanted what would it be. His answer,,,that God could help the orphanage to grow bigger and stronger and that his country will be transformed into a better place for all people...
Ofcourse we didn't first arrive at the orphanage, but actually many places before that. I was fascinated by the tent cities, the incredible medical clinic and all they had done to get ready for the grand opening but I really was excited to get over to the orphanage and finally meet the kids.
When we pulled in, they were only a few children outside in the walled area. You have to remember that almost any house of any size beyond the tiny shacks have walls around them with gates to stop looting,kidnappings, etc. I knew this in advance or else it would have made me very uncomfortable. Then, the other children started coming out after a few moments. I told them to keep their names a secret and instead make me say their names.They seemed to like this. So, here goes...
There are 4 girls and 7 boys. I knew the girls would be fairly simple. The littlest is July. She is 4. Easy for my bad memory since she and I shared the same name! They are all small for their age and that is mainly because of the rampant malnutrition from their younger years. She is a cutie! Has this HUGE smile with those little teeth she clenches forward when she smiles so you see her teeth. She loves to laugh and loved Anna.She is very curious and wants to read and learn when adults are willing to work with her.
Then there is Stevenson. He just turned 8. What a fireball. I love him too. He is clearly very smart. They said they have had to keep him at the orphanage for awhile because the teachers couldn't handle him and so Mommie Kettley who works there with the kids has been homeschooling him. I just think he's bored because he's so smart. At home and school. He needs lots of stimulation and it's hard when there are so many to look after. I will later share photos with you of the most incredible kites that Stevenson made both he and I out of banana leaf veins, string and a garbage bag. Sooo cool and they do fly because we did it together. He has the greatest laugh in the world and is quite the actor!
Then there is Widlyn. She is 7 and is one determined and head strong little girl but also very sweet. She needs alot of positive reinforcement and things to keep her busy. She LOVES to talk and it has affected her work in school and her grades lately as well. She is more distant toward affection until she gets to know you but that is to be expected considering her past. I also think she lives sometimes in the shadow of the two older girls because she falls in the middle of the girls group and the two older ones excel in things that I don't think she feels she can ever do as well in. She really just wants to be loved and is craving that in any way she can think of in her own little mind. Alot of the kids are behind in school because of the ways they were living in their previous orphanage before our teams became involved.
Francois is just a great kid. He's 8 years old and not hard to deal with, pretty easy going and loves hanging in a threesome with Rogere and Jeff Allan who are all around the same age. I would say that Francois knows how to hold his own pretty well when the wrestling matches and competitive arguments come out between the three boys. He has a beautiful big wide smile and likes to write.
Rogere is just a piece of work! He is 10. The kids did some drama skits for us on two different nights and Rogere was hilarious! He could imitate others there so well. He's funny because there are times he can be very deep in thought about things and then other times he is just wide open and all boy! He also knows quite well how to push some of the others buttons but a really sweet kid. He is also the brother of Mafouna who is 12. They look just alike and both have this sense of wanting order in their lives with everything they do. It comes from not having it in their lives before. Rogere can also throw a winded moaning temper tantrum for long periods and has a lisp. I taught him a little lesson the other day when the whining wouldn't stop. I got out my cell phone with the video recorder and secretly video taped him so he could hear himself. When I played it back to him he was shocked but also I think a bit interested in how I managed to do that. He had never heard himself before and I explained to him that when he does that, it does nothing to help him since the Mommies and all of us would not be paying any attention. I gave him other ideas instead of ways to work off his frustrations quietly when he gets upset. Who knows if it may help but he did pay attention atleast for the moment.
Jeff-Alande is a sweet 8 year old. Very quiet. He is very careful with everything he does and takes his time. He wants things just so but not in a picky way. What we didn't know about him when we got there was how badly he was feeling. By day two he was laying on the ground under my bench and then began crying. I immediately told the mommies his temperature needed to be checked and he had a fever. He was crying from severe stomach cramping so I alerted Paul to look at him even though Paul and Andy were not staying there but at the clinic. I suspected appendicitis and do did Paul.It turned out not to be that but, sure enough, after giving him liquid tylenol and some lemonade for sugars he needed, he proceeded to throw up later that evening right when Paul and I were attending to him all over his bed. I felt so sorry for him. Paul became Jeff's guy to love because Dr.Paul had saved his day and made him better or so he thought lol!!
Mackson is 14 years old and one of my favorites even though I really try to not have favorites. He is very quiet also until you act interested enough in him and engage him in conversations and then he really warms up. He loves art and loved alot of the reference books I brought them. I also gave the two oldest boys quietly a small short wave radio which he loves. He is clearly bright and just needs encouragement and a pat on the shoulder occasionally to be told he is doing a good job. Mackson also has a sister Christiana who does the laundry and helps clean at the orphanage. The mommies are all very grateful to have work and are never treated as less than anyone else there. They are told how much they are appreciated and do work hard. His sister Christiana is a whole separate interesting story. As I write this, someone who visited with the team and I cannot mention who right now wants to adopt one of her children who is 4. He came over one day and is a sweetie. She cannot keep him and was ok with giving him up.The father of the boy though wants to be able to see his son however often so I don't know how that will go. Another team member is interested in adopting her baby she is carrying now. Again THAT father will have to give permission but she is open to it. A white US couple not associated with us at all approached her from somewhere else about adopting her little 1 year old girl but THAT father would not allow it. Christianna goes through relationships for survival and also knows she cannot keep her children and be able to hold a job as well, so we shall see...
Mafouna is a very tender hearted but walled in girl. She was sexually molested repeatedly before our teams came on the scene and the poor thing struggles to ever trust anyone or be able to open up.I could never blame her for feeling this way.She is so pretty and she was very thoughtful and caring to me always. Anna and I never once asked or wanted anyone to do this, but she and Marie-Victoire (the oldest girl) set up our mosquito netting by tieing them up with their hair ribbons and perfecting the bed sheets we had put on our air mattresses so they looked more neat for their standards. I was very impressed! Although Mafouna is only 12 she looks older which I think works against her as far as what others expect from her and her maturity level.
She is a very sweet girl and again, just like her brother Rogere, craves order and cleaniness because of her past.
As I mentioned, Marie-Victoireis is the oldest of the girls. At first, she comes across as a little tough but kind. Of all the kids I had no idea the special bond she and I would later share. When we left yesterday, she would not stop crying and it was extremely hard to see her this way knowing I was leaving. We just kept hugging and I wiped her tears and told her to be strong and how proud I was of her. She asked special permission from Luz to be able to write me letters through our teams when they go back and forth and then she let me know what she wanted to do. I was so deeply touched and still am... Marie-Victoire brings order to the kids. She is very mature and knows what she wants in her life. She was also a child slave and shared stories of her past. She would wake up early, crochet for awhile before breakfast or getting ready for school. Sometimes, she loved to make jewelry also before school. She is a letter writer and I found out late yesterday she had also written a long letter to Andy and given it to someone to give to him. Nothing bad or wrong just about how much she likes us being with her and asking when were we going to come back and see her. She says she wants to not get married until she turns 40 because she wants a man who will treat her right and who she has known for a very long time who she can trust. She wants to become a nurse. On the last day there, Pastor Ramon and his wife Luz were kind enough to take us all somewhere to eat outside of where we had been working.Each child had to be assigned one adult to be with always. We had to hold hands and never let go. There are kidnappings that rarely occur but have happened with orphans from American orphanages. I picked Marie-Victoire. We had such a special day that day and she told me how funny I am. I don't know about all that but we had a blast together!
Last is Rodlin who is 11. It was really special actually because his birthday fell on the week we were there so we all got to celebrate with him. Rodlin's favorite thing to do there is help wash the car. He really enjoys it and wants it just right. The car looked all shiny and clean when he was done! Rodlin is another one of the boys who I think is very bright and gets bored and then finds ways to bug the others because he has too much time on his hands. Rodlin probably runs in second place for the best whiner but it's only because he and Rogere have helped each other perfect the style of whining lol! Seriously though he is a really cool kid and I enjoyed being with him and watching him when I was teaching them about the solar system or the organs of the body and his eyes just showed me how inquisitive he really is.
These children have been through so much and are survivors. It is really hard on them when so many teams come through and then leave them. They have wonderful mommies that help them and Pastor Ramon and Luz and Carmen back here who has spent so much time with them. They also have a very solid and loving dad figure in Dave who is the house father who came from here and agreed to live there permanently to protect them and also Johhny from SC at Hope Point Church who has known the children longer than any of our teams. He has been involved since the first orphanage needed bailing out of finanacial problems with the previous woman in charge. What he wasn't aware of was how bad conditions were at that first orphanage because he trusted the woman. This is very common in Haiti. Orphanages are set up everywhere, money is being sent to help keep them running and in the mean time the conditions are completely unnacceptable and the children are not being properly cared for at all. The money in the mean time is being sifted out into the director's pockets, etc.Johhny comes across as this big bad business guy who looks all cool but deep down he is such a total teddy bear for those children with a huge heart and loves them very deeply. He comes down to Haiti alot and wants only the best for them just like Pastor Ramon and Luz and all the others.
You know, we all love the kids in our own special ways but what the kids really want more than anything in this world, is a family of their own where they don't keep losing people they fall in love with and they can get the special one on one time they need to bloom. Right now, the orphanage is not in a position to handle adoptions but maybe someday they will. Everything in Haiti takes 10 times longer to get approved and payoffs are high.
I would warn you of something. If you choose to ever look up Rescue Children Orphanage, go to Facebook to find it, not on the web. The site on the web is NOT our's but from the previous woman who gave these children up but yet refuses to delete this site. It is complicated and illegal but is being dealt with through the attorneys. People come from all over to find opportunities to take advantage of Haiti and it's people. It is wrong but is rampant throughout their country. Payoffs, bribes, threats, voodoo killings for wrongs, all kinds of things. But what you need to focus on is not the wrongs but on the incredibly resiliant people of Haiti who continue somehow to keep their faith, go get all dressed up for church in their only nice outfits early in the mornings on Sundays, sometimes 3 or 4 people riding on the back of one moped or motorcyle to get there just to go thank God for what they have. While some here make every excuse known to man of why we can't get up in time to go or are too busy, our friends in Haiti make it their number one priority....
If we have one bit of sense in our heads, we should all reflect on what this really means. It' so much more than just about going to church. It's about understanding that no matter how bad things get we can't give up. Next time things seem really bad, think about the little tiny girl Anna saw with a burned face from the boiling water during the quake when it hit her or the women with no arms or the children begging just to eat. I gave one a coke I had. Too bad. I didn't care what anyone told me to not give it to him. I have never seen a boy drink a 12oz coke in 10 seconds. If that was the only sugar he could get to sustain him since he had no food, so be it. And you know what, he said "God bless you Madame" when he finished...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Finally going out to see Love A Child
For the most part, Wednesday until a little after lunch was pretty uneventful. Other than playing with and doing projects with July and Stevenson,which is always so much fun and I learn so much from just watching them. They teach us how things are done here in Haiti and then we just help them to understand and reinforce house rules and keep showing them ways to divert temper tantrums and how to behave. Before our teams got really involved and took over, there was very little structure and behavioral problems were rampant. Alot of healing has already been going on but there is still more to do with them and everyone is aware and working hard at it. I will tell you more about our orphans at Rescue Children Orphanage after my daily blogs.
Then, I had a chance for Anna,Andy and I unexpectedly to head out in the afternoon to Love A Child with Pastor Randy, Michelson and the TV crew to finally see the place, meet the founders Sherry and Bobby Burnette, Carole the nurse who heads up their clinic and ofcourse Dukens and Clepson! So, with 5 minutes notice we left again, hoping for no more trouble from 2 days before with the rioting. Pastor Randy was so nice to take us out there and he drives like a local Haitian as though he's lived there is whole life lol! He's great and got around people and animals and tap taps like nobody's business.
As I had mentioned before, when you leave Port au Prince and head almost due east, the landscape really changes. Beautiful mountains, green this time of year. Still extreme poverty but atleast they can have farms and more animals to survive. It was cool because Michelson has never been out there before. He fell in love with the area and said he will one day marry Geralda, have 2 children and build a house to live in beauty and peace...
So we turn into the Love A Child compound and almost immediately in front of us was a dead donkey sprawled across the dirt road which had clearly been there for some time. Very hard to see considering we were within inches of driving over it's legs just to get around. Not pretty. But after that we drive down a long curvy dirt road and to the left was the medical clinic. There were people gathered around under a tree. One person I recognized right away was Carole the nurse who Paul had worked closely with. And there, sitting on the wall just smiling (remember they didn't know we were coming at all that day) was Dukens! I recognized him even before Andy! I cannot tell you how happy I was to see him! He and Andy immediately hugged, slapping each other on the backs and then he came up to me. Oh the hug he gave me was so strong and so, so good to have after so long. It was another precious moment.
Then I met Carole and we asked where the Burnette's were. Carole explained they were off taping for some Christian broadcasts about the new homes going up for the earthquake victims down the road in Camp Hope. It turns out Love A Child is not in charge of the victims currently but will be when Love A Child finishes building all 380 homes.
All of the sudden though, a truck pulls up and there they are, the Burnette's on their way somewhere else. In the back of the open truck were all these young guys holding on. We came right up to the truck and I introduced ourselves to the Burnette's. They were very kind. They stopped everything they were doing to do interviews with the TV crew and then we talked more. I asked where Clepson was. He had been behind me in the truck for atleast 10 munutes and never said a word! They pointed to him in the truck and I couldn't belive it was him. I gave him a big hug and asked him why he hadn't told me he was there. He told me because he did not want to interupt and had to wait. Manners, to the extreme!
So I here I was standing in Haiti with Michelson, Dukens and Clepson, Anna and Andy all together. Words will never describe how happy I felt. The trip would have never been complete without seeing, talking and hugging my 3 guys with my two own beautiful children as well. It was such a happy time to bring everyone together. If on;y Paul could have joined us but he was still working his tail off over at the clinic and couldn't leave.
Sherry and Bobby then invited us to follow them down the road to the property to see the new site where the framework on the first two homes were being built for the earthquake victims. Very, very cool stuff. One of the guys there working had flown down from our church in another team to help work and live at Love A Child and volunteer his time toward these efforts. Pastor Randy as well went out there later for a couple of days to do the same.
Then, Sherry offered to take us in the back of her truck (donation from Joyce Meyers Ministries) and go back into Camp Hope. I would say that out of the 9 days there and all we saw, this was probably the second most heart wrenching time there for me personally. As we drove back down this dusty, dry road with large cactus trees blooming around us and walls of cactus growing that keep animals in, the tents started to appear. Tents and more tents. Wheelchairs parked out side the tents like cars in our driveways. Amputees, little children, pregnant women. As we got further back in, I saw 2 children pumping water from a drilled well so they could carry clean water back to what they call home now since January. Remember it rained there each day and you can't help but think of these displaced families when the rains are heavy as the mud builds up and they pray the posts will stay standing. Many people around Port au Prince are not so fortunate to have tents like in Camp Hope. Sheets, plastic bags and even clothes are being used to try and create shelter with just sticks. I have always thought quilts are pretty but what I saw there were quilts of extreme poverty being made to find shelter and I couldn't find anything of beauty in them at all. Only sadness.
We got out of the truck and began splitting up into little groups, walking around between the tents. It was not flat surfaces to walk on. More like standing in a stall of a barn but it did not smell so that was nice. I went off with Andy, Anna and Michelson. I would greet them in Creole, always wave to those down the rows and rows of tents and take photos after always asking in Creole first. There were a few times when people came up to me and asked for food and diapers. Michelson explained we were only there to visit and not to deliver goods. You have no idea how hard this was. It bothered me deeply that they kept asking for food. Why? Why was this a problem? Wasn't Love A Child taking care of that? I decided I wanted Michelson to ask a woman how often they receive food. I was told every 21 days....Was this correct? How? I later learned that the oganization ARC is in charge of the people there until the new homes are built and then Love A Child will move them all and take over helping with food, etc.? **Take note everyone next time you donate money. ARC stands for American Refugee Committee. Another large organization making promises and doing nothing. Disgusting. I found out that the Burnette's have been appauled as well and had a confrontation with ARC earlier that very day. They will be continuing to push this organization until the food and supplies are delivered. What about in the mean time? Don't know...
The funny moment was when we walked up to one tent. It was all women who were amputees. I had no notice before we left to go out to Fond Parisien and was wearing a dress (bad move on my part). All of the sudden as I'm standing in front of the women and with Andy and Michelson, mind you, the wind kicked up and blew my dress straight up!! The women all laughed hysterically and so I laughed along with them! If I could bring them a little moment of making fun of me and hearing them laugh like they did, so be it! The one lady as she kept laughing, stood up and was trying to show me how I should put my dress between my legs to keep it down! It was so cool that even though we were from two very different worlds and circumstances, it just didn't matter because we were both women, mothers, sisters and knew what it meant. I will always treasure what she and I shared. We must have all laughed for 5 minutes and then I took their hands to say goodbye and walked away.
I know we all talk about and hear how we should appreciate what we have. You can hear it all you want and I can tell you over and over we should, but the reality is that until you decide you need to need to do more and your heart makes it happen, you won't really be able to fully understand just what God had blessed us with.The smells, the sounds, the sights are what makes us wake up to what exists all around us and right now we are oblivious to it all. A guy my husband Paul knows who does missionary work all around the world said it best," We here are asleep to God and His true glory. In other countries, they have no choice. They are always awakened by the darkness that exists around them so they have no choice but to seek Him.They have nothing else to distract them from God like we do here." So well said....
Then, I had a chance for Anna,Andy and I unexpectedly to head out in the afternoon to Love A Child with Pastor Randy, Michelson and the TV crew to finally see the place, meet the founders Sherry and Bobby Burnette, Carole the nurse who heads up their clinic and ofcourse Dukens and Clepson! So, with 5 minutes notice we left again, hoping for no more trouble from 2 days before with the rioting. Pastor Randy was so nice to take us out there and he drives like a local Haitian as though he's lived there is whole life lol! He's great and got around people and animals and tap taps like nobody's business.
As I had mentioned before, when you leave Port au Prince and head almost due east, the landscape really changes. Beautiful mountains, green this time of year. Still extreme poverty but atleast they can have farms and more animals to survive. It was cool because Michelson has never been out there before. He fell in love with the area and said he will one day marry Geralda, have 2 children and build a house to live in beauty and peace...
So we turn into the Love A Child compound and almost immediately in front of us was a dead donkey sprawled across the dirt road which had clearly been there for some time. Very hard to see considering we were within inches of driving over it's legs just to get around. Not pretty. But after that we drive down a long curvy dirt road and to the left was the medical clinic. There were people gathered around under a tree. One person I recognized right away was Carole the nurse who Paul had worked closely with. And there, sitting on the wall just smiling (remember they didn't know we were coming at all that day) was Dukens! I recognized him even before Andy! I cannot tell you how happy I was to see him! He and Andy immediately hugged, slapping each other on the backs and then he came up to me. Oh the hug he gave me was so strong and so, so good to have after so long. It was another precious moment.
Then I met Carole and we asked where the Burnette's were. Carole explained they were off taping for some Christian broadcasts about the new homes going up for the earthquake victims down the road in Camp Hope. It turns out Love A Child is not in charge of the victims currently but will be when Love A Child finishes building all 380 homes.
All of the sudden though, a truck pulls up and there they are, the Burnette's on their way somewhere else. In the back of the open truck were all these young guys holding on. We came right up to the truck and I introduced ourselves to the Burnette's. They were very kind. They stopped everything they were doing to do interviews with the TV crew and then we talked more. I asked where Clepson was. He had been behind me in the truck for atleast 10 munutes and never said a word! They pointed to him in the truck and I couldn't belive it was him. I gave him a big hug and asked him why he hadn't told me he was there. He told me because he did not want to interupt and had to wait. Manners, to the extreme!
So I here I was standing in Haiti with Michelson, Dukens and Clepson, Anna and Andy all together. Words will never describe how happy I felt. The trip would have never been complete without seeing, talking and hugging my 3 guys with my two own beautiful children as well. It was such a happy time to bring everyone together. If on;y Paul could have joined us but he was still working his tail off over at the clinic and couldn't leave.
Sherry and Bobby then invited us to follow them down the road to the property to see the new site where the framework on the first two homes were being built for the earthquake victims. Very, very cool stuff. One of the guys there working had flown down from our church in another team to help work and live at Love A Child and volunteer his time toward these efforts. Pastor Randy as well went out there later for a couple of days to do the same.
Then, Sherry offered to take us in the back of her truck (donation from Joyce Meyers Ministries) and go back into Camp Hope. I would say that out of the 9 days there and all we saw, this was probably the second most heart wrenching time there for me personally. As we drove back down this dusty, dry road with large cactus trees blooming around us and walls of cactus growing that keep animals in, the tents started to appear. Tents and more tents. Wheelchairs parked out side the tents like cars in our driveways. Amputees, little children, pregnant women. As we got further back in, I saw 2 children pumping water from a drilled well so they could carry clean water back to what they call home now since January. Remember it rained there each day and you can't help but think of these displaced families when the rains are heavy as the mud builds up and they pray the posts will stay standing. Many people around Port au Prince are not so fortunate to have tents like in Camp Hope. Sheets, plastic bags and even clothes are being used to try and create shelter with just sticks. I have always thought quilts are pretty but what I saw there were quilts of extreme poverty being made to find shelter and I couldn't find anything of beauty in them at all. Only sadness.
We got out of the truck and began splitting up into little groups, walking around between the tents. It was not flat surfaces to walk on. More like standing in a stall of a barn but it did not smell so that was nice. I went off with Andy, Anna and Michelson. I would greet them in Creole, always wave to those down the rows and rows of tents and take photos after always asking in Creole first. There were a few times when people came up to me and asked for food and diapers. Michelson explained we were only there to visit and not to deliver goods. You have no idea how hard this was. It bothered me deeply that they kept asking for food. Why? Why was this a problem? Wasn't Love A Child taking care of that? I decided I wanted Michelson to ask a woman how often they receive food. I was told every 21 days....Was this correct? How? I later learned that the oganization ARC is in charge of the people there until the new homes are built and then Love A Child will move them all and take over helping with food, etc.? **Take note everyone next time you donate money. ARC stands for American Refugee Committee. Another large organization making promises and doing nothing. Disgusting. I found out that the Burnette's have been appauled as well and had a confrontation with ARC earlier that very day. They will be continuing to push this organization until the food and supplies are delivered. What about in the mean time? Don't know...
The funny moment was when we walked up to one tent. It was all women who were amputees. I had no notice before we left to go out to Fond Parisien and was wearing a dress (bad move on my part). All of the sudden as I'm standing in front of the women and with Andy and Michelson, mind you, the wind kicked up and blew my dress straight up!! The women all laughed hysterically and so I laughed along with them! If I could bring them a little moment of making fun of me and hearing them laugh like they did, so be it! The one lady as she kept laughing, stood up and was trying to show me how I should put my dress between my legs to keep it down! It was so cool that even though we were from two very different worlds and circumstances, it just didn't matter because we were both women, mothers, sisters and knew what it meant. I will always treasure what she and I shared. We must have all laughed for 5 minutes and then I took their hands to say goodbye and walked away.
I know we all talk about and hear how we should appreciate what we have. You can hear it all you want and I can tell you over and over we should, but the reality is that until you decide you need to need to do more and your heart makes it happen, you won't really be able to fully understand just what God had blessed us with.The smells, the sounds, the sights are what makes us wake up to what exists all around us and right now we are oblivious to it all. A guy my husband Paul knows who does missionary work all around the world said it best," We here are asleep to God and His true glory. In other countries, they have no choice. They are always awakened by the darkness that exists around them so they have no choice but to seek Him.They have nothing else to distract them from God like we do here." So well said....
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The First Official Day of Life Clinic in Haiti
Anna and I were supposed to stay with the children on Tuesday and work with them all day. I knew Paul would be the first doctor coming in to open the clinic and my son Andy was over their also.This was an important day for the community of Santo 19 and I needed to have the orphanage understand I really felt my heart being pulled to go over there and help however I could. I made sure to also bring my camera and what a blessing that was.
There were I believe 11 of us as volunteers over there. Some of the team were local Haitians which they try so hard to hire whenever possible.They were supposed to begin at 7am and end at 3pm. Being the first day and so many things to iron out as a brand new clinic, I think everything went really, really well considering all that was involved.
The clinic didn't open at 7am because we first had a small moment of prayer as a team inside. Ofcourse the doors are always open to everyone outside and as we prayed together,the beautiful singing began outside. The patients had arrived by foot, bike and tap-tap (they are the coolest things-old trucks which they add tops to and paint over the entire vehicle with vivid colors and it ranges from paintings of Jesus to Merceded Benz symbols side by side.They are completely covered from one end to the other). The patients are never told when clinics open until one day before. All it takes is a blow horn and someone walking around the neighborhoods and word spreads like wildfire. If you announce it too early, instead of getting 100 or 200 you will get 1,000.
The patients were lined up all the way down the high cement walls that surround the clinic and gate. There was a huge mango tree which helped to shade the patients. They are in the process of building more shaded areas and a playground for the children waiting. All day Pastor Ramon's local guys just kept building more and more wooden benches for patients to sit on as the crowds continued.
The one thing I have always found is no matter where we travel in other countries, what brigs people together is that simple act of smiling to them and saying hello in their native language. It opens up the barriers that exist between people of different tongues.
Many Haitians do not smile at you even when you smile at them. That has never stopped me. I love people and know they all have tender hearts and loving personalities. My camera became my gateway to some of my most treasured memories that will last forever. Not only in the photos I take home but in how my camera became the tool that allowed me to break the walls between the beautiful Haitian people and myself.I found that although they may stare at you and not really trust you, if you just say hello in Creole, then ask them "photo, wi?", they will nod in agreement of allowing you to photograph them. I then take their photos and immediately show them their picture. Ahhh,,,the reactions are priceless! Smiling,laughing, showing how shy they are but it brings them this small sense of knowing I mean them no harm. I would go down the rows of people, 3-4 at a time and take a photo, then show them. They then all wanted their own photos taken and it was wonderful! Laughing together and just sharing that sweet little moment with them. For most, they have never in their lives had their photos taken and some had not even seen themselves before. Hard for us to imagine but true.
There was so much work done that day, not only in treating people's medical conditions but also in showing the people that what has been established there is meant to stay and for Haitians, that is something almost hard to imagine. NGO's and other organizations many times come and go but our teams have shown them through the time since before the quake that if they are told something, we will do everything humanly possible to follow through. It's hard to gain trust in these corrupt, war ravaged, poverty strickened countries after all they have lived through, but with time, the hope is to have them know that we do believe they are important and are loved and do matter. That is all they are really looking for. Compassion from people who are sincere in their words by the actions towards others.
There were I believe 11 of us as volunteers over there. Some of the team were local Haitians which they try so hard to hire whenever possible.They were supposed to begin at 7am and end at 3pm. Being the first day and so many things to iron out as a brand new clinic, I think everything went really, really well considering all that was involved.
The clinic didn't open at 7am because we first had a small moment of prayer as a team inside. Ofcourse the doors are always open to everyone outside and as we prayed together,the beautiful singing began outside. The patients had arrived by foot, bike and tap-tap (they are the coolest things-old trucks which they add tops to and paint over the entire vehicle with vivid colors and it ranges from paintings of Jesus to Merceded Benz symbols side by side.They are completely covered from one end to the other). The patients are never told when clinics open until one day before. All it takes is a blow horn and someone walking around the neighborhoods and word spreads like wildfire. If you announce it too early, instead of getting 100 or 200 you will get 1,000.
The patients were lined up all the way down the high cement walls that surround the clinic and gate. There was a huge mango tree which helped to shade the patients. They are in the process of building more shaded areas and a playground for the children waiting. All day Pastor Ramon's local guys just kept building more and more wooden benches for patients to sit on as the crowds continued.
The one thing I have always found is no matter where we travel in other countries, what brigs people together is that simple act of smiling to them and saying hello in their native language. It opens up the barriers that exist between people of different tongues.
Many Haitians do not smile at you even when you smile at them. That has never stopped me. I love people and know they all have tender hearts and loving personalities. My camera became my gateway to some of my most treasured memories that will last forever. Not only in the photos I take home but in how my camera became the tool that allowed me to break the walls between the beautiful Haitian people and myself.I found that although they may stare at you and not really trust you, if you just say hello in Creole, then ask them "photo, wi?", they will nod in agreement of allowing you to photograph them. I then take their photos and immediately show them their picture. Ahhh,,,the reactions are priceless! Smiling,laughing, showing how shy they are but it brings them this small sense of knowing I mean them no harm. I would go down the rows of people, 3-4 at a time and take a photo, then show them. They then all wanted their own photos taken and it was wonderful! Laughing together and just sharing that sweet little moment with them. For most, they have never in their lives had their photos taken and some had not even seen themselves before. Hard for us to imagine but true.
There was so much work done that day, not only in treating people's medical conditions but also in showing the people that what has been established there is meant to stay and for Haitians, that is something almost hard to imagine. NGO's and other organizations many times come and go but our teams have shown them through the time since before the quake that if they are told something, we will do everything humanly possible to follow through. It's hard to gain trust in these corrupt, war ravaged, poverty strickened countries after all they have lived through, but with time, the hope is to have them know that we do believe they are important and are loved and do matter. That is all they are really looking for. Compassion from people who are sincere in their words by the actions towards others.
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