Into the swing of things

Bonjou,

day #6 = shower #2

Besides a nasty cold & touch of "Haitian Happiness" things are going great!! There was very little culture shock this time & I'm already feeling right at home.

I have a work schedule from 8am - 5pm each day and I spent my evenings putting the toddlers to bed (bathing, stories, te bos, etc), chatting with the nannys or playing cards with the other volunteers. It's an exhausting day but I'm amazed with the changes I see in kids everyday, especially the 4 babies I work with in the afternoons. One of my little ones, Merline, had infected sores behind both ears when I started working with her (last Friday) and today one ear was completely dried up & the other one has closed over. It's not as smooth with all the babies... Matthew is my challenge... I can't pick him up without him screaming. The first day he crawled under his bed & one of the Nannys had to get him for me. I thought it was getting better but today we took a few steps backwards.... and it resulted in me justifying my second shower of the trip :)

The Creole is coming along but it's tough. With a little body language I can usually get my point across but understanding them is a different story. The kids love helping me & some of the Nannys want to learn English so we chat in the evenings. We're actually starting knitting lessons tomorrow night!

Here are pics of some of the kids. I'll try to get some of the neighborhood this weekend. I'm still a bit shy walking around by myself but I'll try to drag someone with me on Sunday.


Reb w/ Marmiola & Thamar:



Ronaldo has this picture by his bed & gives her te bo's every night:



Ronaldo learning to play hockey... thanks for sticks Brendon!


Marmiola with Courtney's favorite doll :)



Reb & Wencia - she's one of my toddlers & she still very shy:


Wisline's bath time on the balcony:



This is Djoulyson with a headband we made together... thanks for the knitting cirlce thing Andrea, the Nanny's love it too!




This one is just too cute not to include:




This one too :)

Happy Birthday Teriann!

You're present will be broken in perfectly by the time you get it :)

Up for a challenge?

This is an open invite but Hockey Girls... don't disappoint me, I know you're always up for a challenge :)

I'm going to read a book called "The Purpose Driven Life" (by Rick Warren) over the next 40 days... it has 40 short chapters so it won't be difficult to fit in with whatever schedule you have. I'm going to wake up early to read it before breakfast.

It should be an easy book to find; I got mine at Costco. Pick up a copy & read it with me! Email me if you're going to so we can chat seperately about it.

Cheers!

Toddlers meet the Family!

Just finished te bo time... it's my new tradition with the toddlers. I tuck them in & give them "te bos", which is little kiss in Creole. Not much tucking in happens tho as they're usually a lot less ready for bed after I leave. The kids love me but the jury is still out on the nannys :)

Tonight I introduced some of the kids to my family! They were so excited to see pictures of everyone. Here's a couple pictures, I'd post more the it takes forever to download pictures on these computers.... yes, I know, patience is a virtue!








Thanks everyone for emailing, it's great to hear what's happening at home!

Reb

Arrived in Haiti!

Hello!

It's so good to back here, it actually feels like I never left. The travel days were perfect!! I went with 2 overweight bins & 2 large carry-ons (1 was over 60lbs!) and I didn't have to pay anything for them!! They didn't weigh them in Vancouver and they did in Miami but they let it slide with a friendly God Bless... guess it was worth writing "Haitian Baby Orphanage" all over them :)

We arrived yesterday afternoon & I played with the kids before dinner. After about 5 minutes I was soaked... and not just pee... at least my initiation was short & relatively painless. There are ~150 kids & they're great. I already have some favorites picked out :)

I share a room w/ 5 other girls (in sweet little bunk beds) & we have our own bathroom. They only turn the water on at night so there's already a line up for tonight :) We have internet too but it's very unreliable & I need to learn to save more often!! I've written this blog 3 times so far & the power keeps going out so I have to start all over. It will take some time to adjust back to Haitian time.

Today I spend the morning doing crafts & games with some of the toddlers. The volunteers work with the ones that need it the most & the rest stay with the Haitian nannys. The security isn't as tight as I expected so I am able to take kids for walks around the community, which is nice. Most people in the community are friendly to the "blancs". But a man approached me as I walked today... I thought he asked for the time so I told him it was 10:30am... he made a rude gesture & walked away... I have a long way to go with this Creole thing :) Good thing the kids think it's cool that I'm learning so they like teaching me.

This afternoon I worked with the little ones in the Baby House, which is a 20 minute walk thru the community. It's pretty complicated to get there so hopefully I'll get my bearing quickly... too bad Sean (my brother) isn't just a phone call away :) I'm assigned to 4 babies and I spend an hour with each every afternoon. It went well today, except for Matthew, who spent the hour hiding under his bed. I'll win him over yet.

Sorry for the sideways pictures... I don't have any editing options...


My welcome party:


Thanks for the crafts Mom (necklaces & heart paper today):

Baby House:

I'm on my way back!!

Hello Friends & Family... and any unsuspecting soul who has arrived at this site in error,

As many of you know, it has been on my heart to return to Haiti for an extended period of time. I now have an opportunity to spend 3 months at an orphanage in the Kenscoff mountains, just above Port-au-Prince. The orphanage is called God's Littlest Angels (GLA) and their website is www.gla-missions.org.

GLA's focus is a Baby Ministry but their kids range in age from a few days to 17 years old. I will be working (& living) in the toddler house during the day and in the baby house in the evenings. Those of you who know me well are probably chuckling... those poor kids!! Haha. Well, I'll admit, these 3 months will be a stretch but I'm up for the challenge and I'm very excited to get back there! This will also be a great opportunity for me to learn the language so when I return with future teams from PCC, I will be able to communicate more effectively with the kids & the community. If all goes well with my sponsorship, I plan to be at GLA from late February to early June.

Why am I going back? This is the million dollar question! Each time I come back from Haiti I feel like I've left a part of myself there. The path ahead of me is not entirely clear but there is a moment from my last trip that keeps resurfacing whenever I doubt the direction I'm going. We were driving from Grande Goave to Grande Savande (a 14 hour drive) and we stopped for a bathroom break in the middle of nowhere. Walking back to the truck I heard my name... as I turned around a little girl was running towards me. In the middle of nowhere she knew me! I still can't figure out when we first met but somewhere we had connected. Unfortunately I didn't know enough Creole to communicate much with her but I knew then that even the simple things we had done could make a difference in the lives of these children. This memory quickly removes any of my doubts... as long as I feel like I am being used in Haiti I will make myself available but, to be effective, I need to learn Creole! This is my primary goal this trip.

Thank you for the support you have given me & check back here for updates on my stay at GLA.

Reb