Amazing!

The best thing about "blogging" from Haiti is that you (the reader) have no way of knowing if I'm telling the truth. Luckily for you, I am telling the truth... most of the time...

In the last update I said the little premie I told you about on March 10th went home to her mom. I thought that because I stayed away from the ICU for a week & a half because I was sick & when I went to check on the babies this week I couldn't find her & there was a miscommunication with one of the Nannys... the joys of learning a new language.

I couldn't find her because this is what she looks like now!!!!






I asked every Nanny in the ICU to comfirm that this is the same little girl and I still find it hard to comprehend. Words cannot describe this miracle... here she is just 3 weeks ago:




Here are some more shots of my little guys:








Coloring time for Matthew & Merline:






And I'll end this with a wish & a story:

I wish there was an easy way to clean my camera lens...




Now for the story. Being the responsible person that I am... I am helping Molly w/ some of the "end of day" chores. Yesterday was my training & tonight was the trial run. As Molly and I walked to the front gate I slipped on the wet tile and face planted... smooth... consistent... that's me! All in a days work :)

Back in the land of the living!

Thanks for all the emails & prayers... I am feeling much better!!

It's been a while since I've posted a real update, so here's a snapshot of what I've been up to.

Last weekend, I went on the Feeding again on Saturday. It POURED rain so I don't have many pictures, and the ones I do have are mostly of the kids in the back of the truck hiding from the rain. The beginning of a rain fall is quite funny, everyone starts running for cover... young & old. Most people are terrified of rain because it leads to illness, which isn't a good thing here because it's difficult for them to recover without the meds & care we often take for granted at home.

The rains starts.....




Getting worse....



Now raining so hard it hurts! There weren't enough bags to go around so I was one of the brave ones without one... hmm... wonder if that had anything to do with getting so sick? Nah...




Amil (one of the few who speak a bit of English... also the one who gave me the present last time) & his buddy.




This was leaving one of our stops. It was a bit chaotic & they chased the truck as long as they could... hoping to get an extra bag of rice.




I was pretty much sick for the rest of last week so that's an easy update. We did get a few more new kids this past weeks but I'm not sure the exact numbers. Here's the newest premie. BTW, for those of you who have been asking, the tiny girl in the blog entry a few weeks ago has gained strenght and has now returned home. Great news!






I started feeling better on Friday (good timing!) and this weekend was great. Saturday we went to the market in Petionville in the morning. I've been there a few times now so I decided to wander through some vendors off the man road while the other were in a store... big mistake... I almost got plowed by a car!! I've never jumped so quickly in my life!

In the afternoon a few of us took a tap-tap up the mountain to the Baptist Mission. We have some new volunteers so they got to do some vendor shopping and we got to eat some long anticipated ice cream sundaes. The regulars (Molly & Joyce) didn't come with us so it was up to me to get the girls home safely on the tap-tap.... all went smoothly except we got off a few blocks too late which meant walking up a steep hill in the pouring rain. Hmm.... hopefully the anitbiotics stay in my system for awhile :)

For those of you who don't know what tap-taps are, here's a picture of a broken down one... which is common. You sit in the back of the pickup and "tap" on the side when you want to get off. You'd be amazed to see how many people can cram into one!

Just as I was drifting off last night I was startled back awake by what sounded like a marching band in our living room! Luckily it wasn't in our living room... it was out on the street, but unluckily it was a voodoo rara (similar to a parade) which wound through our neighbourhood & lasted several hours. I watched it from our balcony & it was quite an experience. I have heard voodoo chants/ceremonies on previous trips to Haiti but I've never watched one. Apparently last night was the first of many this week, leading up to Easter. Hopefully the rains will keep them to a minimum.

We were all tired today so we thought it would be a good energy booster to go for a hike. It was fun but turned into more than I was banking on. Here's of picture (although a bad one) of the church that we walked to. To get there we had to go down an enormous ravine and back up the other side. For me, it was like the Grouse Grind... glad I did it but don't need to do it again :)




This was a lady we passed on the way up. It's common to see women carry huge loads on their head but I thought this one was ironic because her husband walked in front, leading her, carrying a drink :)




Here are some kids that were playing soccer at the church, there was only 1 kid when I started to take the picture but everyone wanted in... you can't even see the original boy :)



Oh, and how could I forget.... MATTHEW LOVES ME!!! I didn't see him much this week b/c I was sick but when I went on Friday he ran to me & played with me for hours! That was worth being sick for :)

Thanks again for all the emails of support, I really appreciate them.

Rebecca

Think they deliver home made chicken soup here?

Sorry there hasn't been any updates in a while. I've been battling a cold since I got here and this past week it turned into a respiratory tract infection... not fun! The worst part has been a sore throat that has made it hard for me to talk, eat or drink. I have slept through most of the last 3 days. Today is day 3 with the antibiotics and they seem to be helping but very slowly. I was feeling a bit better last night so Molly was nice enough to make me some comfort food, KD of course! I fell asleep at the table after a few mouthfuls... good way to show gratitude, eh?

I was hoping to venture out of the house today but after sitting for awhile I think I'm ready for bed again.

Thanks for all the emails & prayers, I appreciate them.

A random update

We've had 4 new kids this week. Two babies and two toddlers. It's a strange thing... "getting new kids". I was sad at first... imagining where they came from & how their parents got to the stage where they knocked on GLA's door. But then, as I tucked one of the new toddlers in last night she hugged me & wouldn't let go. My sadness quickly disappeared and I thought of a peom that I read when I first got here. To be honest, I thought the poem was cheesey when I first read it (& still do a bit) but hugging that little girl somehow gave it a face.

You are who you are for a reason.
You're part of an intricate plan.
You're a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You're just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And not matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason,
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!

By Russell Kelfer

Ok, now for the random update:

I've had an eye infection this week so I've resorted to wearing glasses. I don't know if it's just me but I'm a clumsy glass wearer. I hit them...which jabs me in the eye... every hour or so. Hopefully I'll be back to wearing contacts in a few days.

Sunday was a relaxing day. The time change was supposed to happen but the word didn't circulate so it didn't happen... that's Haiti for you! As we were an hour early for church we decided to replan our day. We took a tap-tap into town & then walked up a mountain to Boutillier, which is a look out point where vendors gather. It was 4 hours round trip. Lots of walking but lots of fun! I've almost walked thru my first pair of sandles already :)

As we were driving to church yesterday a guy approached the car & gave us a painted plate. We tried to refuse it at first, b/c we didn't know who he was, but he insisted it was for "ebecca"... he was just the messenger & the plate was from Amil, one of the kids that I went on the feeding with last weekend. It's cool too, the map of Haiti is painted on it.

It's a steep 15 min walk from the toddler house (my house) to the baby house and I fell down the "mountain" today... haha. It was pretty embarassing. I could hear people chuckle behind me. It's not unusual for people to fall tho. Just a few scratches.

Exciting news - Matthew likes me!!! He's been playing with me all week & tonight he cried when I left him. I'm not happy that he cried but you get the picture... and maybe I'm a little happy that he cried :)

I was walking between houses at night last week... after a knitting lesson... and one of the older girls (16) was hiding outside, in the pitch black, to scare me. Well, it work. I freaked out and smoked her in the face with the book I was carrying. I thought at first that I had hurt her, b/c she crumpled on the ground but it didn't take long to realize that she was just laughing to hard to stand. Good thing I didn't still have knitting needles in my hand!!

Well, this is probably too long for most of you to read, so I'll add a few pictures for those of you who just scrolled down in hopes of a few.

Haircut day when the clippers are broken... she's actually really good at it!!



Cute:



Out on the Nursery patio at feeding time:



Just playing around w/ my little guy:






The is the "small" dog. I don't get close enough to the big one to take a picture.

The newest member of the GLA family

She's very malnourished, but the Nanny's are able to get her to eat. Please keep her in your prayers.

It just so happened to be picture day on her second day so here she is all dolled up :)

Camera in the nursery

Right now there are about 85 babies at the Baby House (& 65 at the Toddler House), here are some shots from the Baby House:

Little Widley:




If you have the ability to invert the colors on this photo give it a try... it's not for the feint of heart tho!



Nap time:



The little rebel:


Where the older babies sleep... they're outside on the deck at the moment:



Where the young ones sleep:



She's still not sure about us blancs:



Getting impatient w/ the photos... just wants to be picked up!


Little Kensley, the newest addition to my afternoons:



Back at the toddler house, with Sadrack, Thamar, Marmiola & Djouliman:


Helping the Nannys' with dishes... the job that never ends!

The Feeding

On Saturday I went with a group called The Brothers to hand out bags of rice to two small villages. They are a local group that go every Wednesday & Saturday. Depending on where they go we (blancs) are allowed to tag along and help.

I was under the impression that this trip was up through the mountains (which is on GLA's approved list) but as I was recapping the journey yesterday, we realized that I had been wrong. We went through Port-au-Prince and then up some mountains on the other side... opps. In hindsight it was a good mistake b/c they are now considering expanding the approved list, which would allow me to go more often!

We left in the late afternoon & drove for about 3 hours before arriving at the villages. There were people, mostly kids, lined up waiting for us in both of the villages. The Feeding was very well organized & it didn't take long to give each person a bag of rice.

I was the only blanc who went and Molly & the gang from GLA dropped me off at the Orphanage on their way shopping. People were pretty shy with me while we loaded the trucks & drove away but I won them over.... we drove past the gang from GLA while they were shopping at some street vendors & I pointed & yelled "Blancs, blancs". They laughed & warmed up after that.

Here are some pictures... sorry, I don't have any of the actual Feeding b/c I was working :)


The truck is packed & we're ready to go:


Driving... the white truck behind has more workers & the rice bags:


The streets of Port-au-Prince:


The streets of Petionville:


The crowds waiting:


The kids waiting:


Their houses:


Little boy VERY EXCITED to get one of Brendon & Taylor's cars:


As we drove away: