Happy Un-Birthday!!!

We don't normally celebrate birthdays at H2H so we decided to have an Un-Birthday party for all of the kids!!  It was funded through the H2H gift catalogue and it was so much fun that we're hoping to do it annually!  

Each of the kids got a personalized present and we all enjoyed cake, cold drinks, cookies & other treats.  It was a fun evening and the teams enjoyed being part of the celebration.

 

Belo

It's been a whirlwind of activity at H2H the past few days.  Melanie's team is having a great time with the kids....

 

 And they have been joined by Bruce & Stan's team... who are doing their annual teacher training.  This year they have ~80 students.

They are also organizing the storage room in preparation for September... not easy work in this heat!

 

  

On a different note... Belo, the younger brother of 2 of our H2H kids, was brought here yesterday after several long days of "hospital hopping" with little result.  When I arrived he was being looked over by one of our nursing students and she suspected high blood sugar.  She whispered to me that his blood sugar was reading 30.9.  I swallowed my panic and lifted up a quick, but intense, prayer.  Less than 2 hours later Belo was on his way to a medical clinic which specializes in juvenile diabetes, and the staff were anxiously awaiting his arrival.  Seems too good to be true?  It was, and only God could have orchestrated the events.  The details of the story deserve more time than I have at the moment (power is a precious commodity) but I wanted to share a picture and a portion of an email my sister-in-law (who found the clinic on the internet and was able to connect us with them almost instantly!) got from the doctor shortly after Belo arrived at the clinic last night....

"The young man is at our facility and has already started insulin.  Our nurses will be up with him all night slowly correcting his glucose and acidosis.  He is in DKA and pretty ill, but I expect that he will make a full recovery.  You literally saved his life by getting him medical attention tonight." 

 Belo is reacting well to the insulin but it has to be administered to him slowly as his body is so weak.  He has a long journey ahead of him but he is in good hands at the moment. 

Let the fun begin!

Melanie & her team arrived yesterday & had a great day today hanging out with the kids:

Learning to make peanut butter:

The kids are enjoying the beginning of Kenep season:

It was a great way to start the week!

Ride to Survive

One of H2H's board members, Albert (& his wife Jolaine!), are participating in the Ride to Survive - a fundraiser for cancer research... a 400 km ride from Kelowna to Delta in 1 day!

I just watched the promotional video and was so touched by it that I wanted to share it with you.

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hn-7BuPNPU

Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAW9CUz8mXk

Cancer is something that touches us all... no matter what country we live in.  I have friends & family, both in Canada & Haiti, that have been affected by it.  The reason for the ride is powerful in itself but I was drawn to the conviction the riders have to donate their time & resources to make sure ALL of the donated money goes directly to cancer research.  It's easy to say we'd like to support a organization that has a low admin fee but being willing to make that happen is something else.

Albert & Jolaine - I have seen you make personal sacrifices over & over because of your love for your friends in Haiti and you are doing the same in this Ride.  The way you live your lives is inspiring to me & Renel and we are very proud to call you friends :)

Container

H2H has a great (& rare!!) opportunity to send a container to our compound in Haiti.  Much of the container is already full of items needed for the Children's Home & School but we have a bit of space left and Pastor Luc & his wife, Elna, have requested a few additional items; sewing machines, sergers, sewing material, industrial kitchen appliances, etc.

If you'd like to help, here's what we still need:

- Donations of sewing machines, sergers & sewing material (in good shape, as we don't have the ability to repair them in Haiti)

-  Donate money to help us purchase kitchen appliances & pay for the cost of the container

You can make your donation on H2H's website (www.hearttohearthaiti.com) and click "donate" on the right side of the home page.  You can then use your credit card via PayPal to donate and there is a "memo" section where you can let us know what the donation is for.

Please let me know if you have items to donate (I'll let you know where you can send them) or if you have questions.

Thank you in advance!!!

A week of fun with friends

This past week we hosted a team led by Roger (President of H2H).  Roger was my team leader when I first came to H2H in 2005 and this week brought back many memories for me of my first experience in Haiti.  The team consisted of several old friends (including some other H2H board-members); Shawna, Colleen, Wayne & Rachael.  We also got to meet some new friends; Andrew, Melody, Jill & Quinn.  They spent most of their time connecting with the kids & leaders of H2H but they squeezed in some other activities as well.  Here are some shots of them throughout the week.

Wayne & Andrew working on the horn of the truck:

 A caravan of 3 trucks (99 people!) went to the beach for the afternoon...

...and Jelani had his first claustrophobic moment!

Shawna had 2 seminars with the church community.  One taught us about personality types & how we can better relate with each other.  It was recorded by a local radio station and has been aired several times a day since so everyone is talking about what personality they have and what personality they wished their spouse had, LOL :)  The other seminar taught us about anxiety and how to reduce stress naturally.  Here is a picture of Shawna & Luc demonstrating how to reduce muscle tension by flexing each muscle group separately... they are currently demonstrating the "bum burn"...

...and here are some of the church members respectfully laughing at their Pastor! 

Hasannah had a few firsts this week as well.  She got sick from seafood and she flew off the merry-go-round... at least we got a cute picture before she took flight!

Happy Bouyon Day!

Today is Agriculture Day in Haiti and traditionally it is celebrated by making Bouyon (aka Haitian stew) using the root vegetables grown locally.  It is also a day off of school... what could be better for 100 kids than having the day off of school & eating a big bowl of goat bouyon for dinner!?!  It was a great day and here are some pictures.

The professionals tried to teach Maily to skip.

 

Hasannah, Komsly & Roodlay patiently waited their turn to get their ankles hit by the rope :)

Shella loved playing marbles & not having to braid her hair.

 

Djefarah pretended she was a Queen & didn't have to walk in the hot sun.

Anyday is a good day for a mango but it's extra sweat on Agriculture Day... according to Domeline anyways.

 Zachary proved he is a true Haitian... able to play soccer and eat a mango at the same time!

Jelani spent the morning with his god-mother, Rosena... she even let him dangle his feet dangerously over the edge of the balcony!

And most importantly, we made 3 huge pots of Bouyon...

...and every plate got a generous portion of goat! 

It was a fun day for all and an early night for most!  Happy Bouyon Day :)

A video reflection

Albert & Jason's team created a great video of their experience at H2H - thanks for sharing it with us Janelle!

If this video doesn't work for you, here's a direct link: http://youtu.be/-Ue4Yg1UHO8

The fun continues

After Albert & Jason's team, we had a team of newbies from Indiana... Mike & his kids.  They had a great time getting to know the kids at H2H and learning about the culture of Haiti.  The embraced the ciaos of the compound and even added to it with their balloon party!

 

We also have another visitor here - Julie.  She is originally from Quebec but is now living in Abbotsford... when she's not touring around the world!  She is spending a month with us at H2H and is creating a proper garden, as her background is in Agriculture.  Haiti's sun is good for gardens but not much fun for the gardeners!

These pictures are out of order but I wanted to include them because it's a first for us... we built a BBQ & roasted a pig with Albert/Jason's team!  The kids were skeptical about eating the pig but there was nothing left but the bones so I'd say it was a great success!

This week

This week we have a combined from BC, Canada and Indiana, USA.  Albert & his cousin Jason have been leading teams together for a few years now and their trips are always packed with improvements project and high-energy time with the kids.  Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to this week so far.

The church columns are getting ready to be poured:

 

A "rotting" tool shed came down:

The Guesthouse is getting some new furniture:

The kids are being spoiled with new clothes and lots of TLC:

On another topic... my daughter Hasannah is getting dance lessons from the kids... here's a bit of one I caught on video:

Grace Chapel Youth Group

This week we have a youth group from Grace Chapel, Nova Scotia, staying with us.  They were originally going to serve at another organization in Haiti but their plans changed 2 weeks ago and they are now with us!  We are having a great time together; painting, giving the kids much needed TLC and getting to know the country & it's rich culture.  The team is blogging each day and you can follow their adventure using this link:  http://www.gracechapel.ns.ca/grace/index.php/church/Haiti/haiti_trip_-_day_1/

Steve giving base guitar lessons to our base player, Paulka:

The students painting: