Exhausted!

Today was another great day in Haiti, although I'm exhausted.  Poor little Mich is still sick with a toothache, and we haven't been able to find a dentist for him.  He basically laid around most of the day and slept.  Dorothy put a warm compress on his cheek and started him on some antibiotics.  I think he started feeling a little better tonight because he was running around with a blanket over his head terrorizing the girls.

In the morning, I got out the dry erase boards to draw and write with the kids.  They are nice to use because then we don't waste any paper, and the kids have lots of fun with them.  I was helping Rosa to learn to write her name.  I wrote it several times and then she traced it.  Eventually, she started trying to write it herself.  I was so excited.  Of course she got her R and s backwards, but it was progress!  Claudine preferred to scribble rather than practice her name...another day I guess!  They both start school on Monday along with Johnny and Michelove.

While the big kids were having "French school" with Miss Audette on the porch, I spent the majority of the day downstairs with the 2 and 3 year olds.  Now, that is exhausting!!  There are 17 kids downstairs and they all want my undivided attention.  I usually end up with a child sitting or hanging off any body part they can get to.  Dorothy and I jokingly started calling the downstairs "The Lions' Den" today, ha!  Sometime next month, Mackendy, Sonson, and Frantzo will all start school for the handicapped so that will make things a little easier down there.  Dorothy is also trying to get Lovensky enrolled in school too.  He will turn 3 a week after it starts so hopefully he can get in to pre-k.  Emanuel is 4 years old and deaf.  He is quite the terror, which Dorothy tells me is completely normal for a deaf child.  I don't really have experience with deaf children, but Dorothy's son is deaf so she does.  He is constantly pulling, pushing, and grabbing all the other children.  I've been trying to teach him a couple signs (especially "no") but he never sits still enough to look at me.  Sometime soon he is supposed to be going with a Pastor who works specifically with deaf children in Goniaves.  That will also make things much easier down in the "Lions' Den".

Spending time downstairs does help me to learn Creole much faster because none of them speak English.  I've learned all the important words for working with 2 year olds:  get down, don't do that, sit down, silence, stand up, and of course "I love you."  They are a handful, but they really need the attention.  I'm hoping once the big kids start school, I can bring a couple little ones upstairs at a time and do some preschool activities with them.

I realized today that if I want to stay rested, happy, and mentally sane for the next three months, I am going to have to start taking a little time for myself here and there.  Living with this many kids makes it hard to find that alone time.  I noticed that Dorothy will sneak off to her room from time to time..now I know why.

I will be teaching Sunday school at Dorothy's church during my time here.  She volunteered to teach and then realized that she is too busy to find the time.  So, I offered to take her place.  I've never taught Sunday school before, but I am a teacher.  So, I think Sunday morning will be my first time driving in Haiti.  That is one of the most terrifying things, ha!  If you have ever been to Haiti, you know why.  Not only are the roads bad, but the traffic is insane.  There are no stop signs and it seems like no rules.  Thankfully, the church is not far from Dorothy's so it will be a good first experience (I hope).  I think she is excited for me to start driving so that I can take Chacha to school or run other quick errands for her.  She may be excited, but I'm not sure if I am!

I am hoping to be able to do some physical therapy with Youvendjii.  He is the newest addition to the family here.  He came with TB, sickle cell anemia, and malnutrition.  He spent three weeks in the hospital and had 2 blood transfusions.  He was extremely weak.  He is doing much better now and going to the hospital for TB treatment, but he is two and a half years old and cannot walk or crawl.  He scoots around on his bottom using his legs.  Here are a few pictures of him:

Overwhelmed (but still happy)

Today was an interesting day. In the morning, I spent time with the kids like usual. Then, Dorothy, Claudia, Miss Audette, Mich, Claudine, Johnny, Rosa, and I went to Petionville to do some back to school shopping. The nannies shop for the kids school shoes on the street because it is where they can find the best deals.

While they were on the street shopping, Dorothy and I went to the Digicel store to find a new cell phone for her. While we were in the store I was trying to read the signs in French, figure out prices in Goudes, and understand what people were saying. Suddenly, I felt very overwhelmed, and I've been trying to unwind all day. I think it is a combination of everything that I saw yesterday and being somewhere that I don't know the language or culture. It has been over a week since I got here and I'm realizing just how much there is to learn about life in Haiti. When I'm inside the safe walls of Dorothy's house, I feel like I'm adjusting and learning the language well, but as soon as we get out into the city, I realize how much more there is to learn. I start to look at the big picture, and get scared and overwhelmed. I realize that If I want to stay sane, I just can't do that. I have to take baby steps and just go day by day. But, for someone who likes to be independent, that is difficult. It made me feel slightly better when Dorothy laughed and told me she is still trying to learn the language, culture, and roads in Haiti and she has been here over 6 years.

When I was here in 2008, I didn't feel any pressure to learn everything about the country and language because I knew I would only be here for a week. Now, because this is something that I may do long term, I feel like I have to learn EVERYTHING. Luckily, I'm not homesick and I'm still having a great time. I just need to realize that I can't learn everything right away, and that's okay.

To take my mind off of things and unwind, I painted with the kids on the porch. They loved it. I'm not sure if some of them ever painted before. I had to laugh because the boys shared one set of watercolors and the girls shared another. When they were all finished, the girls' paint was still neat and clean and the boys colors were all mixed together in a greenish brown mess, ha!

Mich was pretty pitiful today. His face is all swollen on one side. We thought maybe his 12 year molars were coming in, but we looked in his mouth and it looks like a tooth needs to be pulled. I could tell he didn't feel good because he barely spoke all day, and he didn't want to play. Around dinner time, he came in my room and curled up on my bed. Mama Dorothy gave him some medicine for the pain and called the dentist. Unfortunately, there are no American dentists that we know of and the Haitian doctors don't always do the best job. The medicine made him tired and he fell asleep on my bed.

I've been trying to speak in what little Creole I know, as often as I can. I get so excited when I can talk a little bit with the kids and we actually understand each other. Dorothy said that Creole isn't really much of a language. It is basically French for the lazy person. The more educated people here speak French. It is the official language here, but since I took Spanish in high school, that doesn't help me much! It is a little difficult to learn Creole because there are few resources to help you learn. I'm glad that I have a Creole-English dictionary because it helps to have a visual of the words that I am learning.

I appreciate all of your prayers so much, friends!

 Look how swollen his little face is!  He has a tooth that looks like it needs to be pulled.  He was not feeling good at all.

 Mich fell asleep on my bed...poor thing!

 The kids were so happy to have popcorn and watch a movie before bed!

 Johnny, Rosa, and Mich in the backseat on the way to go get shoes for school.

 This is where we went shopping for school shoes.  The cheapest place to get them is on the street.

Little Johnny fell asleep drinking water on my lap during the drive home from Petionville.

An emotional day

What started out as a simple trip to the grocery store, turned into an emotional drive through Port au Prince. Dorothy and I left to go to Giant grocery store in Petion-ville. I had never been to that part of the city before. It's a nicer area with large stores and big buildings. Because it is so nice, Dorothy said there is a higher risk for kidnappings, which have become a lot more common lately. So, we kept our car doors locked on the way there.

Although I have only been in Haiti for a week, I was in shock at the grocery store. I felt like I was suddenly back in the United States again, except for the fact that everything was written in French. Giant (different from the US chain) is a two story grocery store...with an elevator! It seems like an oasis in the middle of a desert. It is basically like an American grocery store with name brand foods. It's very different from the other grocery store that Dorothy took me to last week. I haven't been homesick yet, but I've definitely felt far from home. It sounds silly, but I didn't feel so far away from home while we were in the store. Haiti suddenly didn't seem so bad after all. Then, we decided to take the long way home and explore....

The rest of the day is so incredibly difficult to describe. I didn't have my camera along, and it's probably for the best because there is no possible way that pictures can properly show the things that we saw. No words can describe what we saw as we drove through the streets where nearly 300,000 people were killed, but I will do my best. We drove to the place Dorothy was when the earthquake hit, where her car slid from one side of the road to the other and then back again. We passed dozens and dozens of pancaked buildings and crushed homes. We drove right past the President's palace, which is completely destroyed and still continuing to crumble more and more each day. We saw roads still closed and covered with debris. We passed both the national cathedral and the sacred heart cathedral which were destroyed in the quake. Every street that I looked down, I could see tent after tent. Many buildings hung precariously as if they would crumble at any moment. I thought Dorothy was going to be sick as we continued to drive, and I didn't even know what to say. I just looked around in complete astonishment. I knew that Port au Prince was still in bad shape, but the part where we live, it is not nearly as bad. Although I've been living here a week, I suddenly felt so sheltered. We drove right downtown and past the bay. I can't even describe the sights that we saw....it was too much for words. People going to the bathroom on the side of the road because there is nowhere else to go, people sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk, families living in shacks made of scraps of rusted tin, pigs and goats roaming the streets looking for food, little children knocking on our car windows begging for food, people walking the muddy roads without shoes, trash and debris everywhere. We were close to Cite Solei, supposedly the roughest part of PAP, where there is complete poverty and violence, so we decided to go home. We had seen so much...too much for one day.

I took these photos a couple days ago on the way to the hospital. Imagine these pictures as 5th Avenue in New York City:

In comparison, the things we saw today were like the worst slums you can imagine. I think that even the poorest homeless people in the United States have it much better than the people we saw today. Here I am, in the midst of it all, seeing it all firsthand, and I still can't wrap my mind around it. We went from Giant grocery store (comfort, pleasure, convenience, and a taste of home) to compete and utter devastation and poverty. It was like just as soon as I started to feel comfortable, God ripped me back into reality because that's what I asked for: a broken heart for the poor. And the poor are here, right in front of me, everywhere I look.


Be thankful for absolutely everything, everything, everything that you have. Even our garden sheds are much better than what most families are living in. Praise God for your food, homes, furniture, clothes, electricity, clean water, beds, shoes...everything. And pray for those who have nothing.

Lord, break my heart for these children...

Loving on the "big kids" downstairs.  There are just so many of them that they are starved for affection and attention, but they are all so happy!

 Little princess Leika.

 Sweet little Myson is so shy and quite.

 Miss Claudine is starting to come out of her shell for me.  I would like to teach her more English.  She's 5 and will start school soon.  She has been with Dorothy since she was a baby (I think).

 This is Wilson.  He's a big boy who LOVES to be held.  He has HIV, but is as happy as can be.  He can sometimes be a little bit of a bully to the little ones, ha!

This is little Guerdline.  She's so good at the pouty face.  She wants to be held constantly, and cries anytime that you put her down.  She came to Dorothy's after being taken care of by her grandmother.  She was living in the same village that Mich came from.  She was malnourished and too weak to even lift her head at 6 months old.
 

Today I woke up to the sound of Richardson and Michelove sitting outside of my bedroom window singing “We are the Champions” at 6:30 am. Needless to say, I started my day with a big smile. After I got up, I helped Richardson do his homework before school. He had to write his name several times. He's in kindergarten and school starts at 11am for him. Dorothy had to take Johnny and ser Jesula, a nanny, to the HIV clinic in the morning. The clinic takes a while, so we just dropped them off and headed home. We ran a few errands on the way home. After we got back, I started working on unpacking my suitcases full of supplies. Right now, there is no organized place to put things. So, I tried to sort and organize everything as best I could and find a place to store it in my bedroom for the time being. It was a little difficult considering that the kids love to pop into my room and explore all the things that I brought. I can't say that I minded too much. They get so excited when the see the paints, markers, and craft things.

It rained in the afternoon so we couldn't do much at the kids table. We usually do our crafts and things on the kid sized table, but since it is on the porch, it gets pretty wet when it rains. I decided to go downstairs and visit with the toddlers/big kids for a while. I love spending time with them, but it can be very overwhelming because they are so starved for attention that that bombard me. I usually end up with a child on each knee, one on my lap, and several more hanging off of any body part they can get to. It is both wonderful and exhausting.

Each day, I am learning more about all the children here. When you see them so happy and well fed, it is hard to believe their background. Most of these children were near death when they came to Dorothy's. Just three years ago, at ten years old even Mich was malnourished and very unhealthy. He comes from a very poor village. But, you would never know that by looking at their pictures. They have had hard lives. Dyana was telling me today, she and her mother and sister live in a tent. Their home was destroyed in the earthquake. It breaks my heart, but I keep praying to God that my heart will continue to break for the people here. I want to be desperate for His love and desperate to share His love.

Weekend Update

Because of the huge storm on Friday (in the video that I posted), the Haitian electricity has been out.  So, we have had to run the generator a lot more than normal.  It uses a lot of fuel so Dorothy tries not to run it for very long, so most of the day and night we are without power.  There is no telling when it will be fixed.  The storm was actually comparable to a hurricane, and killed and injured several people in the tent city that is near our house.  At church today, one missionary said his car was crushed by a tree.  Praise God that we were safe in our house during the storm!!  Dorothy just told me that there was a 4.7 earthquake here the day before I got here.  She said it was during the night and she did not even notice it.  There are many fault lines in this area.  I'm not afraid though because I know God is always with us here...he blesses us so much, and I know he will take care of us. 

Yesterday morning the boys and I worked in the yard cutting down the fallen banana trees (yes, with a machete).  We carried them into our “garden” to decompose and help the soil.  In late morning, two girls around my age came to stay for the day/night here at Dorothy's, Lala (LauraLynn) and Rachel.  They live in Gonaieves and have started a school.  They are in desperate need of teachers and were really trying to talk me into moving there after these three months at Dorothy's.  I am open to wherever God will lead me after this.  I would LOVE to be able to teach in a school here...so who knows?  It was nice getting to spend time with them.  Lala's Creole is great, and I hope that eventually I can speak it as well as her.

Dorothy spent most of the day trimming trees and bushes outside.  She was exhausted at the end of the day and realized that she was supposed to teach Sunday school today.  She asked me to cover for her.  So, I spent some time last night planning a lesson for her 5th and 6th grade class.  We ate sandwiches at a restaurant called Epi dor for dinner because we were all too worn out to throw something together here.  We had lots of fun at dinner telling stories (or in my case listening) about life in Haiti.  Dorothy has such a contagious laugh, and lots of funny stories to share.  The water pump was still not working right yesterday, so we were without water for most of the day.  Thankfully Lala was able to get it to work so that we could bathe.  When I went to bed last night, my bed was infested with small red ants.  Their bite is very painful and gives me red welts all over.  Needless to say, I wasn't too keen on sleeping in there!  I found that they were coming in through the broken electrical outlet beside my bed.  Lala helped me to find some ant spray to take care of the problem.  I just hope they don't come back!

Today I taught Sunday school for Dorothy and then we went to church.  It is a nice English speaking church with around 300ish people from all over.  After church, Dorothy and I had our lunch together and then she napped for the rest of the afternoon.   I spent the afternoon with Claudine, Mich, Rosa, and Richardson.  They LOVE spending time with me, and I enjoy it just as much.  We played with bubbles outside, colored with sidewalk chalk, read books in the living room, drew on dry erase boards, played Candy Land, and threw a ball around.  My favorite was reading with them.  Mich and Chacha both speak English pretty well, but the girls are shy and don't speak English.  While we were reading “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” I got the kids to say colors with me in both English and Creole and count in both English and Creole.  They liked pointing out the caterpillar on each page when I asked, “Ki kote caterpiller?” (Where is the caterpillar?)  I love learning Creole from them as I teach!  They are each so precious in their own little ways.

Last night, I overheard Rachel and Lala talking to Mich.  They were giving him some kind of a pep talk.  Finally after ten minutes he came over and stood next to me.  I saw him look over his shoulder to the girls and they gave him some encouragement and told him “Just tell her!”.  Finally, he quickly said, “Mwen renmen ou, Miss Katie.” (I love you, Miss Katie) and then plopped on the couch and covered his face.  It has been less than a week, and I'm so close to the kids already!

A quick prayer request is that I will stop tasting so good to the mosquitoes here.  I'm literally being eaten alive!  I haven't used perfume or lotion or anything!  Mich seems to think its funny of course.  He told me that he sent them into my room, ha!  Also, please pray that we can figure out the problem with the water pump or find someone who can fix it, and that the Haitian electricity will soon be working again so we don't have to run the generator as much.  Love and miss you all!

Week One

Visitors...A crazy day!

Today was CRAZY!  In the morning I taught the boys (Mich and Chacha) what a garden is.  I explained to them that I would like to make a garden for Miss Dorothy.  We got a shovel and a trowel and went to work.  For their age, Mich and Richardson are great helpers.  They love to help work.  Dyana eagerly joined in as well.  Dorothy has never been able to do much in the “yard”.  She has one area where she burns trash, but the rest is vacant, it just needs some work.  There was lots of trash to get out of the ground.  We dug up bottles, tin cans, and scraps of metal.  The boys had fun digging a big long piece of thick wire out of the ground.  I think when some men made a drainage ditch for Dorothy, they didn't bother to clean up after themselves, so we had lots to do.  It is also very rocky so we started making a pile of large rocks to get rid of.  While we were working, Chacha told me he is going to marry me when he grows up.  He said if he doesn't marry me, he will marry Dorothy and then Mich can marry me.  They are too funny!

After about an hour, a group of Canadians came to the house.  They thought that arrangements had been made for them to come for the day and help us here, but, we had no idea they were coming.  It kind of threw a wrench in all of our plans for the day.  There were about ten people in their group, and they wanted to play with the babies.  Needless to say, it was really hectic.  There were ten visitors, Dorothy and me, five nannies, the cook, two men working on the kitchen sink, and 28 kids!!  I spent most of the day running around playing hostess because Dorothy had other things to do and had to leave for a while.  The kids got lots of attention, but it was a very full house!

While they were waiting for their ride to get here, a huge storm came through.  It wasn't a tropical storm; it just came out of nowhere.  It was actually a little scary because Dorothy said she never saw one like it before.  At one point, we started to move everyone to the basement because it was so windy, but the wind slowed down.  It continued to rain for quite sometime.  It was actually really nice because it cooled everything down.  Dorothy and I were really disappointed though because the wind knocked down all of the banana trees in the yard.  One had lots of bananas on it so we are hoping we can save them and let them ripen inside.

Once everything settled down, Dorothy and I were able to unwind and relax up on the roof.  It was nice to talk and just enjoy the cool drizzle and breeze.  Because it was so insane here all day, I missed breakfast and lunch.  So Dorothy and I were pretty hungry.  We scrounged up some bread, frozen sauce, and spaghetti...it was a great feast.  I think it was the best meal I've had since I got here...Thank you God for such a great end to a stressful and long day!

As a side note, last night I was in Dorothy's room to plug into the internet (the wireless router has not been working).  She said, “Aw, I just saw the cutest little brown mouse scurry under my bathroom door!”  (I realize to everyone at home that probably sounds crazy, but here we share the house with lots of other critters...its just the way it is here.)  So, we chuckled a little because neither of the “watch dogs” noticed it go past them.  A few minutes passed, and I suddenly jumped and yelled.  I looked to the ground because it felt like I was just bitten.  What do you know?  That “cute” little mouse was next to my foot and scurrying away under Dorothy's bed.  That little bugger bit me on the toe for no good reason!  I never knew of an aggressive mouse before!  From now on I'm blogging with my feet up off the floor!

Day 2...So wonderful!

Hey guys! I had such a great day today! First thing in the morning Mich asked me, "Are we going to have lots of fun today?" That is exactly what we did! We colored with crayons before breakfast. After breakfast, Dorothy, Miss Audette,Jesula, Elizianne and I rode into the TB clinic again with 3 of the kids along. Yesterday they gave us the wrong TB medicine for Youvenjy, so there was a little problem at the clinic. It was eventually all straightened out and we got what we needed. While the nannies were trying to get the medicine at the clinic, Dorothy, Miss Audette (the nurse) and I took three boys to be enrolled in a school for children with disabilities. We were able to enroll MacKenzie, Sonson, and Franzo. We were also able to take all three boys for a special treat afterward...ICE CREAM!

Once we were back at the house, I did all kinds of fun things with the older kids. We colored with crayons, blew bubbles outside, and played with play-doh. It was so great! I got to know them all a little better, and they helped me learn tons of words in Creole. I am in love with these kids already and its only been 2 full days here!

After dinner, 7 of the kids piled onto my twin sized bed to watch a movie on my computer. I have a netbook, so its a really small screen...needless to say, we were pretty cozy. They are all so sweet with each other trying to see the screen. Only Chacha was getting frustrated that he couldn't see very well, haha. He is quite the character. Earlier in the day he threw a rock at a bird's nest in the tree outside Dorothy's bedroom window. She saw the whole thing happen, and he knew he was in trouble. He ran and hid somewhere and it took us about 20 minutes to find him...the little stinker.

I'm so thankful to God for this wonderful day of blessings. He is so good, and I see Him in all the kids here...they are so full of love!

 Left to right: Frantzo, Mackenzie, and Sonson on our way to get them enrolled into school

Mackenzie enjoying his krem (ice cream).  It was such a nice treat!

Rosa in pink and Claudine without a shirt playing with play-doh on the porch.  Both are orphans.  Rosa has HIV.

Dyana displaying what she made with Play-doh: "I love you Katie".  She is the daughter of one of the nannies here.  She is 12 years old and such a sweetheart.  She has been helping me so much to learn Creole!  Michelor aka Mich is sitting in the background.

My First Day at Dorothy's

This was typed last night, but I couldn't post it because the internet was not working.

Life in Haiti has been good so far, and I think I am adjusting pretty well. I know most of you don't know what it is like here so I will try to be detailed and explain everything as I learn. Today was my first full day here. I woke up around 6:30 and the house was starting to come alive. Babies were crying, the “big kids” were getting out of bed, and Dorothy and the nannies were in the kitchen gearing up for the day. Today Youvendy had to go the the TB clinic at the hospital. There is always a long wait to see the doctor, so you must get there as early as possible. Dorothy took Youvendjy, Jesula,(a nanny) and Elizianne to the hospital and dropped them off. While she was gone, I had the small task of washing a wheelchair that was given to us for Sonson, a boy with severe scoliosis and clubbed feet. I'm still learning where everything is, so I asked Mich (pronounced Mish) and Richardson aka Chacha (pronounced Shasha) to help me find a bucket. Chacha is pretty good at English because he is in 1st grade at TLC Barefoot school where they teach in English, but Mich sometimes has a little trouble understanding. They led me outside to where the clothes get washed and showed me a huge tub of water. I laughed and said, “No no a smaller bucket.” A few minutes later Mich found a plastic bucket for me to use. Next I asked for a wash rag, after a few more minutes of explaining what I wanted they were able to find one for me hanging on a clothesline outside. Then, I asked them for soap. They had to think a while on that one. They led me back over to the wash area and opened a big bucket of powered clothing detergent. I laughed and explained that I wanted it for scrubbing and cleaning. They were all out of ideas and tried asking the Haitian nannies for me. The nannies do not speak English, so it can be a little tricky for me to communicate. It took a few minutes but I was finally able to communicate what I was looking for. So, one of the nannies went into the pantry and came out with a cup full of the same powered detergent that they boys had showed me outside, haha! I laughed to myself as I took the detergent and put it in my bucket...it did the job. That whole endeavor took at least 15-20 minutes to get what I need to wash the wheelchair. I really need to work on my Creole, ha!

Dorothy has a Haitian cook that comes each day to make breakfast and lunch for everyone. For breakfast we had a dish (I can't remember what it was called) that was made of corn meal, flour, water, sugar, and vanilla. It was cooked over the stove. It looked like baby food, and it basically is because the babies eat it too. It wasn't too bad, and I try not to be picky. It's all just different and will take a lot of getting used to.

There are 28 kids currently living with us, so there is always someone to play with. :) A missionary from a rural area, close to the Dominican Republic border, stopped by to play with the babies. She was 26 and has been in Haiti for a year or so. She works as a house mom in an orphanage where they have about 100 kids. She plans to stay in Haiti permanently She was staying at Dottie's guesthouse down the road so that she could apply for her permanent residence card here in Port au Prince (PAP). She had to take a plane here. Although it is only a 30 minute flight, because of the mountains and conditions of the roads, it would take 8 hours or longer to drive.

After she left, I made myself useful by cleaning. Dorothy does not have a housekeeper on staff right now, so it is in need of some TLC and cleaning. I swept and mopped the floors in the hall and living room. When I put the mop into the water, some little roaches came running up the handle...that was a surprise, haha! As I was mopping around an indoor flower bed, I saw an enormous spider (probably about 2.5 or 3 inches wide) sitting on a rock...another thing I will need to get used to...eek! Later I saw a HUGE roach come scurrying out of the kitchen. Luckily, Rose (a nanny) smashed it with her shoe before it got too far. Apparently, there is a roach problem in the kitchen so we leave the lights on all the time and try not to keep anything laying out.

We had rice and beans for lunch.  After lunch, I ventured down to the basement for the first time. That is where all of the toddlers aka “big babies” stay most of the time. There are like 18 or so “big babies”. As soon as I got to the bottom of the steps, I was bombarded...and I mean bombarded, haha! The all came running over (or in Sonson's case, scooting) with their arms outstretched shouting, “Mama mama!” I immediately had a baby in each arm, one somehow climbed onto my back and was hanging off my neck, and there were at least ten pulling on my legs and surrounding me. I literally almost fell over! Thankfully the nannies helped get them under control so that I could sit down. The kids are so precious...I just don't have a big enough lap! Dorothy said one thing I can work on while I am here is teaching them manners, because they are a little overwhelming. While I was downstairs, I got to meet Diana. She is the 12 year old daughter of Claudia, a nanny. She comes along with her mother to help and play with the kids. She is such a sweetheart! She knows a tiny bit of English, and immediately complimented me on my painted finger nails and my ring. I would love to teach her some English in exchange for her helping me with my Creole. She helped me learn some of the kids' names (a big job, ha!).

Around 1pm or so, Dorothy and I left to pick Jesula and Youvendjy at the TB clinic. They had been waiting all morning and had still not seen a doctor. So, Dorothy drove me around to see some of the area. She showed me one of the UN camps, where they have nice air conditioned buildings. I asked her what exactly they help with in Haiti, and she laughed and said she isn't really sure. She said they spend most of the time working on projects for themselves in their camp and “peace keeping”. She told me of a story where friends of hers were about to be kidnapped and a UN police drove right by. They called out for help and the police did not even stop! There are so many stories and things I am learning about life here...if you can look past some things, it really is a beautiful country.

Finally after almost 2 hours of waiting, Youvendjy was finished at the hospital, and we were able to drive home. Unfortunately it was Haitian “rush hour”. Let me tell you...Haitian rush hour is unlike ANY rush hour in the US. I think I held my breath the entire time. It is insane...cars just driving all over, motor cycles weaving in between cars, people walking out in front of you. I only saw one stop sign, but no one stopped, ha! Words cannot describe how crazy it is. On top of that, I have no idea how Dorothy can find her way around...no roads are marked. There are random holes (big deep holes) in the road, and rubble and rocks. We got stuck trying to go down one road because it was blocked by a pile of rubble. It was so narrow we could not turn around. Dorothy had to back out with cars and people literally giving her inches of space. We actually hit a truck trying to get out, but around here, that is common, ha! All the cars are filled with dents. Dorothy has a standard shift truck and she rarely gets out of 2nd gear, haha! After we dropped Youvendjy off at home, Dorothy offered to give Jesula a ride home. She is pregnant, and was unhappy that she had to work late because the hospital was so slow. So, Dorothy was trying to make amends. Mich and Chacha wanted to come along for the ride. It was a LONG ride. She lives quite far away and the traffic was very heavy. We passed many tent cities and tin shacks along the way. It was 7pm and dark by the time we finally got home from all the driving. Poor Dorothy was exhausted from all the stress of driving, and the long day. So we each made a sandwich for dinner and retreated to our rooms to unwind and relax.

Honestly, I can't believe it was only my first full day here. It seems like so much longer, and that I've already learned so much. It is so different, so intense here. I like it, and I'm eager to learn about the culture and language. Please pray for me to adjust to the flow of life here and fit into the routine at Dorothy's.

I'm in Haiti!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to try and write a quick post. I apologize if doesn't make sense...I'm pretty tired. I am safe and sound at Dorothy's house in Port au Prince. The airport in Haiti was insane and basically a free for all, but I made it! It was raining when I got off the plane. Now it is just overcast and feels pretty nice. On the way home from the airport we stopped at a grocery store. While we were shopping, the power in the store went out...welcome to Haiti, ha! I was amazed at Dorothy's driving skills. It will take some getting used to the crazy driving here. When we got back to Dorothy's, I carried in my bags while she put the groceries away. The rest of the day/night is basically a blur of kids jumping all over me, haha. Richardson (6yrs old) was shy for about ten minutes, but that didn't last long...he has kissed me about 40 times tonight, ha! I am so exhausted that I just feel like I'm in a trance right now, so I can't wait to wake up refreshed and ready to go tomorrow!

TOMORROW!

Well, it is the day before I leave...FINALLY! It's so hard to believe that it's almost here! This past week has been a little difficult for me. My parents were away on vacation, so I was home alone for 10 days. I had hopes of using that time to visit with friends, finish packing, practice Creole, and plan some activities/lessons. But exactly one week before departure time, I was hit with a bout of vertigo. Anyone who has had this before will understand how awful it can be. I was so dizzy, that if I even so much as moved my head the room seemed to spin around me, and it made me very nauseous. At one point my balance was so thrown off that I even had difficulty standing and walking to the bathroom. So, I spent the majority of my week laying on my back trying not to move my head.

Although vertigo runs in my family, I have only struggled with it on one other occasion several years ago. I haven't been sick once in the past year. I don't think it's coincidence that this happened exactly one week before I leave for Haiti. I wholeheartedly believe that Satan was attacking me, however, I find it funny that he thinks I would be shaken so easily. Apparently he underestimated how much I trust and love my God. Yes, I felt sick, frustrated, and worried at times, but I'm getting on that plane regardless of how I feel because God told me to go. Despite Satan's attacks throughout this week, I have actually felt quite encouraged. The way I look at it, if Satan is attacking me, then I must be a threat. If I'm a threat to Satan, then I'm on the right track! The Lord has BIG plans for Haiti, and NOTHING can get in the way of that. So, bring it on!

Two weeks until I leave!

It is two weeks before I leave for Haiti, and several people have recently asked if I would update my blog. I have been busy organizing and packing all the school supplies. So far, I have packed three large suitcases. The heaviest weighs in at around 95 pounds! I have not packed my clothes or personal things yet, so those will all have to fit into my carry-on bag. Thank goodness I don't need too many clothes since it is going to be so hot there. Now that most of my things are packed, I plan to spend the next two weeks doing some lesson planning, getting any last minute things that I need, and practicing Creole (which I have been slacking on lately).


Many people have asked me if I am scared. To be completely honest, I'm not scared at all. I know that God has called me to Haiti and He will be with me every step of the way, so I really have no reason to be scared. Hopefully I can continue to have this fearless attitude as the trip gets closer!

Some thoughts:

I'm not going to Haiti with the expectation of changing a nation or being some kind of hero. I just want to put faith into action and do what the Bible calls all Christians to do: spread love and share the Gospel. With that in mind, I know that while I am in Haiti I will be blessed more than I will be a blessing. I will learn more than I will teach. I will receive more than I give. I will be loved more than I could ever love. With my own strength, I will not be able to do anything, but He will move mountains. I will have moments when I doubt and lose hope, but He will persevere.