What started out as a “calm” day (as calm as a house full of kids/babies can be) ended up being BUSY! We had three guests from the MSI guesthouse visiting for the day. They played with kids and hung out around the house all morning. Around 1 PM, Dorothy got a call from the social worker at the HIV clinic. The little nine month old girl that was in the hospital was finally healthy enough to leave. Time to go get her!
So, Dorothy and I loaded up and headed to the clinic. We brought little Rose Michele and her mother home with us. Dorothy sat down with her mother and filled out paperwork. Rose Michele is nine months old and is TINY! She weighs only 9.5 pounds and has not gotten any of her baby teeth. She has HIV and is already on lots of meds. Her skin is very dry and she has a rash in various parts of her body. She just seems so fragile! Dorothy and I put a 6 month old onesie on her and she was swimming in it. I held her for a couple hours tonight. I'm in love! As I was holding her, all the kids came in to see what I was doing. Mich, Chacha, Rosa, Claudine, Johnny, and Mackendy all crowded around me to check out the new baby. She had been crying on and off for a while, but she got the BIGGEST toothless smile when she saw all the kids. It was a perfect priceless moment.
Later, Chacha heard her crying again and he came back to check on us. He ever so gently caressed her little head and gave her a kiss. Then he said quietly, “It's ok baby. Don't cry. You are my little baby and I love you.” He is six years old. How precious is that?! I need a camera crew following me around daily to get all these things on tape!
While I was busy comforting and rocking her, we got some more unexpected guests. Karen, a Canadian missionary friend of ours, came by with another child and her parents. The little girl is a year and a half and has very short arms and legs. I'm not a doctor, but from the looks of it, she looks like she has some type of genetic disorder or dwarfism. She seems to also be malnourished. We agreed to take her on a short term basis and see what we can do to help her health. She is also adorable! I'm not sure of her name yet, because the mother was very soft spoken. Both of her parents were along and I could tell that they really love her dearly. It was SO nice to see parents that care so much for their child!
So, with the two new girls that we got tonight, we currently have 30 children living in our house! The poor little girl (whose name I'm not sure of yet) is sleeping in a laundry basket tonight because we are running short on cribs! Lord, bless this crazy house!
Tomorrow, my mom will be landing in Port-au-Prince at approximately 12:40 PM! I cannot wait to see her and show her around my favorite place on earth and introduce her to the most amazing kids on the planet! SO EXCITED! In a conversation with Chacha tonight, I reminded him that my mom is coming tomorrow and that she would be here when he got home from school. He informed me that he was excited to see her and he didn't want to go to school. Then, he asked, “Is your papa coming, too?” I told him no, he can't come along. He asked me, “Why? Doesn't he know the way to our house? I really wish he was coming. He is beautiful and I want to tell him that I love him!” Again, why do I not have my entire life with these kids on film? Chacha got to talk to my parents on Skype a couple of times, and he has wanted my dad to come visit ever since. The kids here crave a fatherly figure so badly since they are being raised by all women. They LOVE when men come to visit and play with them.
Dorothy has been tracking the storm. This morning, the National Hurricane Center reported that is had been downgraded to a tropical depression. As of tonight (Wednesday night), it is back to “tropical storm” status and is expected to be closer to PAP that anticipated. It has sustained winds of about 45 mph. According the NHC, it should hit here around 2AM Friday and last about 12 hours. Prayers for that would be appreciated!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Update from the past few days
Our internet has been finicky again, and life has been busy as always...sorry for not posting! Honestly, the past few days are kind of a blur of play for me. With all the school aged kids home all day, I NEVER get a second to myself. When I do finally sneak away for a moment of rest, I can hear the kids scouring the house looking for me.
So, I will just try to write about some highlights from the past few days:
Sunday, the kids invented their own goofy chant for me. It all started when I lead them down to one of the sidewalks by the house and they stared chanting, “Miss Katie anba kay la.” Translation: Miss Katie is under the house. The chant changed several times after Chacha started shouting out new lines. After about half an hour, I finally ended them when they started singing “Miss Katie under the toilet. Miss Katie under the poopoo.” What do you expect from a six year old boy?
Sunday afternoon, Brenda and I were doing laundry outside. Claudine and Rosa managed to sneak up behind us totally undetected and scare the living daylights out of both of us. I thought that Brenda was going to jump right into my arms! The girls were so proud of themselves for starling us so badly, but they forgot that I was in control of the hose!
Yesterday, I brought Gerdeline upstairs to spend some one on one time with me. She will be two in February. Because we are such a full house right now, she spends most of her time downstairs with the older kids, mostly two and three year olds. Besides Rosa and Claudine, she is the only girl downstairs. So, I think she is lacking on TLC and girl time. I grabbed a couple of the Addidas track suits and a little pink dress that were donated last week and brought her into my room. We played dress up. The fun thing about living with so many little ones is that you don't have to use dolls to play dress up. You can use real kids, ha! Johnny felt left out of the fun and asked to try on the dress, too. It was TOO funny! I have pictures, but the internet is VERY slow so I will have to post them later.
Last night, Dorothy cut an avocado in half to have with our dinner. We left it sitting on a plate in the kitchen while we were in another room. When we eventually sat down to eat, Dorothy noticed something strange about it. It looked as if something had been nibbling on it. We examined it for a while trying to figure out who or what had been eating at it. Our first instinct was that a mouse had been after it (not uncommon here). It looked too big to be a mouse but too small to be a child. We forgot about it until the end of dinner when Chacha walked into them room smiling. Dorothy gasped and said, “Look at his teeth!” Sure enough, I realized what she was getting at. Since he lost a tooth last week, he only had one front tooth that looked a lot like the bite marks in our avacado. When she asked him about it, his face told all! He was the mysterious creature eating our food!
Today, when I woke up Dorothy informed me of the status of the tropical storm Tomas. We have been tracking it online for a few days now. She told me that from the looks of it, it will probably hit Gonaive (hour hours North where we have friends there) in the middle of the night on Friday. We will probably also be affected by it Saturday. From the looks of it, we don't think that it will hit us directly, but we will probably get the outer winds and rains from it. So, we sat down and discussed a quick game plan for gathering large Rubbermaid storage containers to box and move valuables. Tomorrow, we plan to go to run lots of errands stocking up on bottled water, food, and diesel fuel. Dorothy said if we get any part of the storm, we may be out of electricity for as long as a month. If the hurricane hits Gonaives, which is prone to severe flooding, that could mean shortages of water and fuel here in PAP. It is hard to tell what exactly will happen since storms like this can be so unpredictable. We are just trying to be prepared. My mom was scheduled to fly in for a week long visit this Friday. Because of the uncertainty of the weather, she actually changed her ticket to a day sooner just to be safe. So, lucky for me I get to see her a day sooner!
I have saved the best story for last. Tonight as Dorothy and I were eating dinner, we were watching Youvendjii in his crib. He will be 3 in February and has TB, sickle cell anemia, was severely malnourished, and cannot walk. We have been doing some physical therapy with him to strengthen his legs. As we were watching him, he pulled himself up into a standing position for the first time! I think he was as excited as we were! What a miracle! Praise God!
So, I will just try to write about some highlights from the past few days:
Sunday, the kids invented their own goofy chant for me. It all started when I lead them down to one of the sidewalks by the house and they stared chanting, “Miss Katie anba kay la.” Translation: Miss Katie is under the house. The chant changed several times after Chacha started shouting out new lines. After about half an hour, I finally ended them when they started singing “Miss Katie under the toilet. Miss Katie under the poopoo.” What do you expect from a six year old boy?
Sunday afternoon, Brenda and I were doing laundry outside. Claudine and Rosa managed to sneak up behind us totally undetected and scare the living daylights out of both of us. I thought that Brenda was going to jump right into my arms! The girls were so proud of themselves for starling us so badly, but they forgot that I was in control of the hose!
Yesterday, I brought Gerdeline upstairs to spend some one on one time with me. She will be two in February. Because we are such a full house right now, she spends most of her time downstairs with the older kids, mostly two and three year olds. Besides Rosa and Claudine, she is the only girl downstairs. So, I think she is lacking on TLC and girl time. I grabbed a couple of the Addidas track suits and a little pink dress that were donated last week and brought her into my room. We played dress up. The fun thing about living with so many little ones is that you don't have to use dolls to play dress up. You can use real kids, ha! Johnny felt left out of the fun and asked to try on the dress, too. It was TOO funny! I have pictures, but the internet is VERY slow so I will have to post them later.
Last night, Dorothy cut an avocado in half to have with our dinner. We left it sitting on a plate in the kitchen while we were in another room. When we eventually sat down to eat, Dorothy noticed something strange about it. It looked as if something had been nibbling on it. We examined it for a while trying to figure out who or what had been eating at it. Our first instinct was that a mouse had been after it (not uncommon here). It looked too big to be a mouse but too small to be a child. We forgot about it until the end of dinner when Chacha walked into them room smiling. Dorothy gasped and said, “Look at his teeth!” Sure enough, I realized what she was getting at. Since he lost a tooth last week, he only had one front tooth that looked a lot like the bite marks in our avacado. When she asked him about it, his face told all! He was the mysterious creature eating our food!
Today, when I woke up Dorothy informed me of the status of the tropical storm Tomas. We have been tracking it online for a few days now. She told me that from the looks of it, it will probably hit Gonaive (hour hours North where we have friends there) in the middle of the night on Friday. We will probably also be affected by it Saturday. From the looks of it, we don't think that it will hit us directly, but we will probably get the outer winds and rains from it. So, we sat down and discussed a quick game plan for gathering large Rubbermaid storage containers to box and move valuables. Tomorrow, we plan to go to run lots of errands stocking up on bottled water, food, and diesel fuel. Dorothy said if we get any part of the storm, we may be out of electricity for as long as a month. If the hurricane hits Gonaives, which is prone to severe flooding, that could mean shortages of water and fuel here in PAP. It is hard to tell what exactly will happen since storms like this can be so unpredictable. We are just trying to be prepared. My mom was scheduled to fly in for a week long visit this Friday. Because of the uncertainty of the weather, she actually changed her ticket to a day sooner just to be safe. So, lucky for me I get to see her a day sooner!
I have saved the best story for last. Tonight as Dorothy and I were eating dinner, we were watching Youvendjii in his crib. He will be 3 in February and has TB, sickle cell anemia, was severely malnourished, and cannot walk. We have been doing some physical therapy with him to strengthen his legs. As we were watching him, he pulled himself up into a standing position for the first time! I think he was as excited as we were! What a miracle! Praise God!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday Update
Last night, we finally had EDH, city electricity, for the first time in over a week. I woke up and was so excited because my fan was still on. Usually out inverter batteries run out during the night and I wake up sweating. I finally got a good night's rest!
In the morning, I drove six of the kids to our church where there is a playground. They had a blast climbing around, kicking soccer ball, and swinging. We couldn't stay more than an hour because we were all hot and sweaty.
After we got home, I spent the afternoon hanging around the house playing with the kids. We drew with sidewalk chalk outside on the driveway. At one point, we were walking out back and there was water running down the sidewalk from the laundry area. All of the sudden, Johnny plopped down on his belly in a puddle and started splashing. That boy LOVES water, haha! So, I went into the house and filled a five gallon bucket with water. Then, we all went outside and had a water fight. Johnny was sticking his whole head in the bucket. Naturally, all the kids went after me with the water. I think I was more wet than they were. Then, they all started stripping down to their undies right there in the drive way, ha! It was a hoot. Once again, the nannies laughed at me for walking into the house soaking wet. That seems to be happening a lot lately, ha!
Sometime in the afternoon, Mary and Emory stopped by the house with some guests they had just picked up at the airport. Mary and Emory are missionary friends of ours from Gonaives. That is where Aaron and Youvendjii are both from. So, they like to stop and visit them every couple of weeks or so to see how they are doing. They would still like me to go to Gonaives with them sometime soon and stay for a few days.
In the evening, I did a load of laundry. I don't know why (I guess its just because it involves so much water) but the kids LOVE to come play/watch me do laundry. I rarely get a moment to myself here, ha! Usually when I blog or need to use the computer, I have to tell them that I'm working and can't play.
Bigerson's dad came to check in on him in the evening. I thought it was really nice to see that he misses and cares for his son. I hope that he continues to come often to keep that relationship with his son.
Monday and Tuesday, the kids have off school for holiday and all the stores and public places will also be closed. It is the “Day of the Dead” and the Catholic “All Saints Day.” I don't know a lot about it, but it is the most popular Vodou holiday of the year. They honor the spirits of the dead and deceased, supposedly named Gede and Baron Samdi. Those who practice Vodou will congregate in cemetaries with Vodou priests and priestess to present offerings to the dead, burn Vodou candles, and dance. We heard from some parents at school, that they will pour coffee and alcohol on the graves for the dead. I read that the Vodou priests and priestess will often dance provocatively, sing, and perform rituals for the followers. I don't know how accurate this is, but I also read that certain Vodou followers are known for their sexual nature so their may even be fornication in the streets. If you ask me, it sounds like a hay day for Satan. Haiti could certainly use extra prayers on Monday and Tuesday.
In the morning, I drove six of the kids to our church where there is a playground. They had a blast climbing around, kicking soccer ball, and swinging. We couldn't stay more than an hour because we were all hot and sweaty.
After we got home, I spent the afternoon hanging around the house playing with the kids. We drew with sidewalk chalk outside on the driveway. At one point, we were walking out back and there was water running down the sidewalk from the laundry area. All of the sudden, Johnny plopped down on his belly in a puddle and started splashing. That boy LOVES water, haha! So, I went into the house and filled a five gallon bucket with water. Then, we all went outside and had a water fight. Johnny was sticking his whole head in the bucket. Naturally, all the kids went after me with the water. I think I was more wet than they were. Then, they all started stripping down to their undies right there in the drive way, ha! It was a hoot. Once again, the nannies laughed at me for walking into the house soaking wet. That seems to be happening a lot lately, ha!
Sometime in the afternoon, Mary and Emory stopped by the house with some guests they had just picked up at the airport. Mary and Emory are missionary friends of ours from Gonaives. That is where Aaron and Youvendjii are both from. So, they like to stop and visit them every couple of weeks or so to see how they are doing. They would still like me to go to Gonaives with them sometime soon and stay for a few days.
In the evening, I did a load of laundry. I don't know why (I guess its just because it involves so much water) but the kids LOVE to come play/watch me do laundry. I rarely get a moment to myself here, ha! Usually when I blog or need to use the computer, I have to tell them that I'm working and can't play.
Bigerson's dad came to check in on him in the evening. I thought it was really nice to see that he misses and cares for his son. I hope that he continues to come often to keep that relationship with his son.
Monday and Tuesday, the kids have off school for holiday and all the stores and public places will also be closed. It is the “Day of the Dead” and the Catholic “All Saints Day.” I don't know a lot about it, but it is the most popular Vodou holiday of the year. They honor the spirits of the dead and deceased, supposedly named Gede and Baron Samdi. Those who practice Vodou will congregate in cemetaries with Vodou priests and priestess to present offerings to the dead, burn Vodou candles, and dance. We heard from some parents at school, that they will pour coffee and alcohol on the graves for the dead. I read that the Vodou priests and priestess will often dance provocatively, sing, and perform rituals for the followers. I don't know how accurate this is, but I also read that certain Vodou followers are known for their sexual nature so their may even be fornication in the streets. If you ask me, it sounds like a hay day for Satan. Haiti could certainly use extra prayers on Monday and Tuesday.
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| What's so unusual about cows grazing on the playground? |
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| I'm surprised there were no goats. |
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| They loved the swings! |
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| Johnny |
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| Mackendy having fun! |
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| Chacha and Claudine |
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| Rosa |
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| Richardson |
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| Rosa loved spinning! |
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| Mich and Chacha |
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| Rosa and I on the swing |
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| Rosa and I |
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| Chacha, Mackendy, and Rosa |
Rosa
Today we were planning on going to a training seminar about how to help people who have experienced trauma in their lives. Those plans went down the drain when more quests unexpectedly showed up at our house again. So, we ended up staying home, entertaining, playing with kids, and working around the house all day. I'm exhausted again, and for the sake of time, I'm just going to write about Rosa. I realize I've written about her a little before, but I'm going to some more, ha!
As I mentioned before, Rosa is five years old and has HIV. She came here when she was four years old without Dorothy knowing much about her. After being evaluated by a pediatrician, it was determined that she was sexually abused. We do not know who did it or any details.
Fast forward one year.
When I arrived, it seemed like Rosa took to me pretty quickly even though she is usually quite shy around strangers. Since I have been here, I've observed some things. Any time that she is hurt (falls down, gets hit by another child, etc.) she goes into a "fit" as I've been calling them. The typical behavior each time is that she cries for a long time until I can finally calm her down. She usually does not want to leave my side. She doesn't talk. Any little noise or person talking to her may cause her to start crying again. She prefers to be somewhere away from other children where it is quiet. She walks as if she has pain in her genital area. She has trouble falling asleep, and once, she even wet the bed multiple times after having a "fit".
Dorothy and I have talked about it several times trying to understand what is happening to her during these times. The only theory I really have is that physical pain somehow makes her have some type of panic attack or flashback to her previous abuse. I don't know how to help her through it besides give her TLC like I have been. She does not speak English, and I speak limited Creole. So, that can make it a little difficult, too.
We would love to be able to take her to a child physiologist for therapy, but because we are in Haiti, that is not available. I have been laying hands on her and praying for a miraculous healing of her past abuse and her HIV. In the meantime, if anyone has any advice, please feel free to email me! Please keep her in your prayers often!
As I mentioned before, Rosa is five years old and has HIV. She came here when she was four years old without Dorothy knowing much about her. After being evaluated by a pediatrician, it was determined that she was sexually abused. We do not know who did it or any details.
Fast forward one year.
When I arrived, it seemed like Rosa took to me pretty quickly even though she is usually quite shy around strangers. Since I have been here, I've observed some things. Any time that she is hurt (falls down, gets hit by another child, etc.) she goes into a "fit" as I've been calling them. The typical behavior each time is that she cries for a long time until I can finally calm her down. She usually does not want to leave my side. She doesn't talk. Any little noise or person talking to her may cause her to start crying again. She prefers to be somewhere away from other children where it is quiet. She walks as if she has pain in her genital area. She has trouble falling asleep, and once, she even wet the bed multiple times after having a "fit".
Dorothy and I have talked about it several times trying to understand what is happening to her during these times. The only theory I really have is that physical pain somehow makes her have some type of panic attack or flashback to her previous abuse. I don't know how to help her through it besides give her TLC like I have been. She does not speak English, and I speak limited Creole. So, that can make it a little difficult, too.
We would love to be able to take her to a child physiologist for therapy, but because we are in Haiti, that is not available. I have been laying hands on her and praying for a miraculous healing of her past abuse and her HIV. In the meantime, if anyone has any advice, please feel free to email me! Please keep her in your prayers often!
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| Rosa goofing around on my bed. |
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| Rosa when her hair is not in its braids...CRAZY! |
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| Rosa and I |
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| This is Josue. He is about a year and a half now. When he came to Dorothy's, he was severely malnourished. His parents are dead and his aunt was caring for him. Just look at him now! He has got SUCH a personality! |
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| Look at Youvendjii pulling himself up onto one knee in his crib! We are so excited he is started to get stronger! |
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| He wants to walk so badly, and he should since he is 2.5 years old! |
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| This is one of the 2 enormous roaches that have taken up residence in my bathroom. |
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| Every time I do laundry, the kids come running so that I will spray them with the hose. Johnny loves it! |
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| Look at little Claudine (she's 4) standing on her tippy toes. I walked into the kitchen and found her washing all the dishes for us. SO SWEET! |
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Busy busy day
This week has been insane, and I'm feeling a little bit run down. We have had guests stop by our house everyday this week. Since Dorothy is so busy chauffeuring kids around, I have been the hostess. It is really nice meeting and getting to know so many people from all over the US and other parts of the world, but it can also be exhausting. Like yesterday, I spent today taking care of/playing with all the kids and babies and being hostess. I haven't been getting much sleep this week because we haven't had electricity for the fans at night, and I think my body is still trying to recover from being so sick. Needless to say, I'm exhausted! Prayers for rest and energy So, I will just share a little bit from the day.
One of the guests that was here today runs two daycare centers. It was nice talking with her about childcare. She was very impressed with how happy and well cared for our children are here. That was really nice to hear!
The little boy, Bigerson, that we got yesterday is MUCH more sick that we realized when he came home with us. He has HIV, and we just got an email from the doctor today about his counts. I am still learning about all the HIV meds and counts. Dorothy explained to me that his CD4 counts are around 150. For a healthy child, it should be somewhere around 1500. He has 1.4% of what he should have. What that means is basically that he has almost no immune system. We have an INCREDIBLY fragile child here. He could die from a common cold. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray that we can keep him healthy!
At one point in the morning, I was trying to get Richardson (6yrs old) to show one of the guests his loose tooth. He was being difficult/bashful (which is VERY unlike him, ha) and tried to hide his face on my shoulder. He put his head down so quickly that he bumped his mouth and shouted, "OUCH!" I laughed and said, "Hey, maybe you knocked your tooth out." I didn't actually think that he did until our guest noticed that he was bleeding. I told him to open his mouth. Sure enough, there was no tooth there anymore! I found the tooth on my lap, ha! It was the first tooth he has ever lost. Dorothy had tried to explain to him recently what would happen whenever he lost his tooth, but he looked so startled and confused today when it finally happened. It was quite comical! Eventually he got over it and was excited about the new gap in his mouth. He put his tooth in his pocket so he could show all his friends at school.
One of the guests that was here today runs two daycare centers. It was nice talking with her about childcare. She was very impressed with how happy and well cared for our children are here. That was really nice to hear!
The little boy, Bigerson, that we got yesterday is MUCH more sick that we realized when he came home with us. He has HIV, and we just got an email from the doctor today about his counts. I am still learning about all the HIV meds and counts. Dorothy explained to me that his CD4 counts are around 150. For a healthy child, it should be somewhere around 1500. He has 1.4% of what he should have. What that means is basically that he has almost no immune system. We have an INCREDIBLY fragile child here. He could die from a common cold. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray that we can keep him healthy!
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| This is Bigerson taking a nap with Brenda, the guest that is staying with us this week. |
At one point in the morning, I was trying to get Richardson (6yrs old) to show one of the guests his loose tooth. He was being difficult/bashful (which is VERY unlike him, ha) and tried to hide his face on my shoulder. He put his head down so quickly that he bumped his mouth and shouted, "OUCH!" I laughed and said, "Hey, maybe you knocked your tooth out." I didn't actually think that he did until our guest noticed that he was bleeding. I told him to open his mouth. Sure enough, there was no tooth there anymore! I found the tooth on my lap, ha! It was the first tooth he has ever lost. Dorothy had tried to explain to him recently what would happen whenever he lost his tooth, but he looked so startled and confused today when it finally happened. It was quite comical! Eventually he got over it and was excited about the new gap in his mouth. He put his tooth in his pocket so he could show all his friends at school.
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| Chacha was not quite sure what to think about that tooth in his hand, ha! |
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| Look at that toothless grin! |
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| Josue is such a character! |
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| This is Leika taking her first steps yesterday! |
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