God Moments with godly people in HAITI

I have shared the major events over the weeks of our Mission trip to Haiti, but so much more happened in between all of those events. I met so many wonderful godly people who were on a missions trip as well. I think there was approximately 131 missionaries from  the United States ,40 people from Manitoba and then our group of 9.  All amazing people who were called by God to be HIS hands and feet in Haiti for a 10 day trip.

Each morning we started our day with a time of worship and devotion at 6:45 a.m. The ladies that lead the devotion and worship time in the morning BLESSED me and MADE my day. They were 3 sisters from Georgia. The very first morning they stood up and just shared the joy of the Lord. The one sister started by saying "THIS morning I woke up and the LORD was downloading songs into my heart. HE was down loading them one after another. The Lord also gave me a new name this morning. My name is JOYCE but this morning he called me REJOYCE"

I Love it! I loved their enthusiasm. She shared how easy it is to share your smile with others and went up and down the aisle smiling and gesturing like she was throwing it into the pews.

How could you not be HAPPY and ready to start the day with REJOYCE and the LORD! These sisters sang and ministered to our hearts each morning. Sadly one of the sisters became sick with pneumonia while we were there but that didn't stop them from doing what they were called to do.

REJOYCE and I. What a blessing

Another beautiful lady who made my trip more special! This woman had such a positive attitude. Her luggage did not arrive until the day before we left. Not one complaint. Loved her

In the evening after dinner we would gather together to share a long time of worship, a devotion and then sharing what the Lord had done in our day.

It was so inspiring to listen to the many different people as they shared.

There was one team there who was doing a church plant in a town close by. They were there to build a church and help establish a congregation. Normally it takes months for buildings to go up. Not just because of the work, but it often takes anything being shipped months to arrive. It will get caught in customs etc. Not in this situation. Prayers were answered minute by minute as they built a church building. Marriage courses and bible studies were being offered to gather people while others did the actual building.

Another mission team was there to do weddings. Many Haitians would like to get married but cannot afford the 10 dollars for the license let alone a reception and dress etc. This team came in and preformed weddings for a number of couples. They brought the dresses, the suits, the pastor, the flowers and arranged for the food and music etc. Made the dreams come true for a number of Haitan couples.

I mentioned a few times that there was a medical team that was there. They did not all come together knowing each other but came because they felt called and became a team for this 10 day period. On one of their days they decided that they would go to huts farther away from the mission to see if anyone needed medical help. They said they mostly went with barely any antibiotics and a handful of tylenol but went with the Lords leading. They arrived at one hut to ask if they needed medical attention and they said that their dad is not well inside. They went inside to find a man dying of aids. He was in the end stages of aids and also had  typhoid. They carried him down the hill and found a tap tap (truck) and loaded him into that and brought him to the mission clinic/hospital. There really wasn't much they could do for this man, but at least they were able to make his last days here on earth more comfortable. He could die being cared for, in a bed, maybe in less pain than he would have been on the dirt floor of a small straw hut. A GOD moment. they could have gone to any hut, but were directed to this one.

Another group shared how they went to the big prison in Port a Paix one day and spoke with the prisoners and the following day went to do hut to hut evangelism. Its where you go to the different homes and bring food, share the gospel and pray. One hut they went to they asked if they could pray for this family and the woman shared how her husband is in jail in Port a Paix for two years and she hasn't seen him or heard any news from him for almost a year. This group was able to say we were there yesterday and saw your husband. ONLY GOD could orchestrate such a meeting.

Many people shared new found passions that God has revealed to them through this time.
I cried each time my grandchildren went and shared about their day, but the proudest moment was when my grandson Ryley went and shared about his day. He has aspergers so just having him go up was because of God! He also made a commitment to the Lord while we were there. It was very emotional .

God also place a wonderful woman by the name of Debra on the back of a tap tap with me. Debra and I shared bits of our lives with each other and I realized she was not sitting by me by accident. She had a heart for prayer and for people in ministry. An amazing godly woman who blessed me with her prayers and her heart! God placed her there for a purpose and I was BLESSED.

Debra was there with a woman who was 80 years old. AMAZING!!!! Nothing kept her from serving. It was so hot there and could be physically exhausting but this woman lived the scripture "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me ". She took away any excuses of AGE!

The director Melonnie was amazing and wore her heart on her sleeve. Her love for the Haiti people was evident in everything she did. I shared a few times about her heart for the women from the brothel and God was already working and answering prayer while we were there.

There are interns there, young adults who volunteer their summer to look after groups of people. Each group is assigned an intern who takes us on our missions and answers questions etc. Our interns name was Kelly and she was very sweet. Such an amazing experience for a young person. Shyla has decided that this is something she would like to do and after being there I totally would give her my blessings to spend 3 months there.
.

Moment after moment, person after person GOD revealed himself through them, through us, through his Creation. Haiti appears HOPELESS when you arrive there.  

1 Corinthians 13:13 says these three things remain, Faith hope and love but the greatest of these is love. I saw these things in the Haitians. They have FAITH and they have HOPE BUT  the GREATEST thing they have is LOVE and it was shared so openly !

Day 9 The BLOOD the SWEAT and the TEARS

Today is our last day at the Mission. As exhausted as I was everyday , on this day I feel like I did not DO enough and See enough! I am not ready to leave. This is a far cry from my first night here when I thought I will never make 10 days here. Thinking the time would go so slow, and now here I am wondering where the time went.

This morning I went to work in the clinic. The Mission has a clinic on site and Mon-Friday people start arriving about 7:00 a.m. lining up to see the doctor. There is one doctor on Staff here and then other doctors and medical staff  come as a missions team to help out.

There is also a dental team today in the clinic that have traveled from the States to work in the clinic.

I was quickly given a job when I went in. I was in charge of taking blood pressures and temperatures for all the people coming in. It was an easy job as the blood pressure is electronic and gives a reading. I enjoyed it and the time went by too quickly.

After that I went to help clean wounds etc but there were two nurses and interpreter in there so I became the "gopher" and person that handed them the items they needed. I wished I could be of more assistance , but this week they are blessed with an experienced team.

I am sure for the medical team this is such a primitive clinic. IT is in rough shape and you are limited on meds, equipment and other items. Everything is donated. The prescriptions we bring for ourselves are left behind for the clinic. I have a friend who is a VET so she donated bandages and gloves and other medical items for me to bring there.

There was a man who was in who had wiped out on his motorbike. Minor accident , but still required stitches, that were done in his eyebrow WITHOUT freezing.

Another young man who had a huge chunk of his foot and tissue missing on the bottom of his foot. When they took the bandages of you could smell the infection. The nurses cleaned it but he was going to have to see the doctor because it looked bad and needed more than just a cleaning.

I wish I could have stayed all day but with an already trained volunteer team there , I quickly ran out of work to do.

the waiting room at the clinic

the clinic

treatment rooms at the clinic

the roof in the halls

I went over to the nutrition center to play with the kids and say goodbye to them. As much as I love the nutrition center I am once again overwhelmed. Today they know we are leaving so the demands for help is greater. I am feeling bombarded and helpless. My little friend Nadesj's mom is asking me for money saying her daughter needs books for school. Sonny the young man I met a few days ago is again asking for money to get to port au paix. They want my shoes, my phone number, my address, whatever might help them. It is such an awful feeling knowing you cannot give them what they are asking for. It is not safe to give out personal information. It will cause problems to give them money because if you give to one you have to give to all. I did go and speak with Melonnie the director about giving money to Nadesj for school books, but I was told that she is "sponsored" and in that sponsoring she is given school books. I know they need help, I even considered sponsoring Nadesj but knowing she is already sponsored made me feel better.

As I mentioned in earlier blogs I did bring shoes and clothes and other items that will be given to those in need by the CENTER but it breaks my heart to have to say NO to those who are asking me for help. All I can do is tell them to ask the Mission.

I was over stimulated and needed a break so went up to the Mission to help paint until lunch time.

After lunch we went to GRAN MOUN, which is the seniors center at the Mission. I am in love with the people there. I am now sorry I didn't come here earlier because it was such a blessing to be with them. Many of them have a hard time seeing because of cataracts. I recently read there is a high occurrence of cataracts in Haiti because of the sun.
 We played a bingo game with the men and women and then helped them decorate some cookies with icing and sprinkles, help them make sun visors and we bought them bottles of Coke which is such a treat for them.
I have never felt so much love and appreciation from anyone in my life.  They treated us like we just gave them a million dollars. So many hugs and kisses. Once again I am overwhelmed, but this time in a different way. I didn't want to leave. Once again I am in tears! I am crying so hard  that I can't even talk about whats going on. I don't want to go home! I don't want to leave the seniors center. I WISH I came here more often.
Maybe I am feeling so overwhelmed because I know its my last day! Maybe? Or could it be  I have fallen in love with the people and with Haiti? I have also realized that this is a new passion for me. Its interesting because I have always said I can't work with special needs children or seniors and YET here in HAITI these are the people who have stolen my heart. These are the ones who FILL me with JOY. Who,when I am tired and overwhelmed from the demands from everything else, these are the people who can re energize me. I am in LOVE and HEART BROKEN all at the same time.
I hug and kiss each of them goodbye and then cry all the way back!

this is the kitchen they cook in at the seniors place

drinking their COKE

Another group on the Mission have planned a PRINCESS PARTY for the women from the brothel. They were concerned that the women might not come. These women do not feel loved or worthy of love. They are outcasts because of what they do. Melonnie the director of the Mission has a heart for these women and her mission is to make them feel loved and let them know they are VALUABLE.

Some of the women from the brothel said they couldn't come to the party because they had no shoes. That was taken care of because shoes had been donated to the Mission so they brought them to the women.

I decided to pop in and see how the Princess Party was going. I looked in and all the women from the brothel showed up for the party. They also had their children with them. They all looked so happy. The church on the Mission was decorated with streamers. Tables were set up and decorated. Delicious treats and fruit were served. Songs were sung to them and then they sang songs to us. It was beautiful and such an answer to prayer. Relationships are being built. Trust is building. LOVE is felt. All because of a woman's desire to reach out to these women and because of people willing to be obedient to GOD and SHARE HIS LOVE to those who don't feel LOVED!

Next on our agenda is to go across the street and do a bible study for the street kids! The "Bracelet Bandits". We were supposed to do one a few days ago but postponed it because of an incident there ,where a woman was knocked down when she was handing out candy. There were about 40 kids on top of her and guards had to whip the kids to get them off of her
Today we are going to do our study. The boys already know because Christine and Brian have been inviting them and telling them about it. We are not sure who will show up, if anybody, but we are excited. We decided to do a bible study on NAMES and how GOD knows our NAMES and EVERYTHING about us. We have been impressed with how well the boys remember all of our names and so many have remembered Christine and Brian from their trip two years ago.
These boys make their money remembering names and writing names and making name bracelets so we are excited to share what God says in His word.
While I search for scripture Christine and Shyla have given up their goal to make bracelets for the boys, instead they make rings for them.

The scripture I came up with is

Psalm 139:13-16

13 You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. 14 I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day [of my life] was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place.

We let them know that GOD knows THEM. He created them and KNEW everyday of theirs BEFORE they were born.

LUKE 10: 20 REJOICE THAT YOUR NAME IS WRITTEN IN HEAVEN
DANIEL 12: 1 b there  will be a time of trouble unlike any that has existed from the time there have been nations until that time. But at that time your people, everyone written in the book, will be rescued.
Psalms 147:4 He counts all the stars and calls them by name.
Matt 10:30 And the very hairs on your head are numbered . Do Not be afraid you are more valuable to him than a flock of sparrows. 

So basically we are saying GOD knows them every detail including the number of hairs on each head. If he cares for the sparrows , he will take care of them. HE has called them by NAME. He LOVES them and has a plan.

 We decided to go up on the roof of the church for our study. About 24 kids showed up for the bible study. They listened and were well behaved. We gave out the rings and many of them were thrilled with them. They proudly put them on. 
They felt pride that Christine acknowledged them and their skills and craft. 
We brought candy to hand out and thankfully the crowd was small and Brian was able to keep them under control. Christine was getting surrounded and pushed and was feeling overwhelmed but Brian did crowd control very well.

the stairs to the roof of the church

We hung out with the boys for awhile. At the beginning of the week my Weslay had asked me for my water bottle. Sadly the one he asked for was stolen at the nutrition center but I had another one that I had filled up with water and gave to him to keep. 

I really loved spending time with him during the week. He was one of the first people I met when I came to the mission and he took it upon himself to look after me when I was out in the town and he saw me.. HE would stop others from harassing me and when we walked he would help me or clear paths for me.He would move my hair from my face and wipe the sweat from my brow.  He called me MOM and by the end of the week I had 5 NEW sons from the bracelet bandit group but he was my favorite!! 

Back to the Mission to pack up. We have to be up at 3:00 in the morning to head out to Port a Paix. We have a LONG day of travel ahead of us! 

What a great day! I continued to cry off and on through out the evening. I have been BLESSED beyond measure. I have watched God work in big and small ways. I have heard HIS voice. I have been humbled as He used me to be His hands and feet. I am glad I am going home but wishing I could stay longer. I don't want to lose this feeling! This closeness to God. This thankfulness for my life! I WANT TO DO MORE FOR HIM and for OTHERS.

My first blog was about this Princess being Dethroned. I a glad I was dethroned. I know I am still a Princess, but I am humbled by this experience. 

Day 8 The wrong child in the right place at the right time

Today we are going to  Bono which is a small town about half an hour away from St. Louis du Nord. A beautiful playground was donated in Bono for the town kids and we are bringing the special needs children from the Miriam Center to play there today.

The plan at the Miriam center for outings is you go down to the center and wait for the children to pick YOU. You dont' pick your child. The kids will walk or crawl or wheel towards those they feel attracted to. I heard many people share how anxious this process made them feel. What if you DON'T get picked? WHO is going to pick you? will you be comfortable with the child who picks you? All valid points. My plan was if I didn't get picked I have been with 3 different children this week and would take them. I didn't have to worry about a back up plan. As soon as I entered the Miriam center Natalie came running up to me and grabbed my hand and brought be to the basket of shoes. I WAS PICKED. I was on the team LOL! As we were putting on her shoes the director came up to me and said "Are you planning on taking Natalie? We weren't planning on letting her go. She is a runner, but if you are willing to watch her we will let her go"

As i was getting ready to go i saw my MOISE and he was reaching out for me. I asked if I could bring him and I would give Natalie to Shyla or Christine. Sadly Moise could not come with us. So its Natalie and I.

We all boarded the bus and made our way to Bono. It was a long BUMPY ride. There is no way to describe these roads. They really aren't roads. trails with cement and rocks is the closest description. they really have to be experienced.

We arrive in Bono half an hour later and true to what Heather said about Natalie being a runner happened. Natalie was not interested in playing on the playground equipment. She wanted to walk, so we did. All of a sudden Natalie lets go of my hand and she is running through an open field. I am running after her and yelling to Brian to help head her off at the path. Thankfully Natalie stopped so she could pick up mangos to throw them and i was able to get her under control.

Shyla brought Minuche who is in a wheelchair and was having a hard time pushing the chair or giving her water etc and was just uncomfortable with the care it took for her so asked if we could trade children. I had my run for the day so was all up for having a child in a wheelchair that i knew wouldnt' run in a large rocky field .

Minuche and I painted our nails. I carried her to the slide and took her down the slide. We played and watched Cayden  play soccer  with kids from Bono , and played games with some of the town kids. It was a great day. The best feeling of all was having Natalie fall asleep beside me and Minuche sleeping on me. I was so hot with both of them on me but loved the feeling.

the selecting process. She was picked. the rest are waiting

Minoche |(sp) 

Shyla doing Natalie's nails

Maggie doing Rosalies nails

Cayden playing soccer

When we got back to the Mission we had a late lunch. there was a little girl sitting at our table. She had come in from an orphanage near by. They brought her to the Mission because apparently someone on the mission trip  had been sponsoring her and wanted to meet her in person.

She would be sponsored in the same way as you would sponsor a child through  WORLD VISION or COMPASSION. So the family on the Mission trip made arrangements for their sponsor child to come and spend the day with them.

When this little girl arrived the family reported that this was NOT the little girl they were sponsoring. A disappointment to the family and probably the little girl who was left behind, but for this girl it was her lucky day.
As we were sitting with her Christine said "mom look at her ears. They are filled with pus." This poor little girl had clearly had a bad ear infection and her ears perforated. I went and spoke with the nurse who told me to speak to one of the doctors that were on the medical mission team. I got him brought him over. He went and got some meds and told me how to clean her ears and administer the drops etc. I love medical stuff. Love pus and blood and gore. So I was in my element getting her all cleaned  up.

After Christine and I were talking and she said how this was a GOD MOMENT! There are no accidents. There are things that appear to be accidents and mistakes. If one were to look we would say "the wrong child was brought to the mission." But was the wrong child brought?? Maybe for that family, but not for this little girls. She was able to have a great lunch. She had lots of attention from all the people there. She had a nap in the cool shade of the Mission. She had her ears cleaned and had medicine to take back with her to the orphanage. She was the wrong girl but in the right place at the right time. How amazing for her!

I ended the day feeling so good. I was in heaven with sleeping children on me. I was used by God to bring Aid to a child and once again I went to sleep utterly exhausted but filled with JOY!

If you are interested in sponsoring a child through this mission go to .www.nwhcm.org you can sponsor a child or donate a one time gift to the Mission. there is a suggested monthly amount but that can be less if you can't afford what is suggested.

Day of REST

Today is Sunday our day of REST. We have church service across the street where the people from St. Louis Du Nord come and worship. The church is not very big and it is very hot inside so we brought chairs across from the mission to sit outside the church by the window. There aren't glass panes in the windows they are just cut out windows so we can listen to the service from the outside.

We are able to bring kids from the Miriam center with us to church. I did  not bring anyone but Kitty and Maggie brought a little girl name Rosealie and Shawna brought Kim with her.

Kim

It was so beautiful watching the people from town coming into the church. They are all dressed up so beautifully in their finest clothes. The little girls have beautiful frilly dresses and their hair is all perfect in braids and beads and ribbons. These people appear to be a better off financially then the people I have seen so far, but still very poor.

The church service was 3 1/2 hours long. The majority was in Creole , the message was in English but with a Creole interpreter.
I loved watching the Haitians worship. They were so beautiful and you could just feel their love for God and the earnestness with which they prayed and worshipped.

Kitty and Maggie had a bit of a scare with the little girls they brought with them. They were inside the church and the little girl ended up having a seizure. Shyla ran out to get me. There was a pediatrician a few seats down from me so i told her about the little girls. She went into the church and brought her out. She was fine but it scared the girls.

The Mission is run on a generator and the generator broke today so we have NO water. None to drink, none to wash or flush toilets with. and it was VERY hot today. There was bottled water to buy so I bought a few bottles so I wouldnt' get dehydrated. Towards the end of the day even the water was selling out.

I decided the best thing to do would be to sleep. It was too hot to do anything and with no water etc sleeping sounded like a great idea. So that's what I did.I really needed the nap and some me time!

So we have already been here a week now. I mentioned in my first blog that our biggest challenge was with flights etc. And how God answered prayers and by the end of today he answered one more regarding our flights.
Back track to when we left on July 1 . We arrive at Edmonton International Airport. A lady tried to fast track us by using the small computers in line but she realized that it wouldn't work because by the time we hit Haiti we are switching airlines. So she told us to wait until we get to the counter. We get up to the counter and they are going to charge us 26.00 per suitcase, not carry ons and 100.00 for bags over 50 lbs. We are bringing a lot of supplies to Haiti like pancake mix, shoes, clothes, medical supplies etc, so our bags are over 50lbs. They told us they will wave the 26.00 per bag because we are going on a mission trip but they can't wave the overweight charge. Christine and Brian reshuffle the contents of their bags amongst all of their suitcases  and Shyla and I reshuffle bags so that all of our bags are underweight. Shawna is not able to shuffle her bags so she has two suitcases that will cost 100 dollars each. Just as she goes to pay for them the computer system goes down and the lady said this is your lucky day! The system is down so I won't charge you! THANK YOU GOD!

We are off and running, well not really , it took us a good 3 hours to check in . Finally on our way. We arrive in Miami at 11:59 p.m. where we wait for a shuttle and get to our hotel close to 1:00 a.m. Our plane leaves at 7:00 a.m. so we will have to be back in the lobby at 4:30 in the morning. So really only a shower and a nap is all we have time for.

At 4:30 we go down to the Lobby and see a SEA of people wearing the same shirts as us.They are all headed on the missions trip.  There are at least 60 people waiting to catch the shuttle to the airport. Not a big deal its close by we will have lots of time.

We arrive at the airport by 5:00 or shortly after 5:00, here is where more prayer is needed. Shawna and Shyla and I are told we do not have flights to Haiti. Our flights are only to Miami and back to Edmonton. The flights were cancelled on JUNE 30 by UNITED airlines. I am not sure how that is possible as we flew out on JULY 1. They also pushed our suitcases through to Haiti, so our suitcases have a flight but we do not. I think it had something to do with the lady who tried to check us in with the little computer and then we had to go to the desk where the lady there deleted a bunch of stuff and entered other things. Somehow we ended up cancelled.  The lady said its impossible that your suitcases would go ahead if you are not on the flight but we have you cancelled. by now it is 6:30 a.m. Christine and Brian are now going through security and she is asking me what she is supposed to do. I tell her to carry on and we will work it out. I am praying the whole time. Finally the lady says I will put you on stand by and push you through to Haiti and when you get there tell them they need to work on your flights home because as of right now you have no flights home.
Thank you GOD once again. We get through security in record time and wait to see if we can get on the plane. YES!! we are on. Thank you again!
When we arrived to the Mission we tell Melonnie what happened , she said they will work on getting us our flights home. AS of this morning we had NO FLIGHTS home YET. A week later and they can't seem to get us a flight home.
I am not as concerned about it. I was more concerned going to Haiti and missing flights and not being with Christine and Brian because I had no idea what I was doing. If I had to stay in Haiti a few extra days I am fine with that because I now know how things worked etc and was comfortable with the situation and where we were.
I texted Bill and asked him to pray that we would get flights. He had the church pray for us that morning. By 8:00 Sunday evening we had confirmation that we had flights home and we're on the same flights as Christine and Brian. Once again God came through! our prayers were answered.

Thankful for my life

Day 6 started off to  be another campus day. We waited for the Nutrition program but then realized it was Saturday and the nutrition program only runs Monday to Friday. I decided to go back to the Miriam Center. As soon as I walked in an able bodied girl grabbed my hand and pulled me so I followed her. She brought me to a basket of shoes and pulled out a pair of white crocs that were a few sizes too small and squished her feet into them, she grabbed my hand and pointed to the door, so out the door Natalie and I went. We walked around the mission for about an hour and a half with Natalie giggling and waving each time we passed the Miram  center. Yelling BYE BYE and then laughing again. All she wanted to do was walk. She couldn't really talk . I suspect she was Autistic.  Heather the person who runs the center told me that Natalie will never get tired of walking so when I am done to just bring her back. So I finally brought her back into the  Center and we played ball for awhile until she got bored and wondered away. As I was leaving I saw the same little boy that I took out yesterday and he recognized me and started squealing and blowing on his hand. I found out his name is Moise. I picked Moise up and put him in a wheelchair and off we went to play. We sat and I sang and played and made noises with our hands and mouths. It was so enjoyable.Awhile later I brought Moise in so he could have lunch and when I left him there he cried. It broke my heart.

MOISE

I was asked if I could help make neck pillows for the Miriam center so spent some time sewing. I am not the best sewer but could certainly do this task. They used the pillows for the kids in wheel chairs to support their necks a little and also for those who need tummy time on the ground. The pillows look like the nursing pillows we use here for nursing babies.

After lunch we went back to the Maison d'Esperance or House of Hope. As soon as I walk in My friend Esther recognizes me and claims me. We play x and o's and draw pictures and blow bubbles.

Two other girls join us They are so beautiful. They want to sing for me and they want me to video tape them singing. They take me outside behind the back to the play ground. They tell me they will get in trouble if they sing these songs inside.  So I video tape them singing. They are singing J Lo's song "on the floor". They are in perfect tune, but they really don't know the words because they dont' speak english. They dance and sing and entertain me for some time.

I also go into the room to snuggle the twins I spoke about on my first visit here. One of the ladies from the Mission  sent a dress to give to the woman who lost her husband in the earthquake but her and her son are no longer there. I am scared to ask where they are because the little boy did not look well a few days ago. I ask our interpreter  to ask and we are told they went home.
Esther asks me again to be her mom and then asks Shyla to be her sister. It just breaks my heart that she just wants a family. Its time for us to go and I am heart broken. This time Esther doesn't walk me to the bus as she did last time. I think its too hard for her to say goodbye. I know for me it is! I hug her and kiss her and tell her I love her. I get on the bus and CRY!

While I was sewing pillows earlier today, Christine and Brian had gone out to the church across the street to play Frisbee and talk to the bracelet bandits.

Christine has such a passion for these young boys. This is where her heart is,  to work with these street kids. It amazed me to see how many remembered her and Brian from two years ago. Obviously they left an impression of these kids.
They were all sitting and talking by the church when one of the boys put dirt on their arms and said now you are "noir". So Shyla put white chalk on them ans said you are BLANC! They all laughed and then Christine said to them. "Hey you BLANC give me dollar!" The boy answered "Oh I have no money I left it at the mission!
They joked around back and forth with each other where they were US (blanc) and Christine and Shyla were them. So funny ! One said "you wait here I will go eat lunch and come back at 4"
Christine and Shyla decided to make bracelets for these boys. The boys had written their names on Christine and Shyla's arms. So the plan was to make the bracelets with names on them. That idea was scraped quickly when they realized it was harder to make than they thought.

The bracelet bandits make their living making bracelets with names on them. They sell them for 2 dollars each. I think some of them do well making bracelets. The kitchen staff in the Mission make 8 dollars a day (which is VERY GOOD MONEY) and I would think some of these boys would make more than that on some days. Especially the day I got confused between the twins. LOL
They can only sell bracelets until a certain age and then after 16 I think they sell paintings. Its a tough way to make a living. I am impressed with their business skills. How well they remember names and faces. How smooth they are in making sales. Some will say "you love Haiti? You love Jesus? You my friend?? Then buy bracelet." if you say no then they say "I thought you my friend?"

Its such a tough life but they are so full of love and each day they wake up and face the day doing what they have to do with a smile on their face! So much we can learn from these young homeless kids!
I go to bed THANKFUL again for the life I have. Thinking this is not fair I was born into richness and they were born into poverty!

day 5! I discover a new PASSION!

Today was called a “campus day” where we stayed at the Mission and could choose to work in one of the programs on site, or paint. We decided that we would go back to the nutrition program and play with all of the kids. I had forgotten that I brought a bunch of kid’s sunglasses with me that someone donated, so we brought them down to the kids. We wore them up on our heads like they were our own, knowing the kids would take them to play with them and then we would just not “collect” them back.

The little girl Nadesj that normally hangs with me was not there today, she told me she had a doctor’s appointment, so I was claimed by another little girl. Her name was Christine. What a kid! She had attitude and personality. She was TOUGH, but hilarious. She was pretty small about the size of a six year old but I suspect she is older. At first she would not let anyone else sit on me. She would punch and hit them I finally had to intervene because she was getting a little aggressive and possessive.

not sure why I am making a POPEYE face ...lol but I like the picture of the hug

Most of the kids seemed off today. Lots of fighting amongst them. One little boy was throwing rocks at Kitty and hurt her. It was interesting to watch the older kids discipline him. They all look out for one another and parent each other. The older children chastised him and then made him stand for a time out.

I noticed that with all the kids they respect authority, whoever is the eldest person around they are in charge, whether they are 8 or 50. The rest of the kids know and listen to what is being asked of them.

Many of the kids were sick today as well. I was shocked to see a mom having her child blow their nose in her hand and then she wiped it on her skirt. Then I realized what else would she do? It’s not like they have Kleenex or toilet paper. One little baby was lying on a cement step and was coughing so hard and gasping. She sounded like my Jayde when she used to get sick and I was thinking this baby needs to see someone.

Around the same time, while we were sitting and playing there was a little girl beside Shyla who was sick. Shyla said mom come and listen to this little girl breathe, I think there is something wrong with her. I got side tracked and didn’t go over. A few minutes later My daughter Christine came over and asked me what the nurse’s name was. She said there was a little girl coughing so hard she fainted. I assumed it was the baby on the step and said “Yes I saw her; I think she needs medical attention.” Later I found out this was the girl Shyla told me to come and look at.

Brian, Maggie , Shyla and Kitty took this little girl to the clinic that is on the Missions ground where she was treated and put on a nebulizer machine. They sat with her for a long time holding her and giving her treatments.

Many of the kids are not with parents in the nutrition program. So it took a little while to figure out who this little girl was. We found out her mom was doing laundry in the mission and was not able to leave her job. There is no way she could afford to take that time off. Somehow the grandma was notified and came and sat with the little girl and  cared for her.

Yesterday when I was out my young friend Weslay who is part of the bracelets bandits, said he would get me some bracelets. Not the ones with names but the black onyx type. I told him I would order some in the morning from him. So at the nutrition center Weslay is there and says you want bracelets?  I told him yes I wanted 2 bracelets and 2 cross necklaces.  A few minutes later Weslay is there again and says yesterday you tell me you would order from me today. I realize I just gave my order to his identical twin brother. So now I am obligated to make the same request so I ordered another 2 necklaces and 2 bracelets. I just spent 24 dollars on jewelry I did not need. Oh well I can give it away when I get home. No big deal. However my money is limited here as I only brought what is suggested to bring, 

A short time later a boy comes and hands me two bracelets and two necklaces. I said to him I don’t’ have my money yet, keep it and I will meet you later. He said “no you keep and I will get money later” and he leaves. As he is leaving he says “ask for John”  Obviously he overheard my order because he gave me two cross necklaces and two bracelets.

Now I have 2 more necklaces and 2 more bracelets, another 12 dollars spent. Just then Wesley and Weslay show up with my order. So I call John back, give him his stuff back but I ordered two cheaper bracelets from him and then pay the other boys for their stuff.

 the twins and me

During all of this confusion I have kids braiding my hair and fighting over the braids, kids climbing on me, a young man named Sonny asking me for money so he could get to Port a Paix to write an exam. Telling me he wants to be a doctor and needs to  write this exam in order to get into school .

I was so over stimulated I started to get anxiety. Once again I hear God whisper; this is how Jesus felt at times. Maybe he didn’t get anxiety, but he did have people around him all the time, asking for things, talking to him, touching him, loving him etc.

I had to take a break so I left the nutrition center and went over to the Miriam Center. This is a center on the Mission grounds for special needs children. There are 49 children with moderate to severe disabilities in the program. Having a special needs child in Haiti is considered a curse. Many think they have done something wrong and are being punished for their “sin”. So these children are now in the care of the Mission.

There are a number of the kids all bent and twisted lying on mats, some children in make shift wheel chairs and some able bodied walking around.

The wheelchairs in the Miriam center are in rough shape. Some are those white plastic Wal Mart lawn chairs screwed onto 4 wheels. Some are older wheelchairs but are ripped up with flat tires that are hard to push around.

I walked into a room where they were doing massage therapy on a group of  children. This beautiful little girl with cerebral Palsy looked up at me and gave me the biggest smile. I picked her up and carried her outside and we just sat and I held her and she just smiled.

I had nothing else to give but cuddles and that’s all we both really needed. We both needed each other. In that moment I felt so much peace and love. What a JOY!

In the afternoon we were supposed to do VBS for the street kids at the church across the street. There was an incident the night before where VBS was taught and when they went to hand out candy a young woman was “mobbed”. She had approximately 40 kids knock her down. The guards stepped in and were whipping the kids with belts and sticks to get them off of her. It was scary and we had already experienced a little of that already so felt this might not be something we are ready to do at this time.

We decided we would do grocery ministry again so went to the market to buy enough groceries for another 4 families.

 Two young boys grabbed my hand as we ventured out. One boys name was Ricardo. They took it upon themselves to keep the paths cleared for me and stop the bracelet bandits from harassing me.

We all brought lots of water to give out on our trip to the market. It was very hot and crowded today in the market.  Ryley had a bottle of crystal lite and a little girl had asked him for it. He gave it willingly to her and a little fight ensued amongst some parents that their child should get some as well.

We carried on and a little old lady started following me. She asked me for money and I told her I didn’t have any money. She handed me an empty whiskey bottle and I filled it with water. She then turned to Ryley and tried to take his bottle of crystal light that he was drinking. He told her politely that it was his and she started yelling at him in Creole. We understood that she was calling him a bad boy for not giving his juice to her. Poor Ryley felt so bad. Brian intervened and guided Ryley away and we continued on to deliver our groceries.

 We started to go up a hill which was not very steep at all, but Ricardo and his friend decide they are going to help me up this hill so they both go behind me and put their hands on my bum and start pushing me up the hill. One on each cheek LOL.

Being in Haiti is either going to make me more self conscious of my weight or make me laugh about it. I think it did a bit of both. I giggled all the way up the hill with these boys pushing me along my way.

Ricardo appeared to be sick as well today. I asked if he was “Malade” and he told me he was. I suspect that he has asthma as well because any exertion and he ended up coughing and having to stop.  I gave him water and he was so grateful.

A few times when I offered water he would say no and then let the smaller children drink instead of himself.

At the mission there is a huge Mango tree that is higher than the roof of the mission. There are boys who climb the tree to get or attention to sell us bracelets and to just look in and see what we are doing. My grandson Ryley had apparently made friends with one of the young boys and the boy pointed his home out to Ryley. Ryley had asked if we could bring groceries to this boy’s home. So our last bag of groceries was saved for Ryley's friend.

We went behind the mission and Ryley found the house. A woman came out. She was wearing only a t shirt that just barely covered her. No pants, no bra, just a long, but barely long enough tank top.  A bunch of little children peeked their heads out from behind her. The kids were in t shirts as well with no pants on. They also appeared to be sick,  horrible coughs and really runny noses. The mom told us there were 8 people living in their home. Their home was probably a 12 x 12 hut made of cement, and again no furniture and nothing in it.

The woman asked if we could pray for her to find work. We prayed with all of them and left them with groceries.

I am so proud of Ryley and his gentle heart. That he would think of these little friends to bring food too. That he gave so graciously and sadly was yelled at but took it all in stride.

When we got back to the Mission I decided to go in to the Miriam center. I am surprised at how much I love the center. For those who know me well, know that I often say I do not have a gift with special needs children. Odd thing for me to say considering I have a special needs child. However I have made this statement long before Jayde came along. As a foster parent that was one of my stipulations in choosing children. I will take other issues over a special needs child. God obviously thought differently when he gave me Jayde.

I am finding a new hidden passion within the Miriam Center. As soon as I walk in I see a young boy sitting in the WAL MART style wheelchair. He makes these excited noises and squeals at me. He can’t talk and his little hands are crippled and bent. I take his wheelchair and we go out into the courtyard for fresh air and to play.

I take his little hands and blow on them to make noises and he laughs and then does it to himself. We play and laugh. I am re energized and filled to capacity once again. I am surprised at how much I enjoy this. I think it’s because all these kids do is love. Its unconditional. They don’t ask for anything else. They give love and it is so easy to give it right back.

I am Blessed !