the best medicine

Good morning! It's now 6 a.m. in Haiti, and I just woke up with the roosters. I wrote a post yesterday that never posted because of technical difficulties around here, but luckily it saved! Here is a post from last night (Thursday)…

There’s nothing like a good laugh. Today we had quite a few laugh out loud moments, so I’ll try to share a few with you. It’s possible though that you had to be there…so I do apologize if I enjoy this post more than you do!

First, all of my kids were in a great mood in the morning. Jeffy was one of the boys I had, and he was wonderful today. He spent some time swinging and was especially giggly, so I knew we were off to a good start. Then I thought I’d branch out and try giving him a bath since I never had before…and as soon as I put him in, he was literally squealing because he loved it so much. He splashed around, laughing out loud the whole time…and a few of us couldn’t help but laugh as well. It truly is contagious.

Later, things got funnier when a bunch of us decided to take a walk with our kids. I had J-son, one of my happiest babies with me. Holly also decided to take a baby, and was SO ecstatic because she never gets to take the small babies with her. She strapped herself up with one of those baby carriers, and went on and on about how great these carriers are… how they’re life changing, they’re totally hands-free, etc…so needless to say she was the most geeked up about it. Unlike the rest of us, she laid her baby with his face towards her because she liked having him close up against her chest. ANYWAY—literally just as we were leaving, Holly is telling the staff who all is heading out, and her baby projectile vomits all over her!! The best part is, she can’t escape it because she has this child strapped to her. Never have I seen a 4-month old vomit that much…and as disgusting as the situation was, it was also one of the funniest moments of the day. We’ve laughed recalling the story about 5 times today already. It will take awhile for that one to get old!

The day ended with our “talent show”. Perhaps it should have been titled a comedy show. I feel like I got to know a lot of the volunteers on a whole new level! We had anything from chin lip singing, dancing, a girl playing the air cello, fists in the mouth, banana eating contests, a banjo song, nostril tricks, and an impressive acrobatic stunt by me and Becca (slightly biased on the impressive part…sorry). We might not be the most talented group of individuals, but we laughed harder tonight than I have in awhile!

Man, it’s been a good day. I’m so excited for tomorrow and the weekend too! We’re heading to Todd and Margie’s house for breakfast and bible study/prayer in the morning. We usually make our own breakfast, so that will be such a treat!

The kids I work with really have been doing great. It’s so funny to think back to day one and compare how much better I know them all now. They are all very different, but all such special kids. I grow attached to them more and more as their personalities continue to come out. I know I don’t always do a good job of keeping you posted on all 8 of them, so I’ll try to work on that in upcoming posts! I don’t want to overwhelm you with details though, so I’ll try to keep hitting the highlights. Thanks for keeping them in your prayers though. They definitely need it.

Love you guys, and thank you for all of your thoughts and encouragement! This week has flown by...and I'm so excited for the weekend! I think we get to go into town and do some shopping, so I'll let you know how it goes!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine..." -Proverbs 17:22

ups and downs

It feels like a lot has changed around here. Two of the volunteers, Jamie and Anna, left this afternoon. They've both been here for awhile...and Anna finally got to leave with one of the babies here so that she can get back to the states and have surgery, so that was a real blessing. It broke my heart watching Jamie say goodbye to her kids. She loves those kids so much, and both the volunteers and her kids are going to miss the heck out of her! We also have two new volunteers that got here in the past couple of days. It feels strange but nice not being the new girl anymore!

It was such an up and down day with most of the kids. Jeffy was in a good mood this morning, and that was refreshing! I found a swing that makes him laugh a lot...so we enjoyed that and worked on his walking a little bit more. He has a stitch on his chin though, so sometimes he bumps into that and cries. It is really sad, but he still impresses me with how tough of a guy he is.

I found out today that I am the first volunteer Shonnie has had, which explains a lot of why she acts the way she does. She is my extremely quiet/timid girl who at first would only lay her head against my chest. In just a week she has already come so far. She still freaks out if she isn't touching me...but she sits up now and even laughed today! It's cool seeing her improve little by little. She is one of my favorites.

J-man is hilarious. I woke him up today and a cookie was stuck to his face...those kids sleep on/through anything. We read some books today, and it took me back to my childhood. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Goodnight Moon, and The Lady With the Alligator Purse never get old. I might have enjoyed the reading more than J-man did...here's a picture of J-man. Looks kind of like a model in this one...what a stud.

Bennie was in a terrible mood today. I think I caught him right after a nap. But I grabbed him again after dinner, and he was a whole new person. I got a cute picture of him in his jammies!

We went on a walk with a lot of kids, took some bubble baths, and even did the Cupid Shuffle at one point. It was a pretty typical day at GLA.

I don't think I've mentioned Todd and his family before, but it's really great having them here. Todd and his wife Margie are here with two kids that they have adopted from the orphanage, and they've basically come back to hang out with kids and help out wherever needed. Todd spent a lot of time on the balcony with us today, and it was encouraging to hear him tell us what a difference we make in the kids' lives through the simple things like holding them, nurturing them, or praising them. Their family serves us in so many ways, and they do so much to boost our morale.

We got to go to the STORE tonight! It's a treat around here...so we basically ran through this mini-convenience store and snatched up every American food that we've been deprived of and craving lately. (Yes, I've only been here a little over a week and I already miss certain foods.) I looked like a fool trying to figure out how to pay in Haitian goudes, but overall it was a successful trip.

I've been feeling a lot better lately...I went through a mini-slump where I just felt under the weather, but I feel pretty much back to normal. Continue to pray for everyone's health...especially the kids. I can't tell you how many snotty faces and boogers I wipe off every day. Coughs and fevers are pretty typical.

It's been a random blog...but my mind is a little all over the place! We're probably going to go splurge on some of the popcorn and chocolate we just bought, and maybe have movie/game night. At some point tonight Becca and I have a practice scheduled for our talent show too. I'll let you know what we decide on...

Have a wonderful night..love you guys!!

Here's me and Alecia on a walk. We felt obligated to take a "mom" picture. I feel a little bit like the girl in 10 Things I Hate About You with the carrier on!

answered prayer

Today was picture day. All of the kids get their pictures taken once a month to update their parents, and it was a little on the crazy side trying to changing them in and out of clothes and getting them all through. But in the midst of the hectic morning...God gave me a perfect moment of encouragement. I feel like He has completely answered my prayers from last night.

I went to get Jeffy for his pictures...the boy I posted about yesterday. I was a little worried because he had just been crying and was not looking in any kind of mood to undergo a photo shoot. Recap: he is the boy who has some great physical challenges and has adapted to the point where he doesn't walk but instead scoots around using one side of his body. We have been working on this, but it has been hard to monitor his progress.

The point of this story is that while we were taking his pictures, we were trying to lure him with toys and such to get a smile out of him...and Jeffy stood up by himself on the table and WALKED towards me! I cannot tell you how shocked and excited I was!! This may sound small...but honestly it brought tears to my eyes. I have never seen this boy stand on his own, much less walk, and both happened right in front of me. It was just the boost that I needed, and it was such a reminder to never underestimate what He can do. I'm so proud of that boy...he is such a fighter.

Another high point of the day: J-man (different boy) repeated me saying "I love you". He might not know what it means...but it was adorable nonetheless!

Beyond that, picture day kind of consumed our time. I'm glad that tomorrow will be back to regular schedule!

Becca and I are now off to make our hot tea. Lately we've been spending part of our nights drinking tea out on the balcony in our rocking chairs. Once we get past the fact that our room is apparently next to some sort of sewage system and therefore we get occasional whiffs of toilet bowl stench up our noses...it is quite an enjoyable experience! We will make the best old ladies one day.

Thanks for your comments and prayers! Love you all!!

P.S. We have a talent show coming up this Thursday. Get excited. Feel free to post any comments to remind me of talents that I might possess...as of right now, Becca and I are either singing, stepping, or performing an acrobatic stunt of some sorts. This could be interesting.

patience is a virtue

I have now been here a week, and God’s already shown me that I have a long way to go when it comes to loving others as He loves them.

I’ve posted before about a boy I work with who has some pretty substantial physical challenges in his life. Part of working with him and loving him means that I should push him and spend time focusing on his weaknesses so that he can improve. In an ideal world, we would work diligently and practice until perfect. But it’s tough. It’s uncomfortable for him, and for a two-year-old boy it is especially frustrating. And as much as I wish I could say it isn’t…the frustration can be mutual. I want for him to be able to overcome his limitations, and when it doesn’t magically happen immediately, my optimism can quickly vanish. It’s easy to want to give up.

An hour of each day spent with this boy has been a perfect opportunity for God to remind me of His patience and mercy. It is impossible for me to count the number of times God has forgiven me, or even the number of times that He has disciplined me and yet repeatedly I fail to attain perfection. Again and again I fall short of His glory, but He doesn’t love me any less because of it. Not once has He given up on me either. It has been a humbling experience to see how easily I can receive God’s patience, but how difficult it can be to show the same patience to others.

I think (and I hope) that I’ll approach my time with this kiddo with an entirely different heart. This boy is precious, and is ultimately a child of God. I have a chance to show him at least a glimpse of God’s love, and I can’t forget that “love is patient…” I pray that God will grant me the patience needed, and that even if this boy doesn’t perfectly conquer his physical challenges, he will know and feel that he is truly loved regardless.

Thank goodness we have a God who is so gracious. He has taught me so much, and I know He will continue to do so. These kids are wonderful, and your prayers for them mean more than anything. Love you all…

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant…”

-Psalm 86:15-16

we're alive

Last night was probably one of the worst nights of sleep I’ve had here so far. I have no idea why, but a lot of us couldn’t sleep well. We laughed about it because everyone in our room (me, Becca, Jamie, and Alecia) woke up at 1 a.m. thinking it was almost time to get up. Despite the restless night, we woke up at 7:00 determined and ready to embark on our hike.

Oh my goodness. As with most things on this trip, the hike was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was probably the most difficult but most amazing hike I have ever been on. I wasn’t feeling so great this morning, so at the beginning of the hike I was really nauseous. But I knew I’d regret turning back, so we pushed on and once we passed a certain point I felt fine!

I can’t explain how cool it was walking up the mountain. I feel like I experienced the Haitian culture on a whole new level. We passed a lot of people who live on the mountain, and I am so impressed with the way they walk up and down the mountain every day like it’s nothing. A lot of the people who live up there don’t see white people very often at all…so it was pretty funny watching them all come out of their huts and literally out of bushes/crops/trees to just watch us. We gave some extra candy and food that we brought to a lot of the kids, and some of them let us take pictures of them. We passed anything from farmers and people doing laundry, to goats and cows just grazing. Eventually we stopped at this church, and it was really cool hiking and listening to them sing worship on the way up. It might sound kind of funny, but I really felt like the mountains were singing praises! The church was about ¾ or so up the mountain, and it was a great place to stop before we were completely wiped out. By that point most of us had already run out of water, so we rested and just had some quiet time before we headed back down.

Overall the hike up took about three hours, and on the way down we made it in about an hour. I don’t think I have ever sweat so much in my life…but I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go! We took tons of pictures…and although they don’t do it any justice, I’ll try to post some so you can get an idea of how wonderful it was.

At our stopping point, Alecia was reading out of James where it talks about how trials and tests of faith produce perseverance. Hiking a mountain was the perfect metaphor for how God pushes us and stretches us, and ultimately we experience His love and blessings on a whole new level. All of us agreed that even our decision to come to Haiti was a test of our faith, and how God has proven that He never leaves us. In fact through this experience, I know all of the volunteers will leave here having learned more than we could have expected and that through the challenges that we face here we are learning perseverance and reliance on God each and every day. We are all in such different places and experiencing completely different things, but I hope wherever you are that you can see how even in the trials God is not only with you but is also teaching you and growing you as his child.

I think it’s safe to say that we are all pretty exhausted now. We are in the process of taking MUCH needed showers and just relaxing! We’re beginning a movie marathon with Marley and Me, so I’m excited to just hang out and hopefully rejuvenate from the week! It's raining now too...so perfect movie watching weather if I do say so myself.

Love you guys, and I am so thankful for you all!!

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

James 1: 2-5

On the way to the hike, we stopped to hang out at this abandoned house. Here we are mentally preparing for the hike ahead of us...literally.

Good picture spot. We look tiny here..but the picture is actually pretty cool when it's bigger!

sweet saturday

Sleeping in today felt great. I still woke up at about 7:45, but it was a treat nonetheless! Those older kids outside our rooms are a great built in alarm clock...let me tell you. We didn't have anywhere to be today until lunch, so me and some other volunteers walked down to the main house to workout a little bit. They have a workout area with some equipment...but equipment is somewhat of a generous term. It felt great outside though, and it's a beautiful place to spend the morning.

After lunch all of the volunteers work with the kids who don't have any volunteers assigned to them right now. It's fun to get to see more of the kids and give them a chance play outside too. I worked with a boy, Jor-man, who was hysterical. He loved playing in the water, and he would run around the balcony when I chased him. He laughed constantly and was one of the most interactive kids I have worked with so far!

Today I got to sit with 3 of my kids as they chatted on web cam with their adoptive parents. It's something they do at the orphanage as a fundraiser, and the parents get to donate to have a certain number of sessions where they basically Skype with their children. Most of the kids can't talk, but it's a really cool opportunity for both sides, and I know the parents absolutely loved seeing their kids. I can't imagine how hard it is to wait patiently for the adoption process to finally be over with. It was also so neat for me to be able to see and talk to some of the parents who will eventually be with the kids I am working with. It made my job seem that much more real as I got to see the wonderful families that I am hopefully preparing these children to be loved by. The parents all seemed so great, and it gave me such hope for the precious children here. They have such bright futures waiting for them. God is so good!

Dinner was wonderful....it was this great soup with potatoes and vegetables! Vegetables are scarce here...so we definitely celebrate when they're included with meals. We are having a water drinking contest tonight to prepare for our hike tomorrow. We are setting a goal to hike to the very top of this pretty substantial mountain, and I am legitimately a little bit nervous...but hey, you're only in Haiti once right?! We'll be fine...but if you want to pray that we make it up there and back safely, then I won't stop you.

I just left the nursery, and instead of grabbing one kid to watch the sunset, Becca and I thought we'd be brave and sit in the nursery with the whole gang. Needless to say, we were quickly bombarded by toddlers...I felt like I was an animal at the petting zoo, or maybe a jungle gym. Either way hopefully you get the point. My chaco is literally tighter right now because I was dragging a girl as she hung onto my shoe strap. Goodness gracious.

Overall it's been a great, relaxing Saturday, and I'm excited for tomorrow! Besides the hike...it will be a good time to rejuvinate for next week. Love you all and have a wonderful weekend wherever you are!

Here's what tomorrow has in store for us. Wish us luck!! 

today's forecast: partly cloudy with a chance of squirts

So a lot of the volunteers aren't feeling so great lately. It isn't anything serious...but it's not too pretty either. Martha, the girl I traveled with, got really sick last night. Pray that she and the others feel back to normal soon! It's tiring enough working all day with children, so I can't imagine feeling sick on top of it...especially in a foreign country. A lot of the kids here are pretty sick too. I have held a couple of babies with fevers, and it breaks my heart that they don't have someone constantly caring for them or nurturing them until they are well. Luckily I have been feeling great so far...but I'm knocking on wood as we speak.

Besides that...it really has been a great Friday! Each Friday we start the morning by having prayer time with all of the volunteers. It was such a good time to reflect on the week and be real with each other about how we are doing. It was good to have that intentional time with everyone for sure.

The morning went by so fast with the kids. First I worked with Jeffy...and I knew it would be a little bit of a challenge. The poor guy apparently fell sometime yesterday and he split open his chin pretty badly. His lip and the side of his chin are swollen, so understandably he wasn't quite in the mood to work on much. It made me realize that I took for granted the fact that I had parents to tend to all my bumps and bruises growing up. You can pray that he will heal quickly and be back in good spirits soon.

I worked with Shonnie again today too. She is the baby that I'm a little bit worried about because she literally just lacks any enthusiasm at all. For awhile she sat with her head on my chest like normal, but slowly I got her to sit on the ground with a toy...without even crying! It sounds small, but it was actually a huge step. Also...she always has the same blank expression on her face, but I discovered today that if you kiss her feet it makes her smile!! Who knew?? It's funny how the small things can be so exciting.

The others were great. We went on another walk, and it's fun to pass the locals and see a glimpse of what a day in Haiti looks like. They are all really friendly, and hardly anyone passes you without greeting you. As usual we attracted some younger boys who wanted to mooch off some of our cookies and juice...

We ended the afternoon early to do some cleaning on the balcony, and somehow cleaning with rap music makes everything a little more fun. I think Becca and I bring out the goofy side in each other...and the other volunteers probably think we're the two crazy Texan girls. ALL of the volunteers are from the north (Oregon, Pennsylvania, Canada...you name it) so they get a kick out of our accents. I didn't even realize mine was that strong!

Dinner was the TASTIEST pizza I've had in awhile! The cooks here are funny too. After lunch I was pretending to do an exercise routine (not realizing they were behind me) and they got a pretty big kick out of it. I'm sure they know me as the strange American girl or something...

I can't believe week one is pretty much behind me. I'm excited because apparently we get to sleep in on Saturdays! We're planning on going on a hike on Sunday too, and I can't wait to see more of the beautiful mountains! I'll try and take some good pictures.

Thanks so much for your prayers. God continues to amaze me and teach me things every day. Never have I viewed Him as my strength and my refuge more than through this experience. I'm praying for miracles at this orphanage, and I know He will take care of these babies.

Love you all! Have a good night!


P.S. Bill Clinton is in Haiti right now, and I actually saw him when we went into town!! Becca will tell you she did too...but she really didn't. That stinks.

Me and Jeffy...a grin was about all I could get out of him today!

M-man and one of Becca's girls chomping on some Bon-Bons  (cookies) during our walk! 

With the kids after dinner...they are precious in their jammies.

This one is from a couple of days ago, and it's one of my favorites! He is one of Becca's boys, and he makes this face anytime you ask for a kiss. Tell me that's not one of the best things you've ever seen.