May 21, 2015

Today I felt a little bit selfish. We were going to Grace Village and although I was excited about visiting the elderly I wanted nothing more than to spend all my time with my babies at the orphanage. It's been 3 years since I have seen them and I just wanted to see them and love them and hear what has been going on with them. 

This morning we got up and got ready for the day. We had a wonderful breakfast, as normal, and then left the house for the day. There were a couple other girls that were staying at the home for the sick and dying babies that had nothing to do today, so they decided to join us. We picked them up, and headed for Titanyen.

We got to Grace Village and I could not stop smiling. I was so excited to be back to the place that was the source of so many life changing moments for me. We got a tour of the grounds, and the things that they have done over the last 3 years are so remarkable, but really i just wanted to see the kids. The first kid that I saw was Ronaldo. It was during the tour of the school, he was leaving his class and as he was walking past he stopped and said "Haley, I miss you!!" and gave me the biggest hug. I almost started crying. He was the one of the first kids that I had a real connection with at Grace and he referred to me as his "Mama" the whole time I was there. AfterIi finally let him stop hugging me, he was trying to help me find and seethe other kids that were there. I saw many of the kids, all so happy to see me, and i was so happy to see them. I found out how they were doing and what they have been up to. One of the boys that I was very connected with is no longer living at grace village but he goes to school there so we were so lucky to be able to see each other. I only saw one of the girls, and found out another one just had surgery so she was resting. I asked if I could go see her, the lady giving us a tour said that I could and she was sure that Laika would love that, but we ended up having to leave so she assured me that i would be able to see her on Sunday. Laika and I met my first trip to Haiti and we spend my whole time at Grace together during that first trip. She remembered me when I got there right away for the summer and we were also very close throughout the whole summer. I am so sad I did not get to see her today, but seeing her Sunday will make me just as happy! It is crazy how much the kids have grown in 3 years. They are so much taller, more mature, and the boys have voices that make them sound like men. Seeing them for such a short time was sad, but I was thankful to see them and to know that I will see them again in 2 days.

Once we left  Grace Village we went back down the hill into the village of Titanyen to visit the elderly. The work "titanyen" mean "less than nothing" which gives some kind of idea what the people who live there have. The village got that name because the people there are so poor and have almost nothing. It was amazing to be able to go and visit them. Our acts of simply washing their feet and face, and rubbing some lotion on the, brought them so much joy. It was awesome to see the joy that the actor singing and praising God brought to them. We gave each person a care at filled with things that we use everyday such as hygiene products, snacks, and water. These things that are never ending for us, are things that they do not have and they wereso thankful for. We brought some instruments with us and sang and prayed with them. They were just so happy and appreciated it all so much. It is eye opening to see their joy and thankfulness for so little. 

May 20, 2015

I started out the day at a home for sick and dying babies. This place has changed quite a bit since I was there last. Last time I visited, there were multiple. Abides per crib, and so many cribs crammed in each room. It seemed that there were more babies and help, and the babies didn't seem to be getting the help they needed. This time, the home had moved to another building that was bigger, there was enough space around the cribs to get to each baby,and there was one child per crib. The state that some of the children were in was just heartbreaking, but it gave mes feeling of joy and the child a feeling of comfort it seemed, as we just held them, rocked them, and sang to them. I enjoy this so much because although you cannot stay there forever with these babies, you an see for the moment, the difference you are making in these babies life. The first baby that I picked up was a little girl. She was so thin that there was less than no fat on her bones that her skin was wrinkly because their was nothing in there but her bones. The sight of her broke my heart to pieces. She was burning up and had a scarf or some type of fabric wrapped around her arm making me think that her arm was broken. She must of had something in her lungs because she tried to cry and she couldn't. It was one of the saddest things I have seen on this trip. I teamed up as soon as I saw her.

I held many different babies, as one fell asleep, I would lay them in their crib and grab another one to love. I felt that there were more than enough people in there (there was 10 of us there, as well as other volunteers that were either staying there or just there for the day) caring for these adorable babies and I felt that there were kids that were a little bit older not getting as much attention because the sight of these babies are just heartbreaking and some people just don't get past that to visit the other kids. as I walked over there, I was about to go in the door and a mother handed me her baby. I took the baby from her not really knowing what she wanted me to do. I just held her baby for awhile and realized she maybe just needed a little break. I walked around rocking the baby for a while just giving him the same attention as the other kids even though he had someone visiting him. Once the mom seemed like she wanted him k, I handed him to her and she said "thank you".

I walked into a room in a separate building, which held kids that were a little bit older. There was a little girl that would just look up and smile and laugh anytime someone walked by, she may have been sick but her face showed so much happiness. There was also a mother there. She was visiting her daughter. There are no parents allowed in the building, but this parent was an exception because her daughter was so sick. She sat in this hot building with her sick daughter. They spent their time together with the mother doing her daughters hair. It was so cool to see the care this mother had for her sick daughter. As I walked farther back down the row of cribs I saw a little girl that looked so sad, and a little boy sitting in the crib across from her eating his "medical mamba" which is a peanut butter with extra nutrients in it and we was just calm and happy. I went over to the girl first. I saw that she was sitting in the crib soaked in her urine. I walked over to one of the workers and used my best creole to ask for a diaper and new shirt. She handed me one and walked me into this room, patted on a tile counter letting me know that that is where I could change her, and she walked away. I changed this girl and walked outside. I sat on the ground and tried to turn her around so she could see what was going on. As I tried to let her go, she would not let go of my neck. It was like she was holding on so tight to make sure that I wouldn't let her go. Eventually I got her turned around and we sat there for a long period of time. I just loved her and sang to her. I went back into that room to visit that little boy that was sitting across for her. I set the girl down next to me and fed the boy his peanut butter. As he finished I threw it away and picked him up to give him a little bit of love. I held him no more than 5 minutes and a woman knocked on the door. She saw him and each of the, got the biggest smile on their face. I knew right away that she was his mama. I handed him overland she also thanked me for caring for her baby. I felt do much hope in that moment for a couple of reasons,the first is that there are still parents that love and appreciate their babies. So many parents in Haiti have kids due to lack of sex education, and to make child slaves, it is so awesome to see those parents that have their babies and they just love them. The second reason I felt joy was because I felt appreciated and that I was doing good for these parents who are dealing with such a hard thing in life, and I'm sure are also dealing its so much more. 

We spent the afternoon at General hospital. Before we walked in, our translator/driver warned us that it would be warm because the air conditioning was broken. As we walked in we realized just how hot it was. The building was somewhat of a tent. It was a round top building, not made of cement. Because of this, the temperature in there was probably about 120 degrees. We gave out the bags and had to walk out the other side. We brought about 45 care bags filled with toys, stuffed animals, snacks, and personal hygiene products. We brought these bags in and people were so desperate for them. They were following us around begging and grabbing for these things. There were more people than bags, so it was so hard and sad to decide who needed them most and who was not going to get one. We all eventually went back in and tried to visit and pray for the people and children in there but many people were not welcoming to us. I didn't understand until after we left. We walked in there to see what it was like looking at these families as if they were animals in a zoo and they were on display. If we were back in the states and people came to see what was going on in the hospital rooms, it would not fly. I know we went in with good intentions of delivering necessities and sharing prayer, but I definitely understand where else people were coming from. I felt as if I was helpless there. There was nothing more I could do besides giving SOME people bags, and then walking out. I couldn't help these kids because I have absolutely no medical knowledge or supplies. All we could do was pray and leave. 

May 19, 2015

Waking up in Haiti is an awesome thing. I would do it everyday if I could. I woke up this morning and went and sat up on the roof and looked out over Delmas (the area of Port-Au-Prince that we are in). It was so awesome, and exactly what I loved waking up to. 

We spent the day out on the water truck. When doing the water truck, we deliver water to tent cities in a city called Cite Soleil. Cite Soleil is the poorest city in the western hemisphere. There are no other organizations that deliver water to them due to the danger of the cite. This seems like such a strange thing to me considering I experienced nothing but loved rom the swarms of kids that wanted hugs and love from us. On past trips I witnessed and experienced some dangerous things, but nothing that wasn't dealt with or that was dangerous to us missionaries. 

As we drove to the water truck fill station I saw huge changes in the cities since the last time I was here. There is no longer garbage lining every street. There are still some large piles of garbage around, but it isn't literally everywhere as it used to be. I also noticed that the infamous Haiti smell (which was a horrible smell basically a mix of food from the markets, feces, and animals) was not nearly as prevalent as it was before. Although it is only a short a ride and I'm sure that smell is in other parts of the country still, the smell was a lot less "smelly" I guess, in cite Soleil and the surrounding cities. 

Driving into Cite Soleil I didn't see many, if any changes. There were still the tents on top of tents with garbage surrounding them. There were children that came running in packs yelling "hey you!!" and trying to get our attention. The lines of women and children waiting for water were just as long. There were a couple of men in line, but most of the time it is women who are to do the work. 

At the first stop there were 3 girls that decided they were going to do my hair. They gave me some crazy hair-do's and I think they ripped out about half of my already thin hair, but they loved doing it so I let them. I did have to tell them a couple times that it hurt though, good thing I know how to say that in creole!! The first stop weren't to is also the location of where Healing Haiti is building a church for the people of Cite Soleil. It was cool to see the site of the church, and the process of it going up. They had to dig through garbage, feces, and bodies of people in order to find a spot that is just right to build the church. That is truly amazing. 

The second stop that we delivered water to seemed a little quieter. Many of the children at this stop were babies or infants. I sat with 3 babies on my lap for awhile and then I made my way over to help with the hose to full people's buckets. I haven't done that part very much on past trips so I wanted to get some experience with that. While I was filling buckets, the people were almost getting in fights wanting me to fill their bucket first to assure that they would get water before the truck ran out. It is crazy, and very sad to see the desperation and severe need for something that we have at the tips of our fingers whenever we want it at home. 

One thing that I was reminded of today is that in Haiti, there is no such thing as on time. Haitians have their own sense of non-hurriedness. I am someone that hates to be late for things and I need a schedule and I need to stick to it. That is actually 100% impossible here. I need to learn to relax and just let things come as they do.  It's totally fine that things switch around and schedules get changed, but I am not a fan of slacking around. I am getting back into the Haiti way of life, and by the end of the week I will be on Haitian time. 

May 18, 2015

There are a million different things going through my head just being back in Haiti. To go along with those thoughts, I am feeling many different emotions. I don't know if I could pick just one word to explain what I'm feeling, but ecstatic seems to cover the biggest. I am more than excited to be back in this country working along side a great teem to serve the Haitian people in the ways that God intended for us. I am more than excited to see all the familiar faces of the people that touched my heart and my life 3 years ago. 

Flying into Port-Au-Prince you see all of the devastation and loss that the country still holds. It is sad too see, but to me, I see somewhat of a challenge. The challenge that I saw as I looked out the window is to touch as many lives as I can while I'm here. I plan to share god with as many people as possible. I will try to help anyone that I can. I will work with the team to go the extra degree in effort to do as much good here as possible, to help as many people as we possibly can. Challenge accepted.

It seems that we are all too connected to home still. Myself included. The first thing we all wanted to do when we Got to the guest house was connect to the wifi and talk to our loved ones back home. My hope for this week is that we can all find a way to disconnect a little bit more from our reality in order to be able to fully accept the reality that we are currently in. That is not to say that we cannot talk to people at home, it is just that we are so caught up in that that we may not be fully accepting what is going on around us and what god wants us to do. 

As we were sitting in our room last night with the air conditioning on, and in our nice comfy bunk beds I was struggling with whether I should feel blessed or guilty. I am blessed with these living conditions in a country that has people struggling to find food and shelter every day. Although they are nowhere near the conditions in the United States, I am staying in conditions that are 20 steps up from how the people right outside our walls are living. I am blessed to live in even better conditions than this everyday back in the states. At the same time, I feel guilty that I have all these things and there isn't anything I could do at that moment to share those blessings. After all these things went through my head I stopped for a second and thought "I am blessed to have these feelings of guilt so that I am able to realize just how lucky I am to have the things that I do. This is God's plan. He has done this for a reason." 

The team that I am here with this trip is much bigger than the last time.  Prior to the trip I was worried that it would be much less personal, and I would not be able to get to know everyone on the same level that I was able to last time. It is the first night and I can already tell that that will not be a problem. After pit tim we say in the living room and just talked about anything. It was a really nice start to getting to know everyone, and it will be interesting to get to know each other better and to see how each person works while we are out doing our thing outside the gate. 

While we were sitting in the living room talking tonight, one of my teammates was talking about the couple that she sat next to on the plane ride from Miami to Haiti. She was talking to them about the work we are doing here and they were telling her about the mission work that they have done. She told us that the woman told her "if I could give you any piece of advice about mission trips, it is to find God I every little thing that you do. It will make the trip so much better and you will get so much more out of it." All of us that were sitting there talking thought that was so awesome and that we need to try and do that on this trip. 

One cool thing about this trip is that we have a team member that can play guitar. While we were doing our devotional and praise time tonight we sang a couple songs. I suggested we sing "Glory to God" or as it is said in Creole, "Glwa pou Bondye" because the back of our team t-shirts say that, and because every time I've ridden around in the tap-tap that is what the Haitians wanted to sing. It was so awesome to all praise together through music. 

I've been back in Haiti for one afternoon and I am already so excited for the week. I cannot wait to see what is in store. 

Tuesday July 17, 2012

Today was an adventure... It started out normal. I got up, showered, got ready. Hung out with the kids for awhile. All us missionaries had our morning meeting/ prayer time. Then we got stuff ready for some of the kids and Kathy to go to Mission of Hope for some tests, and the dentist. Then the day went on normally. Later in the afternoon Jessica and I went out on the Kuboda with the Nurse, and Henry Claude. We visited all of the elderly to bring them medications, and some food. When we were walking back to the Kuboda one time Henry Claude was asking about my name, because they cant shape their tongue in the right way to make certain sounds so he cant say it. He asked “Can I just call you Lee, that is waaaay easier!” I said “Yeah...” A couple stops later he told me “I feel so good, I have never worked with an angel before.” I said “Angel?” “He said “Yes, you.”. At one of our stops, a boy came up to me and said “Haley” I said “Hi” I didn’t know who he was though. Then he said “Do you remember me?” I said “What is your name?” He said “Onelson”. It was a boy that I met from Titanyen in March, and he made me a bracelet. I only saw him 2 times, 4 months ago, and he remembered me! That was awesome(: When he told me his name, and I told him I remember him he gave me the biggest hug ever! It was so sweet! When we were almost done, we probably had about 4 left it started raining. Not just sprinkling, when it rains in Haiti, it rains! It felt like hail, or when it is very windy and sand and little rocks fly at you! So we are on this thing, there is no windshield, so Henry Claude is covering his face with his elbow not paying attention to where he is going because the rain is getting in his eyes, but even if he was looking forward he couldn’t see anything. Jessica and I are bouncing around in the back, soaking wet, trying to keep the rain out of our eyes, and hold on at the same time. It was freezing cold! But it was a super fun experience! We couldn’t help but laugh because its like every time we go out of the gate something has to happen. On top of the that, we found out we were running on empty. Henry Claude said “I cant go fast. There is no gas. We might have to walk.” We told him “it’s okay just go slow..” We figured it was worth being in the rain a little longer because he had to drive slow rather than walking up that treacherous slope in a downpour. We finally made it back, and guess what happened?... the rain stopped. We thought that was enough excitement for one day, but it didn’t stop there. When Allie and I were washing our dishes from dinner, in the bathroom sink it fell off the wall... she caught it just as it was about to hit the floor. Water was pouring out everywhere. She was just holding it there as all of us were cracking up. Like it just fell. Nobody expected it. But it was a great laugh that we all needed. It helped us relax some, relieve some stress, and just have a good time. Then we finally calmed down enough to tell Jonas. Him and another guy came in to fix it. They tied it up with one of the kids jump ropes to the towel rack. I said that is going to pull that rack off the wall too. Guess what happened... it fell right off and the sink fell to the floor again. The decided to leave it and fix it later. So we went to church , then said goodnight to all the kids. We went around and said “Bon Nwit, I love you” and gave each of them a kiss. They didn’t even know how to react because they have never had anyone say “Good night, I love you to them” , and nobody tucks them in at night. They have someone come around and say go to bed, but that totally is not the same thing. So I love that I can give them so much love in a way that they appreciate and have never gotten before.  Some of them started asking when are you leaving? and I told them August 13. They said no, stay forever. That broke my heart. I do not want to leave them!  It is going to be the hardest thing ever!

Wednesday July 18, 2012

Here, instead of buying water in bottles, it comes in a little bag. You bite on of the corners and just suck the water out. This afternoon during free time, one of the boys stretched the bag to make it have “arms and legs.” He squirted all the water out and then blew air into it and tied it. He threw it at one of the other boys. The boy he threw it at stepped on it and popped it. The boy that made it yelled at the other “YOU DEAD MY BABY!” It was the funniest thing. And so cute because he had no idea that he was saying it wrong. It was so cute(: Today had some stress. Tomorrow we are going to the beach with the team. All of the boys started saying that they needed shorts for swimming. So I started trying to get some of them shorts and then it was chaos. They were getting mad because I took away an extra pair they had so I could give it to someone else. Or they would be mad because I didn’t give them the one they want. Or they were mad because the shorts they had in their bin were dirty, which shouldn’t even be a problem because we put a laundry basket in each room and explained that when they wear something it goes in the basket, not back in their storage bin. They got mad when i told them “I don’t care if they are dirty, you should have put them in the basket. We are going in water, that will clean them.” They got mad because they didn’t want to wear the ones that they have. That frustrated me because they have more things than 85% of this country, and they are complaining about what they have. But it also made me realize that that is exactly how we are bak at home “I have nothing to wear” , when really we have a closet and 2 dressers full. Or we buy a new shirt for every new occasion, when really we have 25 that we could wear. I found out my roommate for college today, which is very  exciting, but at the same time sad, because that means my time in Haiti is ending sooner than I would like. 

Thursday July 19, 2012

Today we went to the beach. I tried swimming but I didn’t last long because I couldn’t get anything to stick to my foot and I was worried about infection. So I swam a little, but then I sat out with the little kids who don’t like to swim, which was fine too. One of the boys got stung by a Jellyfish. Nobody would pee on him so he was in a lot of pain. And also, they rubbed sand, and purified water on him, which we found out on the internet when we got back that those both actually intensify the pain, and sting. The people on the beach selling their things kept coming up to us trying to get us to buy their stuff. One guy said “Buy some suveniers for your family. When you go home they will say ‘Thank you for the gift, we love you”. I told him I didn’t have any money and he said ‘Well here is a bracelet for free, it is a gift for your brother.” It was a cute bracelet, so it took it(: The swim suite chaos yesterday was pointless, because they wear athletic shorts, with a swim suite over it, then when they get to the beach they take off the swim suite. They swim in the shorts. Then when we are done swimming they take off their wet shorts, and  put the swim suite back on. All that craziness was for a swim suite, not so swim in, but to wear on the way home... Crazy kids!! The sink fell again today also...

Friday July 20, 2012

My little Andy has been causing trouble. He is very possessive, and when I start to talk to other kids and become close with them he gets very mad and causes trouble either with that kid or other kids to get my attention. And also he starts being mean. Today one of the boys, Gedeon who I totally love and is so sweet, wouldn’t talk to me, or smile at me. For the whole day I couldn’t figure it out why he was mad. I was asking him, I was asking the other boys, and nobody told me. Then during free time in the afternoon he kinda started to talk to me then Andy came over and was being me and saying stuff. Then he walked away and I said “Ou fache avek mwen paske Andy?” (You mad at me because Andy?) He said Yes. So Andy said something to make him mad at me so that I couldn’t talk to him, and I would only talk to Andy. Sneaky, because I didn’t realize that all day. So then I said “No, No fache paske Andy. I love you!” and he was back to his sweet smily self(: Wesly and Woody aren’t allowed to come up everyday just to hangout anymore. They are allowed to come to church on Fridays and Sundays just like all the other kids from Titanyen. We did that because they weren’t always a good influence on our kids, they had been doing some things they knew they weren’t supposed to, and also because we didn’t let any other kids come up every day. Also they have families that are alive, and that they live with, and they are taken care of at home. But Welsy came up to church tonight. It was good to see him because he is such a sweet boy and we hung out a lot when he came everyday. When I was saying goodnight to the boys tonight, there is a room of boys who are a little bit older, like 13-16 probably. They usually act too cool for a good night kiss. They try and get away, but tonight they all said good night I love you back, then when I started walking out of their room one of them said “Anko beau” which means “More kiss” And they all said goodnight I love you again! It was the sweetest thing ever. (: 

Saturday July 21, 2012

Today the Ammermanns made grilled cheese for all of us for lunch. I love grilled cheese, so that was awesome to have one of my favorite foods. I totally miss food from America. Mcdonalds. Steak. Tacos. Ice cream. Chipotle. Anyways, after lunch we put together and armoir for me to put my stuff in. It is so much nicer than living out of plastic bins that you have to slide out from under the bed every time you need something. It’s not totally finished, we still need to put the doors on, but I can have all my stuff in it at least, and it is so nice! The boys started ironing their clothes for church before we had dinner so most of them had them done by bed time. Some of them didn’t and still said they needed pants, which is crazy because they had pants the week before, which means they have pants. But then we found out that they didn’t want to wear those pants so they were just saying they needed more. They were telling us that they gave them to us last week after church which was a lie.

Sunday July 22, 2012

Today I got up. Got ready for church. Everyone got ready. The team got here, we had church. Church was so packed today! There was so many kids! Onelson and Wesly came. It is cool that I am getting to know people from outside our gates as well as establishing strong bonds with the kids inside. I like that because then when I go out on the Kuboda and I see them and say “Hi” they remember me as well. After church the team did their bible lesson with the kids. We ate lunch. I hung out with James because he hasn’t been at church the last couple weeks because he was so busy studying for his final examines. He was telling me that it takes him 2 hours to get here, and he leaves at 6:00am. It takes so much longer to get here because he takes the Taptap, and those stop all the time to let people on and off. But it is so awesome that he goes through all that just to come to church here. But lately the teams have been driving him home because it is so much faster, and better for him rather than taking 2 hours to get home, and it costs money too. It was so hard seeing Tori say goodbye to all of them because I know that that I am having to do the exact same thing in about 3 weeks.. So sad! 

Tuesday July 24, 2012

Some people from Global Outreach stopped by today. I asked hem about my foot and they said to come by tomorrow morning and they would take the stitches out, so I can finally be done with them! Praise the Lord! Today I did a lot for the elderly with Jess. First we got all the food ready. Monthly we deliver each of them a big bag of food with things like rice, flour, pasta, oil, fish, condensed milk, and beans. Also some laundry soap. We also deliver a meal to each of them a couple times a week, sometimes daily. So we got all the bags ready. Then we took about 15. Jonas who was with us, who speaks no english isnt the person who usually does the elderly so he didn’t know who lived where. Each of the bags had a name on it, saying who it was for. So we were making stops at peoples houses and we didnt even have their bag of food with us so we would have to go back later. Eventually we got down to about 5 and we went back to Grace Village to get the rest. We were moving along then one stop was in the market. Our nurse, who’s work ethic s lacking jumped out of the Kuboda and decided she needed her watch fixed, so we had to wait even longer. We got down to about 5 and Jonas said that Henry Claude would do the rest when he got there, so we went home. One of the places we stopped there was some guys sitting around. One said “Hey you” so I turned around and looked at him, and in the most joyful voice he said “I LOVE YOU!” I said, “well thank you”. Then he said “KISS ME!” and puckered his lips at me. I said “pita” which means later... everyone laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. But I was not going to kiss that guy!! 

Thursday:
I woke up, got all ready. Then I had to wait, what felt like forever for Jean to be ready to go. We left at about 10:30, dropped Ericka off at the airport, then we ran errands all day. It felt like we drove all through the whole country. We FINALLY got up to Grace Village at about 5:00. We pulled up and all the kids came running up to the car with the biggest smiles on. I got out of the truck and was swamped with the precious kids I missed so much. I got so many hugs! They carried all my bags to my room for me. They all kept telling me "I missed you so much!" , "I love you so much!", "Are you good?", "We all prayed for you to be okay!" . Andy, my buddy told me "When you go to the guest house for a week, I cry for you. I miss you." It was the cutest thing! So for the rest of the night I just hung out, and enjoyed my time with my "family".

Friday: The team, and Dr. Sem came up to do medical checks on all the kids, to make sure they are all healthy and doing good. Nothing else exciting really happened. The kids from Titanyen came up for church after dinner.

Saturday: The team, and Dr. Sem came again, but this time they saw all the elderly. Jonas, would go pick them up, we would do the medical examine, give them some food and water, then he would bring them back and pick up more. One of them had a hat. It was dirty and falling apart, and he told us he needed a new one. I knew that we had a box of hats in one of the containers that we were going to donate. So I ventured over there to look for the box. I searched in there for about 20 minutes, sweating and all. I could not find the box anywhere. But I was determined, because we had them and I told him we would get him one "today". So I kept looking and finally found the box. Marie, who is 103 years old, wanted a hat. She LOVED it. She wore it the entire day, did not take it off once. She was so funny. Seeing all these people in our elderly program is a bittersweet feeling. It is so sad to see the conditions they are in, and what they go through. Knowing that most off all their health problems are easily fixable in the states, and they dont have access to anything like that here. It is so great though, that we are able to take care of them, keep them comfortable, and make sure that we are doing everything that we are able to do to stop whatever it is, or prevent it from getting worse. The man with Lepresy, Ofan, came and he was so happy. He was laughing and joking around with another guy. He was smiling and singing. To me seeing that was really hard. They were cleaning out his foot. He has only half his foot, due to this disease. It looks like someone just cut the first half of his foot off. You can see the bone sticking out, and there is kind of skin forming around it a little. I had to hold the bag of liquid, whatever they were using to clean it, so I was right there watching. That was really hard. It made me so sad. He is getting surgery sometime next week to prevent him from dying from that. Everyone please pray for him. After church I was hanging out over on the boys side. All of a sudden it was crazy. They were all saying that they didn't have clothes for church, a shirt, or pants, or shoes. So I gave a couple of them what we had left in the storage closet. More kept coming up to me saying they needed something. The problem was that we didn't have anything left. Either they all keep it in their bins and dont pu it in the laundry so it is dirty, or the ladies havent washed it yet. So it was a crazy rush to make sure everyone had clothes. Then it was the craziness of everyone trying to iron their clothes. The boys had towels laid down on their floors ironing on that. Then when they would set it down to fix their clothes they would leave it face down. They didn't understand that it would start on fire if they did that. They also didn't understand that the iron was hot because they kept touching it... I told them they would get burned but they didn't listen.. Eventually all the chaos wired down and there were just some of the older boys outside ironing on the boards. They are so awesome. There is one boy who takes care of all the little boys, he ironed all their clothes, made sure they all had something to wear and he did it perfectly. I just ove him, he is an awesome kid.

Sunday July, 15 2012:

One of the children from Titanyen at church this morning. She  was so so so adorable!!! 

Today I got up, got ready for church. Took some pictures with the kids, all dressed in their Sunday best. We had church. Then some of the boys changed from their nice clothes to their nicer clothes because one of our little boys mom died so they went to her funeral.  The Ammermanns moved into their house last night so they invited all us missionaries over for lunch. We had spaghetti. It was nice to have an American meal. Then I took a nap. I woke up, watched the boys nightly soccer game. Ally and I moved out of the room we were in, into another room. I had oatmeal for dinner. Went to the church service. All the kids from Titanyen came up again. It was a full house tonight. I even had to stand in the back because there was no room to sit. Then church was over, I made my rounds. Kissed all my babies goodnight, and told them I love them. I finally have internet (kinda) so I decided I should blog since it hasn't been working since I got back up here. Now I am going to go to bed. Bon Nwit.

                           Bradley all ready for church today! - I love him. He is so adorable. Always smiling(:                         

   

Junior!

Ronaldo(: Another one of my buddies! I love him so much. Every time he sees me he walks up and gives me a big hug and says "I love you" . 

Gerno- He is an amazing kid! So awesome with the little boys. So responsible. So sweet!  (: 

Monday July 9, 2012

Today We woke up, slept a little later than usual. We ate breakfast. Then Jean, Kathy and I went to see Dr. Sem. He cleaned my foot and then was saying that I need a Xray to make sure that there is no foreign objects in it, like broken pieces of glass. Then he proceeded to tell me that if there was I would have to have it reopened then they would dig around and get it out, then sew it back up. Yes, that would be great, as if the first time wasn't traumatic enough... But we got the Xray, and there was nothing in it. I was so relieved!! So after that we drove all around until we found a pharmacy, we got me some other medicine. Then Jean pulled over and parked on the side of the road. He said that the guys were going to wash his windshield, and that hw would be right back. He totally disappeared, and Kathy and I were left in the car with all the windows down, no keys, and about 5 guys around us speaking in creole to us. We got some of what they were saying. They wanted our clothes, they wanted money, they wanted my bracelets. Jean was gone for about 15 minutes. This is right after he was telling us that everyone wants his pretty girls (us) because we are white. At first it was fine but it started getting kind of sketchy but eventually he came back, and we were totally fine. It was an experience..that is for sure! Then he drove us back to the guest house. We ate some pizza, I took my medicines, then I took a nice long nap. I woke up and the team was here. We ate dinner. After dinner we went to te grocery store. It was so interesting. The workers were like following me around the store. Everyone wanted to know what happened to me, and if I was okay, and they kept telling me that they would pray for me, and they hoped I got better soon. One guy even asked for my phone number to "keep in contact". The numbers here are so long so I told him I dont know it , which was a good excuse not to give it to him, but true at the same time. So he asked if he could give me his. I said sure, why not. So he wrote all his info down on this card that was like a promotion for a dance club, he gave it to me, and told me that he would be waiting to hear from me.. Then at the checkout line the guy hit on all four of us girls, offered to make a baby with one of us, and then as I was waiting over by the wall  because I was done he came over to Jean and told him "I don't like white girls, but I like her and her broken leg". Then Tori was checking out and she was buying a electric bug zapper racket thing. First of all there was a picture of a baby on the package, which was crazy because a baby should not have one of those, and if any parent gives  their child one they are crazy. Then the guy took it out of the wrapper, he spit, and zapped his spit with it... It was so weird, but super funny!!
Today I learned how things work in this country. If you are white you are V.I.P. At the doctor there was probably about 50 people sitting around waiting, but because I am white and the Doctor knows me I didn't have to wait at all. Ii was nice because we would have been waiting for hours, but I felt so bad about it. I wouldn't have minded waiting, at least some. I am no better than any of them just because I am white, and they probably needed medical care more than me. But the same thing happened at the Xray place. And Jean even told us that that is how things work in Haiti. It makes me sad to think that I am someone coming into THEIR country and I am treated better than they are, just because I am white. I also heard that their theory is that the whiter your skin is, the closer you are to Jesus. That sounds so crazy to us, but that is how their culture sees white people.

Tuesday July, 10 2012
Today, I basically did nothing. I watched about 4 movies, and I slept a lot. We cleaned my foot. The nurse on the team cleaned it out super good, and she said it is getting better, and looks super good! So apparently all this laying around, which feels like torture is paying off because I am healing up correctly. For dinner we had pizza. And since it is Ericka's birthday, and a couple other people on the team have birthdays this week we had cake and ice cream! After dinner I skyped with my family for about 45 minutes. Then I talked to Grandma and Grandpa for awhile also. I ditched the crutches tonight too! That totally boosted my spirits because that means Im improving! 


Wednesday June 11, 2012

Today I woke up and my foot was feeling great! I could walk around without the crutches, and without pain and blood. We decided that tomorrow I can FINALLY go back up to Grace Village!! So today I was a good girl, and laid in bed watching movies and sleeping just like they tell me to, even though I was so bored. Then at about 1 I decided I was fine and I got up ad went over to Tori's house to visit her and Ericka. We watched the lady sew some dresses. Then we tried to fix some machines. (Well Tori did and Ericka and I kinda watched.) Then the Ammermann's came to visit! They are awesome people! They prayed over me then we visited for a little while, then they had to go. I can't wait to get up to Grace to get to know them better, and see how they work, and improve things to make everyone more connected and make things run more smoothly. I got to Skype with Uncle Dave, Anne, Hannah and the boys this afternoon. It was great to see them, and talk to them! Tonight for dinner it was a traditional Creole meal. Then I Skyped my family. After I packed up all my stuff because IM GOING BACK TO GRACE VILLAGE TOMORROW!!! (: