Heading Home on Horseback

Ritha and her baby girl Madeline headed back home to LaMare. Ritha didn't want the baby to be shaken while on the horse, so her mom who was walking, carried the baby the entire way. I talked to them later that night and they said they made it home safely. It took them 5 hours to get home; an hour and a half of that was in the dark. They are so tough!

Well, I'm off to teach some English classes. Today is Thursday, so that means a movie and dinner tonight with my friend Sylvie.

one more picture...

Giving praise to God after the service.

The Baptism

On Friday, our chuch had its annual baptism down at the river. It was a beautiful service. I have several friends who got baptised and was able to get some really cool pictures.

People gathered on the other side of the river to watch.

Pastor Sidoine and my friend Sala, before the service started.

Walking back to shore.

And This Makes 6 Girls

Ritha, the last one from the LaMare gang, gave birth on Saturday! She had a baby girl, so that makes 6 girls for her by the age of 30. I was lucky enough to be there for the birth and help out, which was a good thing because her husband was back in LaMare. It was the coolest and funniest experience (I can say that because I wasn't the one laboring!).
I stopped by the hospital to drop off one of Ritha's daughters around 6:30 in the evening. When I walked into the room, Ritha was in lots of pain and yelling crazy things. I decided I'd go track down the doctor to see if he'd look at Ritha. He took a quick look and was like, "oh, the baby's comin!" So, Ritha hops out of the bed with her IV still attached and starts running. I grabbed her IV bag... I was really confused...and yelled out "Where are we going!?" as I ran down the hallway. Ritha was running so fast and screaming and I was trying to hold her up and keep up with her pase at the same time. Someone yelled out, "To the maternity room!", which I didn't know we even had in the hospital. After we veered a few corners and arrived in the room, I hoisted Ritha up onto the bed while the doctor put on his gloves. I realized then that I had forgotten my camera in the room where all the pregnant women stay. I quickly ran for my camera and literally 10 SECONDS after I was back in the room with Ritha, the baby arrived! She's healthy and cute and has lots of hair as you can see in the pictures.

Baby Boom in LaMare

I have three good friends (all from the same small village of LaMare) pregnant at the same time! It makes me laugh to see them all laying next to each other in the hospital. One gave birth Saturday (and unfortunately lost the baby), one gave birth Sunday, and one is still waiting patiently.

Madame Onas, Marina, and Ritha (standing) in their hospital room.

Me with Marina's son an hour after he was born. As far as I know, he's still nameless. (I've noticed that some women aren't in a big hurry to name their children.)

Ritha, praying her baby will come soon! This is her 7th pregnancy.

We have two different teams here this week, so it looks like its going to be busy and fun. One team is a group of linemen from Minnesota. They will be putting up more power lines, checking to see if the old ones are safe, and also moving an enormous generator from one location to another. The second team is from Washington DC. They are going lead a conference with the high schoolers out at the camp and I think they're going to be helping with the revival. Our church is having its big revival this week. There will be services each night with different choirs and groups performing. The church is usually packed with everyone dancing and singing. It's a great time. The week will end with a baptism down at the river on Friday. Some good pictures to come!

Posing in the Hat

The other day I had my camera out, trying to get a picture of a little boy in his grandpa's hat. Well, six other kids in the yard saw me with my camera so then everyone decided they needed their picture taken with the hat on. And so here are a few of the shots in the above post....

I've had very little access to internet this week, thus the lack of posts. I started English classes for some of the teachers and administrative people I work with. I'm doing a class for beginners and a class for those who who've been studying English for awhile now. It's been fun and a great way for me to get to know them better.

Beautiful Smiles

Women of Strength

It doesn't take long to see that Haitian women are strong, both inside and out. You can easily tell they are the back bones of their families, keep everything together. Most are working from the moment they wake up until they go to bed: walking long distances to get water from the well, cooking meals over a fire, getting kids ready for school without electricity, washing clothes at the river, selling their goods at the market. Their strength, resilience, and faith will always be inspiring to me.

These girls are heading home after washing their clothes down at the river. The kivets on their heads are filled with clothes. Imagine how heavy wet clothes are!

Mardi Gras

I went into town Tuesday night to check out Mardi Gras. There were people dressed up, music and dancing in the streets; nothing too exciting. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we didn't have school because of Carnival. I spent my 3 day break catching up on things, cleaning my house, and working on school stuff. For the last few weeks, practically every waking moment was spent with Job, so I was due for some down time.

Dinner

Girls and Their Dolls

Job

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18) Picture taken 10/07

Job passed away early yesterday morning. His last two days were horrible but it is so comforting to know that he is in heaven now with a new body and no suffering.

Job was an oustanding kid and I already miss his precious voice, contagious smile, and his humor. I appreciate everyone's prayers and concerns for Job over the last several months.