Lindsay in Haiti

The Preschoolers!

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They are so much fun!

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Beautiful

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Around Pignon...

Gonaives Refugees

2008-11-17T17:45:00.001-05:00

These are my friends' children from Gonaives who are currently living in Pignon. During the hurricane, they stayed on their neighbors' second story roof for over 48 hours with no food and only rain water to drink. For most of that time, their mom covered their faces with a blanket to protect them from seeing the unimaginable images that surrounded them (dead bodies floating by, houses being swept away, etc). Along with their parents and several other children, they were able to leave Gonaives by helicopter after the water level went down. All the kids are now in school in Pignon and doing very well.

Photo Shoot

2008-11-16T07:35:00.000-05:00

Pictures are a big deal to most people in Haiti because they are taken so rarely and cameras are hard to come by. Most of my friends have maybe a total of ten pictures of themselves. No annual school pictures or holiday pictures. Since the kids get so excited about getting their pictures taken, I use this as an incentive for the students. Here are some of the 6th grade girls...

The Milk Girls

2008-11-07T12:28:00.000-05:00

More kids in my milk program who live in my neighborhood...

Angeline

Ti Rose

They come every morning before school, usually around 5:30. They chug their milk, take their vitimins, and are on their way. They are the happiest little girls...

2008-11-05T17:08:00.000-05:00

Starving

2008-10-23T18:36:00.004-04:00

On Sunday when I was walking through the hospital I met this little guy named Walkins. He's 7 years old. He's the middle of five children. I've seen his other family members and they look normal and healthy. The doctor says his only problem is malnutrition (no other diseases). I'm still trying to figure out his whole story. Situations like this are extremely hard for me to understand. I know this is bad, but as soon as I met his mom I felt mad at her. I resented her and wanted to blame her for everything. How can you let your child get this bad? I know things are tough here and food can be difficult for people to find, but why would you wait until your child can no longer walk before you take him to the hospital? It's so hard to understand from an outsiders prospective.

I decided to start taking a little food and milk to him everyday... just to kind of add to whatever else he's getting from his mom. Walkins is a very picky eater; it's crazy to see him turn down food while his body is literally starving. When I take food and he doesn't eat it right then, I always wonder if his mom or siblings will take it from him. Yesterday I took him peanut butter and crackers and he told me he was full but that he'd eat them later. I came back to check on him that night while I was visiting another sick friend, and I noticed that some of the crackers had been eaten. I congratulated him on eating some of crackers and he replied that his mom had been the one to eat them...

I'll try to post updates of Walkins as he makes progress.

Sisterly Love

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Recent pictures of Jesula... She's continuing to speak more everyday. Unfortunately, she's not making much progress as far as walking goes... but we're not giving up!

More School Pictures

2008-10-09T10:56:00.000-04:00

The First Day of School

2008-10-07T11:48:00.000-04:00

We had our first day of school yesterday. It was so great to see all the kids again. Like every first week of school, there were lots of tears shed by the little preschoolers!

Summer Pictures

2008-10-04T18:50:00.001-04:00

I forgot to post some pictures from my summer vacation back in August. I went to Texas and then home to Indiana. It was a great vacation...did lots of catching up, shopping, and eating good food. My parents are building a new house, so my mom and I spent a lot of time picking out things for the new house. So fun!

My first stop was in Austin to visit Elaine. She just recently moved there, so we spent a lot of time exploring the city- which is pretty cool place...

Then catching up (and shopping!) with biz in Indy. As usual we did dinner at the Palomino ...

The Downham cousins at Mark and Julie's wedding...

And of course, a trip to the houseboat! My friend Rebecca was able to fly in from Kansas City for a long weekend at the lake. (She's not pictured; she was too scared to tube;) ...

Mimid & Baby

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Mimid & Baby

2008-09-19T17:41:00.003-04:00

Alban and I spent the afternoon with two of the coolest girls in Pignon, Mimid and Baby. We went out to lunch (Pignon now has a restaurant!) and then played games at my house. They kept us laughing non-stop!

MINUSTAH

2008-09-16T18:04:00.000-04:00

With school not starting until October 6th, Alban and I have lots of free time on our hands. And so, we decided to join the UN.

(I know it's hard to see, but Alban is driving the second tank.) haha

Hurricane Damage

2008-09-06T17:37:00.001-04:00

A few pictures from Hanna that a friend sent me... This first picture was taken in Hinche which is just 19 miles from where I am! The second picture is from Les Cayes and the last two were taken in Gonaives, which was hit the hardest.

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Too cute

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Happy Friday!

2008-07-24T12:21:00.001-04:00

Last week, I was lucky enough to get to see the Citadelle again. While Hannah, Alban, and I were in Cap, I took them up to the Citadelle so they could experience it. We opted for walking up instead of taking the donkeys (as if we weren't hot and sweaty enough already). We had a great time hearing the stories and seeing the view. It's amazing!

2008-07-22T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hiking the Mountain

2008-07-05T16:39:00.001-04:00

This morning, a group of us hiked up Mt. Pignon. It's been a while since I've done that and I forgot how great the view is. You can see so far!!

Me with 4 of my students...

Evidently the top of the mountain wasn't high enough for Alban and Jesse so they climbed up the antenna...

Alban and Carolyn at the top of Mt. Pignon...

Fe Ti Musik

2008-07-03T11:37:00.001-04:00

These old men were so cute! They came and played a little music during the soybean festival...

The beach in Limonade

2008-06-30T12:22:00.001-04:00

This weekend I took a little trip up north. I went to a jatropha festival (which I'll blog about later) in the small town of Terrier Rouge, just east of Cap Haitien. I went with Carolyn and Alban, two Americans who are here for the summer in Pignon with HIM. Carolyn is here to learn Creole for her job and Alban is here working and teaching. Saturday evening a group of us decided to hop in the truck and drive up to Limonade at sunset.

Olivia, who lives in Terrier Rouge, and Alban hanging out with local kids who live at the beach.

Me, Carolyn and Alban...

...hamming it up for the camera...

2008-06-24T10:50:00.000-04:00

Friday was kindergarten graduation. The kids performed all kinds of songs, skits, and poems (a few even in English!).

2 sets of twins

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My Uncle Mark gave me 2 tickets to see Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift while I was home- VIP seats, of course. (He has the greatest hook ups like that.) I took biz, and as always, we had a blast. Taylor Swift was adorable; a great little entertainer.

I was also able to go down to the houseboat for a few days with the family. It was a nice getaway after the funeral and everything.

Lexi chillin in the chair...

2008-06-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you know I'm back in Haiti. I got into Port on Tuesday and flew out to Pignon Wednesday. While in Port, I stayed with a friend of mine (she's a new doctor in Pignon) at her family's beautiful house in Bel-Ville. We went to dinner in Petion-Ville where I was able to get one last cheeseburger (it was delicious, by the way)!

School is officially out for the summer. I just have to work on sending report cards out to the sponsors. I'm also doing some fun classes this summer for some of the students- computer classes and English.
So excited summer is here!!

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2008-06-08T23:48:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a little break from the blog for a few days. I'm actually in Lafayette right now for my Grandpa Snouwaert's funeral and will back in Haiti next week.

Have a great week.

2008-06-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

Love trying a Coke...

I think she's thinking, "Must you take a picture of everything I do?".

2008-06-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

Bon Fet

2008-06-03T09:57:00.001-04:00

Sunday I went to a First Communion party for some friends. It was a nice little party with an enormous spread of food; pumpkin soup, salads, rice & beans, cake, etc. The food was wonderful.
I was a bit nervous about eating it, not knowing how it was prepared. I've been sick before from bad food/water in Haiti...not fun. I also knew I had lots to do this week and couldn't spend it in the bathroom :) They handed me a plate with food piled on it and I couldn't say no thanks, I'll pass. So, I ate it all up, praying I wouldn't get sick.

Turns out, I got lucky and I'm feeling just fine.

Some helping hands...

2008-06-02T10:19:00.001-04:00

Our Sponsorship Program

2008-05-30T11:22:00.000-04:00

For the past few weeks, I've been working with the sponsored students at our school, helping them write/draw thank you letters to send to their sponsors. The kids love drawing with crayons- something they don't get to use very often. We have a great sponsorship program that makes it possible for these kids to go to school and a long list of kids who are in need of a sponsor. Interested in giving a child an education?? Got to Hosean's website http://hosean.org for more information.

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I was out at our Lapila school this morning working on some stuff for the sponsorship program. I thought these 2 girls were so cute. I couldn't resist taking their picture...

2008-05-28T10:10:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe finals start next week. The school year is winding down quickly...

The battery in my ATV died and won't hold a charge, so I've been doing my fair share of walking this week. I'm hoping to find an ATV battery somewhere in Haiti in the near future... maybe in Cap Haitien or Port?

me & myel

Each morning...

2008-05-27T10:49:00.000-04:00

the milk kids come to my door...

here for their daily glass of milk...

always leaving with a mustache....

College de la Grace

2008-05-25T07:58:00.001-04:00

Last week we celebrated the schools' 15th anniversary. The week was filled with tons of events, my favorite being the teachers vs. students soccer match. (Watching the "older" teachers run around aggressively was hilarious!) The teachers surprised everyone and played really well. They tied with a score of 2-2!
On Monday, we had a really cool ceremony at the church. All of the students (almost 800), preschool through high school, marched all the way from the school to the church with a marching band. There were several speakers and choirs that performed. At one point, they asked all of the previous graduates of the school to stand. It was really something to see the people who had gone on to be teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, pastors, etc, all because of what God has made possible in our town. Fifteen years ago there wasn't even a high school in Pignon!

My friend Joe after his graduation with the adorable Lucien girls.

Love's new ride

2008-05-24T08:25:00.000-04:00

When I gave my little friend Kiki this toy truck, I thought he'd haul rocks and sand in it. I wasn't thinking he'd be carting babies around! Love sits in the truck 24/7... She cries when they make her get out.

It's HOT

2008-05-22T07:35:00.000-04:00

For the past week, we have had some really hot weather in Pignon. It's been getting up to almost 90 degrees INSIDE my house during the day! I noticed last night at 6:30 it was still 85. Let me tell you, that's not fun sleeping weather...

2008-05-20T19:19:00.000-04:00

Fe Ti Poze

2008-05-18T18:50:00.000-04:00

Flag Day

2008-05-17T17:06:00.000-04:00

Flag Day is tomorrow, May 18th. The kids at school celebrated a little early on Friday by making flags and dancing around. Tomorrow there will be a big soccer game and then all kinds of performances put on by different schools of dancing and singing.

Sala's Garden

2008-05-16T21:01:00.000-04:00

I spent yesterday afternoon in my friend, Sala's garden. We drove my 4-wheeler as far as we could and then walked for about 20 more minutes. The garden was out in the country side and so beautiful. It seems like most people who live 'in town' and have no space for a garden in their yard, have gardens (for small fields) out in the country.
We picked pineapples, mangos, cashews, and citron (for juice). I've become somewhat of a mango addict so I'm way excited to have a whole basket full!

Jeanese trying out the mangos.

Posing with our stash....

Sala carrying her basket home.

I'm back in Pignon

2008-05-14T11:45:00.003-04:00

On Monday my flight was late getting into Port (anyone who's a frequent flyer to Haiti knows this is no big suprise). So I called Caleb to say that I made it to Port, but that it was too late for me to fly out to Pignon. And he said thats ok because he had a free voucher for me to stay at the Hotel Montana. Turns out his families' flight was also very late in getting to Haiti and he scored free vouchers at one of the nicest hotels in Haiti! I was so happy he shared his blessing with me. After a super-crazy busy week in the States, my 'mini' vacation at the hotel was wonderful. I actually needed that one-day vacation from my vacation!

Aerial view of Pignon... as you can see, our town sits at the base of the mountain. You can also see the grass runway strip on the left.

Our (impressive) school, College de la Grace. If you can kinda see how the buildings make a sqaure, I live about in the top center of the square.

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Cool Shades

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around Pignon

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I made it back home to Indiana ok... When I think about what all I've done in the last few days since I've been here, all that comes to mind is the great food I've been eating! I'm definitely taking advantage of all the good American food I can get. And of course when I'm not eating, I'm hanging out with friends and family. As always, my mom and I have been pretty much inseparable since I got off the plane :)

2008-04-29T09:06:00.001-04:00

I'm going to the States in two days. I can't wait to see my friends and family and catch up on the last 4 months. After school today, if it doesn't rain, I'm going to make my rounds and say goodbye to all my friends. I'll only be gone a week and a half, but I feel so bad leaving everyone!

Love and I...

Field Trip!

2008-04-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

On Friday the 2nd through 5th grades took a field trip. We went to see a big cave in a neighboring town and had a picnic. I planned outdoor games and had prizes. They also taught me some of the games that they play. It was a great day with the kids!

The last of Elaine's trip

2008-04-27T19:49:00.001-04:00

Elaine left a few days ago and boy do I miss her. After two weeks, I was getting used to having her around...

Fishermen...

We took a water taxi to the village of Labadee (which is only accessible by water) and went exploring.

We couldn't help but be cheesy and write "friends forever" in the sand, like we used to do when we were younger.

Citadel Pictures

2008-04-26T17:02:00.002-04:00

Some of the 365 canons that were brought over from France...

Each canon had its own chimney above...

The canon balls....

Amazing view...

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The outside of the Citadel...

20,000 enslaved workers died while building the fortress for Henri Christophe.

And with no cement, the Citadel was build with limestone, molasses, and cow's blood. How crazy?!

2008-04-22T15:59:00.000-04:00

Elaine and I ventured out of Pignon this weekend. We went up north to Milot and then to Cap Haitien. We did lots of fun things but we agreed that seeing the Citadel was the best. It was so amazing!

The moon shining on the water in the bay....

Water front property?!

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I've been enjoying the week with Elaine here. It's so fun to have company!

Elaine and LouLou at the orphanage...

Our shadow... we had trouble finding someone to take our picture on the 4-wheeler, so we got creative and took a picture of our shadow.

School Pictures

2008-04-17T13:04:00.000-04:00

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a little bit about the situation in Haiti

2008-04-14T14:12:00.005-04:00

I've gotten lots of emails from friends wondering about the situation in Haiti. I haven't had internet access until today, so unfortunately I haven't been able to keep everyone posted. I was actually in Port-au-Prince from Tuesday until Friday when everything was going on. As mentioned in the previous post, I was in the city to pick up my friend Elaine at the airport. Things were pretty crazy on Tuesday as I was driving around with Caleb trying to get up to the hotel in Petion-Ville. People burned gas stations, and there were road blocks up everywhere; burning tires and demonstrations. I don't want to go into a lot of detail, because my mom will be reading this and I don't want to scare her too much!! Driving around Port on Thursday wasn't bad at all. Schools, businesses and most places were closed, so things were pretty quiet. There weren't a lot of people out on the streets but you could see lots of damage that had been done.

Everything *seems* to be calmer since they ousted the Prime Minister on Saturday, but I haven't hear much today.
I can definitely see the effects of food prices and everything and how its affecting the people in our little town of Pignon. The Pignon market, which is usually shoulder to shoulder was so empty on Saturday- people can't afford to buy food. Prices of everything have gone up (I paid $15 for 2 gallons of gas) and people are hungry. We are just waiting and praying that things will get better. And, they will. :)

She's Here!

2008-04-14T12:53:00.001-04:00

Elaine, a childhood friend is in Haiti visiting me for two weeks. We survived the craziness in Port and are now hanging out in Pignon.

at the hotel Montana in Port...

on the plane out to Pignon...

Rainy Season Has Arrived

2008-04-01T13:40:00.001-04:00

Collecting water for my baths, etc.

Kids running to the bus.

After about six months, it looks like dry season has ended and we are making our way to rainy season. It's not raining daily yet, which is nice. The other nice thing: the cool 73 degree temperature right now!

2008-03-30T20:41:00.000-04:00

School starts again tomorrow. We had Spring Break followed by a teaching seminar last week, so I'm looking forward to seeing those cute little kids in those cute little uniforms.
Today I had a proud parent tell me that her 3 year old son, a student of mine, went up to a visiting American in the street and boldly asked, "What is your name?" The mom said she about fell over when she heard her son say that because she had no idea he knew how to ask that in English.

LaMare

2008-03-26T14:04:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I ventured out of Pignon and took a fun little trip to LaMare. The river was down and the roads were good; my 4-wheeler had no problem at all. LaMare is a tiny place in the middle of nowhere. It was cool to be back there. My first few trips to Haiti were spent out in LaMare. Being there brought back many memories and I remember now why I first fell in love with this country...

my friend Bitho and his goddaughter...

great smile...

braiding hair...

I'm still here

2008-03-22T09:58:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to say sorry for the lack of posts and that I'm alive and ok. I've been crazy-busy for several weeks now and access to internet has been more difficult than usual. I think things will be getting better...
There is a group from Lafayette (ECC) working out in LaMare this week, so I'm going out on my 4-wheeler to visit them for the day. Have a great weekend!

How I Spent My Weekend

2008-03-21T13:13:00.000-04:00

...well, how I spent my weekend, two weekends ago....

Ah, Cormier... relaxing... fun.... beautiful....

Heading Home on Horseback

2008-02-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-02-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

Giving praise to God after the service.

The Baptism

2008-02-26T15:40:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-20T17:12:00.000-05:00

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.

2008-02-17T07:45:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-02-17T07:16:00.000-05:00

Posing in the Hat

2008-02-15T09:58:00.003-05:00

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

2008-02-10T07:04:00.000-05:00

Women of Strength

2008-02-08T10:11:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

Girls and Their Dolls

2008-02-03T07:21:00.000-05:00

Job

2008-02-01T09:56:00.001-05:00

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.

Job's new 'do

2008-01-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

My blog is kinda turning into "Job in Haiti" instead of "Lindsay in Haiti", but I can't help it :)

Pignon's barber shop

Here's Job with his cool new hair cut. Yesterday morning when Job went to the hospital to get his bandages changed, the doctors decided to keep him. This is an answer to prayer, as I've been trying to get him a bed at the hospital for a while now. Having a nice soft bed at the hospital will be a lot more comfortable than the cardboard box he was sleeping on at his Grandma's. He complains of pain and is getting increasingly weaker, but his fever from last week has gone away.

It's Friday!

2008-01-25T10:40:00.000-05:00

One more class to teach this morning and I'm done for the week! At noon, I'm taking Job to get his hair cut (yes, there is a barber shop in Pignon) and then checking on a few sick kids. After that, I'm heading out to some rural areas to give out kids clothes and later tonight I'm watching a Haitian movie on my laptop with my friend, Sylvie. Should be a fun day. Have a great weekend!

Prayers Please

2008-01-23T11:38:00.000-05:00

I wanted to write a little update about Job today, especially for all of you on the Fargo medical team who've been asking. As I sit here and try to write, its like it is too hard for me to talk about him. (Several people have seen first hand, Job brings me to tears very easily.) It's so hard to talk about his deteriorating situation and the way his family treats him. To see someone I love so much suffering like he this, I just can't come up with words.

So, here is Job's past week in pictures. *As a warning, the last picture is a little graphic*

Calling his dad in Port-au-Prince

Trying to eat some Mamba

Love that smile.

Getting his bandages changed

Pink Doors

2008-01-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

Sugar Cane

2008-01-21T18:28:00.000-05:00

It's That Time of Year Again...

2008-01-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

to eat sugar cane.

With it being dry season, it can be tough finding food. Lots of people resort to chomping on some good ol' fashion sugar cane to get them by. The dental hygienist in me gets a little nervous seeing this ;)

Cabo!

2008-01-16T07:20:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to put up some pictures from our family vacation in December and never got around to it. The day after left Haiti and I arrived at my parents house, they took my sister and I to Cabo San Lucas. We did tons of cool things. It was a blast!

Cute couple.

Ahh, the sunset at dinner.
A wonderful dinner at Sunset de Mona Lisa.

We chartered a boat one day and went deep sea fishing. My mom, sister, and I each caught a marlin. My dad did all of the coaching. Here's me and my fish, that I am too scared to touch.

Horseback riding on the beach. This was absolutely hilarious, but to hard to explain why.

The marina in Cabo was amazing. We as a family are very much into boating, so we couldn't help but drool over the beautiful mulit-million dollar yachts. Wow!

The famous arch at lands' end.

2008-01-13T06:51:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I see people talking on their cell phones while riding on donkeys. That just seems odd to me. Yesterday, I saw this woman carrying a fairly big TV on her horse. I just started laughing when I saw that. It doesn't seem normal. But then again, what's normal?!

Job and Daphca

2008-01-12T07:19:00.000-05:00

Daphca, Sophronie (Job's 12 year old sister and caretaker) and Job sitting on my 4-wheeler.

Daphca and Job were reunited this week :) Daphca was back in town to have an operation on her clavical. The two kids didn't think they'd ever see each other again, so it was really cute seeing their reactions when I took Daphca in to see Job. There was a team this week of American doctors who looked at Job. They explained to me things aren't looking too well for him. Job's bed sores are getting so bad that the infection is now in his bones. The sores are like raw craters forming on his spine, hips and bottom. Job is so precious though. With everything going on and his family treating him so badly, he never fails to have a big smile for me as I walk up to him.

I'm here!

2008-01-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

After two days of travel, I'm safely back in Pignon. This morning I've been unpacking and cleaning out all of the cobb webs. No sign of rat, cockroach, or tarantula inhabitants, so I'm pretty happy.

Later today I'm heading to the market to buy some fruits and then off to visit friends. Have a great weekend!

Dying to See The Kids I Love

2007-12-31T16:00:00.000-05:00

On Thursday I'll be heading south, on my way back to Haiti. I should arrive at my house in Pignon on Friday afternoon. The last few weeks back in the States have been great. I've had a fabulous holiday, spending time with friends and taking a family vacation to Cabo. The last couple of days I have been busy doing my supply shopping- mostly food, to last me the next several months. My suitcases are bursting at the seams. My estimated guess is that they are pushing their 50 pound max, but we'll see. I had to ship down some boxes of stuff because I just didn't have enough room for everything.

While I've been in the States I've noticed I'm constantly thinking about 'my' kids back in Haiti. I'm so anxious to see them! Here are a few kids that I'm just crazy about...

Job and I at the hospital. He got to take a break from his hospital bed and sit in a chair for a few hours.

Just a few months ago, this baby, Love was malnurished and not thriving at all. She was in the care of her mom, who didn't want/love her. Now, her 15 year old aunt in caring for her and she is making great improvement every week.

Me and Jesula, an orphan. I love this girl!!

Myel...dancing for the camera.

Family Time

2007-12-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

Last week my uncle had a holiday party at his rockin' new house. I ended up spending the whole night catching up with my Downham cousins instead of socializing. It was a blast. We all agree we have one of the cutest Grandpas out there!

Me with my family.

Home for the Holidays

2007-12-27T19:57:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!

This was Lexi's first Christmas. She got lots of presents from Santa; enough chew toys and bones to last her till next year. She's in heaven.

Annabelle

2007-12-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

Annabelle is 9 months old now... still no teeth or hair, but as cute as can be.

Tap-Taps

2007-11-20T12:18:00.000-05:00

Tap-taps- public transportation in Haiti. They are always loaded down to the max and there is always room for one more.

Movie Nights

2007-11-11T06:39:00.000-05:00

Living in rural Haiti, there is not a lot to do for entertainment. One thing I really enjoy is watching movies on my laptop. I usually have movie nights with my two good friends, Hans and Marjory. Hans is a doctor from Port-au-Prince and Marjory is a nurse from Jacmel. They are both big movie buffs and have actually seen more American movies than I have!