Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!! Hoping you all have a safe and wonderful time surrounded by those you love celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!!

2010 so far

This year has been an eventful one! It started of with the horrible earthquake in Haiti, then the good news of Fritz getting his visa. We got married on August 14th and learned that we are expecting a little one in 2011. Fritz got to experience snow for the first time and has mixed feelings. The cold hasn't been his friend, but after living in the caribbean his whole life who can blame him? We are so blessed to be surrounded with such great family and friends who have helped and supported us through all of this!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone has a great end to 2010!!

November update

It has been a long time since I have updated and I apologize, it has been a combination of inconsistent internet, missing camera battery charger, and a hectic schedule.

Since my last post Nathalie has taken custody of November (the abandoned boy in the hospital) and he has been living with us. He has grown so much already! He is walking, babbling, and getting into everything.

Here is a picture of the little cutie! I tried to take a better one yesterday when he had cheetos all over himself, head to toe, but it didn't turn out :(

It's been awhile...

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I came back from Amber's wedding and hit the ground running. I have traveled all over the country twice (at least that's how I feel) and have not had internet frequently.

Some great news is that I was able to deliver more food to the orphanage Agape in Camp Perrin and a little girl we had given some medicine to for her eyes is completely healthy now! They were so loving and welcoming I was glad to be able to get back there!

A lot more has happened, and I hope to be able to keep you more updated in the future. God Bless you all for all you do to help others here and wherever!

Kids in the Hospital

Here is Sarafina and Kervins. Sarafina is 11 years old and from a village in Cayes. She had seizures last week. The doctors still don't know why and so she is staying in the hospital for now. She said she feels fine but they still want to keep her for awhile just in case.

Kervins is 7 years old and from a village in Cassamajor. A bed fell on his leg a week and a half ago and smashed it up pretty good and broke the bone. He had both sides of his lower leg cut open and a cut on top of his foot. They stitched him up yesterday saying he should be able to keep his leg. Tonight I went and visited him and he still has a lot of pain in his leg. Hopefully he is up and running sooner rather than later.

Please keep both of them in your prayers!

November

Nathalie and I have been visiting an abandoned boy in the hospital for the past couple of weeks named November. We think he about 3 years old judging from his teeth. He is very small and could pass for about an 18 month old. He doesn't talk but understands almost everything. He also doesn't know how to express himself except through anger. We always know when he is thirsty or hungry because he starts hitting and biting. Nathalie has been supplying the hospital with diapers and water for him because normally the family would bring these items into the hospital. He is getting stronger and has been walking almost everyday with the help of others. However he still has an abnormally large stomach and a ways to go to get completely healthy. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to heal physically and psychologically.

More Sunday School pictures

Here are some more pictures of the adorable little ones that attend our weekly Sunday School. This week in addition to the four blankets we gave out four kites left over from a recent group.

Agape Orphanage in Camp Perrin

Through the IFRP program, we are able to hand out 25% of the food we received for earthquake relief. I heard about an orphanage that used to be in Port au Prince but had to relocate after the earthquake to Camp Perrin. One of Espwa's director had checked it out and asked if we could gift them some food. So Friday we took 12 boxes of food to these 36 girls. The food will give them at least one meal a day for about 20 days. They are hoping to be able to move back to Port au Prince but that could take awhile.

A day at the beach!

Yesterday Fritz and I went to Port Salut to chill for a little while. The beach is beautiful and had lots of people. Well just like at any big gathering (especially Iowa State Fair) you find all kinds of people. This particular guy caught my attention because of his bright red Elmo hat, elbow pads, knee pads, shoulder pads, and to top it off.... a life vest!

Attn: Lauren, Amy, and Allison... see my style isn't so bad now is it??

Benito!

Here is sweet little Benito! He got hit on the head the other day and so Ryan brought him in to change his bandage. He then decided to give him this neat little hat to help keep the bandage on and clean.

Benito is another little one that always greets you with a smile, he doesn't run up to me as often as he used to because he's getting older and has more important things to do :)

Sunday School update

Yesterday was another great day with the little ones in our Sunday School! One of the neighboring Pastor's gave me a book with Bible stories with pictures!! Finally a children's story book in Creole!! We put it to use right away yesterday. The teachers were all excited as we only have one Bible that we share. Afterwards in our weekly meeting I shared more camps that I learned from being a camp counselor at PRUMC. I will be giving you picture updates on those next week! For now heres a couple of photos I took of my guys teaching our littlest ones about Jesus.

Kensley

Here is my little friend Kensley! He greets me with this smile everyday! He is Janey's best friend and they are a handful when they are together! This little one smiles from head to toe and its hard not to smile when you see him. I am so thankful for him and his hug every morning.

(Hey Mom, remember when I used to flip my eyelids inside out and think it was hilarious.... Kensley does the same thing to me now... just think he could grow up to be just like me!)

Happy Birthday FM!

Here are a couple photos of the Sunday School kids coloring Happy Birthday cards for Father Marc. They were adorable and in both Creole and English! When Father Marc came over to recieve them we also were able to sing Happy Birthday along with a couple other solos.

IFRP Distribution to Camp Perrin

Yesterday we were able to make our second distribution to Camp Perrin. The kids loved the food and asked us to come back with food everyday. They also sang some beautiful songs and welcomed me. Going back to Camp Perrin really made my day. I felt so loved and welcomed that it really picked up my spirits a lot. It helped me to remember why I am in Haiti. Here are a few pictures of the wonderful kids.

Quilts from Faith United Methodist Church

As a reward for good behavior, four students each Sunday receive a handmade quilt from Faith United Methodist Church in Monmouth/Baldwin.

The kids loved them and very carefully folded them back up to take home after the picture. It is easy to tell they will be cherished! Thank you to all who took part in making them!!

Little friend

Meet Janey

He is one of my newest little friends. We met because he was calling to me 'Blan Blan' to come and check out his leg. So I took him to our clinic and he got some salve and a band-aide. Everyday after that for a week he kept calling me Blan and asking me to look at his leg. It took about 5 days but he finally learned my name and we've been friends ever since. He likes to sing and somehow always has new cuts and scrapes on him. He is new since the earthquake and seems to be adjusting to life here well.

Update: Today Janey comes up to me limping, he stepped on something that gave him a little cut on the bottom of his foot and he was bleeding. So we walked/limped to the clinic and he got cleaned up. I asked him where his sandals where and he replied that he doesn't have any because the sandals that we have are all too big for him. I will be looking into buying him some sandals.. however I'm not convinced that this child will stop getting scraps... he is just one of those kids that trips on air.

More Sunday School pic's :)

No radio for musical chairs? No problem! Our teachers sing and clap or drum on chairs!

We called these three the girls in white

Getting ready for a game of head and shoulders, they all have to sing and do the actions, and then the rest of the group watches to see who messes up

These three girls are recent additions since the earthquake

This girl is absolutely gorgeous! She could have a career in modeling!

I'm such a proud mother.. I mean manager!

Flesh Iroko with a group of children they are teaching about basic life skills; hygiene, cleaning, and getting along with one another

Max with a child singing for the group

I am a manager for a Rap Kreyol group at Espwa called Flesh Iroko. Over the past year I have seen them struggle to make their own music and be recognized among their peers. During these past few months, however, I have seen a LOT of growth. They are very serious about wanting to keep the group together and do whatever it takes to make it work. They have contacted relatives and friends reaching out for support and have really stepped up to make things happen. Today we had a meeting with a music producer and a studio recording artist who after today are interested in helping them out.

Above are pictures of a daily happening at Castel Pere. The group takes a different group of boys each day and teaches them some basic life skills. Along with the lecture comes games and a chance to show off their own musical talents. They invited me to stop by so I brought my camera and was very very proud!

Soccer Fun

Here are a couple pictures of Fritz playing around before a pick up game at Castel Pere. I asked him to show off for me and he did!

Here are Fritz and Terry showing off their skills

Friends in Haiti

Here are two of my friends that live at Pwoje Espwa Sud. The first picture is of Placide, he was my first 'Godson' unofficially. He is working on his English and even helped my Mom with her Creole while she was here last January. His smile is contagious and he is growing like a weed!

The second picture is of Rebert. He is working on lists of the children that need to be given medication. One of our volunteers Ryan has been working with the Public Health team here to make sure that once a child comes into the clinic we don't just give them their pills and send them on their way. Now our Public Health team keeps track of each child that should be taking medication and when, so that they can make sure they are taking them properly. Rebert is a gentle soul with lots of potential! He has a big smile and is always looking on the bright side of things!

Ti Flesh Iroko

Here is a picture of the group Ti Flesh Iroko, they are the small version of Flesh Iroko a rap group that I support here at Espwa. These kids were so cute all dressed up for me to take their picture I just had to share!

Litan

Meet Litan

Here is one of Father Marc's boys. He has been with Espwa ever since I first came to stay in January 2008. When I first met him, we didn't hit it off, and by that I mean he really really didn't like me. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I know that it had something to do with me not giving him everything that he requested, whether it be my ipod or crackers.

One specific encounter I remember is when I was watching Fritzner coach soccer and he stood directly in front of me telling me to return to my country because no one liked me. There were a few other things he said but I don't need to mention those. Needless to say when I come back to Haiti he isn't the first child I run to meet.

Upon returning to Haiti this year I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Litan with a hug and a hello. I have learned that Litan is now in a rap group called B Cross. He is doing rather well and no longer glares at me or tells me to leave his country.

Stories like his are very common at Espwa, a child comes and has many issues and once they find their niche they start to really bloom. This is one of the many reasons I love it here and continue to come back!

Preschoolers

Above are photos of our preschoolers at Castel Pere eating lunch. With the IFRP program we are able to give all the children who go to our schools a very nutritious meal every school day. They like the food as it has foods they prefer, rice and beans, along with lentil salt and other spices.

To everyone out there who teaches preschool and kindergarten, you are patient souls! Try explaining to one of these children that they need to sit down and wait for the food to be brought to them... it isn't easy!!