Tuesday, August 31, 2010

hmmmm....

Well, I must say that I am a little out of sorts. The re-entry to U.S. life has really been okay, I think. I have had moments each day when I gasp at something that immediately takes me back to Haiti...usually it's a moment of stark contrast between life there and life here. Each day I am thinking of those kids and my "family" that is there, and that life for them continues to be difficult...I heard from Israelson today that they are averaging 3-4 hours of electricity a day, if lucky. That's hard. It's hard to be in that heat and be drinking warm water, soda or juice because your freezer can't keep anything cold, much less frozen, and there isn't even ice to be purchased. Life threatening? No. Difficult? Yes. It just gets old.

But, I digress.

I am in my second week back at work, and the people that covered for me while I was gone did a fabulous job! But, there are things that only I can do, and there are now 7 weeks worth of those things. What was carefully monitored for me while I was away is now lovingly (most of the time) being handed to me with little red flags waving from it. "Do me! Do me!"

Adrianne did an awesome job caring for our home while she was here and we were away...yet, there are things that you "house managers" know needs to get done in 6 weeks that weren't on her radar. I'm gradually taking care of those...

Tom and I now share a car...a lovely thing, really, but while there isn't a financial cost to sharing a car when both people work, there is a time cost. Tom is not leaving for work as early as he used to because he is waiting for me, and because he usually drops me off first. I, on the other hand, don't have that 15-30 minutes that I used to take in the morning to straighten up, throw in a load of laundry, water the plants, or put dinner in the crock pot. I refuse to give up working out...I've simply moved it from a 5:15 am start to a 5 am start. On the other end, instead of getting home by 5 pm and starting dinner, I am getting home at 6 pm, a little less optimistic about cooking anything at that point! Disclaimer: I plan my week's menu each Saturday and purchase my groceries for the week on Saturday or Sunday. It's not that I'm not prepared...it's that I'm tired. BUT, if YOU need a meal plan that will save you time and money, check out Leanne Ely at here.

So, this may sound like a lot of whining. I hope not. To me it's just a description of my reality, or season, right now. I'm not unhappy, but I'm a bit overwhelmed. And, my heart hurts. (Not literally for those in the medical profession that read this...)

I am just waiting for God to reveal His plan in all of this. Tom is going down to 3 days a week at his job, beginning this week. He's not working any less, he is just going to be devoting more time to Firmly Rooted Ministry, and boy, does he need to do that! There is so much to be done!

I also feel the pull to be in ministry...with him, for women, in Haiti, for children...all of it! But, at this point, I'm struggling to get dinner on the table and the laundry done. You know what I mean? I haven't been able to post on here, even though it's on my mind each and every day.

So....God's plan for me is clearly not to crash and burn, although at this pace it seems like a possibility.  What could He want then? He has my faith and my ear...it's just that the plan is coming in a little gray and fuzzy to me at this point.

So, after all of this, you know the reason for the title..."hmmmm...."

There is still a house payment for an underwater mortgage, a car payment for the shared vehicle, and student loans...do you see my conflict?

So, I am still hmmmmmmm-ing. Not unhappy, not complaining, just a little bewildered. Certainly in anticipation of what happens next....and trying hard to keep one foot in ministry and the other in responsibility.

If any of you have wisdom, insight or clarity, I'd love to hear it. If not, if you could just remember me in your prayers, I'd be most appreciative.

In the meantime, this is what I am reading, uttering to myself, and saying in almost every sigh throughout the day:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 
plans to give you hope and future." 
Jeremiah 29:11

Did you catch that? He doesn't just whisper it, note it, or say it. He declares it! I don't know about you, but I take a declaration seriously. I am putting my faith in this.

In Him.

~kimberly

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Ayiti. Days 36 - 37.

I apologize for the extreme tardiness of this post! I did not have internet capability during my last several days in Haiti, and since then getting acclimated to "this life," (still not ready to call it "real life,) has not been as seamless as I had envisioned. No problems, just a lot to do, and a little tired at the end of the day...
Anyways, our last couple of days in Haiti were not without emotion and adventure. As I mentioned in my last post, saying, "see you later," to the kids at the orphanage was quite difficult. And they are constantly on my heart and in my mind. 
The last morning that we were in Les Cayes, which was the day before we traveled, Yelline taught me how to make Fried Plantains. For those of you not familiar:

plan·tain

1   [plan-tin, -tn]  Show IPA
–noun
1.
a tropical plant, Musa paradisiaca,  of the banana family,resembling the banana.
2.
its fruit, eaten cooked as a staple food in tropical regions.


Certainly not health food, but quickly became a comfort food. And, if one is ever out in Haiti, they seem to be a safe choice to order at a restaurant, as no bacteria could survive the double frying. I became a fan of that after I was sick. The other dish pictured here is just sauteed onions with tuna and hot sauce. A pretty yummy combination with the plantains! Since I do know how to prepare the plantains now, and was the recipient of a "plantain press," as a farewell gift, one would logically ask if I've made them since I've been home. Nope. Not out of lack of desire, but lack of plantains. I've been to 3 grocery stores and have not found them yet. I don't think there is a "plantain season" here in Michigan, so I will just keep looking. I've heard that people have seen them here...

Also, the morning that we woke up our last day in Les Cayes, there were huge downpours. I mean worse than before.



And I became a little concerned about our road trip to Port-au-Prince where erosion and earthquake damage leads (on a good day) to frequent sightings like this:



or this...



which can make for a very long and treacherous trip!

Fortunately, after we said "see you later," to Ziane, Sincia, Veline, Yelline and Warens, and hit the road, the skies quickly began to clear.

It took somewhere around 4 hours to get to Port-au-Prince, but once there, everything, and I mean everything, is bumper to bumper traffic, except for the middle of the night, when, according to Israelson, it's a little better.

Along the way, we saw too many tent cities to count, and too much earthquake damage to wrap our minds around. I took many photos, but you've seen them on the news, so I'll only share a couple:



Note the tent on top of the fallen building. There are not only so many tent cities, but also, just random tents everywhere. On top of other standing homes and businesses, in front of homes or businesses, or just along the side of the road.





The above scene is fairly common where there is earthquake damage...one guy with a sledge hammer trying to break what remains of his home or business into manageable sized pieces so that he and his friends/family can move them by hand, or in a 5 gallon bucket, to the road to be picked up and hauled away. Can you imagine? Their tenacity even now when I think about it, brings tears to my eyes. My logic would tell me, "I'll never get this done. 10 years. I'll never get this done." And yet, this is what they are doing day after day more than 7 months after the earthquake.

Our mission, once in PaP was to ship some bamboo, via FedEx, from Haiti to Belgium, for some work Tom is doing.

After an additional hour and several phone calls, we found the FedEx office near the airport. Someone from Tom's office had spoken to 2 people at FedEx International that assured her that "all" we had to do was drop off the 4 tubs of bamboo, the FedEx officials there would have Tom complete some paperwork, then we would take it to the Dept. of Agriculture Quarantine office, and drop it there. Then FedEx would pick it up from them, and take care of the shipping. 

I know, you beat me to the punch. That's what was supposed to happen. However, nothing is easy in Haiti and everything takes much longer than your
 mind can even conceptualize. 

Oh, by the way, this is what the temperature gauge in the car said during all of this, and we had suspected for days that it was a few degrees off (lower) than the actual temperature outside.

But, I digress.

The woman at FedEx knew nothing. Did some checking. Nothing. After 30 - 45 minutes, still nothing. She suggested that we just take the bamboo to the quarantine place and start there.

Ok. Seems easy enough, right? Israelson had been told "about" where that government office was. Well, (say it with me now...), nothing is easy in Haiti. Just one scene along the way...


A sort of "clothing market" above...

And below, I saw, on more than one occasion, people digging through the trash heaps for something to eat....



Well, after driving and looking, calling for clarification, stopping to ask directions, for about 2 hours, I think, we had not yet found the Dept. of Agriculture quarantine building. It was now starting to get late, and we decided to give up for the day and head to the hotel. Tom had been driving all day, and at this point, our temperature gauge in the car looked like this


and was going up. (I soon realized that I had reached the point for that day where any more photos were just going to get me into trouble with my other passengers....so I just took one more


Israelson in the backseat, telling Tom that the temperature gauge is going up, while Tom is trying to climb a San Francisco type hill in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic with a manual transmission. See why I didn't take any further photos on this day???


We eventually found our hotel (directly across from a tent city. Hard.), and checked in. There was a pool, which was nice, but the food was not...so it was a hungry evening and next morning.


For a moment, though, in the morning, an internet signal on my ipod for a second and posted on Facebook that if anyone could find the address and email it to Tom, we'd be most appreciative. 

Quickly, one of our friends, Jim, from the Grand Rapids area did just that! I proudly told Israelson. He quietly said, "Thanks. But in Haiti, it just isn't the same as the U.S." 

Israelson was also worried about the car because it kept stalling and didn't accelerate well, so we found a couple of places and and found someone to take a look. He said that we were ok to complete our mission for the morning, but then he needed to replace the fuel filter, or something.

We drove more. Called more. Stopped more places to ask directions. The address didn't help us, as is typical there, I guess.

Finally, we stopped another place to ask for directions, and this man


said he knew right where we needed to be, and offered to go with us! So, I moved over into the middle of the backseat, and he jumped in beside me. I tried to put out of my mind that whole "never pick up strangers," and "keep your windows rolled up and doors locked while in PaP," thing. I just prayed. That we'd be safe, and that this man knew where he was going. The latter quickly became the more fervent prayer.

He took us down some roads that seemed impossible to hold government buildings, but sure enough, when we pulled in the gate that he pointed out, we saw large, large trees planted in perfect rows and several large, beautiful buildings. We all sighed a collective sigh of relief. One of us said, "Ok, this is good. At least if that building in front of us isn't it, at least someone can tell us which building to go to." (There were no signs.)

Israelson pulled up next to a couple of gentleman and explained what we were looking for. At the point when the man started shaking his head back and forth, then made a sweeping motion to the right with one arm, and a sweeping motion to the left with another arm, and then held hands very close together and moved them in a forward direction, it was clear to me. 

We needed to head east around the mountains, back west around the mountains, and then abandon the car and crawl with the 4 tubs of bamboo through a very narrow tunnel to get to where we needed to go.

Disappointing.

However, God is good (all the time...), and mountains and kneel-crawling were not necessary. Just another 45 minutes in the car.  

Finally, down an alley, we turned into another unmarked gate, found an overgrown lot with several empty looking buildings, one disabled vehicle, and were apparently "there." Israelson found someone to speak with, and sure enough, it was the right place! Yippee!

The right person to speak with, was NOT THERE, however, so this is what Tom looked like while we waited...


Our navigational system, (see prior photo) took his $20 U.S. dollars (all we had...), and hitched a ride home, a very happy man.

Once the right man came back after another 30 or so minutes, he informed us, that yes, this was the right place, but ONLY after the bamboo had been fumigated and certified. Sigh.

Tom knew that it had to be fumigated (to his credit), but the agency in Les Cayes had implied that it would all be taken care of at the same office. 

Well, at this point we needed to be at the airport! We had spent another 4 hours on this wild goose chase. So we found a quick bite to eat, and Tom gave Israelson instructions on what he needed to do for the bamboo after we left. He also left him some cash to take of those things.

That was last Thursday, August 19th. Speed ahead to today.

Israelson successfully got the bamboo to the fumigation place on Thursday. It was due to be ready on Friday. Israelson took the car in to get the repair it needed. That took all day Friday. Israelson called about the hours of the quarantine place and was told they were open from 8 to noon on Saturday.

He picked up the bamboo from the fumigation place and went to the quarantine place. They were not open until Monday. That was yesterday.

Yesterday the car needed more repairs because the first guy messed it up more than he fixed it. As of tonight, Tuesday, Israelson is still in PaP, the car still doesn't work, and the bamboo still hasn't gotten to FedEx.

Please keep Israelson in your prayers. He works so hard, and this ordeal is especially taxing on him. He needs relief from the car issues, and some help in the work that he is doing. He is faithful to the Lord's calling and to his family. I am praying that he gets a break soon.

That's it for tonight. Whew! Long. Soon I will post about "re-entry" and some other updates.

I intend to continue to use the place to update you all on the happenings in Haiti, but some Michigan life will appear from time to time, too.

Blessings my friends!

kimberly

Sunday, August 22, 2010

awake my soul.


i have been re-awakened.

growing up, i got so used to going to church every sunday. sitting through the sermon that i never really understood anyways, going to sunday school to play with my friends, etc.

i understood that Jesus loves me and that He died for my sins. I knew that I had to believe in Him in order to go to Heaven, but it never really sunk in.

now, i'm not saying i was never a Christian. i'm just trying to say that i was never into it. and this was definitely not my parents fault. [maybe it had a little something to do with my dad forcing my sisters and i to go up to the children's message until we were THIRTEEN years old. waaaay to old to still be going up front for the children's message. i still resent that, obviously.] but what i mean is, i was a kid. i listened to what my parents told me and didn't really apply it to my life.

the only place i actually enjoyed church was in haiti. everything there is so heartfelt, so pure, and so full of praise and worship. i am also not saying that our church doesn't have that. it does, it was just done in haiti in a way that reached out to me.

in haiti, the worship is breathtaking. you can feel it in your bones. the Spirit just fills the entire church. you can't help, but to be moved. and it is impossible to ignore it or to sit still. even with the language barrier, you can feel what they are singing. and when they sing "Jezi", it's indescribable. the people there use all they have to worship our Lord. and it is absolutely beautiful to see and to hear.

haiti was the only place i felt something real. like Jesus was standing right next to me, loving every moment of our praises.

i absolutely love the worship i experience when i am in haiti, but it always bothered me that that is the only place i could feel like that. i always wondered if i was doing something wrong at home. maybe i was just letting myself get distracted. maybe i just needed to try harder to feel like i do in haiti.

so like whenever i have something bothering me, i took it to God in prayer. and man, oh man, when you pray, He really listens!!

last Sunday, i prayed on my way to church that God would open my heart to the worship i was going to experience. i prayed that he would give me the desire to be there and to crave His Word. i just prayed that i would get something out of the message and the worship.

last sunday ended up being the most spiritual experience i've ever had at good shepherd lutheran church. from the moment i walked in i was so filled with the Holy Spirit, it was impossible for me to ignore. i couldn't get enough of the scripture pastor t was reading, i didn't want to stop singing and it seemed like every word was written just for me to sing. the sermon was phenomenal in every way.

there were a few times that i had to close my eyes to keep myself from crying. i mean, it was powerful. and it was beautiful. and i was so amazed at the answer God gave me to my prayers.

for the past few sundays, i had been crying in church because i was missing the worship in haiti and missing watching the kids worship at church in les cayes. and then there i was practically in tears because i was so overwhelmed with God's love, His mercy, His awesomeness. it was incredible.

i left the service craving more. i needed more of God's Word. i needed to worship. all i wanted to do was talk about how amazing our God is!!

on wednesday, i went to st. paul's for pizza and praise. i was thrilled to go to a place where the sole purpose is to sing praises to our God! that was all i had been wanting to do since i'd left church on sunday.

this whole time, i was so excited to be feeling this want, but i was still so surprised at how quickly and how passionately i was feeling it! i asked God, and i received!

pizza and praise was beyond amazing. praise team was awesome, like they always are. and i got to sit in a pew filled with children the entire time. we danced really silly, we sang together, we goofed around, they sat on my lap; all things that i would have done with the kids at the orpha
nage if i had been there instead.



there was a moment when i just closed my eyes and sat still. i felt a kid on my lap and two squished really close next to me. one holding my hand, the other grabbing my arm. and i heard them laughing, singing, talking. and i imagined, just for a minute, that i was still in haiti. with my kids. and it was perfect.

but i think God was trying to show me something: i was so sad to come home and leave my kids behind. and i think i've been living too much in that sadness. i think God is trying to show me that there are kids here too. and just because i can't be with the kids i love dearly in haiti right now, i can still show all my love to the kids here. they need to see God's love through me as well. and i see that clearly now. i am so glad God shoved this in my face! i can still miss my kids and wish i was there, but i shouldn't just sit around and mope! i should be doing the same thing i would be doing with the kids in haiti! showing God's love to them every possible chance i get!

i know this blog post was kind of all over. i started with the intent of it just being about one subject and then sort of figured some things out about myself as i was writing and it morphed into something else. but all in all, GOD IS SO GOOD.

also, i know this blog may come off the wrong way to some people. please don't form a bad opinion about me and my faith if you don't understand, please ask me to explain in more detail. i would love to explain myself more and help you understand how i've strengthened my relationship with our God!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ayiti. Day 35.

Well, this is it. (or was it.) Our last full day in Les Cayes/Torbeck. Tomorrow, a day before we actually leave Haiti, we drive to Port-au-Prince with Israelson to try to ship something from Haiti to Belgium, via FedEx. Since we have no idea how long this process will take (things that would seem to be quick, often take a long time here), and because we don't want to miss either the shipping, or our flight on Thursday, we are going tomorrow, taking care of the shipping and spending the night in a PaP hotel. Getting a room was a challenge, as the hotel business is booming in PaP with all of the NGO's in town to oversee whatever it is they are doing...

So I am so sad to say goodbye, but also now (since I HAVE to leave) looking forward to the next steps. 

Because I arrived in PaP with only 45 minute sleep in the previous 24 hours, I did not take any photos when I was there. I also thought I would get there another time between arriving and departing, but that didn't work out either. So, being there a day early allows me to see some things, and also for Israelson to show us the "nicer parts" of PaP...which he says are prevalent, but we never hear about in the U.S.

The photos below are from my last "work day" in Torbeck, which was yesterday. They have had a lot of rain, so our work on the gardens, which normally would have been delayed a day, were just more soggy.




 You can see that we had a captive audience on Leonie's porch as we measured and marked out the spaces for the raised beds. The kids are SO excited to begin to garden! Our measuring, marking, etc. became a bit of a challenge as we didn't have a square, and as we realized that the guest house and Leonie's house aren't quite perpendicular to each other...so which house do you make it even with?? Leonie's!...her gardens, and her view from the porch!

During all of this, I was still especially thankful I had made room for these:


However, after about 5 minutes in the water, I realized that my right boot had sprung a leak. Let me tell you...having your foot in a dark boot, filling with water, on a 100 degree day in Haiti, is not unlike having your foot in a microwave! (not that I've ever done that, or recommend that you try this at home...) It was HOT and uncomfortable.

So, when we were done, this is what I did...


And the boots are now in Les Cayes to be given to someone that will find a way to patch them...I will have to find another cute pair of rain boots when I am back in the U.S., I suppose. RIP whale boots...you served me well!

-------

This afternoon we took Leonie, Yelline, Israelson, Ziane, Warens, Dominic, TP,  Ziane, Veline, and some others to Port Salut for an afternoon on the beach, relaxing, and a nice dinner at the hotel there. We had a moment to thank them for their hard work and hospitality to us, their work with other mission teams, and the work and love that they provide for the children. It was a wonderful time, and there were not just a few tears shed....

On our way home, we stopped in Torbeck to drop off Leonie and to say goodbye to the kids. That was so hard. In fact, Ruth went into her room and on her bed and didn't want to come out because she said she was sad...but she did come out eventually....

We spoke to the kids and their caretakers, while Israelson translated. We told them that we love them so much...like we love our own kids...and even though we are leaving to go to Michigan, our hearts will stay with them. That we will pray for them each day, and that while we are in Michigan, we will be working to provide a better place for them...housing, a cafeteria, a safe place to play, and more. We told them that even though we will be physically far apart, our hearts will be together...

And, we told them to behave and do good in school...and for the caretakers to take good care of them while we are apart.

Then, there were big hugs all around. 

If I could bring them all home with me, I would. Seriously. Every last one of them. But, since I can't do that, the next best thing I can do is pray for them and work for them while I am in Michigan to have a better life here in Haiti. 

And...

I when I return to Haiti, hopefully soon, our reunion will be all the sweeter....

P.S. some of the girls showed me their knitting tonight and they are doing a GREAT job! We need to get them some more cotton yarn and some patterns....they love it!

Goodnight, my last night in Les Cayes...

Ayiti. Days 33-34. (photos)

The little guy that got baptized...Robens...so sweet!

The baptism...

The family, godparents, Tom and Israelson...

Saturday evening revival...with new lightbulbs!...

Monday, August 16, 2010

Ayiti. Days 33-34. (or, 3 days before we leave Ayiti.)

Yesterday into today we had our longest stretch with no electricity since we've been here. Usually we have been able to count on having one fan going in the evening as we go to sleep, but then it goes off between 2-4 am. You always hope that you are sleeping soundly at the point, and won't notice that you are sweating into the mattress and pillow! But, last night we lost power as soon as we went to bed, about 11:15 pm, and still didn't have it this morning when we left for Torbeck at 9 am.
I have a couple of things to say to you! 
If you can:
1) walk to your refrigerator door and dispense water and/or ice into your glass, 
2) be a little surprised with the electricity goes out and have that feeling of playing "pioneer"
3) turn the faucet and water comes out
4) flush your toilet whenever you wish
5) open your refrigerator and pantry and be able to make at least 4 meals without going shopping
6) count on your car starting when you turn the key,
...then give thanks, because you are blessed! These are things that no person in Haiti can do on a regular basis!

Well, I had hoped to post some photos from the baptism and the past couple of days, but they won't upload, so the post is just to remind you to give thanks!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Ayiti. Day 32.

You may well have noticed a pattern of late...I haven't been able to successfully post one day at a time on here due to all sorts of reasons! So, today's is getting done this afternoon, and is a conglomeration of earlier today, yesterday and a wee bit of the night before.

Let's start with Thursday evening...this was the western sky from the roof in Les Cayes...I think it would have been a great night to have been in Port Salut!










And the next morning there was a brief downpour while the sun was shining, so I headed to the roof again...

















A little later we headed to Torbeck and were pleased with the progress of the wall...
As I looked at it, I had the surprising really good feeling know that I had touched many of those rocks in the foundation...

Later in the day we headed east to Carre-four Duclos where Tom preached at a revival service. I took photos, but they only had one working lightbulb (100 watts...) in the church, and I didn't want to use the flash, so the photos are too dark. Today Tom picked up 5 new light bulbs and we will hopefully get them in before tonight's service!

We missed dinner, so on the way home we stopped at a place that Ketura told us about...they serve pizza and wine!
I was still a little nervous about my stomach and eating anything that Leonie hasn't helped to prepare, so I just had a glass of wine and passed on the pizza! And, Tom being the guy that he is and knowing that about 8 of the kids from the orphanage were spending the night in Les Cayes, did this:

Speaking of wonderful husband moments...this morning instead of going to Torbeck, we decided that we would stay in Les Cayes and I would start teaching some of the kids to knit. Not being an advanced knitter myself, the lack of my skill, the language barrier, and the ratio of kids to me was a bit challenging! They were so patient, and they needed to be with me!

Anyways, we soon realized that we had a little issue because I am right handed and 2 of the girls are left handed. One of them decided just to try it "my way," but Sincia needed to learn left handed. I found a video online that shows how to knit left handed, but alas, I still couldn't really help her. Guess which fellow lefty stepped up to the plate, studied the video and practiced for about 2 hours, and then taught Sincia?!
And, if you're a knitter, you will be pleased to know that he has a very nice, even stitch! I told him that he and I can sit and knit together this winter! :)

After about 2.5 hours of relative success, it was time to take a break...for lunch and the girls did some beading and jewelry making. I tried to take a nap, but was unsuccessful. Imagine my surprise when I went back out into the big room and was greeted with eager knitters! In fact, I quickly lost my spot on the bench and they were all very busy...

That was fun! I am leaving them lots of needles and some yarn, but depending on their interest continuing, some future groups might want to bring some cotton yarn with them!

That's it for this afternoon...baptism and revival news tomorrow!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Ayiti. More tent city photos.

I had trouble uploading all of the photos that I wanted to share last night, so I am going to try again AND add a video...we'll see...

This is Charlotte, the leader of the first tent city we visited...


These are the showers in that same camp...the nicest that we saw...
Sydney gave this mom one baby bottle and then she held up 2 fingers and asked someone to bring her other baby to show us...twins! She definitely touched my heart, and is in my prayers....

This mom found a spot for her baby to rest on a cot, which is resting over a drainage ditch. She was sitting on the cardboard next to the baby...and in a photo that I took but didn't post, just a few feet further down on this wall it says, "We need food."

This photo is from the camp that was overall in the worst condition, and it is probably no surprise that this is where people were more desperate and we had our "little problem" with distribution. I realized that I only have video of that and no photos. Since we need to leave now for Tom to preach at the revival, I will try to upload that video later tonight or tomorrow.

And, now for a photo of Syndey, who demonstrated Jesus' love and pure grace everywhere we went. And, I have to say that everywhere we went, people were extremely grateful and so kind. They asked ME how I was...I still tear up when I think of that...

By the way, everything that was distributed was from Lutheran Church Charities based in Addison, IL. They have sent beans and also sent money so that Sydney and Pastor Marky could go to Port-au-Prince and purchase the other items.

More tomorrow...please continue to join me in prayer, and some form of action to help these people...

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ayiti. Sometime after Day 23 and before Day 29...part 3.

On Monday afternoon we visited one tent (camp) city in Jacmel. At this first one, Sydney passed out baby bottles to the women that had infants. The numbers of babies and toddlers there was incredible, as was the number of pregnant women. Sydney said that it will be really overwhelming come mid-October, which will be 9 months since the earthquake.

If you have kept up with the news reports, you will know that since the earthquake, and especially in the tent cities, many women have been victims of sexual assault, so many of the pregnancies were not planned. Yelline and I also had a conversation about this and she said that many young women in hopes of gaining shelter, food, or other items, did things that they would not do under normal circumstances. Hence, there will be a lot of unplanned babies born, and probably many, many babies abandoned after they are born.

On Tuesday morning Syndey asked if we were up to helping her distribute supplies to some more camp cities, which of course, we were. We loaded up her SUV with a couple of boxes of sandals and some 110 lb bags of pinto beans and headed out.

These next photos don’t really need too much explanation. If you have read Tom’s messages lately, you know his view of the NGO’s (Non Government Organizations) and their impact here. Suffice it to say that the help that was offered from the world to Haiti is not reaching the people in the greatest need. The sites that we visited did have tents or tarps, some form of restrooms and showers, and water. Other than that, the people were left to fend for themselves.

And, when you look at these photos, I want you to picture yourself either in this tent, in 95-105 degrees, sitting on a cinder block, in the dirt, or walking the streets. There are no other options. Common sense tells us that there are many people, and probably most of them children, dying in these camp cities. I saw children that were ill, many with rashes, many with the rust color in their hair, which indicates malnourishment. This is a human crisis of huge proportion.
Many of the tents are falling apart...they weren't designed for a 7+ month stay....



This little girl latched onto me as soon as I got out of the
car...and didn't let go until we left....


I can tell you that from what we have seen here in our time, the church based groups seem to be doing the best job of getting help where it needs to go. Many other large organizations drive the best SUVs in the country, carry no supplies, and have their windows rolled up with the A/C on. It’s so blatant that I am embarrassed at times.

Every camp city has a leader, and at each one, we stopped and Sydney explained who we were, where we were from and what we wanted to do. They had a great system (in all but one case) of helping us distribute the supplies and were very appreciative. Sydney also go their names and contact information so that she could follow up with them again.

You can't see it from this angle, but there is no bottom on his cast. I have a feeling that he was injured in the earthquake and has received no follow up care since. He is literally wearing his cast off.



This is when I had the opportunity to help distribute sandals.
We did not have enough for everyone...




these are the bare feet of the woman that helped us "police" the sandal distribution. she wasn't angry, but wanted me to know (and document) that after all that, she is left with no shoes....

I have to say at this point that I was continually amazed and impressed with Sydney’s loving, caring spirit with the people she encountered. She always had a smile, a laugh, and kind words to say to everyone she met. She is the church in action, and she had a great impact on me. Even in the one situation that got a little out of hand, she laughed when she got in the car and said, “That one was a little problem!”


This camp city is right next to the open water...on the south coast of Haiti. If there is a hurricane, or even a strong tropical storm that hits here, I hate to think of what will happen....


The children of Haiti, as a rule, have little to no toys.
These children were playing jump rope with a twisted up tshirt.




There seem to be 2 photos that won’t upload this evening, (one that was the "little problem," and another) but I’m almost out of battery on my laptop, so I am going to save them for tomorrow. But, these photos tell you enough this evening.

This was a great experience for me, but heartbreaking. I do not know how we expect people to live like this, and the fact is, many are not. The church seems to be the most successful at giving aide, and we need to step it up. Children are dying.