sowing hope. . .

the poverty in haiti at times can be extremely overwhelming.

realizing that there are children who wear one shirt almost everyday, that they perhaps eat once a day, that there is no way for them to go to school, that if they get sick, their parents can't afford to take them to the hospital. . . those things weigh heavily on my heart and mind.

i know that God created us to live abundant lives, and at times there is such a sharp contrast between the lives He created for us and the lives many people are living. although the medical aspect of what i do in haiti meets so many needs, i also feel very burdened to in some way work to improve the lives of some women who are striving everyday to meet the needs of their children. so an idea was born. i had some flannel fabric my mom had given me to make baby blankets for layettes. i ironed the edges of the material in baby blanket sized pieces and taught three women how to stitch the edges. i was able to pay them a small amount for each blanket they completed. they were very excited for an opportunity to have a small amount of money for their family. i don't know exactly what this will become, but it is my desire in some way to sow hope into their lives, that others care about them, that others see their needs and want to be a part of changing and improving their lives. it is small, but isn't that were everything starts?

progress. . .

here are a couple pictures of sonel from after i left when the surgical team was able to take care of some of his more medical problems. the awesome aspect of being involved in his care was how many people were able to get involved and really get some significant things accomplished for his life. dr. del the orthopedic surgeon who comes with the surgical team brought a back brace that will better support sonel's back especially in the area where he had his fracture. the team was able to operate on his pressure ulcers and hopefully have them closed. i really hope and pray that his ulcers will heal completely. thanks so much for praying for him and please keep it up!! the bottom picture is him and his dad sleeping in his bed in the recovery room of the OR.

determination. . .

this is sonel a couple days before i left getting into his wheelchair by himself. i am struck my his determination to be able to do this. i had told him a few weeks before that someday when his arms got stronger he would be able to get into his chair himself. i didn't think it would be that soon for him to be able to do it. but he was determined and did a great job, a little pulling on his stomach and then he turned himself around. there are days when i get frustrated or discouraged, or perhaps don't have the willpower to accomplish what needs to happen. this is such a great reminder and inspiration to continue to push on!

i will try to write a bit more about his story and what has happened for him since i have left haiti soon. . .

things that matter. . .

one early morning as i made the trek to see sonel i was thinking, about all the things that needed to be done. the "to do list" in my head seemed to grow as i continued up the hill to check on him.

that particular morning i was going early because i had taken out his catheter and was wanting to see if he had gone the bathroom through the night and i was prepared to teach his aunt or father how to straight cath him if needed. unfortunately he had pain through the night from his bladder not emptying and as i began to think about how to even show his aunt how to complete a clean straight catheterization in their dirt floor home with absolutely no running water i realized that wasn't the best idea. i replaced his foley catheter and headed on my walk home, back to thinking about the things i needed to do. . .

it was in the midst of this thought process that a little one in her bright red and blue school uniform came up beside me and grabbed my hand. it is very normal in haiti while you are walking that children will walk alongside you for a time, so this was no suprise to me. i did slow my pace, i looked around more realizing all the children as they were heading off to school, some were siblings holding hands, others friends teasing and joking with each other. i looked down and asked this little girl walking alongside me what her name was. she didn't respond and it was then i realized she was deaf. she had the most beautiful smile, a countenance of joy! i slowed my pace even more as we climbed up a hill on the way, me on my way to face a day filled with challenges and her on the way to have an opportunity to learn from the deaf school at the mission. it will be a long time before i forget the lesson i learned that morning. that it is more important what is going on along the way rather than the destination. the lives you interact with and the relationships are actually the most important part of your journey.

i wish i had a picture of the cute little one who walked alongside me that morning. i don't. but i do have many others of children in haiti who mean so much to me. children in haiti are cherished by their parents who want to be able to give them a good education, feed them, to cloth them, to meet their needs. parents there dream in the same way parents here do, they dream about their children growing up, becoming doctors, nurses, artists. i realized that morning why jesus talked about letting the little children come unto him. because they matter! they remind us to slow our lives, to see the journey for what it is, a walk with a friend for that time. i can't begin to say how grateful i am to friends who have and continue to walk through this life with me.

(the above pictures are of ceremond (one of the haitian workers whose wife is also one of our housekeepers) and their daugthers - anne and kensia. i was there five years ago when kensia was born. the other picture is john wendy - one of sonels cousins who just had a great personality!! he is straightening a nail with a rock.)

party time. . .

the work that is done on a day to day basis in haiti especially at the birthing center is impossible without our haitian staff. we have 6 housekeepers and 9 nurses. they run the day to day clinic and birthing center. i know they can become discouraged, life is hard in haiti. every day they are faced with challenges, they have mothers come who have no money to even buy food or don't bring anything with them such as sheets and baby clothes. our staff at northwest face each day with such grace. i am so grateful to them, so we had appreciation parties the last week i was there. the above picture is of the housekeepers and the below picture is of some of our nursing staff. they loved to just be able to be together, to eat cookies, to get a small gift, but most of all i think they cherished being told they are appreciated. they truly are women who have taught me so much in life, i was grateful to be able to show them in a small way the great contribution they make!

more to come. . .

i am actually home at my house in kansas city now!! yeah! i had a wedding this weekend and have been spending a bit of time with my sister. . . so there is more to come about my haiti trip as soon as i get unpacked!!

home. . .

i have arrived safely home from haiti. the last few days in haiti were a bit crazy with the arrival of the surgical team and getting everything together for me to take off. my travels went great other than one rearranged flight to arrive back in kansas city around 11 last night. i will keep sharing stories here about my trip and experiences that i hadn't had the opportunity to share. so keep reading. i will miss this little cutie above, he is maxin, one of sonel's cousins. his little smile brightened my days!

simple. . .

i was struck today with the difference in my life and the lives of so many people here. this little girl is dipping rain water out of a puddle into a bucket to use. i realized that my life is very different from that. although life here is hard, simplicity is beautiful.

please be in prayer for loucinda. she is 6 months old and is a very special little one here who is sick with an extremely high fever 104-105 and diarrhea. her parents are t-man and clenide, i have known them since before they were dating. i was there when clenide lost her first baby, and then she has lost another one and carried loucinda only because she was very careful and rested all the time. loucinda had seizures after she was born and was able to go to the states for evaluation and has already been through alot in her short life. i know t-man and clenide are very worried for her. tonight when i went to check on her after we gave her tylenol and ibuprofen her temperature had come down to 100.4. they live just down the street from the mission and clenide is a nurse, so they may bring her tonight if she gets worse, but i pray she doesn't.

sonel

please keep sonel in your prayers. today one of his pressure ulcers looked the worst they have looked. not sure what happened to make it worse or what to do to help it get better. . . thanks

far west. . .

this weekend a few of us took off to go spend the weekend with miss pat in the far west. . .

it was truly a great time. for me it was a great encouragement. just to be able to be in the quiet country side. (well maybe not really all that quiet because around three in the morning one night while i was sleeping on the porch i heard what i thought was a dog next to me crunching on bones or something, it turned out to be a pig eating rocks.) anyway. . .

i was able to do clinic for miss pat on monday which was such a blessing for me. for me it was simple, sometimes here in st. louis there are so many people and things going on that it can be overwhelming. it was great to just see a few patients, get them medication and talk and laugh with them. (the above picture)

the afternoon on monday another couple here had been to a beautiful beach there in the far west, so off we went a few at a time on the four wheeler to this amazing beach! our time at the beach was cut short by a rain storm that we tried to ride out, but then the thunder started and off we went back to miss pat's. where we were stuck, due to lots of mud and a high river which no one could get across to come get us. so instead we headed out this morning and tap-tapped to the river, took a little boat across and then walked to the next tap-tap station to get home. (a tap-tap is the local tranportation - open flat bed trucks with benches around the edges)

right before the second storm monday i went for a walk and found these flowers. they were so beautiful. it always amazes me how beauty can still be found even amidst such poverty that exists here. it makes me think of the human spirit, that it will prevail. that there is beauty in every thing, every day, every person. sometimes you just have to look.