a long awaited post?

Hi everyone.

I thought an entry was long overdue. so here goes.

Nothing to excitting has been going on, there was a team here from BC for a week and they did some VBS and worked a little with kids outside the walls. I never realized how much new people effect these kids. They get attached and spoilt and then are crushed when they leave. Made me want to cry because it will be hard for me to leave them. I really am looking forward to coming home, its just leaving these kids that makes me need to stay.

Oh and i guess some new news would be that Shannon left early. Her parents were uneasy with the kiddnappings and she opted to head out with the team just this morning.

Oh!!! and Paina's family came and left. Her two older brother (Tyler and Justin) and her mom and dad (Helen and George) came to get her. I was amazed at how quickly she warmed up to her mom. The guys of the family is another story, but that will come in time. Anywho, her leaving brought tears and the realization that soon alot more kids will be leaving too.

Come christmas Moise, David, Joanna, Shelinsky, Eddy, will all be gone. Not to mention Bedza and Samuel will be leaving this week. its crazy.

Also today was the kids' big end of school concert program thing. The sang a bunch of songs, recited some math and stuff they learnt in school and got presents! It felt like a gongshow to me but the kids really enjoyed themselves. The even got cake and ice cream at the end, which the toddlers enjoyed wearing! I'm putting a couple pictures up from today's party and maybe you'll see what i mean... haha.

I guess alot new has happened. it just seems like everyday life to me! And its all going by so fast, i'll be home in no time!

anywho i need to get to bed. its laundry day tomorrow and today was extra long.

I love and miss you all lots and will be home in 19 or so days!

Muah!

Hi everyone, By now i assume you have all seen the news, and have heard of the girl who has been kidnaped. Please dont be alarmed.She was in Port-ay-prince and wasnt in a closed locked in compound like I am. Also, I am perfectly fine. there is no threat to me in Mirabalais. And my plans are to stay in the orphanage walls the etire time.

I'm sorry for all of you who have been worrying about me. Anywho just thought i would let you all know i'm safe and sound and am so far still coming home on June 17th. Melinda says that so long as we arent in port-au-prince we are all fine. The sad part is Kalico is cancelled. It was a dissopointment at first but i know its better safe than sorry!!!!!

Anywho again, sorry i didnt get this up here any sooner and please dont worry to much.
I love you all very much and am looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Pictures from Wozo Plaza where we spent the day for my birthday.

My 19th birthday and other significant occurances so far...

Thank you to everyone who thought and prayed for me on my Birthday. It was all in all a very fun day. And a birthday i will never forget.
My 19th birthday did not prove to come with me being any smarter or luckier however....
I spent the day at WOZO PLAZA. they have a very nice place and a great out door pool. Out door in the direct sun. Some of you may know what i am getting at all ready. and yes you are absolutely correct. Me being me, underestimated the tropical Haitian sun and got burnt. this time bad enough for me to finally learn my lesson that people who are as white as wonder bread, such as myself, need to suck it up, not think about a tan, and WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!!!
man did i learn/learning the hard way with this. Most of the pain, and blisters are gone now, two days later, but my chin and forhead still look pretty nasty, as Lori so frequently points out.
To make matters worse, yesterday when the power came back on, (yes i spent the whole next day after my burn without any electricity.... meaning NO FANS!!!) i tried to move the big metal fan back from just on my back when supper was ready. I pushed it back with my foot, but it caught on the computer cord behind me... so i pushed it back with my one hand... not at all a smart idea.... i got my middle finger. (same hand as my now healed thumb) It bled a bit but mostly i was in shock. so i went upstairs calling Melinda's help. I'm pretty sure she is getting tried of fixing all my boo boos. I seem to be her main patient....
anywho i caught my finger in the blade and sliced it pretty good. When she got it to stop bleeding, she cleaned it. I was just starting to feel queazy when Lori suggested i sit down. Now remember my entire face was and is still red from sunburn...
well when Lori told me to sit down... it was most definately WHITE. I sat a while before the tomatoe red came back to my face. Lori and Melinda say they have never seen anything like it!
To finally add to all of it... today my back started to feel ichy. I didnt think anything off it, untill we were getting the kids their supper. and it started to itch alot. and then it felt like i was being pricked my tiny tiny needles all over my lower back. I showed Minnie-June and Shannon, who thought Shackels? but when Lori saw it, she said it was definately a heat rash. from either the sun or sweat. fun eh?
So far my 19th year of life isnt proving to be much fun. Good thing i have 362 more days left to redeem myself!

As for an update on things at the house...
The kids absolutely loved the outting to wozo on friday and were very well behaved the whole time, Plus they were extremely tired out all day saturday which was really nice for all of us who were touched by the sun in some way or another.
Melinda is getting over her cold nicely and so far none of the kids have been touched by the chicken pox that are going around in the community.

It would be a big help if you could continue to pray for Samuel and Bedza's paperwork to go to BC.
Paina's family's safe travel here to come get her this week.
The group of 6 volunteers coming out this next week, for a safe arrival and good weather for their buliding project.
And please pray for my suitcase and that my comman sense would come back soon!! haha.

Love you all and hope to write to you again soon.
Muah!

all sorts of new news!

I've got really a couple fun new things to tell and three not so fun, but not terrible, things to tell.
First of all the not so fun news is i am on antibiotics. I cut my finger with an ice picker thing we have to chop up ice for our drinks. (it looks like the pointy end of a screw driver with a bigger wooden handle. i'll try and get a picture up) anyways, there was more blood coming out of it than i have seen in a long time. Made me very faint. Shannon took care of me though. And i was glad for someone else to take control. Also i must of stepped on something the other day because i have a small hole in the bottom of my foot. Its really not that bad, just awkward because i have to walk on it. So i showed Lori, who thought it might be ringworm, so i put the appropriate cream on and went to bed. Then i showed Melinda the next moring and told me to soak it. Unbetold to me, she told Lori she thought it may be a parasite. Anyways it turns out it was just a sliver of something stuck in my foot, not a parasite. so thats a relief. The third not so fun thing is that a pimple i got on the left side of my chin got infected. apparently a bug must have either bit me or stung me in the night and gotten me infected.
I tell you i am definately a sight for sore eyes this week! I have a small white bandage on my thumb to keep it from getting infected. i have to wear a sock over my one foot to keep it dry and clean.(which i wear in my flipflop....) and i have an infected pimple on my face. All this is reason enough for all of you to understand why most of my new pictures dont have me in it. tee hee.
Anywho, i am on antibiotics for a three of the sores Melinda wants to keep me from getting infected. And those are not a fun pill to swallow. first of all i need to make sure i have a full stomach. and i need to stay out of the sun. But its weird because they give me a sore stomach anyways, if i do either of these or not. But they work! my thumb is getting much better and my face is clearing up. my foot is still as awkward as ever to walk on. but to be honest, i like the 20 minutes a day sitting and soaking them!!!!

As for the good news! We have a new baby named Isaiah. He came to us at 9:oo this morning with his father and maternal aunt. He is 6 months old and appears in fairly good health, except for what appears to be the beginnings of Kwashinor's Syndrome, (his puffy cheeks because the water goes between his tissues and cant be broken down) which is proetin deficiency malnutrition.
His mother has been sick since his birth and stopped nursing him at 3 months. She is paralyzed and unable to talk. The family is not economically able to care for him, and have asked the orphanage take him in. Has other siblings at home who are 6, 8, and 10 years old. The are not 100% completely sure he will be able to stay because Melinda is away to Port today and hasnt seen him. Plus he hasnt been tested. But its still a blessing he came here now, sooner than later, or he would of definately been in worse condition. Please pray he adapts to the orphanage well and gets lots of nutrition fast!

The other good news is tomorrow we are getting a sibling group. We have had a file of parents who want to adopt a sibling group for a couple months. And a 3 month old girl and what they believe to be a 2 1/2 year old boy will be arriving soon! The reason i say the boy is believed to be 2 1/2 because birth certificates are often made late or are made wrong. So legally they may be 2 or 3 but in reality he may be the size of a 6 year old. Its not uncommon.

So yes. This is all very exciting. Except that i am experiencing it from my bed today because of the antibiotics. tee hee.

Prayer requests: please pray for Samuel and Bedza's paperwork, me not getting infected, and all the wee ones who have arried and are arriving soon!

Thanks so much and hope to talk to you all again soon!
Muah!

Some more pictures!

May 3rd 2008

I wanted to just keep my post light and full of happy stuff and not have to write anything upsetting. But today was a very sad day. The twin(Simon) that was doing well at the start, took a turn for the worst this past week or so and hadn’t been doing very well ever since. Melinda put him on an IV and did all that she could for him. And today on his 4 week birthday around noonish, he passed away. We had a small funeral for him in HCH’S private cemetery, and can home with sad hearts. He is now in heaven with his mommy, but has left behind his brother and a house full of people who will miss him. Please continue to pray for the other little baby Samuel who looks to be doing great and is growing strong. Physically and vocally!

Now for the lighter part. I’m getting my hair braided sometime this week! I’m excited because i definitely wont miss the permanent ponytail i wear everyday. Plus all the fly-away hairs and bobby pins aren’t fun either!

Man has it been raining today. But its the nice kind of rain where the sun still shines and there is enough wind to cool you off. Lori, Shannon and I have been trying to get the kids out for a treat for the past 5 days but have had to cut our trip short because of the rain every afternoon. Today was a success! We made it up the road to the “little boutique” or little bucket as it translates to what the kids call it, before the rain! It just started to rain as we were coming into the yard.
Minnie-June left on Wednesday to the states for her brothers wedding and wont be back until Tuesday. I cant wait. It means the kids will be back into their routine and things will settle down. Please pray for teething babies, Bedza and Samuel’s paperwork to get to Canada soon and a little less rain so i can get some laundry done!

Thanks for reading and being patient with the internet down! Until next time! Muah!

I'm having MILK!!!!

First of all i want to apologize to everyone for not having anything new in here for such a long time! My fingers are even having a hard time finding the keys, its been so long. So what happened is that the guy who came and connected the wireless, came back a while ago and tried to readjust the satellite dish so that we would have better connection. And well that did not happen. He disconnected it completely! And then left for Port Au Prince. So thus having no connection to write and update! And that’s just making the long story short. Haha. Didn’t think that was possible with me, did you?
Ahhh. I cant believe how much i have taken Dairy for granted! Lori found out last night (the 30th of April when i am actually writing this...)
Anywho she found out a midnight that she would be going instead of Pat. And that she was leaving at 4:3o am! Pat wasn’t able to go because one of the twins, Simon, isn’t doing very well. He could most definitely use a lot of prayer! Today they got blood from town and that was a miracle in itself. Melinda is having a hard time finding a vein. Not a good situation folks. They spent all last night praying he would make it through the night. Today was a blessing in more than one way that is for sure!
When Lori came home from Port she brought my Blessing. 3 cartons of shelf milk, and 10 yogurt cups! I ate a yogurt right away and put my one carton in the fridge. So tomorrow, I’M HAVING MILK!
I also want to give a shout out to my new friend Shannon from Red deer who brought a package my family sent me. I have never been so happy to see polo shirts! (by the way mom they fit perfect!) and my pink mints. Well lets just say i look at the bag half full. Haha.
Anyways i need to get in line for a shower and get to bed. Tomorrow is laundry day and so that means i will be getting up early.
Thank you for being patient with me and 3rd world country technology! Thank you mom for sending the package express. So that it got to Shannon in excellent timming! And thank you for the goodies grandma! I miss you all very much and it was a well needed reminder of all of you who love me over there. If you could keep Baby Simon, Jean-Diny ( who has sickle cell anaemia and is struggling with pain.) Bedza and Samuel (who will hopefully be leaving for home in BC very soon. Please pray for quick paperwork!) and for my sanity, patient and a caring and servant heart. A few thing that have deemed a bit hard lately. Also for my summer plans, please pray i follow God’s desire completely. That’s mostly where the patience comes in.
Only 50 some days to go. And can’t think of how much i will miss the kids. I cry every time.
Love you all very much and cannot express how much i appreciate your prayers. Thank you.