5 days to go...

It’s so funny to think that the last week is here already. I remember my first day driving up the mountain thinking it would be forever before I got back to normal paved roads. Now, the thought of having to drive on the right side of the road, with no kids in the back and wearing my seat belt sounds ridiculous. I mean people drive like crazy people and never once have I, or anyone I’ve seen gotten in an accident since I’ve have been here. Makes you wonder if Canadians are a little too careful.

Anywho, these past weeks have been relatively busy. It’s nice to have a routine and have the kids set into it. With the help of Shannon and Teresa from BC taking care of the cooking Lori, Melissa and I have been downstairs. That is when we aren’t hiding in our rooms in front of the fans because of the humidity!

We have had a few new arrivals at the house since I have past written. 2 have stayed and the others went home. Melinda has been hard at work. First we got this baby whose mother is 16 and had a caesarean section. The baby was born with the first knuckle extra of a finger by her pinkie on each hand. Melinda Tied string on around it then cut it with scissors. She is Pat’s Godchild so Pat named her Patricia. She is living with her mother and father who are not married.










Then there was another baby girl whose married mother had an affair with a different married man. She just dropped her off because she is headed to the states to be with her husband who doesn’t know a thing about the entire pregnancy. She is absolutely adorable! Her name is Ester. Melinda is pretty sure she was post-partum, which means she was left in her mom’s tummy after she was supposed to be born. They think she was left 10 months. It’s affected her skin color and her eating, but other than that she is normal and sleeps alot! She will be staying with us and will be up for adoption.

The third was a little boy named Berto. Melinda isn’t sure if he was dropped on his head of if he was shaken but he has definite brain damage. He is also covered in impetigo. A skin infection from scabies and bug bites. I have never seen anything like him and Melinda tells me she has seen so much worse. He is a year old and only weighs 9 pounds. His feet were so bad when he first came, but are doing a lot better now. He is being fed by a tube every 4 hours and is starting to heal slowly. He will be staying with us.






(excerpt from Lori's blog) "He arrived Sunday afternoon after we received a call from a neighbouring pastor who had come across this sad little boy when he arrived to pray with Berto's grandma. Our first sight of Berto brought tears to my eyes as he was by far in the worst condition I've seen first hand since starting to work in Haiti. His whole body was covered in sores, and his fingernails were embedded into his hands. His feet were covered in sores and scabs and his toenails were jelly-like. Berto's head was filthy and also covered in sores, and right away we could tell there was some form of brain injury by the telltale flitting back and forth of his eyes. I was amazed to suddenly realize how much he resembled Naika, another brain damaged child we have here. We asked his mother if he had been dropped or had fallen and she said no. SO, at this point we are speculating trauma at birth or perhaps shaken baby syndrome. Berto has a very high pallet and so Melinda figured that he is so small because he cannot suck, and his mom did not have the means or knowledge to feed him other food."

"Berto is holding his own at this point. He is being tube fed and is doing well with 4oz of formula. His head and feet are looking much better today. He was seizing constantly so he is now on an anit-convulsant medication called Phenobarbitol, and this has helped tremendously. He responds when we call his name, though is not able to focus at all. Please pray that he continues to improve and that stay well when Melind heads to the states on Wednesday." (also from Lori's blog)



The latest was a little boy whose mom also had a caesarean section. They cut his umbilical cord but it got infected so they brought him back to the hospital and wouldn’t do anything about it. So they brought it to Melinda to fix. Supposedly they wrapped it in bandages and the baby got urine on it and it got infected. Thank goodness for Melinda! The baby went back home with his mother the next day.








So lots of little things have been happening these past days. But tomorrow (June 11th 2008) will be one of the biggest things to happen while I’ve been here. Samuel and Bedza will finally be going home. Pat and Melinda are taking them to the states where the family will meet them and then they are off to BC to live. It’s an exciting and sad time. Exciting because they will finally get to go home and be with their parents and brothers and sisters. But sad because this is the only home they have ever known and are starting to deny leaving. Its also sad because pat and Melinda will be coming back on the 18th. The day after I leave. So I will be saying good bye to them too tomorrow.
Anyways, I need to get back. I’m trying to get some more pictures of me and the kids before I leave and get a little packing done too. Kinda nervous about leaving all alone so if you could pray for peace of mind and a calm heart I would appreciate it!
Love you all lots and I will try and write again once more before I see you all again!
Muah!