Check out this blog. If you know of any others that would be interested, pass this along to them as well!
Update 4/5 - I'm not sure what happened to this blog - they did say that the formula would benefit the orphanage we are adopting from, but they have now taken off all those references. I'm now not sure where the formula collected will be going. It's hard for me to refer my friends and family to a source of donations, when I don't know where they are going. So, if you have formula you'd be willing to donate to our orphanage, please let me know. We can take some donations the next time we travel (although unplanned at this point), and we can send them with a shipment that is being planned of many, many donations currently being stored in Colorado.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Random thoughts for the weekend
RT1: We had a GREAT time visiting with some friends this evening - two other couples who went through our foster parent training class with us. Between our three families, there were two teenagers and 6 children ages 5 and under. It was loads of fun - you wouldn't think that many kids all not used to each other would get along together so well, but we all had a great time! Thanks to David & Annette for hosting!
RT2: In looking at Kaylen's Scholastic book order forms this week, I came across some gems. I love Scholastic (great books for cheap!) - but now it takes an hour each month to go through them all - as we get about 6 different ones, instead of the single one we got when I was in school. Anyway, remember the little old Mr. ___ (insert Grumpy, Clumsy, Cheerful, etc) and Little Miss ___ (insert Chatterbox, Trouble, Fun, etc) books? And how about Amelia Bedelia and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle? Those were so fun when I was a kid and learning to read. Well, they're back (or at least stlil around)! I think I'm going to order them just for the nostalgia! (OK - well, for our kids to read too...)
RT3: So it's supposedly spring - at least according to my calendar - but not according to the weather forecasts. I'm so ready for the warm sunny weather, but it seems to be in hiding. One day this week, on my way to work, it went from sprinkles to rain/hail/thunder/lightening to rain/sleet to snow - within a half hour - well, OK, it was probably closer to 50 minutes, because the hail, sleet and snow made the roads slushy and slick, so traffic was slow! YUCK! I was freezing, and whiney (like I am now - sorry!), as the previous days around 50 were much nicer - even though the wind made it not the best weather for sidewalk chalk. And, it's supposed to be rainy and yucky almost every day this coming week. Even though it did melt the next day, I'm sure the geese outside the window at work were wondering if they'd flown too far north on accident with the snow this past week. Which brings me to my next random thought...
RT4: At work the last several years, we've had Canada Geese nesting in our parking lot, so I've learned a bit about them. They are monogomous (mate for life) and they come back to approximately the same location to nest each year. The babies also usually come back close to where they were born, which makes it interesting with the increasing goose population in our area, as they also don't like other geese to nest very close to their nest. There are actually two goose-couples on opposite ends of our parking lot, and if they get too close to each other, there's lots of loud honking and fending for their territory.
This year, since my cubicle is right by the window and the geese are nesting right outside that window, I've learned a bit more about these fascinating creatures. Monday, it appeared that mama goose had 2 eggs in her nest, but she wasn't sitting on it - she covered it up and continued wandering around - although she didn't go far, and she and papa goose still were very protective of their location. Well, I looked them up on the internet one night, and apparently, they lay their eggs about every 1.5 days until they've laid them all (4-8 but usually 5 or 6). Then they start sitting on them (incubating), so that they'll all hatch at approximately the same time.
I think mama goose is done laying her eggs, as she was sitting on her nest most of Friday - and it looked like there were 5 eggs in there. I don't know how long they incubate though - it's always fun to watch the little goslings - if they don't hatch on a weekend. They usually are heading off to one of the local ponds soon after birth, so the babies aren't around long.
Now, you might say that the parking lot isn't the safest place for geese to lay egge - this is true - for the geese AND the people! The building owners came by and put orange cones in the parking space closest to the nest. The other sides are driveway, and most people driving through slow down, and even stop to gawk at the geese. It's been kind of funny watching them honk and try to chase off vehicles, but I think they're getting used to the vehicles driving past, and have realized they can't win. However, if you happen to be a UPS or a King Delivery driver - SLOW DOWN! There's even a speed bump right there, but that doesn't deter them. Those poor geese have so far just been lucky enough to not have been in the way.
RT5: Our taxes are done! Well, I still need Jock to double-check my numbers, before I get them typed up and then double-check for typos, but they should be off to the IRS and the State Dept of Revenue this week. I can't wait for those refunds - and that economy-boosting rebate we'll get from the fed in the next couple months! Maybe we'll be able to go back to Haiti to sign our I-600s. ;)
I'm so excited that the State of Iowa lets you take a deduction for the adoption expenses in the year they were paid, whether or not the adoption is final. Federal won't let you take it (and it's a credit, not a deduction - much better!) until the adoption is final - but you can go back several years of paid expenses, and you can carry some of it forward up to 5 years to use more of it. If you state has income taxes, check into it. For Iowa, it was listed under "Other deductions", and added to our itemized deductions.
Well, that's all for now. Hope you're all having a great weekend!
RT2: In looking at Kaylen's Scholastic book order forms this week, I came across some gems. I love Scholastic (great books for cheap!) - but now it takes an hour each month to go through them all - as we get about 6 different ones, instead of the single one we got when I was in school. Anyway, remember the little old Mr. ___ (insert Grumpy, Clumsy, Cheerful, etc) and Little Miss ___ (insert Chatterbox, Trouble, Fun, etc) books? And how about Amelia Bedelia and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle? Those were so fun when I was a kid and learning to read. Well, they're back (or at least stlil around)! I think I'm going to order them just for the nostalgia! (OK - well, for our kids to read too...)
RT3: So it's supposedly spring - at least according to my calendar - but not according to the weather forecasts. I'm so ready for the warm sunny weather, but it seems to be in hiding. One day this week, on my way to work, it went from sprinkles to rain/hail/thunder/lightening to rain/sleet to snow - within a half hour - well, OK, it was probably closer to 50 minutes, because the hail, sleet and snow made the roads slushy and slick, so traffic was slow! YUCK! I was freezing, and whiney (like I am now - sorry!), as the previous days around 50 were much nicer - even though the wind made it not the best weather for sidewalk chalk. And, it's supposed to be rainy and yucky almost every day this coming week. Even though it did melt the next day, I'm sure the geese outside the window at work were wondering if they'd flown too far north on accident with the snow this past week. Which brings me to my next random thought...
RT4: At work the last several years, we've had Canada Geese nesting in our parking lot, so I've learned a bit about them. They are monogomous (mate for life) and they come back to approximately the same location to nest each year. The babies also usually come back close to where they were born, which makes it interesting with the increasing goose population in our area, as they also don't like other geese to nest very close to their nest. There are actually two goose-couples on opposite ends of our parking lot, and if they get too close to each other, there's lots of loud honking and fending for their territory.
This year, since my cubicle is right by the window and the geese are nesting right outside that window, I've learned a bit more about these fascinating creatures. Monday, it appeared that mama goose had 2 eggs in her nest, but she wasn't sitting on it - she covered it up and continued wandering around - although she didn't go far, and she and papa goose still were very protective of their location. Well, I looked them up on the internet one night, and apparently, they lay their eggs about every 1.5 days until they've laid them all (4-8 but usually 5 or 6). Then they start sitting on them (incubating), so that they'll all hatch at approximately the same time.
I think mama goose is done laying her eggs, as she was sitting on her nest most of Friday - and it looked like there were 5 eggs in there. I don't know how long they incubate though - it's always fun to watch the little goslings - if they don't hatch on a weekend. They usually are heading off to one of the local ponds soon after birth, so the babies aren't around long.
Now, you might say that the parking lot isn't the safest place for geese to lay egge - this is true - for the geese AND the people! The building owners came by and put orange cones in the parking space closest to the nest. The other sides are driveway, and most people driving through slow down, and even stop to gawk at the geese. It's been kind of funny watching them honk and try to chase off vehicles, but I think they're getting used to the vehicles driving past, and have realized they can't win. However, if you happen to be a UPS or a King Delivery driver - SLOW DOWN! There's even a speed bump right there, but that doesn't deter them. Those poor geese have so far just been lucky enough to not have been in the way.
RT5: Our taxes are done! Well, I still need Jock to double-check my numbers, before I get them typed up and then double-check for typos, but they should be off to the IRS and the State Dept of Revenue this week. I can't wait for those refunds - and that economy-boosting rebate we'll get from the fed in the next couple months! Maybe we'll be able to go back to Haiti to sign our I-600s. ;)
I'm so excited that the State of Iowa lets you take a deduction for the adoption expenses in the year they were paid, whether or not the adoption is final. Federal won't let you take it (and it's a credit, not a deduction - much better!) until the adoption is final - but you can go back several years of paid expenses, and you can carry some of it forward up to 5 years to use more of it. If you state has income taxes, check into it. For Iowa, it was listed under "Other deductions", and added to our itemized deductions.
Well, that's all for now. Hope you're all having a great weekend!
Friday, March 28, 2008
March '08 Update Photos
We got our monthly update photos of Elijah & Josephine a week or two ago. Usually I wait anxiously on these every day starting on the 15th, until they make their way to us. This month, however, I completely forgot about them, it having only been a short time since we'd been in Haiti, and we were busy pouring over and sharing the pictures we took of them. What a nice surprise they were!
I think these could be the best update photos we've gotten of them so far. They both have such great smiles on their faces. Jock and I think it's because they know who they're smiling at now when they bring out the orphanage's camera each month, and they're just so happy to have met their family! Don't you think that's what those beautiful little faces are saying? :)
I think these could be the best update photos we've gotten of them so far. They both have such great smiles on their faces. Jock and I think it's because they know who they're smiling at now when they bring out the orphanage's camera each month, and they're just so happy to have met their family! Don't you think that's what those beautiful little faces are saying? :)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter & Gotcha Day!
Today is special to us for two reasons. First, we're blessed to know and believe in Christ's resurrection, and thankful for the grace of God in Christ Jesus. If you'd like to know more, turn in your Bible (or find a version online here) to Matthew 28. There are similar versions in Mark, Luke, and John. There is also some great supplements to the Matthew passage, in 1 Corinthians 15, and Romans 10:9 - and I'm sure elsewhere - these are just the things our Pastor focused on during his awesome message today in church.
Second, today's the 2nd anniversary of Kaylen's Gotcha Day. Two years ago today, Kaylen came to live with us. She had a great big smile on her face when we talked about it, and how happy we are that she came to live with us. What a joy she has been in our lives these past two years. It's also amazing to think back to two years ago, and to think how far she's come, how much she's learned, how much she's grown!
We were so happy to be able to celebrate these two events today. Jock and I both sand in the Easter Celebration Choir at church. I think there were about 50 in the choir and an orchestra of about 7, in addition to the regular praise band team of about 8-10. They cranked up the sound, and it was an awesome experience. Jock's mom came to the second service, and Kaylen sat with her for the first part, so she could see us singing. She had a great time clapping and singing and watching us. Also, I think she was probably glad to not have had to sit through the entire Sunday School period twice, since we had to stay for both services.After church, we ate a light lunch (left-over pizza) in record-breaking-speed, Kaylen got a short nap (and actually fell asleep) before it was time to head over to Jock's dad's house. The three children (Kaylen and her two cousins) hunted the candy-filled eggs that the Easter bunny had just delivered to Grandpa's house, and had lots of fun playing all afternoon/evening. We all (adults and children) played some Wii golf and bowling, ate some yummy glazed ham and mashed potatoes, and endured some philosophical/religion discussion like only Jock and his dad and brothers can do.
All in all, it was a good day. Kaylen got her shower and into bed around her normal bedtime, I went for my regular walk, and now Jock and I are relaxing at our respective computers.
I'm also including a few pictures of our Easter egg coloring night - it's a tradition with Jock's family that's always fun!
Happy Easter from our family to you all!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Haiti Trip, Part 9 of 9
Back Home
On Thursday morning, the woman who stayed in the hotel with us, had to catch the first of her two flights to Colorado around 6:30 am, so she left on the first airport shuttle at 5am. The rest of us got up an hour or two later, ate a nice breakfast, and then headed to the airport. We checked all our luggage – except for our smallest personal bags as carry-ons. We made it through the security checkpoint in a breeze, and then waited (with Starbucks that Jock and Carolyn brought to us) before boarding our flight to Chicago, which was on time. Our flight from Chicago to Des Moines was delayed about 45 minutes (while we were sitting on the tiny plane), but we finally made it back to Des Moines.
We exited the gates and came down the escalators to a small welcoming party – some friends of ours from the area that are also adopting two children from Haiti – from another orphanage, and Brian’s dad there to pick them up. It gave us a little foretaste of a welcoming party we might have when we bring our children home. I’ve heard of many families arriving home to a welcoming party at the airport, and it sounds like a great idea. Our ride didn’t park and come in, but instead had been circling for about an hour. So when we got our bags, we headed for home. It was a strange feeling to be driving again on smooth roads, and to be back home in our huge, empty, quiet house.
We made a few phone calls that evening to let people know we’d made it home. We talked to Kaylen, and she got a bit emotional at talking to us. She did great being away from us, and I’m so grateful to have my sister taking care of her and not having to worry about her. However, I think 12 days of her being away from us was bordering on too long for her. She’d only been away for a single night at a time since she became part of our family – and even that only a few times. We told her we’d come pick her up the next day, and Jock headed off to bed early. We were both exhausted, but I stayed up a bit later and downloaded all our pictures on the laptop. I had filled a 2GB memory card and half of a second 2 GB with one camera, and filled a 512 MB with our second camera, so it took quite a while to download all of that.
Friday morning, we drove up to my sister’s. She was working, so we went to get Kaylen from the babysitter’s house. We spent the afternoon at my sister’s house just enjoying each other and talking about our weeks, and about what we did. My niece and nephew got home from school, and also my dad and step-mom stopped by, and we showed them some of our pictures, and then my sister when she got home from work. We spent the night at my dad’s house and went out for breakfast with him, before stopping by my grandma’s house to share our pictures with her. She was surprised by how much Haiti looks like Guatemala. She and my grandpa spent some time down there during the Iowa winters many years ago. We were still full from breakfast, so we just headed straight home from Grandma’s house.
I was so tired, that I slept the whole way up to NE Iowa Friday morning, and the whole way back to our house Saturday afternoon. Sunday we got up and went to church, and then I took another really long nap Sunday afternoon. Monday it was back to work, but I was still pretty tired all week. The following weekend we were out of town Friday night and all day Saturday for a friend's birthday party, but I slept part of the 2-hour drive Friday night, and most of the way home Saturday night. Sunday I took another long nap in the afternoon, and this week I think I was back to normal – if there is such a thing. This weekend, we’re sticking around home. Today Jock and Kaylen did some cleaning – our house was a disaster from getting no attention the last 6 weeks. I got busy on our taxes! I did see that we will be able to take a deduction for our adoption expenses on our state taxes. The federal taxes have a tax credit, but we’ll have to hold off on that until Elijah & Josephine come home.
On Thursday morning, the woman who stayed in the hotel with us, had to catch the first of her two flights to Colorado around 6:30 am, so she left on the first airport shuttle at 5am. The rest of us got up an hour or two later, ate a nice breakfast, and then headed to the airport. We checked all our luggage – except for our smallest personal bags as carry-ons. We made it through the security checkpoint in a breeze, and then waited (with Starbucks that Jock and Carolyn brought to us) before boarding our flight to Chicago, which was on time. Our flight from Chicago to Des Moines was delayed about 45 minutes (while we were sitting on the tiny plane), but we finally made it back to Des Moines.
We exited the gates and came down the escalators to a small welcoming party – some friends of ours from the area that are also adopting two children from Haiti – from another orphanage, and Brian’s dad there to pick them up. It gave us a little foretaste of a welcoming party we might have when we bring our children home. I’ve heard of many families arriving home to a welcoming party at the airport, and it sounds like a great idea. Our ride didn’t park and come in, but instead had been circling for about an hour. So when we got our bags, we headed for home. It was a strange feeling to be driving again on smooth roads, and to be back home in our huge, empty, quiet house.
We made a few phone calls that evening to let people know we’d made it home. We talked to Kaylen, and she got a bit emotional at talking to us. She did great being away from us, and I’m so grateful to have my sister taking care of her and not having to worry about her. However, I think 12 days of her being away from us was bordering on too long for her. She’d only been away for a single night at a time since she became part of our family – and even that only a few times. We told her we’d come pick her up the next day, and Jock headed off to bed early. We were both exhausted, but I stayed up a bit later and downloaded all our pictures on the laptop. I had filled a 2GB memory card and half of a second 2 GB with one camera, and filled a 512 MB with our second camera, so it took quite a while to download all of that.
Friday morning, we drove up to my sister’s. She was working, so we went to get Kaylen from the babysitter’s house. We spent the afternoon at my sister’s house just enjoying each other and talking about our weeks, and about what we did. My niece and nephew got home from school, and also my dad and step-mom stopped by, and we showed them some of our pictures, and then my sister when she got home from work. We spent the night at my dad’s house and went out for breakfast with him, before stopping by my grandma’s house to share our pictures with her. She was surprised by how much Haiti looks like Guatemala. She and my grandpa spent some time down there during the Iowa winters many years ago. We were still full from breakfast, so we just headed straight home from Grandma’s house.
I was so tired, that I slept the whole way up to NE Iowa Friday morning, and the whole way back to our house Saturday afternoon. Sunday we got up and went to church, and then I took another really long nap Sunday afternoon. Monday it was back to work, but I was still pretty tired all week. The following weekend we were out of town Friday night and all day Saturday for a friend's birthday party, but I slept part of the 2-hour drive Friday night, and most of the way home Saturday night. Sunday I took another long nap in the afternoon, and this week I think I was back to normal – if there is such a thing. This weekend, we’re sticking around home. Today Jock and Kaylen did some cleaning – our house was a disaster from getting no attention the last 6 weeks. I got busy on our taxes! I did see that we will be able to take a deduction for our adoption expenses on our state taxes. The federal taxes have a tax credit, but we’ll have to hold off on that until Elijah & Josephine come home.
Haiti Trip, Part 8
Wednesday
We got up early, to see off some of our new friends who had a late morning flight out of PAP. They left at 7:00 to take their children back to the orphanage and then went straight to the airport. We then went up and had a quick breakfast before making it back to our room to finish packing up our things. We were told our van was going to leave for the orphanage at 10am. We were nearly packed, and Jock went up to take care of our hotel bill around 9:15. He returned as soon as he was done, saying they were leaving for the orphanage at 9:30! We had to really rush to get our bags out front to have them loaded. Not everyone went to the orphanage, as we didn’t all fit in the van, so some stayed back to watch the bags at the hotel entrance.
At the orphanage, it was a bittersweet morning. We were all trying to be strong, and enjoy those last moments with our babies, not knowing when we’d be back to see them again, or how long until we can bring them home. I had a little cry and hug-session with Elijah and Josephine that morning when Jock was checking out at the hotel, but it started all again, when we got to the orphanage. We tried to get a couple last-minute pictures of our two together on one of the porch chairs. Josephine was happy, but I’m sure Elijah sensed by our emotions that something was going on – we couldn’t get a smile out of him. I just sat on the front porch, attempting to prolong the inevitable before having to take them back to their rooms.
Finally Jock took Josephine from me, and I carried Elijah back to the back of the main building. Jock handed Josephine to one the nannies in Baby Room 1, and we both told all the nannies, “Mesi anpil”, and gave her our final kisses before tearing ourselves away. I handed Elijah to Jock in the hallway before going into Baby Room 2. I knew I wouldn’t be able to give him back either. When we went in the room, the nanny motioned towards his crib, so instead of handing him back into her care, we put him back into his crib. She started to close it, and I made her wait until I could give him my last tearful kisses.
Once we were out of the room, Jock and I basically melted down into each other, and had a good cry. It was unimaginable how difficult that was leaving our babies! I sort of felt like a zombie on the way back out to the van, on the van ride back to the hotel, waiting to get back in the vans, and then heading to the airport.
Once at the airport, it was back into cattle-herding mode, like I talked about when we arrived in PAP the previous Wednesday. We stood in line for them to check our IDs and go through the first level of security. Then we stood in line at the American counter to get our luggage checked and boarding passes. Then through another security level and into a small room with a gift shop, where someone in our group tried to purchase a small book of word-find puzzles that said 150 on it. To us, it seemed it should be US$1.50, but the cashier said it was US$5.00. Then when he knew we were confused, he showed us on his calculator – he told us it was 15% tax, but he added $15 instead and somehow came up with $35. There was just no way. Well, Jock went in and tried to figure it out again for her, because she really wanted this little booklet. He finally got him back down to $5.00. Apparently the 150 was Haitian currency, so he didn’t do the conversion correctly at first. It seemed really funny that someone would have that job but not know how to do the conversions properly. Most places in Haiti accept, and even appreciate if you pay in US$, but obviously not this guy!
Then we went through the passport line – I think where they stamped the exit spot. I think they were irritated at us, because we didn’t understand when they told us which line to go in, and then to stay behind the yellow line until it was our turn. You’d think when they told us which line to go in, and if nobody was ahead of us, we could just step up – not so – they tell you which line, and then you stand there and wait for that line’s attendant to motion you to come in. Then they look at you funny to see if they can ascertain whether the picture in your passport is really you.
Then when we’d gone through the passport control, we went through another line, where they scanned (again) our carry-on luggage. They had to look in Jock’s because of his metal shaving crème can. After this checkpoint, we had a couple hours, so we went upstairs, where they had a couple food bars, and several gift shops in this area. It was nice for a while – air conditioned and not as hot and crowded as we’d heard the waiting area was to board the plane, and we had about an hour. We looked around at a few things, but as in many airports, things seemed overpriced, so we didn’t get anything other than some juice to drink.
Later, as we were about to head back downstairs, we found out that our flight was going to be about 2 hours delayed. We went down to double-check, and then came back upstairs, and visited with a missionary couple that runs an orphanage near the Lifeline facilities that Jock had toured on Monday. This couple and their teen daughter apparently live in Haiti about half of the year, and in their home base of Jacksonville Florida the other half of the year. They asked us a bit about why we were there, and then asked us a bit about our adoptions. Their orphanage is not strictly for adoptions, but they do have a couple families that are adopting children from their orphanage, independently, with a Haitian lawyer facilitating. It was very interesting talking to them, and helped pass the time while waiting for our delayed flight.
Later I had Jock get me some French fries to eat that I started craving when I saw someone else with them. After all, it was around 2:00 in the afternoon, and all we’d had to eat for lunch was a few granola-nut bars that I’d packed in my carry-on. By the time we’d finished them, there were a few people up there in the lounge smoking that was starting to get to me. So, we went back downstairs, and through one final checkpoint, into the final boarding area’s waiting room. This was like the security area we have at US airports, where you have to remove your shoes, and remove the liquids Ziploc from your carryon before going through. Then we waited with our group until it was time to board our flight.
When it was time to board, we were cattle-herded through the gate, outside, to walk across the concrete we’d walked across the previous week. What’s funny was that the passengers traveling to New York were also lining up to board their flight – the lines were kind of inter-mixed and then we split. Once outside I didn’t really see two lines, so as we went towards our plane, I was a little nervous that we were going to end up at JFK. But, when we handed our boarding pass stub to the attendant at the bottom of the stairs on the truck, he didn’t throw a fit and direct us to the other airplane clear on the other side of the airport – only to the other set of stairs leading to the back of the plane. We made it on our flight and to our seats. It’s hard to describe the feelings of this. It seemed a relief to be heading back home, but so sad – like I was missing something or had forgotten something. I hadn’t really forgotten anything, but I was missing a huge piece of my heart that I left on this tiny island country.
The mood on the flight was fairly somber – or at least it seemed that way to me. There was a cute little boy and his mom sitting behind us, and I figured he was maybe a little bit older than Elijah. Otherwise, people were tired and weary from their travels and/or from their waiting in the airport much of the morning and afternoon. The flight was packed because there had been a noon flight to Miami that was cancelled. Jock and I just tried to bury ourselves into the sudoku puzzles in the back of the airline’s magazine.
When the flight attendant came around with the customs forms, she took one look at us, paused briefly, and then asked us how good our French was. I just nodded my head and she directed us to a different page in the back of the same airline magazine for the English translation. We tried to remember the values of the souvenirs we’d purchased to fill the form out as accurately as possible. Funny thing was, right above where we were to sign, there were no translations, so for all we knew, we were signing our lives away.
Back in Miami, safely back on American soil, we again were cattle-herded through long winding hallways to the customs area. We stopped at the restroom for a much-needed break, only to find that there was only one stall, so I waited forever! When finally finished, I met up with Jock again, and it seemed like we’d been left out in the middle of nowhere, but there was only one way to keep going – down the winding hallway. Once we got to the customs lines, though, it didn’t make much difference. There were still long waits in line, and we met back up with many of our traveling group. We again forgot to wait behind the yellow line (come on – we were reading all the signs not looking at our feet – and none of those signs told us to wait behind the yellow line!) and were told to step back – although fairly politely this time. We got through in a breeze – the man that took our white customs form barely even looked at it! (I was told that they’re more strict with non-US citizens than they are with US citizens at customs, but who knows.)
When we were all through customs, we retrieved our baggage and then waited a bit while several people we’d traveled with were waiting to see if they could re-book flights after missing their connections. Those traveling to Chicago were able to get on a later flight, but one traveling to Colorado couldn’t, so she also stayed with the Gibson’s (as were we) in Miami for the night. We grabbed the hotel shuttle to the Embassy suites, got checked in, dropped our bags in our room, and then headed back downstairs to find somewhere to go to eat supper.
The man at the door suggested a couple restaurants, we picked one, and he drove us right to it. He even went in and talked to the staff, and said they’d call him to come pick us up when we were finished. It was a small Cuban restaurant called La Rosa, where the service was great, and the food was delicious. We were seated right next to the piano, so it was a bit noisy – especially for one of us who had an earache, and made it a little hard for us to hold a conversation, but otherwise, it was very nice. We had barely stepped outside to relax and enjoy the fresh air for a minute while waiting for our driver, when he pulled up. We praised him and tipped him for his assistance and service to us, and told him about our awful experience at their hotel restaurant the week before. He thanked us for letting him know that, and told us he was sorry we had that experience, because he thought their food was good, but knows himself if the service is bad, that makes the food worse too. He also directed us to the comment cards, which one of our group promptly filled out. We then went up to our room and basically collapsed from the emotional and physical exhaustion of the day.
We got up early, to see off some of our new friends who had a late morning flight out of PAP. They left at 7:00 to take their children back to the orphanage and then went straight to the airport. We then went up and had a quick breakfast before making it back to our room to finish packing up our things. We were told our van was going to leave for the orphanage at 10am. We were nearly packed, and Jock went up to take care of our hotel bill around 9:15. He returned as soon as he was done, saying they were leaving for the orphanage at 9:30! We had to really rush to get our bags out front to have them loaded. Not everyone went to the orphanage, as we didn’t all fit in the van, so some stayed back to watch the bags at the hotel entrance.
At the orphanage, it was a bittersweet morning. We were all trying to be strong, and enjoy those last moments with our babies, not knowing when we’d be back to see them again, or how long until we can bring them home. I had a little cry and hug-session with Elijah and Josephine that morning when Jock was checking out at the hotel, but it started all again, when we got to the orphanage. We tried to get a couple last-minute pictures of our two together on one of the porch chairs. Josephine was happy, but I’m sure Elijah sensed by our emotions that something was going on – we couldn’t get a smile out of him. I just sat on the front porch, attempting to prolong the inevitable before having to take them back to their rooms.
Finally Jock took Josephine from me, and I carried Elijah back to the back of the main building. Jock handed Josephine to one the nannies in Baby Room 1, and we both told all the nannies, “Mesi anpil”, and gave her our final kisses before tearing ourselves away. I handed Elijah to Jock in the hallway before going into Baby Room 2. I knew I wouldn’t be able to give him back either. When we went in the room, the nanny motioned towards his crib, so instead of handing him back into her care, we put him back into his crib. She started to close it, and I made her wait until I could give him my last tearful kisses.Once we were out of the room, Jock and I basically melted down into each other, and had a good cry. It was unimaginable how difficult that was leaving our babies! I sort of felt like a zombie on the way back out to the van, on the van ride back to the hotel, waiting to get back in the vans, and then heading to the airport.
Once at the airport, it was back into cattle-herding mode, like I talked about when we arrived in PAP the previous Wednesday. We stood in line for them to check our IDs and go through the first level of security. Then we stood in line at the American counter to get our luggage checked and boarding passes. Then through another security level and into a small room with a gift shop, where someone in our group tried to purchase a small book of word-find puzzles that said 150 on it. To us, it seemed it should be US$1.50, but the cashier said it was US$5.00. Then when he knew we were confused, he showed us on his calculator – he told us it was 15% tax, but he added $15 instead and somehow came up with $35. There was just no way. Well, Jock went in and tried to figure it out again for her, because she really wanted this little booklet. He finally got him back down to $5.00. Apparently the 150 was Haitian currency, so he didn’t do the conversion correctly at first. It seemed really funny that someone would have that job but not know how to do the conversions properly. Most places in Haiti accept, and even appreciate if you pay in US$, but obviously not this guy!
Then we went through the passport line – I think where they stamped the exit spot. I think they were irritated at us, because we didn’t understand when they told us which line to go in, and then to stay behind the yellow line until it was our turn. You’d think when they told us which line to go in, and if nobody was ahead of us, we could just step up – not so – they tell you which line, and then you stand there and wait for that line’s attendant to motion you to come in. Then they look at you funny to see if they can ascertain whether the picture in your passport is really you.
Then when we’d gone through the passport control, we went through another line, where they scanned (again) our carry-on luggage. They had to look in Jock’s because of his metal shaving crème can. After this checkpoint, we had a couple hours, so we went upstairs, where they had a couple food bars, and several gift shops in this area. It was nice for a while – air conditioned and not as hot and crowded as we’d heard the waiting area was to board the plane, and we had about an hour. We looked around at a few things, but as in many airports, things seemed overpriced, so we didn’t get anything other than some juice to drink.
Later, as we were about to head back downstairs, we found out that our flight was going to be about 2 hours delayed. We went down to double-check, and then came back upstairs, and visited with a missionary couple that runs an orphanage near the Lifeline facilities that Jock had toured on Monday. This couple and their teen daughter apparently live in Haiti about half of the year, and in their home base of Jacksonville Florida the other half of the year. They asked us a bit about why we were there, and then asked us a bit about our adoptions. Their orphanage is not strictly for adoptions, but they do have a couple families that are adopting children from their orphanage, independently, with a Haitian lawyer facilitating. It was very interesting talking to them, and helped pass the time while waiting for our delayed flight.
Later I had Jock get me some French fries to eat that I started craving when I saw someone else with them. After all, it was around 2:00 in the afternoon, and all we’d had to eat for lunch was a few granola-nut bars that I’d packed in my carry-on. By the time we’d finished them, there were a few people up there in the lounge smoking that was starting to get to me. So, we went back downstairs, and through one final checkpoint, into the final boarding area’s waiting room. This was like the security area we have at US airports, where you have to remove your shoes, and remove the liquids Ziploc from your carryon before going through. Then we waited with our group until it was time to board our flight.
When it was time to board, we were cattle-herded through the gate, outside, to walk across the concrete we’d walked across the previous week. What’s funny was that the passengers traveling to New York were also lining up to board their flight – the lines were kind of inter-mixed and then we split. Once outside I didn’t really see two lines, so as we went towards our plane, I was a little nervous that we were going to end up at JFK. But, when we handed our boarding pass stub to the attendant at the bottom of the stairs on the truck, he didn’t throw a fit and direct us to the other airplane clear on the other side of the airport – only to the other set of stairs leading to the back of the plane. We made it on our flight and to our seats. It’s hard to describe the feelings of this. It seemed a relief to be heading back home, but so sad – like I was missing something or had forgotten something. I hadn’t really forgotten anything, but I was missing a huge piece of my heart that I left on this tiny island country.The mood on the flight was fairly somber – or at least it seemed that way to me. There was a cute little boy and his mom sitting behind us, and I figured he was maybe a little bit older than Elijah. Otherwise, people were tired and weary from their travels and/or from their waiting in the airport much of the morning and afternoon. The flight was packed because there had been a noon flight to Miami that was cancelled. Jock and I just tried to bury ourselves into the sudoku puzzles in the back of the airline’s magazine.
When the flight attendant came around with the customs forms, she took one look at us, paused briefly, and then asked us how good our French was. I just nodded my head and she directed us to a different page in the back of the same airline magazine for the English translation. We tried to remember the values of the souvenirs we’d purchased to fill the form out as accurately as possible. Funny thing was, right above where we were to sign, there were no translations, so for all we knew, we were signing our lives away.
Back in Miami, safely back on American soil, we again were cattle-herded through long winding hallways to the customs area. We stopped at the restroom for a much-needed break, only to find that there was only one stall, so I waited forever! When finally finished, I met up with Jock again, and it seemed like we’d been left out in the middle of nowhere, but there was only one way to keep going – down the winding hallway. Once we got to the customs lines, though, it didn’t make much difference. There were still long waits in line, and we met back up with many of our traveling group. We again forgot to wait behind the yellow line (come on – we were reading all the signs not looking at our feet – and none of those signs told us to wait behind the yellow line!) and were told to step back – although fairly politely this time. We got through in a breeze – the man that took our white customs form barely even looked at it! (I was told that they’re more strict with non-US citizens than they are with US citizens at customs, but who knows.)
When we were all through customs, we retrieved our baggage and then waited a bit while several people we’d traveled with were waiting to see if they could re-book flights after missing their connections. Those traveling to Chicago were able to get on a later flight, but one traveling to Colorado couldn’t, so she also stayed with the Gibson’s (as were we) in Miami for the night. We grabbed the hotel shuttle to the Embassy suites, got checked in, dropped our bags in our room, and then headed back downstairs to find somewhere to go to eat supper.
The man at the door suggested a couple restaurants, we picked one, and he drove us right to it. He even went in and talked to the staff, and said they’d call him to come pick us up when we were finished. It was a small Cuban restaurant called La Rosa, where the service was great, and the food was delicious. We were seated right next to the piano, so it was a bit noisy – especially for one of us who had an earache, and made it a little hard for us to hold a conversation, but otherwise, it was very nice. We had barely stepped outside to relax and enjoy the fresh air for a minute while waiting for our driver, when he pulled up. We praised him and tipped him for his assistance and service to us, and told him about our awful experience at their hotel restaurant the week before. He thanked us for letting him know that, and told us he was sorry we had that experience, because he thought their food was good, but knows himself if the service is bad, that makes the food worse too. He also directed us to the comment cards, which one of our group promptly filled out. We then went up to our room and basically collapsed from the emotional and physical exhaustion of the day.
Posting Insanity
I wanted to get more of my trip journal posted tonight - so you'll have to scroll down a bit if you don't want to go out of order - I posted parts 5, 6, and 7 all tonight.
I wanted to get those posted earlier in the week, but we are working on upgrading our security software, and apparently in the process, the firewall settings blocked my wireless internet access. Go figure. Well, I'm back up and running again - for now...
I've got a couple more parts to post tomorrow to finish off the journal, and will post a few other random thoughts about the trip here and there over the next couple weeks. That way, I can get back to posting about our Iowa life next week...
I wanted to get those posted earlier in the week, but we are working on upgrading our security software, and apparently in the process, the firewall settings blocked my wireless internet access. Go figure. Well, I'm back up and running again - for now...
I've got a couple more parts to post tomorrow to finish off the journal, and will post a few other random thoughts about the trip here and there over the next couple weeks. That way, I can get back to posting about our Iowa life next week...
Friday, March 21, 2008
Haiti Trip, Part 7
Tuesday
We got up, got the babies and ourselves ready for another full day, ate breakfast, and rode to the orphanage. For me, it was the first I’d been at the orphanage since noon Saturday. There wasn’t a lot to do that morning, so I helped out a bit with the laundry. The ladies that come to the orphanage to do laundry, are there every day, all day long. They wash all the children’s clothing daily, including the babies’ cloth diapers. The babies’ sheets get changed at least once per day, if not multiple times per day, and I think they change the babies’ clothes multiple times per day too, as could be expected.
For me, it really made me appreciate my washing machine – and there are only three of us in our household. Imagine doing laundry – by hand – for 130 children! When the tub of clothes I was working on was scrubbed clean and all placed into the first of several rinse tubs, the Haitian woman I’d been working with took my hands and rinsed them off, signaling that I was finished. I was glad to have the reprieve, but I hope she was happy to have had me help her out – even though I’m sure she was probably annoyed by my lack of skills.
After a while, I went back to my organizing of the children’s measurements and hand-print cards. The person who was going to be taking charge of printing the fronts of the cards, and addressing and sending them out to the families, asked that we actually write the measurements on the handprint cards, match them up to the envelopes, and write “To the parents of _____” on the envelopes. I had some help on these, and we had most of them finished before lunch, and the remainder shortly after lunch.
Lunch at the orphanage that day was bread (yes, sliced white bread like we can buy in our stores), with a really good stew. If I remember right, it had potatoes and vegetables of some sort, along with some beef (like meatballs). I don’t think there were many meatballs in it though – I didn’t get any in my bowl, so I had a granola-nut bar after lunch to get a little protein in me.
After lunch there wasn’t much else to do, and our trip coordinator had said that they’d probably take a van of women and children back to the hotel early while some of the men finished up the construction projects. We did stick around a bit longer, until most of the shelving was placed in the new storage room lean-to that was newly built. We then worked on placing the tubs of clothing, shoes, towels, and sheets onto the storage room shelves in as orderly a fashion as we could – although the room was very full!
I’m sure the guys loved it, as we were doing that while they were finishing the last shelf, and working on putting the tin roof on the room – probably very much in their way. Once the tubs were all put in place, we collected our kids and gathered on the porch waiting for the van ride back. I think a few of the men stayed later at the orphanage to finish up last-minute work. Jock and I came back as soon as what he had been working on was finished, which wasn’t too late.
We were so fortunate to have one more night to spend with Elijah and Josephine. We initially weren’t sure if we’d be able to, with the timing of the van rides from the hotel to the orphanage and then to the airport, but it worked out well. After dinner, devotions went really long, as we had another meeting to talk through some of the happenings of the week. We then prayed together over the FHG/Maison leadership, and for the children, and all of us traveling home. Most of us left carrying sleeping babies back to our hotel room. We cherished this last night we had together with them. What more of a wonderful memory, than holding an innocent sleeping baby on your arms, and praying with new friends?!
We got up, got the babies and ourselves ready for another full day, ate breakfast, and rode to the orphanage. For me, it was the first I’d been at the orphanage since noon Saturday. There wasn’t a lot to do that morning, so I helped out a bit with the laundry. The ladies that come to the orphanage to do laundry, are there every day, all day long. They wash all the children’s clothing daily, including the babies’ cloth diapers. The babies’ sheets get changed at least once per day, if not multiple times per day, and I think they change the babies’ clothes multiple times per day too, as could be expected.
For me, it really made me appreciate my washing machine – and there are only three of us in our household. Imagine doing laundry – by hand – for 130 children! When the tub of clothes I was working on was scrubbed clean and all placed into the first of several rinse tubs, the Haitian woman I’d been working with took my hands and rinsed them off, signaling that I was finished. I was glad to have the reprieve, but I hope she was happy to have had me help her out – even though I’m sure she was probably annoyed by my lack of skills.After a while, I went back to my organizing of the children’s measurements and hand-print cards. The person who was going to be taking charge of printing the fronts of the cards, and addressing and sending them out to the families, asked that we actually write the measurements on the handprint cards, match them up to the envelopes, and write “To the parents of _____” on the envelopes. I had some help on these, and we had most of them finished before lunch, and the remainder shortly after lunch.
Lunch at the orphanage that day was bread (yes, sliced white bread like we can buy in our stores), with a really good stew. If I remember right, it had potatoes and vegetables of some sort, along with some beef (like meatballs). I don’t think there were many meatballs in it though – I didn’t get any in my bowl, so I had a granola-nut bar after lunch to get a little protein in me.
After lunch there wasn’t much else to do, and our trip coordinator had said that they’d probably take a van of women and children back to the hotel early while some of the men finished up the construction projects. We did stick around a bit longer, until most of the shelving was placed in the new storage room lean-to that was newly built. We then worked on placing the tubs of clothing, shoes, towels, and sheets onto the storage room shelves in as orderly a fashion as we could – although the room was very full!
I’m sure the guys loved it, as we were doing that while they were finishing the last shelf, and working on putting the tin roof on the room – probably very much in their way. Once the tubs were all put in place, we collected our kids and gathered on the porch waiting for the van ride back. I think a few of the men stayed later at the orphanage to finish up last-minute work. Jock and I came back as soon as what he had been working on was finished, which wasn’t too late.
We were so fortunate to have one more night to spend with Elijah and Josephine. We initially weren’t sure if we’d be able to, with the timing of the van rides from the hotel to the orphanage and then to the airport, but it worked out well. After dinner, devotions went really long, as we had another meeting to talk through some of the happenings of the week. We then prayed together over the FHG/Maison leadership, and for the children, and all of us traveling home. Most of us left carrying sleeping babies back to our hotel room. We cherished this last night we had together with them. What more of a wonderful memory, than holding an innocent sleeping baby on your arms, and praying with new friends?!
Haiti Trip, Part 6
Monday
The plans were for a smaller group of ours to travel outside of the city on Monday to view the land that FHG/Maison may be purchasing for a new site for the orphanage. They were planning to leave at 6:00 am, to beat the traffic in the city, and there wasn’t room for all of us to go in the van, so I was more than happy to stay back to spend the day with the Elijah and Josephine. They had planned to get back to the hotel shortly after lunch, and then head to the orphanage to work in the afternoon.
Jock got up early to go on the trip, and I was glad to have had him go and see the countryside a bit to share with me. He took lots of pictures and a couple videos of the country. He said the pictures didn’t do it justice, but I thought it was just beautiful, up in the mountains North of Port-au-Prince, with the beach very close-by. They said it’s 20 acres of land (but Jock thought it looked more like 80 acres).
My understanding is that the money to purchase this property has been donated by a church in the U.S. In order for the purchase to be completed, it has to be approved by the government and the community. The community is very excited by the prospects of the orphanage moving in nearby. Apparently while the group was there, a deal was made between FHG/Maison leaders and community leaders, and, as is custom in Haiti, they broke coconuts and drank the milk/ate the flesh as a sign of their deal. Remaining is the agreement of the deal by the government.
The new property signals the beginning of a bright future for the orphanage. Just with the purchase of the land in the country and a well that is already drilled on the property, it could save the orphanage thousands of dollars per month in rent and purchasing clean water to drink. (If I haven’t said this before, it’s a huge deal – you can’t drink the tap water in Haiti, or even use it to brush your teeth or wash dishes!) The land could also be used to plant fruit trees and gardens. I also understand that it has a couple small ponds that could be used for a supply of fish for protein.
The vision for this, however, is to be much more than an orphanage – it is also hoped that the property can be used for outreach to the people in the area, with a church, a school, a feeding program, and medical clinic as well. There is a partial building that was started being built on the property for a hotel that would/could be finished, but other than that, there is much more building that would need to be done – property border walls (very common in Haiti for security), orphanage buildings, clinic buildings, school buildings, kitchens for feeding program and for the orphanage, guest houses, etc. FHG has a building committee that has a very good start to the planning for this property. There will also need to be a good deal of fundraising to get this effort off the ground.
After seeing the land, meeting with the community leaders, and dipping their feet in the waves on the beach, they stopped by a Lifeline site on the way back to the city. Except for the orphanage, it apparently has very similar facilities to what FHG/Maison wants to do with their property. They toured the Lifeline facilities to get some ideas for the building committee. (My understanding is that Lifeline has many facilities throughout Haiti, and this was just one of them.)
Also, on the trip, the group traveled through some of the more dangerous parts of Port-au-Prince. This included the downtown area near some of the government buildings
, as well as through Cite Soleil (pronounced City So-lay), that is considered to be the most dangerous slum in the world.
Jock took some pictures, but he said he’d never experienced anything like it, and the pictures didn’t do it justice either. He also said that some of the people who’d traveled there before had said that it looked cleaner than before, but Jock said that was hard to imagine it being worse. Apparently they did see dumpsters in some areas, and the government is putting efforts into cleaning up the city.
When the group got back from their country excursion around mid-afternoon, they had a little time at the hotel, before they re-grouped to head to the orphanage. Again, they were taking only one trip in the van, and since the men had lots of construction-type work that needed to be continued, mostly men went to the orphanage for the remainder of the afternoon. I stayed back the rest of the day at the hotel.
I had all sorts of fun with Elijah and Josephine that day, watching them interact a little bit more.
I also got to see the stubborn side of Elijah a bit. He apparently likes to throw his toys – at people (not very good aim, but you know…). I’d tell him no – which is the same in English and Creole, so I know he understood me. He’d still do it, and I’d stop him. He’d still do it, and then I’d take it away from him. He didn’t like it very much, but didn’t cry about it. He’d just kind of fall on the floor or the bed, and lay there and look at me funny for a few seconds, then get up and play nicely again. Funny how even at such a young age they’re always testing their limits with things.
They both took good naps, although not at exactly the same times, so I had some fun with them together, and with each of them separately.
I had some help in getting them up to breakfast from others that hadn’t gone on the outing in the country (otherwise it could have been interesting getting them both up to breakfast myself, and back down to the room!). We stayed in our room and ate what we had brought with us for lunch since they were sleeping around that time.
That evening, our dinner at the hotel was shrimp alfredo spaghetti, and something else (maybe garlic shrimp again? I can’t remember), and a fruit plate. The shrimp alfredo was good, but not really an alfredo sauce to it, just a really light flavoring that might have tasted a bit like alfredo. Jock did the devotions that evening. He focused on the Optimist creed, talked a little bit about how things can change in an instant (at the injured little boy’s adoptive parents’ request), we prayed for the little boy, and then finished up with reciting together Psalm 23. I was impressed to hear that the older kids from the orphanage that were staying with their adoptive parents at the hotel knew Psalm 23 as well – in English. Very nice!
The plans were for a smaller group of ours to travel outside of the city on Monday to view the land that FHG/Maison may be purchasing for a new site for the orphanage. They were planning to leave at 6:00 am, to beat the traffic in the city, and there wasn’t room for all of us to go in the van, so I was more than happy to stay back to spend the day with the Elijah and Josephine. They had planned to get back to the hotel shortly after lunch, and then head to the orphanage to work in the afternoon.
Jock got up early to go on the trip, and I was glad to have had him go and see the countryside a bit to share with me. He took lots of pictures and a couple videos of the country. He said the pictures didn’t do it justice, but I thought it was just beautiful, up in the mountains North of Port-au-Prince, with the beach very close-by. They said it’s 20 acres of land (but Jock thought it looked more like 80 acres).
My understanding is that the money to purchase this property has been donated by a church in the U.S. In order for the purchase to be completed, it has to be approved by the government and the community. The community is very excited by the prospects of the orphanage moving in nearby. Apparently while the group was there, a deal was made between FHG/Maison leaders and community leaders, and, as is custom in Haiti, they broke coconuts and drank the milk/ate the flesh as a sign of their deal. Remaining is the agreement of the deal by the government.The new property signals the beginning of a bright future for the orphanage. Just with the purchase of the land in the country and a well that is already drilled on the property, it could save the orphanage thousands of dollars per month in rent and purchasing clean water to drink. (If I haven’t said this before, it’s a huge deal – you can’t drink the tap water in Haiti, or even use it to brush your teeth or wash dishes!) The land could also be used to plant fruit trees and gardens. I also understand that it has a couple small ponds that could be used for a supply of fish for protein.
The vision for this, however, is to be much more than an orphanage – it is also hoped that the property can be used for outreach to the people in the area, with a church, a school, a feeding program, and medical clinic as well. There is a partial building that was started being built on the property for a hotel that would/could be finished, but other than that, there is much more building that would need to be done – property border walls (very common in Haiti for security), orphanage buildings, clinic buildings, school buildings, kitchens for feeding program and for the orphanage, guest houses, etc. FHG has a building committee that has a very good start to the planning for this property. There will also need to be a good deal of fundraising to get this effort off the ground.
After seeing the land, meeting with the community leaders, and dipping their feet in the waves on the beach, they stopped by a Lifeline site on the way back to the city. Except for the orphanage, it apparently has very similar facilities to what FHG/Maison wants to do with their property. They toured the Lifeline facilities to get some ideas for the building committee. (My understanding is that Lifeline has many facilities throughout Haiti, and this was just one of them.)Also, on the trip, the group traveled through some of the more dangerous parts of Port-au-Prince. This included the downtown area near some of the government buildings
, as well as through Cite Soleil (pronounced City So-lay), that is considered to be the most dangerous slum in the world.
Jock took some pictures, but he said he’d never experienced anything like it, and the pictures didn’t do it justice either. He also said that some of the people who’d traveled there before had said that it looked cleaner than before, but Jock said that was hard to imagine it being worse. Apparently they did see dumpsters in some areas, and the government is putting efforts into cleaning up the city.When the group got back from their country excursion around mid-afternoon, they had a little time at the hotel, before they re-grouped to head to the orphanage. Again, they were taking only one trip in the van, and since the men had lots of construction-type work that needed to be continued, mostly men went to the orphanage for the remainder of the afternoon. I stayed back the rest of the day at the hotel.
I had all sorts of fun with Elijah and Josephine that day, watching them interact a little bit more.
I also got to see the stubborn side of Elijah a bit. He apparently likes to throw his toys – at people (not very good aim, but you know…). I’d tell him no – which is the same in English and Creole, so I know he understood me. He’d still do it, and I’d stop him. He’d still do it, and then I’d take it away from him. He didn’t like it very much, but didn’t cry about it. He’d just kind of fall on the floor or the bed, and lay there and look at me funny for a few seconds, then get up and play nicely again. Funny how even at such a young age they’re always testing their limits with things.
They both took good naps, although not at exactly the same times, so I had some fun with them together, and with each of them separately.
I had some help in getting them up to breakfast from others that hadn’t gone on the outing in the country (otherwise it could have been interesting getting them both up to breakfast myself, and back down to the room!). We stayed in our room and ate what we had brought with us for lunch since they were sleeping around that time.That evening, our dinner at the hotel was shrimp alfredo spaghetti, and something else (maybe garlic shrimp again? I can’t remember), and a fruit plate. The shrimp alfredo was good, but not really an alfredo sauce to it, just a really light flavoring that might have tasted a bit like alfredo. Jock did the devotions that evening. He focused on the Optimist creed, talked a little bit about how things can change in an instant (at the injured little boy’s adoptive parents’ request), we prayed for the little boy, and then finished up with reciting together Psalm 23. I was impressed to hear that the older kids from the orphanage that were staying with their adoptive parents at the hotel knew Psalm 23 as well – in English. Very nice!
Haiti Trip, Part 5
Sunday
Sunday morning, the plan was to get up, as with the past few days, have breakfast at the hotel, and then head to the orphanage between 7 and 8 am. I was feeling better, so we all 4 went up to have breakfast together. However, after eating breakfast, I started feeling a tad bit nauseous like I’d felt Saturday morning. I didn’t want them to have to spend the gas money making a special trip to bring me back to the hotel if I wasn’t truly feeling better, so I made the tough decision to stay back at the hotel another day. Jock then asked me, “Which of the kids do you want to keep with you today?” I hadn’t even thought about it, being that I was not feeling very well, but it’s not like I was sick enough to have not been able to take care of them. I decided to keep Josephine with me that day, as she’s less mobile, and sleeps more, given her age, so I wouldn’t have as much work caring for her as I would for Elijah. We had a wonderful day together. She took about an hour nap in the morning, and then another couple hours in the afternoon, had lunch and bottles, and we had a great day together.
It wasn’t going to be another full day of work at the orphanage though. There was to be a church service in the morning, followed by some work in the afternoon. Jock said it was awesome – I’ll have to have him write more about it, but I’ll try to describe from what I’ve heard, and from a few videos I’ve seen. One of the older teens at the orphanage gave a message for the church service. Jock said he did a great job, and that he should become a pastor. Apparently Pierre had told him this as well. One of the men with our group also shared a ventriloquist ministry with the group that I heard was great. Several small groups of the older children sang songs for everyone. From the videos, there were a couple songs that I didn’t recognize, that I knew were in Creole, but a few they sang in English, like “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”, “Open the Eyes of My Heart”, "All of My Days", and “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. It’s amazing to me how on fire for the Lord these kids are. Like I learned from the girls’ meeting, it’s so wonderful that, as little as they have physically, how much more they have inside themselves – their hope and faith put mine to shame! That’s what they’re living on – God’s strength within them – it’s central to their existence. What a wonderful way to live, and what an inspiration that is to me to continue to grow in my faith. I’m sad that I missed this day at the orphanage.
Jock brought Elijah back with him to the orphanage that evening, and told me all about that day’s events, including the church service that morning. Apparently that afternoon, someone came to the orphanage and was harassing one of our group, and threatened her family who’d traveled with her. This man had apparently done this before on her previous trips to Haiti, but this time it became quite a tense situation. Later that evening, apparently this man arrived at the hotel to continue his harassment. When it was determined that the situation was not going to be easily diffused, the US embassy was contacted, who then contacted Haiti’s police. I think both Haiti’s police and the orphanage security detail were working overtime the next few days to protect her and her children. Their safety was paramount, and they were well protected, by the police/security, and through our prayers for the remainder of the trip.
Also that day at the hotel, I heard talking right outside our room window, and peeked out our curtains to see two UN troops right outside our room. There were patio doors in our room that lead to a little grassy patio, surrounded by tall shrubs, and beyond the shrubs is the sidewalk. The men (in fatigues, with large guns visible) were between our room and the shrubs visiting with each other. The sight startled me at first, with them so close to our room and me being by myself with a baby in our hotel room. However, after thinking about it more, I suppose they did make the hotel grounds more secure (not that I felt insecure there anyway). We did learn later, that there was a UN official (a finance minister?) staying at our hotel, so that’s why there were several guards on the grounds. They were polite when we were out walking to and from the restaurant to our room – a little intimidating with their weapons, but they said, “Bonjou” or “Bonswa” to us, and stepped off the sidewalk for us to pass by them.
That evening at dinner, we were just about to be served our club sandwich and garlic shrimp (very yummy – almost like shrimp scampi) that we’d ordered earlier in the day, when one of the children who was back at the hotel with his adoptive parents was injured. He was being lifted into his chair, when he was struck in the head by a metal fan blade. (The hotel restaurant chairs have very high backs, and in the area where they were sitting, the ceiling fans were very low – obviously dangerously so.) The doctor who had traveled on the trip with us had luckily already returned from visiting her family in the country over the weekend, and was quickly summoned from her room. There was also another group of missionaries (working at another orphanage) staying at our hotel and eating dinner at the same time as we were. A doctor with this group quickly came over to assist. I’m not certain about the details of his injuries, nor do I feel that it’s appropriate for me to share them, but I will share that he was taken to the hospital right away, and a day or two later, was transferred to a Doctors-Without-Borders hospital, where later in the week he had surgery. Last I heard he was doing very well and his injuries appeared not to have affected his brain functioning. He was recovering well from surgery, and was to be released back to the orphanage to complete his recovery. Please continue to pray for this little boy’s healing, and for peace for his birth and adoptive families.
Sunday morning, the plan was to get up, as with the past few days, have breakfast at the hotel, and then head to the orphanage between 7 and 8 am. I was feeling better, so we all 4 went up to have breakfast together. However, after eating breakfast, I started feeling a tad bit nauseous like I’d felt Saturday morning. I didn’t want them to have to spend the gas money making a special trip to bring me back to the hotel if I wasn’t truly feeling better, so I made the tough decision to stay back at the hotel another day. Jock then asked me, “Which of the kids do you want to keep with you today?” I hadn’t even thought about it, being that I was not feeling very well, but it’s not like I was sick enough to have not been able to take care of them. I decided to keep Josephine with me that day, as she’s less mobile, and sleeps more, given her age, so I wouldn’t have as much work caring for her as I would for Elijah. We had a wonderful day together. She took about an hour nap in the morning, and then another couple hours in the afternoon, had lunch and bottles, and we had a great day together.
It wasn’t going to be another full day of work at the orphanage though. There was to be a church service in the morning, followed by some work in the afternoon. Jock said it was awesome – I’ll have to have him write more about it, but I’ll try to describe from what I’ve heard, and from a few videos I’ve seen. One of the older teens at the orphanage gave a message for the church service. Jock said he did a great job, and that he should become a pastor. Apparently Pierre had told him this as well. One of the men with our group also shared a ventriloquist ministry with the group that I heard was great. Several small groups of the older children sang songs for everyone. From the videos, there were a couple songs that I didn’t recognize, that I knew were in Creole, but a few they sang in English, like “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”, “Open the Eyes of My Heart”, "All of My Days", and “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. It’s amazing to me how on fire for the Lord these kids are. Like I learned from the girls’ meeting, it’s so wonderful that, as little as they have physically, how much more they have inside themselves – their hope and faith put mine to shame! That’s what they’re living on – God’s strength within them – it’s central to their existence. What a wonderful way to live, and what an inspiration that is to me to continue to grow in my faith. I’m sad that I missed this day at the orphanage.
Jock brought Elijah back with him to the orphanage that evening, and told me all about that day’s events, including the church service that morning. Apparently that afternoon, someone came to the orphanage and was harassing one of our group, and threatened her family who’d traveled with her. This man had apparently done this before on her previous trips to Haiti, but this time it became quite a tense situation. Later that evening, apparently this man arrived at the hotel to continue his harassment. When it was determined that the situation was not going to be easily diffused, the US embassy was contacted, who then contacted Haiti’s police. I think both Haiti’s police and the orphanage security detail were working overtime the next few days to protect her and her children. Their safety was paramount, and they were well protected, by the police/security, and through our prayers for the remainder of the trip.
Also that day at the hotel, I heard talking right outside our room window, and peeked out our curtains to see two UN troops right outside our room. There were patio doors in our room that lead to a little grassy patio, surrounded by tall shrubs, and beyond the shrubs is the sidewalk. The men (in fatigues, with large guns visible) were between our room and the shrubs visiting with each other. The sight startled me at first, with them so close to our room and me being by myself with a baby in our hotel room. However, after thinking about it more, I suppose they did make the hotel grounds more secure (not that I felt insecure there anyway). We did learn later, that there was a UN official (a finance minister?) staying at our hotel, so that’s why there were several guards on the grounds. They were polite when we were out walking to and from the restaurant to our room – a little intimidating with their weapons, but they said, “Bonjou” or “Bonswa” to us, and stepped off the sidewalk for us to pass by them.
That evening at dinner, we were just about to be served our club sandwich and garlic shrimp (very yummy – almost like shrimp scampi) that we’d ordered earlier in the day, when one of the children who was back at the hotel with his adoptive parents was injured. He was being lifted into his chair, when he was struck in the head by a metal fan blade. (The hotel restaurant chairs have very high backs, and in the area where they were sitting, the ceiling fans were very low – obviously dangerously so.) The doctor who had traveled on the trip with us had luckily already returned from visiting her family in the country over the weekend, and was quickly summoned from her room. There was also another group of missionaries (working at another orphanage) staying at our hotel and eating dinner at the same time as we were. A doctor with this group quickly came over to assist. I’m not certain about the details of his injuries, nor do I feel that it’s appropriate for me to share them, but I will share that he was taken to the hospital right away, and a day or two later, was transferred to a Doctors-Without-Borders hospital, where later in the week he had surgery. Last I heard he was doing very well and his injuries appeared not to have affected his brain functioning. He was recovering well from surgery, and was to be released back to the orphanage to complete his recovery. Please continue to pray for this little boy’s healing, and for peace for his birth and adoptive families.
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