Food and Filter Distribution

We always start the distribution with a time of worship. Randy, Max and Yder led the singing.
We had a great turnout this week.

Pastor Karl shared the gospel and Samuel translated for him.
Convoy of Hope provided us with a water filter for each of our families. Here Karl is explaining how they work.
Water filter hard at work.
Samuel and I were quite the team! Our job was to keep track of which families receive food each week.
Each family went home with a box of food and a filter this week. What a blessing!

A little bit of fun...

Believe it or not, this is Randy and Tarek making hamburgers, even more unbelievable is how good they tasted.John and Cadeau helped me make brownies. Talk about teamwork!

Healing and moving forward

Despite having a beautiful and sunny week, this weekend has been cold and rainy so far. I slept with a duvet last night!!! and today I'm wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt, unbelievable. I've been busy the last few days with more administrative tasks. We are going to continue to distribute food to the families of our students for the time being so I will continue to assist with this whenever possible. We are also trying to take this time as on organization to reflect on our past work and evaluate it. We want to move forward with much prayer, relying on the Lord to lead and guide us in the way we should go.
Last night a bunch of us were able to get together for a BBQ. It was great to fellowship together and enjoy some laughs. We still talk a lot about the quake, where we were when it happened and what we saw and experienced. Everytime I see someone for the first time since the quake, we share our stories and then discuss what we're up to these days. I find myself often dividing time into "before the quake" and "after the quake". I've been reading some articles about the effects of post traumatic stress. When I was back in Canada I had the opportunity to meet with a Christian counsellor to debrief and share my personal experience. Most Haitians don't have that luxery. I often hear people say that Haitians are strong and therefore they'll be fine. I do agree that Haitians are strong, very strong, but I also rejoice that they have access to the ultimate cousellor, the God who provides healing and restoration. He has not forgotten His people and He never will. I find much comfort in this promise.

Food Distribution

This week I was able to witness (and help a bit) a food distribution. It is quite time consuming. On Monday we purchased the necessary food, on Tuesday we separated the food, on Wednesday we went to the school to distribute the food. Because the team here has done this several times already the entire process went quite smoothly.

Randy gave a short message about the healing power of God.
Cadeau is actually smiling in this picture!!!
The school has fallen even more since I saw it last.

Myself talking to my dear friend, Manman Manise.
The highlight of the week for me, was seeing so many students and teachers. It was so good to see their faces and have a chance to chat with them. They appear to be in good spirits.

Life goes on...

Well I can't say I've found a routine quiet yet, much to my dismay... however, it still feels good to be back. Yesterday and today I tagged along with Randy, hoping to get a small glimpse of the "new Haiti". We have visited several different food depots (warehouses/factories) to get food for the next distribution. We will put all the boxes together today and then tomorrow we'll hopefully distribute the food, if all goes as planned.
We haven't had any significant tremors since I've returned and I feel quite safe. Jenny and I are enjoying nights by solar light/headlamp/kerosene lamp. We read for a bit and then end up going to bed early. Life goes on in Haiti and we're trying to do the same.
I am in the process of creating an "office" of sorts for myself at Randy and Karen's place so that I can start to focus on administrative tasks. It's coming together slowly.
I wish I had more to say at this point but I'm still trying to process it all myself. More later, I promise.

It's good to be back!!

I've arrived safely in Haiti. It was an adventure as usual. We didn't end up taking any of the flights we originally booked. First the NY airport was basically closed so we were rerouted through DC to FL. We were promised a free shuttle from FL to Miami but when we arrived we really had to do some talking to convince them to give us the free shuttle. We tried about 10 different hotels but all were booked solid. So we spent some time in the Miami airport trying to sleep but were unsuccessful. When we arrived at the Air France counter the next morning we were informed that we didn't have reservations. We went back to American Airlines, not hoping for much but we were put on their next flight out. So we arrived in Haiti at about 12 noon on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday morning we drove out to Cabaret for church, it was nice to see some of the church members from our church who relocated to the church there.

It has been really interesting driving around. Some parts of PAP look the same as before, the markets are open, some shops are open and people are walking everywhere. If you don't look too closely you can almost forget what happened. But there are tent cities everywhere and there are still many buildings that have not been cleaned up.

Tomorrow the work begins. I'll try to update when possible. There is no internet at my place (no electricity either) and the internet at Randy's is SLOW!!! I'm at another friend's house right now who has fast internet so I'm taking advantage.

And I'm off....

I finally have a return ticket to Haiti! Praise the Lord. I know it's not going to be easy but still I am very eager to return. I leave Friday afternoon from Buffalo and arrive in PAP on Saturday morning. My parents are in Florida right now so they'll pick us up from the airport, we'll stay in their RV and then fly out the next morning. I will be flying back with Randy who's been here for two weeks spending time with family and friends. Unfortunately Karen and Maia are not coming with us... I will miss them SO MUCH but completely understand there need to remain in Canada for now.

Soon and very soon...

"It is easier to do the work of God than it is to imitate His character. Sometimes when God calls us we are too busy to hear Him." These words were spoken from the pulpit this morning and they really hit home. I hope to be returning to Haiti soon and I pray that when I arrive I won't be so busy doing God's work that I forget to imitate His character.
I'm hesitant to state exactly when I will be returning until the airline ticket has been purchased but American Airlines is once again flying into Port-au-Prince which makes returning much simpler.
My time here in Canada has been restful and relaxing. I know that I'm not prepared for life in Haiti post quake, but I don't think I'll ever be prepared. I've shed a lot of tears and dealt with a lot of emotions but the end is not over yet. I know that when I see loved ones for the first time since the quake I will cry with joy at seeing them and relief that they aren't injured or dead. I have a strong desire to see the land that I have grown to love. I need to finish the last part of the grieving process and I can't do that from here. I need to grieve the life that I knew and the people and places that were becoming so dear to me.
Everyone's been asking two things: 1) what will I do when I return? and 2) will I be safe?
Both questions are difficult to answer. I will mostly be doing administration when I first return. Finances, regular updates, communication with the board and sponsors, all of these things need to be done as we strongly desire to be accountable for the money we have received. Will I be safe? No guarantees, but then there are no guarantees here either. I will promise to be as safe as I possibly can.
Please pray the following:
-wisdom as we go forward
-patience for the frustrations that are all too common in Haiti
-that we will truly glorify God in our words and deeds
When I am back I promise as many updates and photos as internet access will allow.

Ready to go...and it's not just because of the snow

Monday, February 8th, was the day I was originally scheulded to return to Haiti. My dad's birthday has been celebrated and my dear friends Heidi and James have "tied the knot". Now that the reasons for my visit home have come and gone I am quite eager to return to Haiti.
During my time home, I've been able to visit with many friends and family and speak at a variety of schools about the work we were doing in Haiti before the earthquake. This has been a blessing and part of the healing process, but I am ready to go home, and by home I mean Haiti. I miss my friends, my co-workers, my life. But that's the tricky part, my friends and co-workers are scattered and life as I knew it is no more. I have no idea what I'm returning to, yet I am still eager to go.
If I'm completely honest, I'm torn. Part of me is very eager to return to get on the ground and start helping, the other part of me is terrified of what I will see, hear and experience when I return. I know that it will be difficult but I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
Right now, the hardest part for me is not having a plan. I'm a planner and not having a specific, detailed plan doesn't work well with my personality. Last night I was reading a devotional by Charles Spurgeon and it really hit home for me. The story is told of David inquring of the Lord when in battle with the Philistines. Sprugeon states that "If you want to be able to steer your ship through the darkest, highest waves, place the control of the rudder into the hands of the Almighty. Many a crushing rock might be escaped if we would only let our Father take the helm, and many a shoal or sandbar might be avoided if we would surrender ourselves to His sovereign will to choose and to command." In Psalms it says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go." (32:8) and in Proverbs, "many are the plans in a man's (woman's) heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (19:21)
These words are very encouraging at this time and I cling to God's promises to lead and direct me in the way I must go.

Little piece of Haiti

While we were waiting to be interviewed on 100 Huntley Street, Karen and I were able to meet a Haitian pastor who works with churches in Haiti and Toronto. We asked him for information about where and when his church meets in Toronto and told him we'd like to come visit in the near future. On Sunday we decided to go and check it out. I was quite sure that the service would start late in typcial Haitian fashion, however, although we arrived early the service was already in full swing. We tried to sneak in and find a seat at the back, but we were quickly noticed and invited to sit at the front, which we politely declined. They were singing a song in Creole when we arrived and it felt great to join in singing. After several songs, the pastor introduced us and invited us to come to the front and share a few words. I should be used to this by now but each time I attend a new Haitian church I am always taken by surprise by this invitation. We shared a brief account of the earthquake and how it effected us personally. They were thrilled that we spoke Creole and warmly welcomed us to their church. Although we spoke to them in Creole, I don't think they were thoroughly convinced that we understand it, because the pastor translated his entire sermon into English for us. I am thankful that we were able to connect with this pastor and fellowship with Haitians on a cold, wintery day in Toronto. It's not as wonderful as returning to Haiti, but it was a little piece of Haiti not too far from home and I'll take what I can get for now!

Praises in the midst of Pain

Please forgive me for my silence, I had much to process and sift through in my mind and heart.
The media is slowly growing tired of Haiti as the streets are being cleared of dead bodies and the remaining survivers have been saved. But for Haitians the aftermath of the earthquake is just beginning. They are slowly recovering from their shock and the reality of their future is becoming more apparent each day. Here in Canada I feel so far removed from what is happening in Haiti. I feel so safe, so clean, so well fed. I am thankful that my days are filled with visits with family and friends, public speaking events and slowly responding to the many e-mails I have received.
Before the earthquake happened I had planned on coming home this week for my dad's 60th birthday party as well as a friend's wedding. As these events approach I find myself thankful that I am alive and well and able to share in these happy moments. As Ecclesiastes 3 says, there is "a time to weep and a time to laugh". I have weeped much for Haiti and now I will rejoice with my loved ones for a time. I know when I return to Haiti I will weep again, for all that was lost, but will also rejoice with those who are alive and well and serving Him.
As for my return to Haiti... I am eager to return but not sure exactly when that will happen. I am trying my best to wait patiently for God's perfect timing.

Regular reports from my co-worker Randy continue to come in. He and our Haitian co-workers continue to remain busy. Praise the Lord, they have gained access to a water purification system and as long as they have a source of water they are able to provide clean water. From time to time they also receive food from other Aid Organizations and they are able to distribute this food to the communities where "our" families come from.

Here are some pictures of them hard at work.

They continue to have prayer services each night with their neighbours. This has proven to be a time of fellowship and worship.

Still Processing...

The events of the past week have not completely registered in my brain. One verse keeps running through my head, over and over again: "In his heart a man plans his course; but the Lord determines his step. " Proverbs 16:9. The days leading up to the earthquake were spent in meetings with our board representatives. We spent time praising and thanking God for all the blessing He had given us. We also spent time planning the future goals of Adoration Christian School. The day following the earthquake was to be the launch of our after school tutouring program and our first ever health seminar for our sponsored female secondary students. Now we're wondering which of our students are still alive and how we can possibly help them survive from day to day.
As difficult as it was to leave, I feel much peace about where I am. I feel that God wants me to reserve my energy for now, and emotionally deal with the events from the past week. When the relief teams have provided some stability to Haiti they will leave and that's when my work will begin once again. I don't know what work that will be, but I am willing to do whatever the Lord puts before me to do.
I am so thankful that my co-worker, Randy, is still in Haiti and that we have regular communication with him via e-mail and phone. He is deeply shaken but staying strong. He is focussing on ministering to those in his neighbourhood. Every night they hold prayer services on the street in front of his house, he and our Haitian co-workers are praying with others and showing the love of God through this dificult time. They are experiencing a variety of emotions at this time but are drawing strength from our Lord and Saviour. Their hearts are heavy with the grief they see all around them but they find hope in the fact that God has spared their lives and will direct their steps in the days to come.
We praise the Lord each time we hear of another staff or student who has survived. Many who survived are heading out of the city to stay with family whose houses were not destoryed and food is easier to find.
I am deeply moved by all those who called, e-mailed or "facebooked" me in the last few days. I'm sorry I haven't responded but I did appreciate your notes and especially your promises for prayer. Please continue to pray for Randy and our Haitian co-workers. Pray for their continued safety and on-going strength and wisdom. Pray that in the midst of all the pain and destruction they can be the Light of Christ to the lost and broken.

Home

It's so surreal to be sitting in my parents living room surrounded by family and friends. Wednesday morning we woke up and tried to make a game plan. Our most urgent desire was to find as many students and teachers as we could. On our way down to the school area we stopped by the Canadian Embassy to let them know that we were okay. At the school many people were stopping by to get information about loved ones and share what information they had. It was my first time seeing the school since the earthquake. It was a mess, I couldn't believe it. It was confirmed that one our teachers was dead but we couldn't get any news about Guerdson, our gatekeeper. Randy, Cadeau and Samuel went downtown to try and find him. I walked back to Randy and Karen's home with Jim and John (the two board members who were visiting). People were walking in mass droves down the main road. They were carrying bags full of their worldly possessions. It was strangly quiet. People were in shock, not sure what to do next. I went back to my house for some clothes and any food I could find. I unplugged my fridge to reserve my batteries in case we needed them later. When I returned I heard that there was a flight out of Haiti and Karen and Maia were going to try their best to get on the flight. I said that I wanted to stay but agreed to go to the Canadian Embassy to see what they were recommending. When we arrived at the Embassy they strongly urged us to leave. Upon further discussion I was convinced that I should leave with Karen and Maia. We had limited water and food and by leaving I would free up more resouces for others, as well there was nothing I could do in Haiti. I'm not medically trained and have no training on search and rescue measures. As the situation became more desperate it would also become more violent and our lives may be in danger. The embassy reluctantly allowed us to return home to pack a few essentials for the flight. It was so hard to not be able to say goodbye to our loved ones, as we pulled out of the embassy in the SUVs we saw them through the tinted windows but unfortunately they couldn't see us. We left PAP that night and headed for Santo Domingo. We were put up in a resort for the night. The next day we left for Montreal. The Canadian Army flew us out and took really good care of us. The Canadian Embassy's in Haiti and the Dominican Republic took really good care of us. We were travelling with Maia (Randy and Karen's baby) so we got special attention everywhere we went. Today Karen was able to speak to Randy on the phone. They received news on a few more of our loved ones. They are okay, and have enough food and water for a while. Please keep them in their prayers. I'm exhausted and not thinking too clearly right now. I'll write more tomorrow when my mind is a bit clearer.

Earthquake

Late yesterday afternoon I was in my kitchen preparing some food when the entire house started to shake like crazy. I ran around in shock for a bit and then decided to go outside in case the entire house collapsed. I stood on the street until the ground stopped shaking. I went inside and started cleaning like a mad woman, I saw water all over the place and realized that one of my toilets had broken in two and was leaking all over the place. I turned off the water flow and then my phone started ringing. I heard that the school had collapsed and that as far as anyone knew everyone got out okay. There was a lot of people there because we had a basketball tournament going on. I walked over to my friends house down the road and we sat around waiting to hear more news. Every time there was an aftershock we ran outside to the road. Randy and Karen finally returned home with some of the guys who work with us. We still haven't heard from one of our staff members and none of the teachers or students.
The streets were chaos, people running around trying to find loved ones. Others were sitting in small groups praying and singing. Last night was spent sitting around in shock, not sure what to do next. We all slept at Randy and Karen's house, right by the door so we could run out on the street if necessary. After a while we all moved outside and slept on mattresses in their yard. We slept little and now it's morning once again. We're buying food and water and trying to decide what to do next. Please pray for wisdom and strength.

Flamingos

Ever since I heard that there was a lake in Haiti with flamingos I have wanted to see them. On Saturday Randy and Karen organized a trip with the guys from school and I was able to make it back to PAP in time to join them. We were taken out in these old boats that leaked like crazy so one person had to constantly bail out water. The lake is quite shallow so the boats are pushed forward by a long pole that reached the bottom of the lake.

We basically followed the birds around the lake. When we got too close they took off above us. It was pretty magnificant to see.

Adventures in Belladare... vegetarians beware!

I was invited to join my friends Lesley and her husband Diego on a visit to Belladare, where Diego is from. We planned on taking my car which was still in the shop so Monday morning I stopped by the garage to see if I could persuade them to hurry up. By 12 noon I was once again in possession of my car and by 1pm we were on the road. We were not quite half way when we started to hear a grinding sound whenever we descended the mountain. We became nervous that the brakes were not working so we decided that we had to return home as the rest of the road was quite rough and isolated. Tuesday morning early we started out once again, this time with Lesley's truck. The ride was pleasant although for the last hour the road was quite rough and rocky.
While in Belladare we spent quite a bit of time visiting with Lesley and Diego's friends. I was also able to meet up with one of our teachers (pictured below) who is also from this area.I have always secretly wished to see how a chicken is killed and prepared from scratch and I was granted this wish while in Belladare. I even helped a bit by helping take off some feathers.

Most of our time was spent enjoying time with Diego's family at the house, playing dominoes and talking.

We were able to explore the area a bit. Below is a lake that is stocked with fish.

Here we are on our way to a river that is popular for swimming and/or bathing. I did not partake as it was quite chilly in Belladare the entire time we were there.

I especially enjoyed spending time with Diego's little brother. I found out that he did not do well on his last report card, so I switched to Teacher mode and taught him a math lesson. It sounds mean but I think he actually enjoyed the attention. We'll see how he does on his next report card:)

Overall we had a great time. I was hoping to inprove my Creole but only learned a few new words. I was however reminded that I need to keep learning as there are many words/phrases that I don't yet know. I was able to experience a Haitian New Year's Eve which involves going to church for HOURS (we only went for one hour) and then we tried to introduce some Canadian traditions such as counting down from 10, drinking champagne and shouting "Happy New Year". January 1st is a big deal here in Haiti as it is the date that marks their independence from France. They always have pumpkin soup because the French Slave owners used to drink it a lot but never allowed their slaves to drink it. We visited several homes and drank a lot of pumpkin soup. It was nice to get out of Port-au-Prince for a short while. Our trip home was uneventful and I feel rested and ready to go back to work tomorrow.

Snow day in Haiti??

Yesterday morning I had this great plan to sleep in late. At 6:30 I woke up to the sound of a really strong wind blowing things around on the porch outside my room. I quicly got up and took inside anything that would possibly be thrown off the porch by the wind. The rain was also coming down quite strong and so I had to run around and close all the window slats so the rain wouldn't pour in. By the time all this was done I was too wide awake to go back to bed. So I sat and watched the wind and rain for a while. This is really unusual weather for this time of year.
I had made plans with one of the teachers from school to go downtown and shop, but knowing Haitians and their dislike of rain I knew that she would not want to go in the rain. So there I was stuck at home watching the rain fall. It felt like a snow day, it was cold out and it wasn't a good idea to go out without a car. Speaking of my car, I called the garage yesterday to see if my car was ready. They informed me that the mechanic did not come to work today because of the rain, so it really was like a snow day!
So I spent the morning in my pjs watching movies and drinking coffee. Then I walked over to Karen's for a bit to drink some Hot Chocolate in true snow day fashion. After that I started to feel a bit stir crazy. I walked around the house in circles, watched 4 episodes of TV in a row, and read for several hours!! I need to get out of the house today! Thankfully today the sun is out and although it's not hot out, I have taken my socks off!
Today we are having our staff party with the guys who live and work at the school. Tonight there is a Christmas Eve service at the English speaking church across the road from my house and then I've been invited to a Christmas Eve party. It should be a lot more exciting than yesterday!

Holidays...

Monday morning I went into work with the plans to organize and clean up the office, a job that I always want to do but never find the time or energy to do. After a few hours of cleaning I got a call from the guy who is helping me get all my proper paperwork for living and working in Haiti. He had a bit of time and wanted to go downtown with me to get my picture taken for my Haitian drivers license. I said no problem and downtown we went. When we arrived at the office they wouldn't let me enter. I was quiet confused so I asked what the problem was. Apparently I wasn't dressed appropriately and would have to return the next day with more appropriate clothing! I know that Haitians are quite particular about what you wear and it is quite specific to where you are going. So I asked what would be appropriate clothing for such an occasion as getting your picture taken for your driver's license. Since we were taking a motorcyle (my car is back in the shop again) I said that it would be difficult for me to wear a dress or skirt. It turns out that as long as I was wearing a skirt or pants and a shirt that covered my shoulders I was okay. So back I went the next day with jeans and a t-shirt, the best part is that in the picture you can only see my face:)

At school we have a carport (basically a concrete overhang) that Randy is convinced is unsafe and needs to come down ASAP. On Monday before I left the school Randy was showing some guys our carport and getting an estimate for how much it would cost to tear it down. When I returned 2 hours later I saw the carport in many pieces on the ground. I was amazed at how fast it came down. The guys who live at the school and Randy were standing around staring at it. I asked what happened and they told me that they stood on top of it and jumped up and down at the same time and it collapsed. I didn't believe it! There's no way it was that unstable. But they kept on insisting and since I didn't see anyone else around I started to fall for this story. Then the truth finally came out. A huge bulldozer had come by in the time that I was gone and knocked the whole thing down with only a few hits. A short while later the same machine came back and cleaned up the mess. What a powerful machine! In only a few hours the entire yard looked different. Now starts the fun of putting down a new concrete floor.

Programme Noël

Sunday afternoon we had our Christmas program/award ceremony/parent-teacher interviews all rolled into one. The classes had been practicing their songs/skits/poems since the beginning of December so we were eager to see them present all their hard work. In typical Haitian style we started 30 minutes late to a half full audience and by the time the program was finished almost all the seats were filled. The whole event went well, and it was wonderful to celebrate the birth of Christ with our students and their families.

Samuel and I presented awards to the first place student in each class and one student from each class who put forth great effort this past term.

This is the junior kindergarten class, they are the youngest class but their performance was one of the best.

This is the class for students with learning disabilities. They did a GREAT job!

This is Grade 5, they organized part of the program themselves.

I tend to avoid the spotlight but felt it was necessary to wish the students and their families a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year.

Picture Day

Here are "the guys" posing for the camera!

We finally organized a picture of all the staff at Adoration Christian School. We're a pretty good-looking staff wouldn't you say??

Back row: Samuel, Cadeau, Alix, Alyn, Max, Randy, Samuel, Evenz, Asselhomme, Guerdson

Front now: Me, Magdalyne, Ketia, Molina, Manman Manise, Karen, Marline, Node

Thursday was our last day of school. Today the teachers were given a day to work on report cards, I spent the day editing the report cards and trying to get caught up on some work. Sunday we will have a Christmas program, awards ceremony and parent-teacher interviews. The students have been busy preparing their song/skits for the program, I'm looking forward to seeing what they have prepared.

Monday our holidays officially begin. I'll probably go in to work from time to time to get caught up on some work, but mostly I'll try to relax. I've been invited to a party on Christmas Eve and another one on Christmas day. After that I'm going to spend several days in the countryside with my friends Leslie and Diego. I'm looking forward to getting out of the city for a few days. Not sure how I'll survive without the internet...

White Christmas??

We may have our own sort of white Christmas here in Haiti. In the north you have snow, here in the south we have dust, and lots of it. The dry season has officially started which of course means no rain, or at least very little rain. The good news is that it cools of considerably at night and it's very lovely for sleeping. The down side is that it becomes very dry and very dusty. You could (and probably should) dust and mop your floors every day. It doesn't matter how many times a day I wash my feet they are black on the bottom in no time. The amount of dust we breathe in daily is just not good.
Speaking of snow. I brought some Christmas music here and listen to it at school and at home. I am noticing for the first time how many Christmas songs mention snow and cool weather. Intersting, since Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth and he was born in a warm climate...
Many ex-pats living in Haiti find this time of year hard and miss snow, cold temperatures, hot chocolate, sledding and all those other aspects of the winter season that we associate with Christmas. I personally don't feel sad at all. I began to dislike winter more and more each year to the point where I don't think I like it at all. I love the temperatures here no matter how hot they become. Sometimes I think I may have been born in the wrong country all together. I must admit that I check the temperature in Toronto as often as I can and have a little chuckle all to myself. I love the idea of a hot Christmas.

Welcoming Carle to the world!

One of our teachers and his wife had a baby boy this past weekend. We rejoice with them as they welcome a new little one into this world. His name is Carle Jean Pierre and Karen and I had the priviledge of meeting him this week.

He doesn't appear to be too thrilled to meet us, but we were thrilled to meet him.

The hardest part...

There are lots of things about Haiti that I find difficult but what I find to be the most difficult is the constant requests for help. When I am on the street or in a parking lot random people shout "Blan, give me one dollar." When I park my car, someone will "watch" it for me, or "wash" it for me and expect me to pay them for the service regardless if I asked them to or not. All day long people stop by the school with requests. They ask if we have a spot in our school for their child, if we could pay for their child to go to another school, or pay their rent, or buy them shoes or help them start a business. When there is a medical or dental clinic, there are always people with legitimate needs being turned away. One day a father of one our students came to speak to me, when we were done speaking he asked for money to take public transport home. On the days there isn't medical clinics people ask me to diognose them and give them some medicine. We've even asked more than once if we would take soemone's child and adopt them. I'm not a doctor, we have limited space at our school, and we dont' have unlimited resources. Everyone has a story, most of them are hard, many of them tug at my heart and often I feel my eyes filling with tears as they share their stories with me. Some stories are not true, and many are exagerated for dramatic effect; you can't trust every sob story that you hear. However, it is undeniable that life in Haiti is hard. I know that giving out money to everyone who stops by the school is not a solution, it's not sustainable and it's putting a band aid on a huge wound. I also know that by providing free and quality education we are helping many families in a way that will last a long time into the future. But it doesn't stop my heart from breaking when I hear the stories and I often wish we could do more.

My basketball team won!!! Before you get too excited... we won by default because the other team didn't show up. We played anyways with whichever girls were around and we lost to them, but thankfully it doesn't count!!
Yesterday, we didn't have any school as the teachers requested a day to write their exams. I was so looking forward to a quiet uninterrupted day to get a PILE of work done. When I got to school Randy announced that he was going downtown to visit a school that I have wanted to visit for some time now. He invited me along and I couldn't resist. We read in the newspaper last week that this school was closing its doors due to lack of funding. This school called C.E.S. is also a place for assessments for students with special needs and a training centre for teachers who work with students with special needs. We were sad to hear that they were closing their doors and went to speak to them about their situation. We were warmly welcomed when we arrived and the director quickly assured us that they were not shutting their doors for good as the article indicated but rather they ran out of money for this fiscal year and therefore were shut down for the month of December but will re-open in January. We were relieved to hear this and although they were not currently functioning they allowed me to tour the facilities and see how their programs are set up. While we were downdown we also visited another school for special needs students that we sponsor a few a students at. It was great to see that there are programs like these for students with special needs. Granted there are not enough programs like this and there needs to be more but it was encouraging to see these schools in action. On the way home, Randy gave me a tour of downtown. I love downtown, it's so full of activity and action all the time. There are people everywhere selling stuff and going about their business. It's even more fun on the back of a motorcycle, you feel more a part of the action. Unfortunately, my car is fixed and I can pick it up tomorrow. Back to boring life with a car!

Wow the internet is working...

A senior kindergarten student hard at work!

Maia the superchild is almost writing already!

The beautiful newly painted lines

We have some donated jerseys so we are able to use them in the tournament.

Apparently I do have one picture of myself and my sisters from when they visited

Basketball tournament

Anyone who knows me well knows how much I LOVE sports (just kidding, this couldn't be further from the truth). Randy has set up a basketball tournament at the school for the secondary students as well as for people in the community. Over 75 people signed up to play. I tried to escape joining a team but Randy said it would be a great bonding experience with the students, blah, blah, blah... as usual I did as I was told:) Last Tuesday was my first game. Now admitedly I know very little about sports and I have precious little talent when it comes to playing, however, I apparently know ALOT more than the girls on my team. I don't think they have ever played basketball before. They didn't appear to know what to do when they received the ball. I did a lot of running around the court but they rarely passed the ball so my running was in vain. The team we played had one good player, so their strategy was to always pass the ball to her. Needless to say the other team won, 4 - 0. I have decided that during the Christmas break my team will meet every morning at 5 am to practice for our games in the new year. Do you think the girls will show up?? (just kidding!!)
The guys take the tournament very seriously. They are quite dramatic when they don't agree with a call the ref has made and sometimes they put on quite the show. I enjoy watching their games more for the drama than the actual playing although they do play quite well. The tournament goes until the end of January so I'll keep you up to date on how my team is doing.

Walking

Things I noticed on my walk home from church today:
1. a guy wearing bowling shoes
2. a woman going pee on the sidewalk
3. your nose starts to burn when you breath in dust for any length of time
4. Haitians like to make comments/ask questions when you walk by eg. "Are you lost?" "Can I give you a ride home?" "Look at the beautiful white woman".
5. the UN have an ambulance complete with an ambulance siren and a UN escort
6. it's the dry season and when it doesn't rain for a long time it becomes VERY dusty!
Haitians generally think you are crazy if you walk anywhere if you have the means to pay for a taptap or a motor taxi. I just smiled and let them think what they want. It's probably not far from the truth.

Haiti by foot

My car is still getting fixed so I've been carless for a bit now. Unfortunately so are Randy and Karen. Thankfully they were able to borrow their neighbour's trucks for a bit, so we've been carpooling to work everyday. However, on weekends I'm back to being carless. I have a variety of people who live close and can give me a ride so I usually do okay. Today, though, I decided to walk instead. There is a Christian International School not too far from me and they were having a fundraiser Bazaar. I walked over to my friend's house to get a ride with her and then walked home afterwards. It's different seeing Haiti by foot. You notice a lot more because you're going so much slower. I saw a few interesting shops that I'd like to check out some day. A few people tried to start conversations with me. I just said hello and kept walking quickly by. The bazaar was fun. I had my nails painted, bought a Creole book and some nice cards. It was good to see some people I hadn't seen for a while. I'm slowly making connections and starting to feel like I know a few people. Tonight there is a "Night of Arts" at the same school which I am looking forward to.

Time flies by...

My sisters have left and taken all their great pictures with them. I took very few pictures when they were here because I was planning on uploading all their pictures before they left. However, they both have Sony cameras and their memory cards didn't work with my computer and they forgot their camera cords. Hopefully they remember to send me one or two (hint, hint). Since they left things have not slowed down at all. It's been busy, busy, busy.
Wednesday I had an interesting experience. One of our staff member's sister is quite ill. She's been ill for quite some time and last week she had to be hosptitalized. We've been visiting her regularly at the hospital and on Monday the doctor said that she needed to have three pints of blood. I agreed to go and give blood for her. It was quite the experience. We spent over one hour at the hospital waiting for them to figure out what exactly we had to do. Finally they took a sample of her blood and sent us downtown to the Red Cross. When we finally found Red Cross it went relatively quickly. We brought five people which was good because only three people were able to give. When we went to leave they told us they could only give us 2 pints of blood and we'd have to come back the next day for the last one because the hospital that she was in didn't have a place to keep the blood refridgerated. The whole experience taught me that I need to leave the school more often and see the rest of Haiti. I've lived here in total one year and three months and I still feel like a tourist staring at everything and fascinated by all the sites and sounds. I think every once in a while I should tag along with Randy and see what life is like outside the walls of our school. As for the girl in hospital, she's started to look better each time we see her, we pray that she will regain strength with time and return to good health.

Two eventful days...

Well, my first weekend completely carless in Haiti has been quite eventful. My car is in the "shop" until an undetermined time. Randy and Karen's personal car has been in the garage for a long time and the car they were borrowing is now also in the shop. So we are officially without a car. Thankfully Dr. Ed has a visitor staying with him right now and so he's been taking him around town and we've tagged along. On Friday we headed up to Baptist Mission. When we arrived at Ed's house he asked which of his two trucks we preferred to drive in, I choose the white truck because it was airconditioning and we wouldn't have to sit in the cage in the back. He said okay and just as we were about to leave he mentioned that the white truck tends to overheat from time to time so we'd have to stop occasionally to add water to the radiator. We took the back way up the mountain which is always an adventure, lots of loose gravel and the possibility of washed out roads. We were about 3/4 up the mountain when the truck decided that it needed a good long drink. Steam was billowing out the front. We stopped, gave it a chance to cool down and then tried to add some water, the little leak that was in the radiator from before has increased dramatically in size. We managed to continue and made it up the rest of the way having to stop a few more times. The stopping wasn't really the problem, the problem was all the concerned onlookers who were determined to help us out. Lots of unsolicited advice was given and one man even took the water jug and started to fill up the radiator for us. We managed to fight off all the helpful onlookers and had a great time at Fort Jacques and Baptist Mission. The way home was smooth until we were almost home, we were back in PAP when the truck decided it was done for the day. Of course we were on a busy and narrow road so we successfully blocked traffic. We waited for a little while to allow the truck to cool off and then started once again and we were able to make it home.
Saturday we tagged along to the beach. This time we took the other truck:) We had a great day, relaxing, swimming and eating great Haitian food. After lunch we decided to go snorkeling. We paid a guy to take us out in this boat to check out a nearby reef. Once we were all in the water, Chris (Ed's visitor) mentioned that there was a jelly fish in the water near him. I freaked out and jumped into the boat. I had never seen a jelly fish in my life but promised the others that I'd be on the look up for them. Shortly after I saw 3 jellyfish in a row. Two kids were in the water and one of them took the fish out of the water and passed it to the guy in the boat, the guy pulled the tentacles off and told me that jelly fish don't hurt at all and proved it to me by rubbing the fish over his arm. This didn't convince us at all and in fact we all got out of the water except for Chris. After a while Chris got bored being in the water by himself and got into the boat as well. So much for snorkeling.
Sunday we were able to walk to church since there is a church right across the road from my house. The rest of the day we relaxed and took it easy. I can't believe my sister's are leaving tomorrow. The week had gone so fast.

Guest Blogger: Amy!

Kim is too tired from entertaining her sisters so I (Amy) have taken over blogging duties for today.
Today was another beautiful, hot Haitian day and we woke up bright and early to have breakfast and head to the school. I can't believe I'm getting up so early when I'm on vacation but apparently school starts really early here and if we don't get up early and go with Kim to the school we'd be stuck here till Kim finishes her work. So we dutifully follow our older sister to school : ) Well, that and there's lots to explore and we didn't want to miss out. This morning, Ysmaille picked Gwen and I up at 8:30 and drove us to the house that he is building and then from there we went to where he is living now. We met his cousins and his uncle and some other random friends. We could have met many more but the morning was getting on and we were getting a bit tired. He took us back to the school where we helped one of the classes do a craft and then we had lunch--rice and beans with vegetable sauce--it was yummy.
After lunch, Kim, Gwen, Karen, Maia and I went together to do some shopping. We first went to a store called Haitian Creations where women sew bags and purses out of scrap material--much of it uphostery remnants. After buying a couple of bags we then went on to the metalsmith's village which consists of scores of metalwork shops where they repurpose oil drums by hammering the metal out into elaborate designs of birds, fish, trees, people etc. Most are decorative wall hangings but some are made into mirrors, bowls and even napkin holders. Walking in you can hear the sound of drums on metal and you can see how they make them by cutting out templates and then forming the raised design with hammers and other metal working tools. We had fun looking through the shops at all the designs. In the end, we ended up buying several wall decor items and a couple of mirrors and some candle holders.
This evening for dinner, some of the guys who work at the school came for dinner. We played some cards and had a delicious meal of chili and bread.
It was a great day but it will be nice to shower and wash all the dirt and dust off our skin and out of our hair.
Not sure what the rest of our trip will hold for us but I'm sure it will be just as adventurous.
On a side note--Kim's car is still not working properly but it will hopefully be looked at and fixed tomorrow.

Sister Time

My sisters arrived safely yesterday, only a tiny bit late. So who's ever heard of a container and box embargo? Apparently there's an embargo on any kind of box or container during the Christmas season. In the Detriot airport my sisters discovered that they couldn't take the two containers that I had so carefully packed and left behind for them to bring. Thankfully one of the AA employees was kind enough to explain that they could buy two large duffle bags instead and transfer all my stuff into them. So somewhere in the detriot airport are two brand new containers that I was looking forward to using for storage.
Last night my sisters settled in and we caught up on a few things. This morning I woke them up bright and early and we headed off to school. Of course I put them right to work. Gwen helped sort all our newly donated school supplies and Amy typed up some work for me. After school we were all ready to head up to the Baptist Mission for some lunch and then to Fort Jacques to check out the view. Unfortunately just outside of Petionville my car decided to give us some problems. I pressed on the gas but it wouldn't go any faster than 20 km/h. This road is twisty and turny and a bit scary on the best of days as trucks go flying by and although the car was still moving I didn't relish the idea of blocking traffic for miles seeing as it's almost impossible to pass on this road. So unfortunately we had to turn back. We had lunch at Epidor instead and spent some time relaxing at home.

Sponsorship program

A good friend of mine wrote me recently and asked about how our school sponsorship program works. I figured it was such a great question that I'd answer it on my blog in case anyone else had the same question. Here's how it works. Our school starts at Junior Kindergarten and ends at Grade 5. The government will not enable us to have Grade 6 until we are registered with them, which we are in the process of doing. Grade 6 is the first year that students must write a government exam and therefore all schools who administer this exam must be registered. I believe I mentioned that our school is entirely free for all our students. In addition, they are provided with all necessary textbooks on loan, two uniform shirts, breakfast and lunch each day. Though our partnership with Dr. Ed who runs a clinic at our school we are also able to supply them with medical attention if necessary. After students graduate from our school we continue to support them by sending them to a nearby Christian School. Our goal is to financially support our students until they graduate from secondary school. In order to suport them financially our goal is to find a sponsor for each student. The majority of our students currently have a sponsor in Canada, but we still have a significant group of students who do not yet have a sponsor. If you are at all interested in taking on this responsibility, check out CDIA's website (listed on the side of this blog) to find out more information. The students who we sponsor after grade 5 are required to come once a week to clean the school and must attend Friday night Bible Study. This teaches them responsibility and allows us to keep in touch with them and see them on a regular basis. They often stop by at other times as well to chat with us, keeping us informed of what is going on in their lives. Because they all attended our school in the past, we know them all fairly well and enjoy staying in touch with them and hearing about their lives.

Refreshed and ready for some family time

I'm back from the spiritual retreat and feeling pretty refreshed, which is a good thing because my sisters are coming Monday! The retreat was great. It was a time of fellowship, time spent in prayer and time learning more about prayer. We had sessions in the morning and the afternoons were free for sleeping, swimming, chatting or quiet alone time. Whatever you felt you needed to be refreshed and rejuvenated.
As mentioned, my sisters are coming on Monday. I'm pretty excited about them coming. Although Gwen has been here before, neither of her visits were while I was here and Amy has never been to Haiti before. I hope to sneak out of school a bit early to show them around Port-au-Prince and spend some quality time with them. We plan to go to Les Cayes on the weekend to visit the child that my sister Gwen has been sponsoring through the organization Compassion for quite a long time. I've never been to Les Cayes and look forward to seeing a new part of Haiti.

Ayiti

One of the great things about having a team here is that they take pictures that you never think to take. Here are some of my favourites.

Back to normal, whatever normal is...

The team has left and it's back to normal life once again. Monday I had a workshop with all the teachers. The topic was classroom managment. I created an outline for what I would like to discuss and the teachers took it from there. It was an opportunity for teachers to share various strategies they use in their classrooms. I shared a few strategies that I used when I was teaching in Canada but mostly I just listened to their ideas and moderated the discussion from time to time. (we have some teachers who LOVE to share!!!)
Today is a holiday so I'm trying to get caught up on a few things that I let slack while hanging out with the team. Tomorrow I am off to a Spiritual Retreat that the CRC organization organizes each year. This year it will take place at Wahoo Bay and the theme is prayer. I'm looking forward to spending some time in prayer and fellowship with other believers and perhaps spending some time at the beach!

Some pics

Giving instructions for how to take medicine

Jacky with her translator.

Randy working hard.

Kim and Sarah in the registration area.

Pics of the medical team

I have tried six times to upload some pictures of the medical clinics, but with no success. My interent is just too slow these days. However, Randy and Karen's blog has some great pictures from this past week. So if you'd really like to see some pictures, check out their blog.
www.randyandkarenlodder.blogspot.com

Wednesday I tagged along with the team again, I figured I'd stay for a bit and then return tot he school but I was actually needed and helped with the pharmacy all day. We saw 300 patients (100 more than planned)! Thursday I went to the school to get a few things done so I wasn't able to assist with the medical team. I had a very productive day at the school and although I was sad to miss a day with the team, it was good to get caught up on work. Today I was able to go with the team again. We went outside of PAP and were able to see a slightly different side of Haiti. We saw another 200 patients and had another successful day.

Medical Team - Days 1 & 2

The medical team is adapting well to life in Haiti. They saw 2oo patients yesterday and today at the school. And today they did 10 operations! The clinics have run very smoothly and although the team members are quite tired at the end of the day, they still have energy to eat and spend some time in devotions. I was hoping to translate at the clinic but we have enough translators so I just pop in from time to time to see how things are going. The way the clinic works, is that in the very early morning people start lining up (like about 5am). When Guerdson, the gate keeper, opens the door he starts giving out numbers. He writes their number right on their hand with a marker. If we give out papers, some people will sell their paper to someone else. After 200 numbers have been given out, we will not take anymore patients for the day. Guerdson does all the hard work of giving out the numbers but in the afternoon he has to go to school so I took over for a bit. All you have to do is open the gate and call out numbers, but occasionally there will be two people with the same number... strange how that works, I guess we're not the only ones with magic markers:) And sometimes people will try to sneak in when you're not looking. Some people get tired of waiting and actually leave before their number is called. Today after all the numbers were called there were four people standing outside without numbers, and because some other people had left already we took pity on them and let them sneak in. Tomorrow will be another clinic at a church on Delmas 10. I hope to tag along for a bit to check it out.
On a sad note... the air conditioner in my car died today. This is very sad for me, but I guess I deserve it since I tend to brag about my car's wonderful air conditioning to people who's air conditioning doesn't work. I knew it would only be a matter of time before it died but I didn't think it would be so soon! I guess I'll be breathing in exhaust and a lot of dust in the near future, just like everyone else.
We've been having a fair amount of rain the last few days, as the rainy season winds down. This is nice in that the temperature cools down considerably after it rains, in fact I've been sleeping with a blanket lately! The down side is that the rain washes out roads that were already rough to begin with. There is one road that I take to work most days, right after it's been "fixed" it's not bad to drive but after a few rainstorms in a row, it's get pretty washed out. My car has no problem getting through, however, people with small cars and enourmous trucks also try to use this road and cause massive traffic jams. I've been avoiding this road and taking alternative routes until they have a chance to put a bit more gravel down once again. Ah, life in Haiti.

Parent - Teacher Meeting

Sorry the pictures are out of order I always forget to load them backwards.
Teachers meeting with individual parents to discuss the report cards

I'm giving out awards to the students

Randy talking about Reformation Day

Most of the parents attended the meeting

Medical Team

Yesterday a medical team of eight arrived, they are all from Southern Ontario. I don't know any of them personally but two attend the same church as my parents so my mom sent along a lovely "mom" hug with one of them. Another member knows my cousin Grace and sent along greetings from her. I really enjoy having teams, it's great to show off Haiti and explain how things work here. Because this is a medical team, they will be doing some large clinics. Monday and Tuesday they will see approx. 200 patients each day at Adoration Christian School. Wednesday through Friday they will do clinics at different locations. This is a great opportunity for people in Haiti to receive free health care as there is no public system here in Haiti and if you can't afford to go to the hospital, you just don't. Many people die of very preventable diseases.
The team arrived yesterday with no problems, in fact they arrived early and were able to meet the friendly workers at the airport as they waited for Randy and I:) Within minutes they had MANY friends in Haiti! All their lugguage arrived which is great because besides their own personal items they took medical and school supplies with them!!! Today we will be attending the church at the school and then we will be going to a children's feeding program. There is a couple here from Montreal who run a HUGE ministry to children. They have a morning church service and then feed over 2000 children! There is also a small clinic on Sunday, so several team members will be able to assist with this while the rest of us hang out with the children. It is a very well run organization, that runs extremely smoothly considering the amount of children they minister to.

I've been busy

Ever since I started to feel better I've been crazy busy! Saturday was spent running around doing errands around town. At night, Randy and Karen's neighbours had a costume party and invited me as well. We got dressed up and had a lovely night with their family, eating delicious food and watching "Casper". Sunday we had a small party at the church to celebrate the one year anniversary of the church. It was a nice time of fellowship and some great treats. Ben Hopp preached, which I always enjoy because he preaches in English and has someone translate. Although attending a Haitian church is improving my Creole vocabulary, after three hours of church my head starts to hurt a bit, so it's always a nice break to hear English for a while.
Monday was a holiday here in Haiti. To celebrate my good health a group of us went to visit the Hopps at their house, which conveniently is located on a resort on the ocean. We had a nice day of visiting them, and the pool and the beach. It was a really nice relaxing day.
Tuesday was another day of no school. The teachers are given one day off to write their report cards. Most of them came in to work on them and I spent the day proofreading them and signing them all. Wednesday was the parent/teacher interviews. We had a nice little ceremony to begin with. We reviewed the school expectations and rewarded the top student in each class, and one student from each class who has worked extremely hard over the first semester. They received a certificate and a small gift bag. As well, each student who was never late or absent for the entire first semester received a small gift and a certificate. There were fifty students who qualified, I was quite impressed by this. Today (Thurs.) was a regular school day and somewhat uneventful, unless of course you consider mice taking over the office as eventful. They are coming out of everywhere and they are NOT afraid. I'm not sure what I'll do but I'm tired of spending all day sitting on my feet terrified that one might run across my feet. Any suggestions??
Tomorrow morning we have a staff meeting in the morning for a few hours. I always get a bit nervous about staff meetings. It's difficult to have intense conversation for hours in Creole, I do alright but by the end my head is really spinning. I do however, look forward to some time to bond with the teachers and discuss several topics that need to be discussed. I enjoy hearing their points of view and always walk away having learned something new about Haiti culture and/or the education system.