Saturday Shopping

What a fun day of shopping! The Baptist Mission (which is about half way between GLA and Fort Jacques) hosts both an indoor and an outdoor market.  Inside there is a restaurant, gift shop, and flower shop.  Outside, (mostly) foreign shoppers barter with local vendors for the best prices.  Bartering can be a little overwhelming, as the vendors are quite convincing and you really have to set firm boundaries and stick to them (not my forte).  Thankfully, Molly did some negotiating for me in Creole.  I purchased a few small paintings, a couple of necklaces, some hand-carved wooden jewellery boxes, a metal napkin holder painted like a tap-tap (Haitian bus), and a Creole Bible. 

My credit card didn’t work at the restaurant, despite the fact that I called MasterCard a few weeks ago and informed them that I would be using my card in Haiti.  I asked them to kindly make a note on my file, so that my account wouldn’t get locked down when I tried to use it in a third world country.  So, I reluctantly paid cash for lunch, and you can bet I’ll be on the international phone at the Main House first thing Monday morning, straightening this out.

On the way back, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items.  We all bought ice cream (which I’m sure my lactose-intolerant stomach will pay for later).  I also purchased some soy milk.  I’ve been putting powdered milk on my cereal in the mornings, and trying to spread out any other dairy intake, but after treating myself to chocolate ice cream, at least I’ll know I can eat cereal without having to worry about the lactose. 

Speaking of which... today I’m experiencing the first signs of any “indigestion” since I arrived (and I haven’t touched the ice cream yet).  All of the other volunteers have been sick in some way, including a few cases of what is known as “Haitian Happiness”, a 24-hour bug (usually), the most common symptoms of which include diarrhea and vomiting.  Please pray that I don’t contract a case of this!

Bethany, Becky and I have two new roommates! A mother-daughter team from Asheville, NC, arrived this afternoon.  Another volunteer arrives on Monday, and we’ll have a full house – all six bunk beds will be occupied. 

Looking forward to another day of rest tomorrow.  Until then...

TGIF!

Yesterday we went (again) to the site where the new orphanage is being built.  I spent the first part of the morning dumping charcoal from big sacks into smaller garbage bags, for the kitchen staff to use for cooking.  By the time we were done, our team looked like coal miners! Then I put two coats of epoxy on a concrete floor to seal it so it doesn’t get damaged by rain water.  And a bunch of us swept sand into the cracks between the interlocking concrete blocks of a driveway so that when it rains the water will cement the blocks together.  I officially have a tank top tan. To be honest, it’s more of a sunburn, despite applying and reapplying SPF 45 sun block throughout the day.  It was HOT day.  I’m not sure how hot -  I seem to have no sense of temperature or time these days.  I get up with the sun comes up, eat when they tell me it’s mealtime, and go to bed when it gets dark.  It’s a sort of like being on vacation. 

We also walked from GLA’s property at Fort Jacques to the actual fort.  The Fort Jacques National Historic Site is a beautiful park, if you can overlook the litter (there’s no waste management system in Haiti, in terms of public garbage cans or recycling bins).  The fort was named after Jean-Jacques Dessaline, who, according to Wikipedia, was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1801 constitution.  He was autocratic in his rule and crowned himself Emperor of Haiti in 1805.  The Fort was also built in 1805 to defend against a possible French return and attack. During the 2010 earthquake, they lost two cannons that fell down the mountain.  They are still working to repair the earthquake damage.  Here are a picture of the fort and the view of Port-au-Prince from the fort. 

Today was another busy day at Main House.  I spent most of the morning with Mr. W.  It was another hot day, so we filled the kiddie pool on the balcony and let the kids play in there.  Here are pictures of Mr. W.  and Miss D. in the pool. 

In the afternoon, I held Mr. D. for a while.  He’s sick with a cold, so I spent most of my time cleaning up bodily fluids.  Nobody said my time at GLA was going to be glamorous, and it certainly isn’t.  I now understand what they mean when they say the children at GLA are “the least of these”.  These kids all have dirty faces but bright eyes.  They have dirty bottoms, but overflowing affection.  They do not smell the way babies in North America smell (like baby powder and lotion), and yet they have captured my heart with their outstretched arms and big dark eyes.  My heart breaks as they cry big tears and run after me when it’s time for me to leave the nursery. 

Tom Vanderwell and his team arrived at GLA today.  Tom is the Manager of Partner Relations at GLA.  He and his family live in Michigan.  They brought their two adopted Haitian children back to GLA for the first time since they went home in 2003.  It’s been a roller coaster of a day for Isaac and Abby (10 and 9, respectively), meeting their birth families for the “first time”.  You can read about it on Tom’s blog. 

Tomorrow we get to sleep in (hopefully).  Someone needs to tell the roosters around here that their job is to announce daylight! They start crowing at around 3:30, long before sunrise, and about a half hour after the neighbourhood dogs stop barking.  This morning the dogs and roosters were sounding off together in an antiphonal symphony.  Lovely.  T.I.H. (This Is Haiti). 

A Few Photos

This is a shot of Becky and me, painting the rafters and bathroom in the bunkhouse at Fort Jacques.

“My kids”, Miss D, Mr. D, and Mr. W (in that order). I love them already!

Stay tuned to Facebook for more pictures. 

Fort Jacques & My Kids

Yesterday was another long day.  In the morning a group of us drove up to Fort Jacques. It's a five-mile, forty-minute drive.  GLA has purchased a piece of property there and construction has begun on a new orphanage.  In Fort Jacques, all the children will be together in one building (now they have three buildings – one for infants, one for children ages 2-7, and one to house volunteers and staff).  Becky and I spent most of the day painting the bathroom and ceiling beams in the bunkhouse, while Karen, Jessica, Bethany, and Melena disinfected items that had fallen victim to some rodent activity, and Melissa wiped down and disinfected a pile of crib mattresses.  It takes a lot of elbow grease and teamwork to accomplish a project like this, but it will all be worth it when the Angels can move into their new and improved surroundings. 

One thing I forgot to mention about my flight to Port-au-Prince.  On the plane, I met Sandy, who sat next to me.  She was on her way to Port ahead of her team of volunteers, who would arrive a few days later.  She is a teacher in Denver, Colorado, and taught English in Haiti for while after the earthquake.  We exchanged email addresses and promised to keep in touch.  Oh! And she knows Tara and Troy Livesay with Heartline Ministries, whose blog I have been reading regularly for over a year! Small world.  Sandy, if you’re reading this, I hope you made it to your destination and your team arrived okay. 

When we arrived back from Fort Jacques (about an hour before supper), Holli handed me my schedule.  When there is a shortage of volunteers, or an abundance of children, volunteers work with one child per hour for eight hours a day.  However, at the moment, it’s the other way around – an abundance of volunteers and less children.  So I was assigned three children to work with for the duration of my stay at GLA.  I think I will be assigned another two tomorrow, when another volunteer goes home.  They will be “my children”, in the sense that I will be responsible for their playtime and development while they are in my care.  I’ll be working and playing with Miss D, Mr. D, and Mr. W.  I met them and had a chance to play with Miss D yesterday for an hour before supper.  She is also known around here as “Miss Personality”.  I’m looking forward to getting to know her more in the coming days. 

When it was time for supper, I brought Miss D back to the nannies’ balcony and set her down on the concrete.  I had a hard time convincing her to let me go.  As I walked off the balcony and back into the nursery, three toddlers ran after me, clung to my legs, and immobilized me.  These children have been through so much in their short lives, and it’s easy to see the fear of abandonment in their eyes.  Every time someone pays attention to them and then walks away, they feel it all over again.  It’s evident in their cries and their outstretched arms.  It’s heartbreaking, but I have not allowed it to get to me (so far).  I wonder how long it will be before I sit and cry with them, and mourn what they have lost in their short little lifetimes.  Even if they are not old enough to articulate it, their grief and fears are very real.  I’m so thankful for a place like GLA, where these children have a chance at a better life.  Many of them already have a forever family and are just waiting for the adoption paperwork to go through so they can go home.  Until then, they so evidently crave personal touch and connection with their caregivers. 

I spent this morning playing with all three of my babies (one at a time).  It’s hot on the balcony, so we put some water in the kiddie pool and let some of them splash around in there.  

On another note, my bags have arrived at the PAP airport.  Wadson should be going to pick them up sometime today.  It will be nice to wear my own clothes and not borrowed attire. 

The internet connection is slow here, and I've been having trouble uploading photos.  I'll try again later.  Until then...

Small Miracles

Hello from Haiti! The following two "journal entries" are from the last two days.  I hope to be able to update this daily (more like real time), now that I have arrived. 

June 19, 2011

After a hectic morning, I made it to the Calgary airport almost two hours before my scheduled flight time.  As I was standing in line to check in, filling out a customs card, I came to the question about flight number.  It was then that I realized I had left all my important paperwork on my couch!

I woke up long before the alarm this morning.  There was still so much to do! I rolled out of bed at 7:20 AM, wishing I could sleep for another 2 or 3 hours.  I felt anything but well-rested.  In fact, I felt as though I had downed a shot or two of espresso!  Must have been adrenaline, because it certainly wasn’t caffeine. 

One of the things I did this morning was sort through my “Haiti file” - a manila folder that has been a permanent fixture on my coffee table since sometime in November.  I pulled out the documents I needed to take with me (flight itinerary, hotel reservation/confirmation number, info pack about the orphanage and sample customs cards to fill out on the flight from Miami to PAP).   In my scatter-brained-stressed-out state, instead of putting the papers in my backpack right then, I thought of something else I needed to do and left the documents sitting on my couch.

So here I was at the Calgary airport, launching into a panicked speech about how I didn’t have the required information.   My girlfriends Crystal and Michelle, who had come to the airport to see me off, calmed me down and mapped out a plan.  Crystal would stay with me.  Michelle would go to my apartment and get the paperwork.  I gave her my keys and off she went.  I proceeded to check in at the American Airlines kiosk.  Check-in went smoothly.  I reminded the customer service rep to please only check my bags to Miami International, NOT Port-au-Prince.  I have almost a 12-hour layover in Miami and will need my luggage.   Then I asked what would be the latest time I could go through customs.  The lady said 1:15 (one hour before my departure time).  I looked at the time on my cell phone – 12:58.  Michelle had just called to say that she was pulling up in front of my place.  We all knew it was impossible for her to make it back to the airport in 17 minutes.  So Crystal and I did the only thing we knew to do in that moment.  We prayed.  Literally as we were saying “Amen”, Michelle called again to say that she had the documents in hand.  She wondered if she should just email or text me the info I needed instead of trying to get back to the airport.   Then I realized that she had my key chain, which held the keys to my luggage locks! Short of getting an official at the Miami airport to cut the locks off my suitcases, I knew there was only one way to open those bags – I had to get the keys from Michelle! I asked her to hold, and I went to the counter and inquired of the airline rep again.  This time, she informed me that the aircraft was delayed coming in, so the time to go through had been extended from 1:15 to 1:40! Please, don’t anyone ever tell me that prayer doesn’t work! I won’t believe you.

Michelle showed up with 9 minutes to spare.  We took pictures and the girls prayed for me, and off I went through the gates.   I made it through customs with no hitches.  After putting all my belongings in several bins and watching them go through the x-ray machine, I was asked to step into a booth for a full-body scan.  A little unnerving, but whatever. Then the security officer informed me that, technically, my carry-on was over the size limit, but that he would let it go through anyway.  Another small miracle.   When I reached the gate, my flight was already boarding.  I took a chance on stopping at the ladies room and buying an overpriced bottle of water at Starbucks.  Then I literally walked right up and boarded the plane.  As I write this, we are experiencing some crazy turbulence somewhere over Montana, to the point that I’m actually hoping my lunch stays down.  Oh well, if turbulence is the worst thing I encounter on this trip, I’ll be thankful indeed. 

Just one more thing – Happy Father’s Day to my amazing dad! Thanks for always being there.  I love you!

           

June 20^th

I have arrived in Haiti! It’s been a very long day, and I’m deliriously tired, so some of this might not make sense, and I might have to fill in some of the details later.  Let’s see how short I can make this story.  Last night (Sunday), I missed my connecting flight from Dallas to Miami, so I had to cancel my hotel reservation in Miami, wait for a hotel shuttle, and check in to a Holiday Inn Express.  By that time it was 11 PM.  I slept less than four hours,  got up at 3:30, and took a cab back to DFW (the shuttles don’t run at that hour) and caught a 5:45 flight to Miami.  My luggage had been checked through to  Miami, so (after spending the night without it) I went directly to Baggage Claims for what I hoped would be a quick retrieval.  I did, after all, have another plane to catch! I was informed that my bags never made it onto my flight in Calgary! That’s what I get for sprinting through customs, security and to the gate.  I made it onto the plane, but my bags evidently did not.  So now it’s the second day of wearing the same clothes and I’m being told I have to put in a baggage claim when I get to Port-au-Prince.  I was really starting to get discouraged by this time.  So I went back through security with my carry on.  In the line, I met a nice Christian lady.  She commented on my hair colour, I learned she was headed to Turks and Caicos.  I mentioned that I was going to Haiti on a mission trip, and we launched into a chat about missions. 

Once inside the secured area, I went directly to the gate, where I noticed a team of people wearing t-shirts that read: Haitian Baptist Earthquake Relief (or something like that).  I walked right up and introduced myself.  And wouldn’t you know it – they were from North Carolina (my home church, Southwinds, hosts mission teams and a resident missionary couple from NC!).  So they took me under their wing from introduction to orphanage shuttle.  There was a Haitian doctor travelling with them, who (of course) speaks Creole! He took me to fill out a baggage claim in the Port-au-Prince airport, and  walked me through customs and to right to the Haitian gentleman with the GLA logo and my name on a sign.  The miracles just keep coming. 

The drive to GLA was about an hour from the airport.  I have never in my life seen such deplorable road conditions! I was told later that the trucks they drive here are made specifically for third world countries. I don’t know what the tires are made of, but I was utterly amazed that they survived the trip.  Potholes are about the size of moon craters.  And there are no rules of the road here.  We came to an intersection with about 15 cars in the middle of it.  I asked Wadson, my driver, how you decide who turns next at an intersection.  He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders as he hit the gas and turned left, clearing several oncoming vehicles by mere millimetres (no joke!).   

By the time we reached GLA, it was raining.  At the Main House, I met Dixie, the orphanage director.  She introduced me to the rest of the office staff.  Everyone was very welcoming.  Holli gave me a tour of the building and took me up to the balcony to meet the other volunteers.  Except for one family who are volunteering together, all the others came by themselves (like me).  They are from all over the States, except for Becky, who is from Ontario.  It’s nice to not be the only Canadian.  Also, Melissa, who is the staff adoption coordinator, is from Manitoba. 

On the tour of the nursery, I met all the babies, including my sponsor child, Miss B.  (Side note: For reasons for confidentiality, I am not allowed to identify any of the children by name in blog posts or pictures.  So I will simply refer to them as Miss or Mr. and their first initial).  A four-year-old boy reached for me and would not let go until I lifted him to sit on my hip.  He clung to my neck and demanded that we go to the balcony to play.  So off we went! I spent an hour or so up there, playing with him and the other kids.  Then it was time for supper.  The volunteers all eat buffet style in the dining room.  Immediately after supper, Molly drove us over to Toddler House, where the volunteers are housed.  Wadson will return to the airport tomorrow to claim my bags.   In the meantime, the girls came to my rescue by loaning me some pyjamas and clothes for tomorrow.  I have never been so thankful for a cold shower and a bed to sleep in.  It’s 7:38 PM and I’m ready to call it a day.  Stay tuned...

                                                                 ~~~~~

Here are some pictures of Haiti.  I will take some of the children and post them soon. 

One More Sleep!

Well, except for a few shower items I'll need in the morning, I have finally finished packing! It's been a long day, and I will be happy to crawl into bed before 10 PM tonight.  Tomorrow night I will be staying in a Miami hotel before heading to Port-au-Prince on Monday around lunch time. 

People have been asking me if I’m excited or nervous.  My answer has typically been, “a little of both”.  I am definitely excited! This is the adventure of a lifetime for me (so far).  However, for that exact reason, it’s also a little scary.  If you are familiar with the Canadian yoga retail outlet “Lulu Lemon Athletica”, you’ll likely recognize the phrase: Do one thing a day that scares you.  It’s one of the many slogans printed on a number of their products, such as water bottles, gym bags and shopping bags.  I’m not sure I do something every day that scares me.  But Monday will be a day to make up for all the other days, when I have been less-than-courageous.  I will land in a third world country for the first time in my life.  I will be the minority when it comes to skin colour and language.  I will have to trust that my driver will be there to pick me up and that he will actually take me to the correct orphanage.  Which leads to my next point...

If you are a person who prays, PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!! In case you didn't receive a paper copy of my prayer card, I am posting the requests here: 

Please pray:

·         For safety while traveling, making airline connections, and staying in hotels in the U.S.A.; and from potential violence or rioting in Haiti 

·         That my luggage will arrive, that the customs process will go smoothly, and that I will meet my driver at the airport without any problems

·         For intestinal fortitude, immunity to disease and overall good health

·         For humility as I learn from the staff and children at GLA, that I would not try to “fix things” with my North American biases

·         For protection from forces of spiritual darkness, as Voodoo is the main “religion” of Haiti.  Pray that the Good News of Jesus Christ would spread rapidly throughout the island nation. 

·         For the staff, children, and other volunteers at the orphanage; that we would be able to develop meaningful connections easily and work well together

·         For Michel Martelly, the new president of Haiti, and his government, that God will guide them in making the best decisions for the future of the nation.

·         For all the children of Haiti who need someone to love, protect, and care for them, and to provide for their daily needs

Ok, so I didn’t quite make it to bed by ten.  But I’ll be headed there as soon as I hit publish.  I’ll most likely write my next post from a Miami hotel room.  Until then...

Sunday

This weekend was a blur of frenzy.  I seem to remember when Sunday used to be a day of rest (vaguely).   Can anyone relate?

Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to share a bit about my upcoming trip at Southwinds Church.  It’s great to know I have the support of my church family, and now they have a better idea of what I’m actually going to be doing in Haiti. 

In case you missed it, here are the highlights of what I’ll be doing at GLA:

• On weekdays I will be assigned 8 babies a day to work with – one per hour for 8 hours a day.  Many of the children at GLA are behind developmentally because of prenatal malnutrition and premature birth.  So I will be doing developmental tasks, such as eye-hand coordination, with toddlers, and rocking the younger babies that just need nurturing. 
• Other duties as assigned - they feed a large number of people at each meal, so volunteers are expected to pitch in and set the tables, serve the meal, clean up afterwards, help with dishes, and so on.
• Since the earthquake, there may be tasks related to earthquake relief, such as sorting through containers of supplies received at GLA and preparing care packages for people in the surrounding communities.  I may even have the opportunity to go with a group to deliver the care packages to people. 
• On Saturday mornings we will do a thorough cleaning of the volunteer quarters, and go shopping in the outdoor markets in the afternoon. 
• Since GLA is a Christian organization, all volunteers are expected to attend church on Sunday and Bible study on Wednesday night. 

Here are a couple of pictures of me speaking, and Pastor Bo praying for me. 

After church, there was a drop-in luncheon for the pastor of our sister church (and his beautiful wife).  They are moving back to their home State of South Carolina.  Three years ago, they felt God calling them to Calgary, so they sold their dream home (which they had just built in the mountains of South Carolina) and came to serve here (where it gets down to -35 degrees Celsius in the winter).  Brave souls!  I happened to be at the church as Pastor Wilson was cleaning out his office.  As we chatted about their move and my mission trip, he reminded me that “God blesses obedience”.  Words to live by.  He and Mary-Winn are certainly examples of how God blesses people who are willing to jump in with both feet and follow Him wherever He leads. I, for one, have been blessed by knowing them.   

Moving right along, I went from the luncheon to a staff BBQ for work (which was also a hot-tub party - check out the picture below).  I’m sure I gained back in one meal whatever weight I had managed to drop for my trip (which wasn’t much to begin with), and then some.  It was a fantastic meal and time of fellowship with my co-workers - great to get together in a social setting outside of work.  Some of us missed the Christmas party this year due to a blinding snow storm, so we spent the next six months planning  the next gathering procrastinating, and finally managed to get together yesterday. 

So, that was Sunday.  There’s still so much to do, but I’m gradually checking things off my list.  I’m starting to feel the stress of having only five more days to do everything I need to accomplish before I go.  But more on that later.  Stay tuned...

T-11 Days

First off, I really had no intention of being silent for over a month.  Time just slipped away from me. But I have no time or energy to waste on “blogger’s remorse” (feeling like a bad blogger because I haven’t posted something every day).  I’m eleven days away from leaving on a jet plane.  I seem to have so much to accomplish between now and then.  Who am I kidding? I DO have a lot to accomplish, but I’m trying to keep my priorities straight.  The list is long and I won’t bore you with the details.  Suffice it to say that I have been procrastinating.  But I’ve always been a last-minute kind of girl.  Eventually, I’m gonna have to drag my suitcases out and start packing <shudder>.  Speaking of packing...

I used to have a living room floor.  Now I just have “take to Haiti” piles.  A pile of toys and supplies for the orphanage (more on this in a minute), a pile of toiletries, a pile of clothes, and a pile of miscellaneous items.  I figure I should go through the clothes and cut that mountain (at least) in half.  I’m certain that I’ll have so much more wisdom about what to take to a third world country after I’ve been to one.  C’est la vie!

I will be sharing briefly about what I'll be doing in Haiti at Southwinds Church in SE Calgary this Sunday morning; I’ll hand out some prayer cards (little cards I made up with specific prayer requests), and they’ll commission me and send me out.  It all seems so surreal.  I’m not sure when reality will set in.  Maybe when I show up at YYC (otherwise known as the Calgary International Airport) with an entourage of friends seeing me off.  Maybe when I set foot on Haitian soil.  Maybe when I return home.  Maybe never.  Ok, time to cut the rambling.

In my last post I said I would answer your questions about donating supplies that I can take with me to Haiti.  The short answer is this: It would be more beneficial to the orphanage and to the Haitian economy if people would donate funds directly to GLA’s General Operating Account.  That way, they can purchase as many items as possible right there in Haiti.  Of course, there are items that are not available in Haiti, which could be sent, but not necessarily with me.  While I appreciate the generous offers of many people to load me up with provisions, I am only one person travelling alone, and I cannot physically handle several large pieces of luggage.  There is a list posted on the website of what GLA needs (and doesn’t need) at any given time.  It is updated periodically. You can view the most recent list (updated May 25, 2011) by clicking here.  To make a donation to GLA's general fund, please click here. 

I promise I will update this blog more consistently in the coming days and weeks.  So, until next time...