Wheeling and Walking

Mark's going in for some training tomorrow.  And this time, he's the trainee.  He'll be learning from coaches from Switzerland about wheelchair basketball. Later this month, a team will be visiting from Calvary UMC and together, we'll be hosting a Hoops for Haiti basketball clinic and tournament.  Some of the tournament games will be wheelchair basketball games!  

Last week, we went to the hospital and rehabilitation center to meet with the people we'll be working with, check out the gear, and take a tour.  We started with the basketball gear and court first, of course...

This storage room was full of all kinds of recreation gear, including 

enough sport wheelchairs to outfit two teams.

Danielle and Elli hopped right into two chairs and headed out to the court. 

 I was impressed with how easily they figured out how to push and steer!

Naomy's arms weren't long enough or strong enough to 

make the chair go, but she hitched a few rides...

...and gave some pushes.  

The girls quickly realized that while making the chair go isn't difficult, 

you have to be very coordinated to do so WHILE dribbling and/or shooting a basketball.

Next, was our tour, and it started off with lots of cheering and singing.  

A patient who had suffered a stroke about 6 months ago and had been confined to bed or a chair ever since... was WALKING again for the first time.  She was followed by an entourage of ladies chanting, "Mesi, Bondye!" (Thank you, God!)

Oh, and yes, she was walking while TALKING on a phone!  I overheard her talking through her tears: "Wi, mache! Wi, mache!" (Yes, I'm walking!)

In addition to the basketball clinic and tournament, we (we count ourselves as part of the team that will be visiting!) will tackle cleaning and maintenance projects at the complex, visit with patients, and possibly even have a training session with the resident therapists.

Here's a photo of the rehab building.

Next on the tour: the hospital, starting with the NIC unit.  The girls got to see some very, very tiny babies.  They had never seen such little ones, and at first, I think they were a little frightened by all the machines and tubes. Since then, they've been praying for those babies every night before bed, so I know it made a big impact on them.  

Finally, we visited the health clinic and it just so happened that there wasn't a wait to get in!  Elli had been complaining of an earache and Naomy had been battling pinkeye, so we had a reason to see the doctor.  The nurse took their temperatures, just like usual...and she weighed them, just like usual...and the doctor used the same tools as usual to examine their eyes and ears.  

What was UNusual was the fact that there were three other patients in the examining room with us--and one of them was intermittently moaning from a cot!  The girls didn't seem fazed...but this mama was a little weirded out.  We were prescribed some antibiotics and went through the process of obtaining them (in the attached pharmacy) and paying for them, which was interesting for me.  I had to pay super careful attention to dosing instructions, as they were delivered to me in Creole and measured in metric units.

Here's Elli being weighed.  She weighs some number of kilograms that I can't remember.  Tell me again--why are we Americans pretty much the only ones in the WORLD not on the metric system?

What a visit!  We came away with medicine that got us on the mend and huge excitement over the work cut out for us later this month.  Stay posted for details about tomorrow's training...

Would you please start praying for God to move in miraculous ways to prepare the Calvary team and the people they'll meet here in Haiti?


Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Don't Let 'Em Get Your Goat

Are you a goat-getter?  I am.  (I perfected my goat-getting art on my little brother, Joe. Unfortunately, he perfected the same art on me.)

And, now that I've spent some time in Haiti, I'm a goat-getter in more than one way.

If you're a goat-getter, you don't enjoy making someone outright mad.  No, no--that's just being mean.  What's waaaaaaay more fun is to go through the process of cleverly annoying someone.  It takes time.  And, it's done very covertly...gently...yet unmistakably.

Have you ever wondered where the phrase "getting your goat" comes from?

Apparently, it came from early horse racing days, where goats were kept with nervous race horses to help keep them calm before a big race.  To sabotage your competition, you could get their goat, which would leave their horse all worked up and agitated--possibly even too nervous to race.

So, over time, "getting your goat" came to describe aggravating someone.

C'mon, you can admit it.  You've gotten someone's goat before.  Or, maybe you're always letting people get YOUR goat?

Perhaps the real challenge is not to be a goat-getter, but to learn how NOT to let others get your goat...

Now, THAT skill has taken me longer to learn.  It's only been in the last, oh, 8 years that I've gotten the hang of it.  Before I became a mom, people were getting my goats ALL the time.  It went like this:

Somebody cut me off while driving...  There goes my goat.

Repairman showed up 3 hours later than expected...  There goes my goat.

Coworker got credit for an idea I generated?  My goat was gone.

Eventually, though, I started to guard my goat more carefully.  I decided I wasn't going to let it go so easily!  Your "goat" is that quiet, calm, peaceful place inside.  When I keep my peaceful place in tact, I can perform better at the tasks God sets before me.  I can think rationally through obstacles that I come up against.  I can pour out kindness and generosity on the people I love, and be more patient and understanding with everyone I meet.

"Don't let him bother you--he's just trying to get your goat."

Ok, so that's one way that I'm a goat-getter.  The other way is quite literal.  I've mentioned this before, right?

On the campus where I live, one of my jobs is to take care of the goats.  I make sure nobody "gets 'em."  Hahaha...  No, seriously, all I do is give them water and move them around the campus so they have fresh grass and leaves to eat.  Oh, and I name them sometimes.

This is Strawberry.  

She has the strangest bleat that is more like 

the bray of a tiny donkey than a goat.

This is Mr. T, the only male in the herd.  

I'm not sure how he came by his name, but I think it has 

something to do with his black mohawk 

and beard that resemble this guy's. 

Awww.  Look at that face! Those eyes!  

This is Mama Heart, my favorite. 

She's so sweet and gentle (unless she thinks

 one of her babies is being threatened).  

She adores mangoes.

Here is Mama's one remaining baby (two of her babies have died, sadly), 

Chocolate Chip Cookie.  But, the kids call her "Triple C." She's so cute! 

This is Earlene.  

She's new here and still very unsure of me.  

I named her Earlene because of her one very strangely deformed ear--see it?

She's going to have a couple kids very soon...

This is Little Honey, the smallest of the herd.  

She's very pregnant and very shy.

This is Noelle.  Guess what time of year she was born?

She is one crazy goat.  

I have yet to figure out how to anticipate her behaviors.  

When approaching Noelle, I remember the following quote:

“Don't approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side.”

 She has very pretty and unique facial markings.  Take a look:

Finally, the two sisters, Oreo and Velma.  

I keep some distance between them because 

they fight like...well...sisters.  

Sisters who, um, happen to have horns.

Before coming to Haiti, I knew one thing about goats: they eat pretty much anything.  Watch your clothes, shoelaces, and hair if you meet one in a petting zoo.  Now, I can say that I know much more about them.  I'm not sure this knowledge will be at all helpful in any situation I might find myself in in the future, but... you never know, right?  Goats are pretty calm creatures.  They're mainly interested in eating and there isn't much that will upset them as long as they can keep that up.  I can see why their presence would have been calming to race horses back in the day.

So, the next time you feel yourself getting annoyed...aggravated...frustrated...  Just think of the goats.

Don't let 'em get your goat!


John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Birth in Haiti

So, it took moving to Haiti for me to make a Canadian friend.  Sure, I've met Canadians, but not really been friends with any.

Canadians are great, EH?!

Hahaha... That's my favorite favourite (I'm feeling compelled to spell things Canadian-style) thing that she says in every conversation.  "Eh."  (Sounds like "hay" without the "h".)  Two little letters--one very small word.  And yet, I've never known anyone who uses it to convey so many things as she does.

Esther.  That's my friend's name.  It also happens to be one of my very favorite Bible characters.  What's not to love about beautiful, courageous Esther?

Poor Esther has been enduring months of relentless heckling on the streets of Haiti.  Why, you ask?  Because she is tall and white and, up until recently, she's had a very large pregnant belly.  She's been a good sport about the intrusive advice and often rude comments she received.  She's even developed some humorous retorts!

Esther's stint with local celebrity is not over yet.  Now, everyone is ooh-ing and aaah-ing over the baby in her arms!  Her son, Elijah, entered the world very early last Sunday morning, and it was my joy and honor honour to witness it. (Once you read the whole story, you'll see why it took me a week to write this post--it's a long one!)

Being present for someone ELSE'S labor labour and delivery is not at all like being present for your own labour and delivery, as you can guess.

When YOU are the one in labour, you're pretty much thinking only about the following:

1. the pain
2. understanding what doctors and nurses are telling you to do
3. when the pain will end and your baby will appear

Esther's labor and delivery was a great deal more enjoyable for me!  My main purpose in being there was to capture everything with my camera.  My secondary purpose was to be there to support my friend and her husband.  I was able to do both of those things as well as observe everything that was going on.  It was an amazing experience!  I know for sure that there were a gazillion details about the births of my three babies that I missed.  But, I saw it all for this birth.

Esther called me at 7:30 pm Saturday to tell me she was in labor.  "Is it raining at your house?"she asked.  No, it wasn't.  "Well, it's going to be," she said ominously.  By the time her husband, Matt, showed up at our house to drop off their two kids for a spontaneous sleepover party, there was a 3-feet-deep stream flowing past our front door.

Great night to have a baby, eh?

When I arrived (soaking wet and rushing on adrenaline) at the Mama Baby Haiti midwifery clinic in a small village called Voudreil, Esther was dilated 8 cm, with contractions about 2 minutes apart.  It was about 8:00 pm and she was walking around, talking, and leaning on the bathroom sink for support during pains.  Matt got busy timing contractions on his phone.  Another friend, Susan, who is a Registered Nurse (God bless RNs everywhere), arrived at about the same time that I did.  I stared at Esther for a minute, marveling at her strength.  During my own labours, I had been under the delightful effects of an epidural by the time I had reached 6 cm dilated.

The delivery room was so very different from those I delivered in in America.  The room had a wood-frame bed with a mattress, a few chairs, a shelf of supplies, and one bare lightbulb.  It was clean and painted with cute little birds in bright colors.  I was quickly introduced to the two attending Haitian midwives, Maudline and Judith, and got to work taking pictures, encouraging Esther, and retrieving cold towels.

Even in the most luxurious hospitals, it's hard to get comfortable during labour.  Just about the time you settle in on one position, BAM! a contraction hits and gets you all out of sorts again.  Esther chose to move all around that clinic.  She tried sitting on a stool.  She paced the halls.  She even traipsed up the stairs once or twice.  She knealt on the floor and hunched over onto the bed for many contractions.  Indeed, this woman was anywhere EXCEPT reclining on the bed up until the very end of labour.  And, all the while, Susan plodded along behind her, rubbing her back, listening closely, and talking Esther through each stage.

After enduring three excrutiating contractions in a row while kneeling on the hard tile floor, Matt said, "Esther, would you like a towel or blanket for your knees?"

And, Esther replies all cordially, with the sweetest tone, "Why, yes, that would be lovely.  Thank you, Matt, for being so helpful."

Um, pardon?  I'd have been like, "Hellloooo! Yeah--that might help a wee bit! Thanks for finally noticing after three full contraction cycles."

"Well, I'm glad I'm good for something other than timing contractions," Matt muttered as he rolled up a blanket and wedged it under her knees.

Hours passed.  Labour progressed.  The rain stopped.

Somewhere around 10:30, Maudline broke Esther's water. After that, the contractions started to change and eventually, instead of being like bumps on the road, they were like waves on the ocean--one rising and falling and crashing right into the next one.  We all knew then that it wouldn't be long before we'd see that baby emerge!

Then, sometime just before midnight, the power went out.

Thick, humid darkness swelled around us.  Crickets chirped.  Water gurgled in gutters and drains outside.

And, no one in that room even flinched.  No one gasped.  No one panicked.

We are accustomed to losing electrical power at inopportune times here in Haiti.  We keep calm and carry on.

A couple of us reached into pockets for phones and turned them on, bathing the room and Esther in their soft LCD glow.

A couple more contractions rose and fell before someone outside turned on a generator and the lights came back on.

By midnight, Esther was tired.  Well, we were all tired.  Esther was exhausted.

Energy and strength zapped, she succumbed to a reclining position on the bed.  Once or twice she whimpered, "I don't want to do this anymore!"  I felt all twisted up inside.  I remembered that feeling.

Watching someone in that kind of pain makes you feel like you've been punched in the gut.  It's something like despair that you feel... Knowing that there's no giving up and walking away.  No "oh, well, we'll try again some other day."  No way to undo what's been done.  The only choice is to push through.

At least twice, tears welled up in my eyes and I swallowed down a lump in my throat as I witnessed her agony--even photographed her white-knuckled grip on her husband's hand!

Our encouraging words for Esther became louder, more insistent, more urgent.  We counted out the seconds as she pushed, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!!  Breath! Again!  1, 2, 3..."

Finally, we could see the crown of the baby's head!  Then...there was a little face!

That was when Esther stopped pushing.  Maudline told her to stop.  I watched as Maudline ever-so-slowly, ever-so-gently... eased one shoulder out....and then the other.  And, she did it that way to save Esther some pain and to save herself from having to do any stitching.

A moment later, there was a new human in the room.

The umbilical cord stretched out as Maudline set the baby down on Esther's chest.  I snapped pictures while everyone leaned in to examine...  There were ten fingers...ten toes...two tiny ears...a perfect little nose... And BOY parts!

A bulb syringe was used to clear the baby's mouth and nose, which was followed immediately by his first ever intake of oxygen into his lungs...and his first ever cry.  It was 12:30.

He was beautiful.  All I could think of was Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose."

Susan with Elijah

Father and Son

After we each got to hold him and welcome him, a bit of measuring took place.  I would describe the measurements as... less than scientific.  Let's say "good estimates." He was somewhere around 22 inches long.

 The scale provided his weight in kilograms...which I converted to pounds using a handy app on my phone.  He was over 10 pounds!  Esther was able to shower and change her clothes while we visited with Elijah and then the two of them settled in to sleep.

The drive home was strange.  It was the first time I'd been out driving at that time of night.  The road I travel multiple times per day looked completely foreign.  The only living creatures I encountered were some goats and dogs that were sitting in the middle of the road--trying to avoid the streams of water in the ditches, I think.

I got home somewhere around 2 am.  I was so very tired.  But, my brain was working overtime to process all that had happened.  It took at least 45 minutes to fall asleep.

The next morning, we piled our three kids and two of Matt's and Esther's into our truck and took them home to meet their new brother.  (Nope, no two-night hospital stay, no doctors doing hearing screenings or blood tests.  Just pack up your stuff and head home at daylight.  Matt and Esther were very thankful that someone had come in to their home while they were away to mop up all the rainwater that had come in.)

From left to right: Gabriela, Elijah, Niko, Matt and Esther

Gabriela was hesitantly enthralled.  Niko was highly entertained.

My girls were very curious, too!  This is Danielle checking him out.

He was so new in this picture, and yet so big!  Bondye bon, little one.  May He protect you and keep you!


Psalm 139:13-18
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Christmas in March

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” 

― Bob Hope

Mail day in Haiti is a big deal.  

Our mail reconnects us with HOME and all the people who come with it.

And today was a big mail day!  All mail days are great, but when a big cardboard box comes home from the airport, it’s absolutely thrilling.

Yes.  I know it’s a little pathetic that one of our biggest thrills come from getting mail, but there it is.  

Today we received a box that was obviously a little late getting here--about two and a half months late.  How did I know?  The Christmas stockings inside gave it away!

Fortunately, everything ELSE in the box was still good.  Grape, strawberry and raspberry jellies (a LOT of pbj sandwiches are consumed here!), games, yeast packets, craft supplies, candy, raisins, mac n cheese, vitamins, fruit snacks, a full POUND of Very Cherry Jelly Bellys, and more!!!

All the stuff in the box will be enjoyed for weeks to come!  
But, wanna know what’s even better than all that stuff?

Knowing who it came from and feeling the love they have for you.

Those boxes contained gifts that were shopped for, packed, and shipped by seven very special ladies in Illinois.

God has a hand in the timing of ALL things and the fact that this package arrived in March instead of December strikes me as very significant.  See, it was exactly one year ago that these ladies and I formed "The Haiti 8" team as we ventured to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to serve in an orphanage there.

God moved in powerful ways during that trip.  We connected with each other, we poured out love on the children and staff, we painted, organized, and inventoried 'till our spreadsheets were dancing in our dreams.  We met people from all over the world and saw firsthand some of the devastating conditions and heartbreaking situations that seem to be ever-present in Haiti.

So, I'm remembering this week... Looking back through photos and praying for each of these women in turn...

Which box had the blue sheets again?  And where is the baby cereal?

Kaye was up for anything, anytime.

I'm still surprised Sue wasn't in the pool herself! 

Tracey--feeling better after the worst food poisoning incident she'd
ever experienced.   I remember wondering what a Haitian hospital was
going to be like.  I'm glad we didn't have to find out. 

Faces we'll never forget...
The orphanage we worked at is an amazing place.
They have a 100% adoption rate.
I wonder if this little guy is with his forever family now...?

Sarah was called upon to administer care to various pets
living on the orphanage grounds.
I wonder what the shaved cat looks like today?

The beautiful mountains of Petionville, Haiti, outside Port.

Here's Barb with Jameson.
She's a hoot on her own, but pair her with
Linda and you've got non-stop entertainment.

Julia in her element with one of the babies.

Linda having a heart-to-heart with one of the kids at the toddler house.
It didn't matter one bit that they didn't speak the same language.

I was there, too!  I knew then I'd be back.

Haiti 8 Ladies, thank you for the gifts you sent!  I'm so glad they came in March, reminding me of the time we spent together.  I love you all!

If you're lucky enough to know one of these ladies...and if you happen to bump into her this month...ask her what God taught her in Haiti and how it is still shaping her today.  I can guarantee it will be worth your time to listen to her answer.

Matthew 2:11  "And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh."