Memorial Day

We take a moment of silence for those who gave their lives in service to their countries.

We salute the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can continue to enjoy freedom and the pursuit of happiness.  May God bless every single one of them.

Scheilla's story

I first saw Scheilla in the Les Cayes prison about 18 months ago though we did not meet nor did I know that our paths would cross again.  She was in a cell with about 20 other women.  She had just given birth in prison to a healthy baby who had been taken in by Scheilla's sister.  Fast forward to last month... Scheilla was found unconscious on the side of the road that leads to our place.  She was pregnant (four or so months), dehydrated and very thin.  We took her to the local private hospital where the doc saw her.  We had her take several tests to help us discover what was wrong with her.  Found out she is chronically ill and must take specials meds every day.  She stayed in the hospital long enough to gain some weight.  As she had no place to go (her sister has cut ties with her and her parents are deceased), we found a generous donor who agreed to rent her a place and set her up with a bed, table, chairs and closet.  She works in our tailors' shop making dolls and eats with us.  This week she showed up at Nathalie's office with blood running down her legs.  She miscarried.  Wish I could say that she was sad or upset but she wasn't.  It may have been shock from the loss of the baby and blood.  Scheilla is only 18 years old.  She needs much help and lots of prayers.

Mackendy

Mackendy is probably my best welder, sure and steady.  He's a quiet person and only speaks when spoken to.  He's been on his own three years now.

Catching up

With all the rain we've had this past week, lots of work was put off.  Here are Eclesiast and Paguens cutting some metal for the Guest House garage doors.

Goodbye visitors, hello sunshine

Rev. Dr. Janet MacGregor-Williams, Norm Houde and Chris Stout flew out this morning on TortugAir.  They spent the week with us and it rained every day.  Wouldn't ya know it, the sun is shining brilliantly now that they're gone.  Hmmm!

Current ladies of the Quad

This is Odette. She is the most dedicated and reliable employee ever. She cleans the Guest house from top to bottom and is a joy to have around.

Sonia is our breakfast and lunch cook. Makes a mean cookie!

This is Janet, a Presbyterian pastor from New Jersey. She's been keeping Chris on his toes. Great earrings, Janet!

Gifts from Chris

Top:  Jimmy playing one of the new guitars that Chris brought down for our musicians. 

Middle: Patrick (burn victim), Maxime, LaGuerre, MacKenson, Aurel

Bottom: Johnny, Ezekiel, Widmy, Daniel, Cerrule

The Middle and Bottom photos show the guys in the new t-shirts Chris brought down.  

Merci beaucoup, Chris.

Visitors

Chris Stout

Norm Houde

Chris Stout, Free the Kids Grant Writer, is here this week catching up on stuff and making us laugh.  He came with two new friends: Norm Houde from the most beautiful state in the union and Janet MacGregor-Williams who is a Presbyterian pastor from New Jersey.

Kentucky and Ohio

Friends Regina and Chris from Kentucky and Ohio organized the gathering of 8,519 pairs of shoes destined for our children's feet.  It took four trips for the van above to transport the boxes of shoes.  Transportation all the way to Miami was donated by FedEx.  Thank you to FedEx and to both Chris and Regina for this amazing gift!

Pneumonia

This is TiLo (Laurole) who was complaining of fever and body aches.  It's no wonder.  He has pneumonia.  Here's he's on an IV drip in our clinic.  We'll try and get his fever down, give him plenty of liquids to drink and send him back to his housemother.   Lots of colds, runny noses and allergies going around these days-- it's that time of year.

Alpine Nubian goats

Top is a shot of Billy and below is one of five females.  Two are already pregnant which is very good news.  These are the kind of goats that provide milk, lots of it and it doesn't have to be pasteurized.  Hope to make some chevre cheese someday.  Be still me heart.

Visitors

Sam, Stanley and Kendy stopped by to visit the geriatric ward (also known as the Quad or the Guest house) this afternoon.  The fact that they had seen an open bag of pretzels on a nearby table had absolutely nothing to do with their visit.  Pure coincidence, yup.

TiKomik

Nesly

Jackson

Nesly, TiKomik and Jackson have been busy painting the pre-school in their spare time.  Today they worked on the ceilings...obviously!  Thank goodness it's water-based primer.

Ronnie

Ronnie is our best Secondary School student and he's learning to be a metalworker.  Found him tinkering this afternoon on his latest project: a scooter made from scrap metal and the wheels from an old wheelchair.  Now if only we had a paved road!

John

I know, I know.  John was on the blog a little while ago (MaTante's B'day) but I snapped his photo and here he is.  Can't help the fact that he's so darn photogenic.

Hand-made dolls

As you can see, Scheilla has been busy making dolls.  Want to brighten someone's day?  These are all looking for a home.

Nathalie and Jones

Nathalie and I had to review some financial items this morning so she came over and brought Jones along. Had Pate Chinois (Shepherd's Pie) for lunch and it was yummy.

Groan ...

This is what I look like and feel like these days.  Ugh!!  Sore throat and stuffed sinuses.  Will head over to the clinic later on.

Leader of the pack

Gary Pierre led the parade today on his mighty steed. Liked the photo so here it is. Not sure but I think the hat should be worn sideways which I always thought was less than aerodynamic.

Flag Day

Today is Flag Day here. The older boys under the guidance of Amanda have been working with some of the little people and today they paraded around the grounds. They wore banners of red and blue (like the Haitian flag). They had a ball and lifted the spirits of everyone who saw them. Thanks to Amanda and her team.

Teacher Appreciation Day

Yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day here in Haiti. The students decorated the school and chipped in to honor their teachers. I have other photos but the internet is too slow to allow me to post them.

Style

Some folks just have a sense of style like Samy here (missing lens and all).

The Program

Djoune (pronounced June) makes sure everything is set for the program.  Djoune is the Director of the HIV-AIDS Prevention Program.

Nancy was the MC for the event last evening and and got everyone in the mood.  She is Assistant Director of the Program.

Manley, a twin, watches intently as the show got underway.

Moustafa and AIDS Program

Moustafa having a great time at the AIDS Prevention Program celebration.

Aids Prevention Program we had this evening.  A huge success!  Course, whenever there's loud music...

Bye, bye, Ryan

Ryan, holding Marcnel, enjoying his last evening with us.

Krista surrounded by admiring fans.

Nicole, who has been here twice already, enjoying the moment with Gerda.

Ryan, Krista and Nicole will be leaving us tomorrow.  We wish them all well and safe travels.

My backyard

I like the shades of green in this avocado plant.  Can't wait for it to start bearing fruit.

Future site of MODDHA Village

The above shot was taken from my roof looking west.  We hope to break ground there in a couple of weeks with a fantastic project sponsored by MODDHA.  Click on the icon (MODDHA) on the left for more details.  There will be over 100 dome homes for the children, a chapel, a Wellness Center, an Arts Center plus an assortment of alternative energy systems.  This is a huge blessing so join me in thanking God.  Thanks also to Veronika Sandor, the President of MODDHA, and her husband Michael.  This could not have happened without them.

More

From top clockwise: Pierre Michel (13 y/0), Emerson (12 y/o), Diverson (12 y/o) and Abner (12 y/o)

A line-up

Rony is 14, very bright and wants to be a doctor.

Ernso is fourteen and comes from Camp-Perrin.  He loves music and is a member of Easy Cross.

Woosman, seventeen, is from Port-au-Prince and is part of our Public Health team.

James, fifteen, is a local, a talented athlete, good student and a member of Flesh Iroko, a rap group.