Child Development Day

Whew, finally, the pictures uploaded!  I've literally been trying to get this post up since last night, but the silly internet has not been cooperating.  

Yesterday I spent most of the day at Heartline.  It was child development day, when the women in their program who have already given birth come with their babies for a class, postpartum check-ups, and lunch.  Lots of cute, healthy babies!

Beth and Agathe, talking to the ladies

I also got to see sweet Esther again, and her baby whom she has now named Judeler.  They've done well over the past few days, and so after a final check-up, Beth and I gave them a ride home.  Esther and Judeler will continue coming to Heartline on Tuesdays, and we also hope they'll come on Friday for Bible study/family planning day.  Most exciting news of all?  Yesterday morning, Agathe (a wonderful Haitian woman who works with Heartline) was talking to Esther about the Lord, and Esther decided to give her life to Jesus!  That, even more than the classes and check-ups and care during labor and delivery, is what Heartline is really about.

Esther and Judeler

sweet baby Judeler, two days old

Please also pray for Mama Emmanuel.  She has been staying at Heartline for the past month or so, awaiting the birth of her baby.  Her due date was off (which is pretty common in Haiti, to not really know the actual date), and she is really ready to have this baby and get home to her family.  Her son Emmanuel is staying with her here, so she at least has him, but it's still very hard on her to be away from home.  On top of that, she's faced more difficulties and experienced more sorrow than many of us can even begin to imagine.  Tara wrote about her here.  Mama E is such a special lady, and we would really appreciate your prayers for her healing, her comfort, and for a safe delivery of this newest baby.

Mama Emmanuel

Now, off I go to spend the day up in the mountains!  We're taking a group of the Notre Maison kids up to Fort Jaques for a picnic!

Oh, but don't forget to go vote for Heartline, if you haven't already!  Click here.

mesi Bondye

Seyè a, se tout fòs mwen. Se pou li m'ap chante. Se li menm ki delivre m'. Se Bondye mwen li ye, m'ap fè lwanj li. Se Bondye zansèt mwen yo, m'ap di jan li gen pouvwa.


The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Exodus 15:2

Edson and Lovely

Christine - not to be confused with
Christina, Ti Christine, or Christelle :)

601. For the safe birth of Esther's baby boy.
602. Sweet Esther's courage and quiet strength.
603. Melissa's skills as a nurse-midwife.
604. Heartline.  Oh so thankful for their faithful ministry here in Haiti.
605. Advice and suggestions from those wiser and more experienced than me.
606. Finally being back in Haiti after being away for far too long.
607. Getting to spend time with the Notre Maison kids.
608. Getting to hang out at Heartline.
609. The Hendricks' fabulous Halloween party.
610. Roof-sitting.  Houses in the US really should be built with roof access.  We're totally missing out.

Wini (Heartline's nurse) and Beth with Esther's son

Photo Update -- and Heartline plug :)

I'm taking advantage of a rare occasion in which internet is actually working at a relatively decent speed, so let's see if I can get a few photos up from the past few days:

Christina, waiting for her turn at physical therapy

Nathalie

On Saturday, I headed over to the Hendrick's to hang out for the day and attend their awesome Halloween party. That day went rather different than anticipated, with Esther from Heartline's prenatal program going into labor, but in the meantime, the Heartline folks proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they know how to party!  Heather posted photos here.

Hudson Hendrick, a.k.a. Super Dash
- he is making this face in every
picture I took of him.

 After the party, Heather and I headed back over to the maternity center, where Esther had progressed enough to no longer be smiling but not enough to keep her off i.v. meds.  She still had a long, hard night of labor ahead of her, but she did such an amazing job.  Her baby boy was finally born at 7:26 a.m. -- 31 hours after her water broke.  There were many complications during her labor, but God has provided an amazing nurse-midwife, Melissa, to work with Heartline; because Melissa was there, Esther was able to deliver safely, surrounded by people who love her.  Had Melissa not been there to provide her medical skills, Esther would have had to be transported to a hospital, where she would have received minimal medical attention and no support or encouragement.  Furthermore, had Esther tried to deliver at home, it's likely she would not have survived.  Praise God for Heartline!  This truly is a life-changing, life-saving ministry.  The level of care they provide for Haitian women is incredible; they so value each woman that goes through their program and treat every one with a dignity and respect that is practically unheard of in this country.  I've seen this firsthand, and I really cannot say enough about this amazing ministry.  Please, if you haven't already voted for Heartline to win a $50k grant to further their work here in Haiti, do it now!  It literally takes 2 seconds (assuming you have faster internet than I currently do; so much for the good internet I had earlier)!  Click here to vote.

Sweet Esther and her baby boy, about two hours after he was born.

born October 30, 2011 at 7:26 am -- 6 lbs 9 oz

Beth, doing the newborn exam, and Tara

Please pray for Esther and her baby.  Esther lost a lot of blood giving birth, and so she and the baby have been staying at the maternity center so that her recovery can be monitored.  She and the baby were doing well last I heard (earlier this afternoon), and if all continues to go well and the baby doesn't have a fever tomorrow, they will be able to return home tomorrow afternoon.

Quick update

Heading to bed in a minute but wanted to post a quick update first (primarily for Everly, who has already figured out that I made it to Heartline today) :)

This morning I went with Gertrude to take several of the kids from Notre Maison to physical therapy.  Christina was one of them, so I happily held her in the car and most of the time at the hospital; Christine, Valencia, Jean Daniel, Woodmayer, and Alain also went.  It was encouraging to see the therapist (an American who is on staff with Project Medishare) interact with the kids; it was obvious that she loves kids and is good at what she does.  She even wants to come out to Notre Maison on her own time and see the other kids (and perhaps train the staff on how to work with them).  Oh how I hope that happens; these kids have so much potential, and if the nannies could/would do these exercises with them, I really think many of them would benefit greatly.

Shortly after we got back from physical therapy, I left again to head to Heartline, where they were kind enough to let me observe as they did prenatals.  Beth even gave me a mini-lesson in determining the position of the baby and how to measure fundal height, and she let me use the doppler to find the baby's heartbeat.  This may not sound too exciting, but hey, I'm completely new to this (though hopefully not for long), so I thought it was pretty great :)  I didn't take any pictures while I was there (oddly enough, I took a sum total of THREE pictures all day today, so weird!), but Heather and Tara both have pictures up from today on their blogs.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to be able to head back to Heartline for a few hours, as long as Gertrude's driver is able to get me there :)

I've intended to write a list of prayer requests for my time here but have still not managed to do it, but one thing especially that I'd appreciate prayer for is for wisdom and guidance in some decisions that I'll likely soon be making.  There are several conversations I'm hoping to have/continue over the next few weeks that should help me as I figure out where to go/what to do next, so prayers for all of that would be great :)

And with that, off to bed I go!

Oh, but if anyone has any ideas for a very simple Halloween costume, that would be fantastic.  The Hendricks are hosting a Halloween party on Saturday, and I am clueless as to what to dress up as.  Didn't exactly pack for Haiti with Halloween in mind... So suggestions from you more creative people would be great!

Back in Haiti!

Bonswa!  M'ap chita sou tet kay Notre Maison nan...mezanmi mwen vreman kontan pou m la!  Mwen pa la depi lontan; sa fe m kontan anpil pou we timoun yo isit la anko.

I'm back, I'm back, I'm back, I'm back!

I'm sitting on the roof at Notre Maison, my belly full of yummy Haitian food, listening to Haitian music blaring from a nearby disco.  And best of all...some of my favorite kids in the world are a mere two floors beneath where I sit.  Oh how very long it's been since I was here last.  But now I'm back, for two whole weeks that I'm sure will absolutely fly by...but I am grateful for every moment I get to spend here.

I arrived yesterday--with all my luggage, despite temporarily forgetting that I had a carry-on suitcase and leaving it at security at the Austin airport...  Gertrude and her driver picked me up at the airport, and we made the short drive over to Notre Maison.  As we drove in the gate, the kids started yelling my name, and it was as if I'd never left--except that we're all a year-and-a-half older, and these kids have sure grown!

I spent the next few hours playing with the kids, and then about halfway through dinner, my 45 minutes of sleep from the previous night really caught up with me, so I quickly headed to bed....for 12 hours!  Hopefully I'm caught up now!

Uh oh, looks like internet is cutting out, so let's see if I can post some pictures before it goes away again!

My Christina :)

Gus and Wilberson (Olguie in the background)

Mimose

Tomorrow's plans (which are, of course, tentative, given that this is Haiti!) are to run errands with Gertrude in the morning and then to hang out at Heartline in the afternoon.  So excited!

let's pretend it's already Monday

...but just for the sake of this post; feel free to enjoy the remaining few hours of the weekend :)  I just want to go ahead and post this so that I can go ahead and cross it off my Monday "to do" list (which is more extensive than I care to think about at the moment...).

591. Dinner date with "Little Bit"; love this kid!

Little Bit

592. Getting to work from home several days last week (yes, for Starbucks! I was doing an online training course.)
593. Completing the 10 Days...and now, drinking coffee again :)
594. One last stateside visit with this wonderful family before we all meet up again in Haiti!
595. Getting to help at a mother/daughter event at church.
596. Pinterest. Took me awhile, but I'm finally seeing how it can be addictive...  So many great ideas, though!

my first drink after completing the 10 Days:
vanilla pumpkin spice latte

597. A couple of days of gorgeous "fall" weather (that is, Texas fall; i.e. highs in the low 70s); gloooooorious!
598. Green.  After months and months of everything outside being brown, I just can't get over how amazing it is for the grass to be green again (especially after just a few rains).
599. Bingo nights at Esperanza.  So thankful to get to go hang out with the residents there a couple of times a week; I love the friendships I have there.
600. Having preschool duty at church--I've said it before, and I'll say it again: New Life has the cutest kids ever :)

I'm sure I could list so much more, but I'm exhausted and really ought to either make another attempt at packing or just go to bed, so we'll call that good for this week.  Depending on my internet access in Haiti, I may or may not post a list next week :)

Change

Oh change.  I have to say, I am not a fan--which sounds funny coming from me, the perpetual "nomad" who has barely managed to live in one state for more than a year at a time since high school.  (I must say, though, as I come up on my second anniversary of moving to Texas, there is definitely something to be said for staying in one place!)  But change...change is full of uncertainties.  Things unknown, not yet experienced.  Questions.  And change, however good and exciting it may be, is inevitably accompanied by loss--loss of what was known, what was comfortable, what was.  Yet life goes on.  

One of my favorite books* as a child tells the story of a little girl who gives away her prized possession--a ballerina doll--to another little girl from a poor family:

That night, Christmas Eve, the canopy doll bed was empty, and Robin cried.  The stars outside her room shone like jewels on black velvet.  Robin thought about the Christmas star and how God had given Jesus on the first Christmas.  Suddenly her gift to Ellen seemed good, too, and peace replaced her longing.

The next morning, Christmas, Robin receives a special teddy bear, one she had seen and loved in the toy shop window.  Robin's mother tells her, "When something valuable goes out of your life, something more precious enters."

I think of that story, as I reflect on the changes of the past few years...the people I've known and the seasons of life that have come and gone...and while I wouldn't say that any one of them has been replaced by those who are more precious, I am so grateful that the Lord continues to bless me by the (yes, precious) people He places in my life and through the different experiences He allows me to have.  Oh so grateful.  He is ever-faithful.

And so now, as I see yet more changes on the horizon and am facing decisions that could radically shift life as I currently know it, I remember that He who holds my future is the same God who has directed my past, the same God who has given oh-so-abundantly and who has shown me that even when my whole world is shaken, He is with me, and He is in control.  Questions? unknowns? even loss? change?  I don't face any of it on my own; what's more, He guides my steps and promises to "keep in perfect peace [the one] whose mind is stayed on [Him]" (Isaiah 26:3).  What else could I possibly need?  And why should I fear?  May I ever remember the truths in this song:

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hands hath provided
Great is they faithfulness, Lord unto me

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest;
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hands hath provided
Great is they faithfulness, Lord unto me

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hands hath provided
Great is they faithfulness, Lord unto me

* A Bear Named Song, by Kimberly Anne Shope. This book is actually a beautiful story of adoption--I highly recommend it!