Update on the Texans

Yesterday someone asked about Britt and Chris and what the latest is with them.  For those interested here is the brief rundown on our grown up kids.

They are still in Waco, still homeowners and parents of three dogs. There are no grandchildren on the way - but every so often I randomly call Troy 'grandpa troy' just to watch him choke on his food.

Chris is still the aquatics and family programming director for the Waco YMCA. He also continues to work part-time as a youth pastor at an area church. He is back at Baylor. He is working on his Masters in social work at Baylor's School of SW.

Don't ask me how they juggle all of that.

Britt is busy too. I still can't really believe she doesn't live with us anymore. I figured out how busy she is when I saw her fancy signature on the bottom of her emails.  The signature is proof that she's not larding out or partying much ... so I guess that even though it feels like she just left,  it has really been three almost four years already.


Here it is:
Britt B. , BA International Studies
Master's in Public Health '13
HED1145 Graduate Teaching Assistant
Dept. of HHPR, Baylor University


The translation of this is that she finished school in December and is now back in school. She is teaching health classes at Baylor and is working toward her Master's in Public Health.  The most exciting possibility we've heard about so far is that she might be able to do her five week practicum in Haiti.  Grandpa Troy was pretty excited to tell me about this possibility last week.  We're hoping it works out for next summer.

I asked her to create a fancy signature for me. She came through.  Mine is not nearly as high-brow as hers.  It includes less flashy accolades, such as being the rope climbing champion of the 3rd grade at Northport Elementary School.   (RCC3G)  There were other equally fabulous letters added,  I'll probably incorporate them into a new email sig. line soon.

We try to go see them on their turf once a year.  We were able to do that ever-so-briefly this past May.   Thankfully they are going to come spend some time with us at the end of this year and over the New Year holiday.

We miss these two busy smarties very much. 

These two clowns can be nice to one another just long enough to pose for a photo.  

This is seriously how dire the mosquito situation currently is in our area. 

We have bug zappers inside of our house.  

As Paige would say, this is totes ridic.

EarlyChildhoodDevelopmentDay

Mirlande is due, she needed to come today for a check-up.

weighing babies in

Day old baby girl has been named Gabriella

Lydia pretending she will distribute lunch

Francette & her son

Heather asking breastfeeding questions of Sheila & Gabriella

Leoni & Judler

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This morning Troy declared "everyday is a logistical nightmare".  I agree wholeheartedly.  

It feels as though everything requires about four times as much effort and communication. Accomplishing simple tasks, such as dropping your children to school, can often require multiple phone calls and alternative plans. If you keep your vehicle operational you've won the first major battle ... But finding diesel and smooth or simply passable roads - is another story entirely. 

The war over the horrible road in our area called Clercine wages on ... You never know if you'll be able to leave by car or not. One minute it is blocked, the next it is open. Blocked. Open. Blocked. Today all the ladies that came to program were congratulated for fighting to get to class. The thick mud is slippery and the water deep and disgusting.  Still most of the ladies made it today. These women are strong and they do not give up easily. We watch them and learn.

Sunday & Monday things

Sheila called Sunday night while we were praying for Moses to say that she was in labor.  Because of major road issues it is not easy for our pregnant ladies to get to us right now. It is not easy for anyone to get in and out of our area. We are thankful that John found Sheila in the darkness of evening as she was treading through shin deep water and picked her up to get her to the maternity center.

Sheila labored all night last night and delivered her third child (her first daughter) at 9:45 this morning. She is a very big baby for Haiti. She is the biggest Haitian baby we've ever delivered in our program. :)  Please pray health over Sheila and her new (yet unnamed) baby girl. Two big brothers ages 6 and 11 will welcome her home.

Emmanuella's baby boy is still in the hospital. As far as we are concerned this is great news. The longer they keep him on antibiotics the better.  Beth wrote about them here today.

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I do not understand the quality of this photo of our road, but it seems appropriate for a crappy road to have been photographed crappily. In some places the water is deep enough to make certain drivers almost poo in their pants for fear of getting stuck.  It looks like this without rain. Once it rains, forget about it. Stay home.

Sunday most of us piled into our truck and left for church. The boys were waiting at home to be picked up by Heather and Aaron for a beach day.  We attempted to go left out of our neighborhood but the road was blocked with large pieces of cement pulled out into the water.  We went right to take a known detour.  Once we were onto the detour there was another road block.  We turned around to go help the Hendricks find their way in from another way through the labyrinth of "streets" in our area of Tabarre.

By the time we got back to the road we'd exited on, it was blocked off with trees and rocks making it impossible to get back home.

The Hendricks bailed out while they could and we told them that the boys could handle the disappointment.

Troy went to work negotiating our way back into our neighborhood. The exchange started the way any good Haitian debate starts .... With lots of yelling and posturing and ridiculous behavior. If you don't understand culture you might be afraid, but we knew it was just a typical day of communicating in Haiti. The twenty or so guys that Troy was negotiating with had to stop yelling in order to hear why we were asking to wreck their work of blocking the road.

In the end after some friendly name calling (that's a thing) the guys did determine that Troy had a point ... that both sides into our neighborhood were indeed blocked off and that just sitting there all day wasn't probably a realistic solution for any of us.  Troy told them he understood why they were mad at the never ending problems on this road. He told them he supported their desire to get the attention of some government type people. The yelling ended. They moved enough rocks for us to pass.  The insults were forgotten. Troy said he'd pray for them. They said "May the heart of God bless you." We headed home and laughed about our trip to church that wasn't meant to be.

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Thank you to each of you that prayed for Moses last night.  We know for certain that at least five countries were represented and we're guessing that's not the exhaustive list. All the Heartline peeps gathered at our house for a few hours to ask God for miracles for this boy we've all come to love. Tomorrow we will take him for a consultation at Handicap International.  Our friends (fellow MN peeps) Al and Deb Ingersoll met us on Saturday and while we talked they mentioned that they could help set up a time for Moses to be seen by a therapist.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The kids have presentations every Monday at school. They are learning to be comfortable with public speaking from a very young age. I couldn't go because of the labor/delivery but Jen went in my place and Troy and Jen took video for me. Today they needed to share about themselves.  Isaac had notes upside down and out of order and he dropped them and generally acted as a "what not to do" lesson for the rest of the kids.  Paige and Hope did pretty well. Noah ...  Let us just say .... some are not so comfortable with this quite yet.

7pm Central Time - Sunday Evening

We invite you to join us (the Heartline family in Haiti) for a special time of prayer for a beloved little boy named Moses.

We will be praying for the realization of God's plan for his life, restoration of his body and mind, healing of emotional damage, and freedom from spiritual bondage.

It will also be an occasion for us to praise God for the life of this sweet guy and what a gift our time with him has been.

We will pray for his mother and the difficult situations she faces daily, including the grief from abandoning her child that she clearly loved.

We would love it if you, your families, your small groups, churches, and communities will join us and intercede on behalf of Moses as we go before the throne of heaven on his behalf. 

One Day in Port au Prince: Hold On

Troy takes photos for friends at The Apparent Project while Bill Clinton visits.  

He dresses up for the occasion. 

He acts mature.

 Paige and Moses love one another.

Ah. Peace.

 

A hospital discharges a 44 hour old tiny baby with a 102.5 temperature.

His mom is 15 years old.

The hospital that did the C-Section on Tuesday in the mid-afternoon called saying they would be discharging Emmanuella and her son.  Beth planned to go get her but as always Beth had a billion things going on today.  I love driving that amazing ambulance and I happen to think I am one of the best Haiti drivers around so I offered my pompy over-confident self up to go to the hospital in that fancy truck to get Emmanuella.  

When we got to the hospital Wini (the awesome Haitian nurse at Heartline) went in to pay the small bill and get E. and baby.   We loaded them in the back of the ambulance and headed back to the Maternity Center to talk to her and try to determine what to do next to support her.  She yelped at every large bump and was in a lot of pain. 

When we got back it was almost time to start Thursday prenatal class but the minute Jonna touched the baby she said, "This kid has a fever."  Sure enough, once unwrapped he was running more than a 102 temperature.

We had class. Heather and Jonna both worked with E. and the baby a bit. We talked with E and her aunt and prayed together with them and explained that a fever in a new baby is a very serious thing.  Wini and Emmanuella and her aunt and the baby all loaded back into the ambulance. 

We went back to the same hospital that had discharged them two hours earlier.  They said they did not have any space and could not and would not admit the baby.  As we loaded back into the ambulance a man standing outside started yelling at us. I was pretty sure I was catching what he was saying but I was incredulous and asked Wini, "What is he saying?"  Wini said, "He is telling Emmanuella that she is too young and should not have a baby." That's so helpful.  That guy made my blood boil. He was  loud and obnoxious and making a giant scene as his friends looked on and chuckled at him. Meanwhile the 15 year old rape victim in tons of pain from her c-section climbed back into the ambulance.  I told him to shup up (technically the translation ofTranslate text or webpage "fèmen dan ou" is shut your teeth). That just made him yell louder. Fail.

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English to Haitian Creole translation — Alpha

We left and drove about five or six miles to another hospital.  That hospital was full.  Thankfully we have a connection to a nurse there and she had informed the chief medical officer of what had happened .... That a 44 hour old -less than five pound baby - had been discharged with a fever.  The CMO is feisty and got on the phone to the first hospital. She told them they were wrong to discharge the baby.  

Based on that reprimand, the first hospital said to come back. We loaded sore and exhausted E. into the ambulance AGAIN. (Fourth time in for those counting.)

We drove back to the first hospital.  Once there the man that met us told us only E and the baby could enter.  I hemmed and hawed at that idea and told him she really needed support and asked if her aunt could please enter too. The guy said he would try.  He came back out after getting E and baby in and said that he said he needed to go take care of other things.  He could not guarantee policy would allow the aunt inside. He said he'd come back. We waited outside.. He didn't come back.  

We gave the aunt the things she would need to get through the night and begged her to stay and fight for E.  She said with Jesus she could do it.  We told her that it was up to her to make sure E. would be given the meds she needs for her dangerously high blood pressure.  We told her that E. needs reminders to nurse the baby frequently.  She nodded and agreed she was up to the task.   The only problem was that it didn't appear the hospital would let her be with E. inside the ward/unit.  It was late in the afternoon by this point. 

As we drove toward Wini's house I texted the guy at the hospital and said, "Please remember the 15 year old girl w/ sick baby really needs her aunt with her. Thanks for your help."  The guy called me.  He was mad about my text. He was rude to me and clearly annoyed with me for pushing for the aunt to get into the building.  I asked him how else I could find out if E. was being taken care of without  asking.  He snapped back at me.  He informed me of the many meetings he had attended since I'd seen him last and asked why I was bothering him?  I might have replied "Why are you being such a _______ ? " Then he hung up.

After that I felt like I'd maybe just done a really dumb thing. I felt a little bit sick and a lot remorseful wondering if it might mean the aunt wouldn't get in at all. My anger at the whole day built to the point where I insulted the only guy we even had partially on our side.  

I dropped off Wini and returned the ambulance.  I called Troy and we got into a small fight.  (Totally based on my stress and our lack of communication about groceries --- and that there was no plan to feed the tribe for dinner.)  

I decided I was too mad to go home and needed to cool off.  I went to the nearby stress-making grocery store. It started raining. While I was in the parking lot the guy from the hospital called me back to get the phone number of the aunt so he could find her and be sure she was where she needed to be.  That was a huge relief to me.

Tonight I am not certain that the hospital has officially admitted the baby. I am not totally sure Emmanuella has her aunt near enough to be a comfort and help to her. I am not sure the hospital will put the baby on IV antibiotics for 7 to 10 days. I am not sure anyone but the aunt really understands how important those blood pressure meds are to Emmanuella.  I'm not certain how anyone ever finds medical care in a system as broken and inadequate as this one.

If I can be certain of anything  - it is that fighting this b.s. is the only right thing. I am certain that the only option we have is to continue to ask God to intervene, to continue to ask God to work miracles, to continue to ask God to reveal a way we cannot see and to help us be faithful to keep asking Him to fight for us, for them. 

Sara Groves sings these lyrics in her version of Eyes on the Prize:

Paul and Silas bound in jail

Got no money for to go their bail

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

Paul and Silas thought they'd lost
Dungeon shook and the chains fell off
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on
Freedom's name is mighty sweet
And one day soon we're gonna meet
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on 

Got my hand on the gospel plow

Won't take nothin for my journey now

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

The way is slow and we've so far to go

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

Only chain a man can stand is that chain of hand in hand

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

Ain't no man on earth control the weight of the glory on the human soul

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

The way is slow and we've so far to go

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

life: a mixed bag

I try to make each post have a certain tone to it.  I'd like it to clearly be funny and light or serious and important. I'm not sure why, but it seems weird to mix up trivial and troubling things all in one place.

But this is truth. Life is both troubling and trivial.  There are things about a lot of it that are ambiguous and undefinable.

In one day ... Silly and stupid,  sacred and serious.

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Moses update:

We are pursuing the paperwork needed to make Moses a legitimate candidate for adoption.  The process in Haiti is .... how shall we say? ....  Sucktacular. That is putting it ever-so-gently.  I am not even guessing about how long it will be to have what we need to move forward on this option. While that part can be discouraging, we are totally encouraged with the progress we're seeing him make. We continue to fight our own emotions and find a way to balance loving him and knowing that we'll need to let him go one day. We now have someone coming over to care for him during the day, this has been very helpful.

Since the day he was given his new name (we sure wish we knew what his original name was) a month ago, he has learned it.  He turns his eyes/head whenever someone says his name now.  He loves music. He responds to familiar faces and voices.  He belly laughs. He has a happy time almost every night. He gives and receives love.  Despite his brain-injury, we believe much is possible for Moses.  

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Emmanuella update:
Emmanuella has been in the prenatal program at Heartline for many weeks.  She stood out because she looks so young. She is 15 years old but emotionally seems 9 or 10 years old. She has been victimized and her pregnancy was a result of rape. She reported the attack to the police but as is often the case, nothing was done to bring the perpetrator to justice. Her mother died when she was 12 years old of some sort of heart problem.  Her father clearly cares and does his best, but as a single dad trying to provide in a place where work is hard to find and the wage isn't usually sufficient, things are very challenging for them.  

On Monday Emmanuella went into labor.  There was a lot of debate about whether or not the Heartline midwives could deliver her baby.  We were all aware of the challenges and praying about them.  They included but were not limited to: Her size - she is very tiny. She has very VERY high blood pressure.   She has been hurt. She withdraws emotionally quite frequently.

All day Monday and all through the night Beth and Jonna and Dr. Jen helped her along as she labored. They did everything in their power to give her a safe space and calm, loving environment to deliver.  She listened and cooperated well.  Dr. Jen oversaw the medical aspect of the labor. We asked on facebook for prayers for her.  Dozens responded to that request.

If anyone needs to be held, loved, and supported through a delivery - it is Emmanuella.  Everyone gave it everything they had but in the end the baby would not fit through tiny little Emmanuella's pelvis and she had to be transported Tuesday morning for a c-section.

Beth spoke with her family last night and they said that a baby boy was born and they thought that his head was possibly deformed.  We're not certain of that yet as it could be a result of the hours of labor.

The discouragement was palpable before class-time yesterday as Emmanuella's situation weighed heavily on our minds.  It was a big disappointment to see her get through so many hours of labor only to stall out and need surgery.  Of course a c-section is not the end of the world but what it means to Emmanuella is quite different than what it means to those of us with consistent access to medical care. 

We are experiencing that place in "helping" her where we need to discern and hear clearly from God.  The Harbor House is technically full. We're not certain if making room at the Harbor House is best. If her sister can be a support person we don't ever want to play God and we want to allow her family to help and provide for her and her son. Those decisions are always difficult to make and none of them are made lightly. We're not clear on what needs to happen so we're praying for guidance. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harbor House:
As you might expect in a house filled with many young women, sometimes things flare up. Yesterday a major unresolved hurt of one of the staff at the house caused a big fight and suddenly the leaders at the house weren't acting in the leadership role expected of them.  The teen moms all observed as things got pretty ugly between two of the staff.  We recognize that one of the staff is suffering from PTSD and that we need to find help for her to deal with the pain of what she endured during the earthquake and weeks that followed.  Please pray for peace and resolution to this situation.

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Kid Stuff:
Lydia crawled into bed this morning with us.  She grabbed my face with both hands and kissed it and said "Oh you such a cute chunky little Mama."  I told her "chunky" wasn't my favorite adjective. She responded by loudly singing, "chunky, chunky chunky Maaaaaamaaaaa".


Isaac saw Troy and I kissing this morning and said, "You guys don't do it exactly like in the movies. You gotta go like this." He closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and mashed his face around in the air violently.

Noah had a crud attitude about some of his homework yesterday.  Troy grabbed his guitar and wrote a song about Noah's crappy attitude being related to his double-jointedness and -  voila!  - the attitude was gone and we were back in business.

Paige is truly excited about the work she is doing this year and the opportunities that Jimmy and Becky and the curriculum will afford her. She continues to put the most time in with Moses in the evenings. By her choice, she's always the one to get him to sleep. We have been promising Paige a night out for a long time. We were going to do it and had a sitter set up so we could go.  Then Malaria hit.  She feels great again and we're really hoping to treat our favorite 16 year old to a night out on the town in PAP sometime soon.

Phoebe has taken to screaming at the top of her lungs when the smallest infraction occurs with any of her siblings.  She is getting similar results to those of the "the boy who cried wolf".  Phoebe's scream has come to mean nothing.  Let's hope this doesn't back-fire on her. 

Hope is ever solid and without drama. It probably seems like I have less to say about Hope. It is only because she is mostly chill in her approach to life.  Hope is tasked with tolerating A LOT of boys at school. It is Hope vs. Anson, Hayden, Isaac, Ashton, and Noah.  Five to one and she handles it like a true professional.  All of us would be better off if we handled our life challenges with Hope's unperturbed attitude.

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School:
I don't think it wise to make sweeping statements.
I don't think it wise to habitually use superlatives irresponsibly.

But still.

The little MK school for fools is totally amazing.


All four school aged kids are happier about getting up in the morning and leaving for school than I have ever ever ever seen them. The kids love school and came home demonstrating how much they learned.

Yes, yes, maybe day two of school is a little soon to declare it a total earth-rocking success. I'll give you that.  (It's sort of like when Baylor wins their first football game and then they proceed to act as if they've just become permanent champions of the entire universe.)

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Did you love the lyrics to that song ever so much?!?! Are we the only ones all worked up by them? Come on. Agree with us. Amazing, no?

Farther Along

Farther Along

Farther along we’ll know all about it
Farther along we’ll understand why
Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine
We’ll understand this, all by and by

Tempted and tried, I wondered why
The good man dies, the bad man thrives
And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both
We’re all cast-aways in need of rope
Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope
In a house of mirrors full of smoke
Confusing illusions I’ve seen

Where did I go wrong, I sang along
To every chorus of the song
That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates
Leading mice and men down to their fates
But some will courageously escape
The seductive voice with a heart of faith
While walkin’ that line back home

So much more to life than we’ve been told
It’s full of beauty that will unfold
And shine like you struck gold my wayward son
That deadweight burden weighs a ton
Go down into the river and let it run
And wash away all the things you’ve done
Forgiveness alright

Chorus

Still I get hard pressed on every side
Between the rock and a compromise
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul
And I’ve got no place left go
Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown
More glory than the world has known
Keeps me ramblin’ on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall
I’m free to love once and for all
And even when I fall I’ll get back up
For the joy that overflows my cup
Heaven filled me with more than enough
Broke down my levees and my bluffs
Let the flood wash me

And one day when the sky rolls back on us
Some rejoice and the others fuss
Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess
That the son of god is forever blessed
His is the kingdom, we’re the guests
So put your voice up to the test
Sing Lord, come soon
         

         




credits:

from Love & War & The Sea In Between, released 15 June 2011 Vocals, Guitar, Organ, Piano, Dobro, Electric Guitar, and Drum Sequencing by Josh Garrels BGV by Annalisa Nutt Accordion and Bass by Jay Kirkpatrick Electric Guitar 2 by Scott Frantz

first day of school photos

stop at corner to buy bananas on way to school

pass tent city on way to school

hang out with Australian friends

obligatory first day of school photo

students with tutors/teachers

oldest Hendrick with youngest Livesay

prayers for the year ahead

prayers of thanksgiving

ready to roll

bromance part deux

The only part of the surprise that I couldn't share on Friday, because Troy didn't yet know ...  Aaron and Harold and a bunch of Texas friends went together to get Troy a one-of-a-kind custom made guitar.

That description means almost as little to me, as a good pair of stability running shoes would mean to Troy.  However, even a music-moron can hear that this guitar is crisp, loud, and absolutely beautiful sounding. 

Mark Lenaburg made the guitar ... Thanks to all of you that helped with this gift and especially thanks Mark. Troy hasn't stopped smiling all weekend. I am listening to him play it as I type this. The bonus gift is for me. I love listening to Troy play and sing ... the new guitar automatically equals more listening time for me.

With Aaron and Harold in town, only one weekend left of summer, and everyone named Livesay finally Malaria-free  - we decided to head north to the beach for Saturday and Sunday.

To our surprise after dinner Saturday night there were fabulous entertainment options.

A Filipino lady running Karaoke at a beach bar in Haiti ... Listening to a Brazilian guy sing the song from Evita (Don't cry for me Argentina) totally in falsetto ... Followed by another guy with a make-your-ears-bleed rendition of Sinatra's "My Way". 

What is weirder than this?  What is more fabulous than this? 

Troy and Aaron warmed up with Wind Beneath My Wings. Later in the night there was a trio of pretty impressive harmonies as a woman joined them to perform Lean On Me. (Jen has video to upload).

Troy went back to his roots (and by his roots I mean his parents roots) and sang some Simon and Garfunkel. At the very end of the night they finally figured out that the score had nothing to do with how good you sounded or your pitch. (They held the claim to lowest score.) It has everything to do with timing the words exactly as the machine has them timed.  Time them well and sound horrible, YOU WIN!!

They sang the second to last song and won with the high score of 97 on that goofy "I get knocked down" Chumbawamba song. The lady that they beat by one point had a mean looking and muscular boyfriend who wasn't too happy about them taking the prize bottle of wine in the final moments. I'm not saying that Aaron and Troy aren't totally ripped beef-cakes too.  Oh wait. Yes, I am saying that.

In the end the wine was shared and everyone left the contest happy. It was a very fun 32 hour getaway.

Thanks to Rebecca and Melissa for caring for Moses for us.

Tomorrow we head to our first Day of school ... we'll be on our way there in 12 hours. 

I have way too much to organize to be sitting here smiling at these dorks singing cheesy songs.

Helping Babies Breathe

We got to learn infant resuscitation today  - it was great - it served two purposes:

1. I learned how to help resuscitate a new born baby. (duh)
2. I realized that this midwifery in the third world thing is very amazing.

We re-learned today that Haiti has an insanely high maternal death rate. Many Haitian women will die during or immediately after childbirth.

To play a small role in the preserving of these precious lives ...  I get a little bit choked up that without any planning or knowing on our/my part we now get to be part of something so special and desperately needed in Haiti.

I am so thankful for God's love for moms and babies.

And. Just realized.  Third purpose.  It served to prove that stereotypes are based in reality.  Therefore I cannot share any of the photos from our little midwife pow-wow today.  I think it needs to be said that Heather and I have UNKNOWINGLY fallen into the weird-wife trap. It's early enough on that I'm not in denial ...  I see it ... And I am afraid. Very afraid. ;)

Bromance

There is no greater love than that of one bro for another. (Look how happy Troy is!)

These particular bro-mances were launched in Haiti; where bonds are formed in the beating hot sun and later solidified over common sufferings such as intestinal issues and chafing. Add to those already deep connections hours and hours of discussion with a few Prestiges on the smack talk porch -  and the rest is history.

For the last few weeks I have been trying not to ruin a surprise that a couple of Troy's friends had planned for him. I came dangerously close - - in the end Troy knew one of the two friends was coming. (Harold who lived in Haiti earlier this year for a time.) He had no idea his friend Aaron was coming.  They've been tightly bonded ever since Aaron soiled his pants mountain side one early Sunday morning in May 2008 and was vulnerable enough to admit he was powerless to deal with it alone.  Troy loves to tell the story of this guy he didn't know very well saying, "Uh, Troy. I need to tell you something. Hold up a second. I think I just %*!# my pants."  When two men ditch a pair of boxers on a Haitian mountain side- a lifelong friendship is birthed.  (Or so it seems.)

This morning I told Troy I was going running; instead I went to the airport to get these two clowns ...

Then we had a little issue ...

Which we fixed with a spoon and some water.

I called Troy to tell him a water pipe in the house had broken and I needed him to come home.

SO really, he got two surprises .... One - His friends & Two - No broken pipe.

Aaron and Troy and Harold

school countdown / beth's post

Today felt different to me.  Hopeful.  New. Possible.  I am sure it was directly related to getting to go to work with the beautiful pregnant women in the prenatal program and seeing Paige doing so much better.  =)  (and prayers!) I don't think there is any way we could be more excited to get things rolling for the seven school aged kids.  Monday is the day. We're praying for Jimmy and Becky as they take on this huge job. 

Let's get these kids ed-u-ma-kate-ed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Did you read Beth's recent post?

By Beth McHoul

I dislike rain.  I know we need it, I know droughts are terrible things but I don’t like rain.  As a runner I hate puddles that ruin my running shoes.  As a driver I hate that I occasionally splash a pedestrian who has worked so hard to keep clean and dry.  I hate rain because my roof leaks in spite of two hard working group that have attempted to fix it.  I hate the mud, the mess, the dreariness.
These are inconveniences, silly things that don’t matter.  The real reason I hate rain is that people living around me are so negatively affected by it.  Tents and small houses have mud floors.  These people get wet.  Their belongings get moldy, their children sit in the mud and everything they call home gets dirty and wet.

But this week there is one less!!!!  One less family in a moldy, stinky tent.  One less family with a mud floor.  One less family getting rained on.

Olez is a middle-aged woman with a lot on her plate.  She first came to our field hospital when her granddaughter, an infant, got stepped on in their tent.  Olez is raising this infant because her daughter, the baby’s mother, died in the earthquake.  She is also raising her severely handicapped 8 year old boy, has a deaf/mute son, a sick husband and at the time we met her another sick son who has since died.

A nurse volunteering with Heartline after the earthquake  fell in love with baby Rose and Olez.  Lise Budreau’s persistent love and care for them has made a difference.

Olez would come weekly and pick up infant formula for her granddaughter.  Lise also sent money and supplies for her.  I had no idea until I went to her tent just how poor this family was and how much they were dealing with.

Olez and her family were given one of the Heartline Houses in Corail.  I offered to help move some of the family’s belongings and was once again taken back at the sight of how this family lived.  Cynde Knutson and I hauled an old, broken bike with one wheel, tubs of dirty, old clothing, and a child sized filthy wheel chair to my pick up truck and off we went to the new house.  Most of us would have considered her belongings trash.

Fittingly the new house is on Jerusalem Road!  We twisted, turned and rocked while we made our way through the labyrinth of roads in Corail toward the five  Heartline houses.  They are beige and shine against the mountain.  Good thing or I would still be going through the maze of streets to find them.

Finally we met up with the rest of Olez’s family at their new, sweet house.  It was cool, even in the Haitian afternoon.  A table and chairs, a family bed, a handicapped boy on the floor, a well outside, a septic system being put in.  A better life.   A drier life.  A home to call their own rather than a squatter’s tent.

We laughed, we rejoiced, we chatted, we were delighted.  Baby Rose ran in and out of the new house.
That night it rained again.  I grumbled and stated to my visiting friend Cynde that I dislike rain.  Ever optimistic she stated,  “One less family is in that rain tonight, Olez and her family are dry!”

That’s often how change is made – one family at a time.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:43-45



Isaac is nicknamed "ti pastè" or little pastor ... he loves to take a turn reading and even leading when we sit down to do devotions together (which lately is like almost never).  He is uniquely able to see the good in things and his sunny outlook lifts his entire family up on down days. Thank you Lord for the gift of Isaac.

Haiti life continues at a fast and intense pace, therefore we only have a minute to check-in. Paige is feeling better today. She has gone to work on some Math with Becky and Jimmy to get a jump start on it before our official first day of school on Monday.

We are planning to pray together and dedicate the school and the year ahead on Monday morning at 7:30.  We trust God with our kids and know He loves them even more than us. It is easy to get afraid and try to carry the weight of our concerns for the kids all alone ----- but we're continually learning it is so much easier to allow Him to carry it.

Paige is 70% better. Troy is 92% better. We're praying the rest of the family is protected from these creepy, crappy, mosquitoes.

More soon. 
Nou apresye ou!