Show me the money

(Show THEM the money).

I woke up to an email from a friend in Illinois who would like to put up another $2,600 matching grant. :-)

I will update the totals and clarify the numbers needed and the total goal later this week. For now, please get involved and don't stop spreading the word. We are not leaving money sitting on the table. No way.

Off to run.

** ALSO - A coffee shop in Brookings, SD is donating the June tip-jar to this cause ... stay tuned for that total.

***AND - I am going to change the chip-in meter to reflect the total match of $7,800. The first two matching grants will be received (Than you to both matching donors!) and now if you and I can raise another $2600 we will be given another $2,600 from the third matching donor.

Currently $10,400 has been raised, we're aiming for $15,600 and beyond. If you spread the word, that many more kids could be put on Medika Mamba in the coming months.

Donations from .38 cents per mile all the way to $20.00 per mile have been given ... and all pledges are appreciated!***

why do today what you can put off until tomorrow

Once again, procrastination brings down the house of Troy. About six hours ago it hit us that our federal tax filing extension ends on June 15. We've done nothing to move toward the goal of e-filing ... short of the decision made on April 15 to take the automatic 60 day extension.

Troy keeps asking things that I don't know the answers to ... we sold a house in 2008. The date of closing? The price? How long we owned it? Uuuhhh. Let's see? How many times can I say, "I don't remember." in one evening ? **

Keeping track of USA stuff while living elsewhere seems like it might be something only incredibly intelligent people can do. Plus, that stuff hardly seems relevant to anything at all right now. Let us just say our personal record keeping skills would not impress very many people ... especially not the IRS. Sigh. Every so often I glance at his deeply-concentrated face staring at the turbo tax forms on his laptop - and in that moment ... I thank God that early in our marriage taxes were assigned to him. Poor sucker.

I fully expect that within the hour he will be researching how to file for another extension.

** so far the answer is 31

UPDATE: 12:45 am - This is Troy - I've officially thrown in the towel...currently printing off the form to file an extension...planning on seeking professional help...looking for a tax professional adept at navigating the intricacies of the IRS while juggling many complications including but not limited to: the foreign earned income credit, sale of a home, missionary/religious employment, adopted children, a college student, self employment taxes, and a general lack of any clue whatsoever. I give up.

Oh, and I also need to find someone currently in Haiti that is leaving here in the next four days to mail this form in for me...and I have to find them tomorrow. Ugh.

Yes, Tara was right. Again.

Shepherd Boy

Tucking in Another Week

• We are back in P-A-P. Good to be home, very sad to leave Cazale, a paradox of sorts.
• Licia - I love you so much. I hate your stinkin waterbed. How do you sleep on that thing woman? I am running a race to buy you a new bed next.
  
• We were totally blessed by our time in Cazale. It re-focused some things that had become quite blurry due to some family hurts and personal disappointments this year. Refocusing is a great feeling.
• I missed Beth and realize that I am not as much of a country/loner person as I sometimes think. Our ten months away from "compound" village living have led us to rely on a close community of friends that exists in the city.
  
• Troy missed John and that really scares him a lot. Why would a person miss that odd duck? He may not like that I am sharing this.
• Our kids were great out there. We thought they might gripe or whine but all in all they knocked our socks off. The day Lori plopped Renald in my arms I went upstairs to have my weep-fest privately and show Troy. Hope said, "Ma, what is wrong with that baby?" I told her he was not a baby but a three and half year old that was very sick and hungry. She said, "Well Ma, let's feed him!" (Like DUH!) I explained it all to Hope and Ike walked in during that time and Isaac said, "Ma we need to pray for him." (Meanwhile Troy is snapping photos.) And that is when I really melted-down. My kids were born into that sort of poverty and they've been elevated from it - thank you God! - their prayers for Renald touched deeper nerves in me as an adoptive parent. Renald and the whole crew out in Cazale are heavy on our hearts tonight and we'd ask you all to pray for them and their recovery. I cannot reconcile it and I won't even try.
• I have some thoughts about mission teams and ways in which they could support missionaries like Lori and Licia better ... and tips for not hurting people that are trying hard to do their best - but they are not fully developed thoughts yet - more later.
• We are very blessed to have a home that is separate from our ministry/work. For those missionaries living at work, please pray they make time for breaks. Support them when they rest. It is healthy and good to step away every so often.
• It is almost time for the Troy and Tara leave their kids for four days alone together in the D.R. where we talk and talk and other things trip. The last time we went away for more than one night without any of our kids - March 2005. There are no words to describe the anticipation surrounding these four days. No.words. Giddy and euphoric come close but still don't properly convey the excitement.
  
• For three years John McHoul has been asking me to take one of his Mastiffs - for three years I have said NO! - he caught me in a weak moment and for some reason I said yes last Thursday. We are now a two dog family. Meet Dolly. She is Peanut's sister (same litter). With a 100% cement yard - I am sure I will soon be cursing myself for taking her. On the bright side, two dogs make better security than one and they do like each other.
• We are praying about our kids' schooling for the next school year. We want to make the best decision and have some things to sort through. Indecision is not a comfy place, please pray we get peace about our options/decision.
  
• I have decided to only report on running once a week - only on the weekend. This way if you hate running talk you can skip the weekend post. The first week of training was fairly easy. I run four days a week with the plan I am following and that seems totally doable. The first week only had 15 total miles which was actually a drop from my regular miles but I have been fighting a hamstring injury since early May so it seemed wise to just go with the training plan. The training peeks at 40 miles in one week in early September.
  
• I went to the lone missionary Chiropractor in Haiti. She was awesome. I loved her instantly. She informed me that my left hip was higher than my right and it was lucky I did not ignore the hamstring injury because it was a direct result of the pelvis being off kilter.
• Mentally I am tough enough to do this training ... physically I will need to rely on smart training, ice, ibuprofen, prayers and this awesome Chiropractor. Did I mention I am not a natural runner? Loving the cause and the high of reaching a goal will fuel the next 17 weeks of running.
  
• I found a second great place to do long runs. Global is a mission in Titanyen that also kindly agreed to let me run their perimeter for long runs on Fridays. Thanks Tim!
  
• How amazing would it be if we blow away the $5200 goal? Each and every one of you that have donated to this Medika Mamba project have blessed me and Troy and the Zachary's and World Wide Village and our future Mamba partners and most importantly, the beautiful children of Haiti. I am hopeful - I believe that together we can make this a really big miracle-sized project. Saving ONE child is worth every penny donated, but knowing we're talking about at least 100 or more kids is pretty darn exciting, don't you think? Their eyes speak volumes ... Renewed hope, renewed strength, renewed spirits.
• Thank you for loving these worthy kiddos. Thank you for getting involved. It matters!
  

Renald

Phoebe - 2.5 yrs old 

Renald -  3.5 yrs old

Both have early November birthdays.

Renald is one of three new kids to the rescue center and the Medika Mamba program this week.

Kissy Face

(Story Ivey & Lydie Livesay)

Sophia & Gran

See the May 10, 2009 Mothers Day post for a photo of them from 3 years ago.

put a fork in it

We have not processed  today yet ... but it involved these things and more:

• 4:22am first kid awake - 5am second kid - 5:25 third kid ... give up - they win
• visiting  friends  that we love and miss a lot and hearing that things are not so good for them right now - realizing how much we miss them in our lives
• visiting granny and sophia and glimpsing just a tiny bit of the heavy burden and responsibility an old woman raising small children has in haiti (and also delivered hope in the form of a gift from a reader) (you would need to be a looong time reader to remember the story of soph and gran)
• lori grabbed a few patients and shared their stories as we observed in the clinic - a tiny 16 year old with incurable and difficult skin and joint disease, another teenage boy the size of Isaac in the rescue center, a 3 1/2 year old boy that weighs 13 pounds

{We spent a month in haiti one day.}

• blessed by the prayers of hope and isaac for the 3 1/2 year old boy (tears tears more tears) they were moved - their prayers were moving
• blessed by the mountains and river and hills on my run this morning
• blessed by paige and seeing her use her gifts here
• blessed by a sweet husband that understands me better than i understand me
• blessed by the hearts of Licia and Lori and their desire to serve and serve and serve

And now, the bed is calling me. 

Photos when time allows.

speed blogging before bed

Tonight I put Phoebe and Lydie to bed side by side in portable cribs, just as they have been sleeping the last two nights.  They missed naps and were both insane again so I figured they would be asleep in two minutes.  It was very quiet right away. 

Troy took the kids to go next door to the house of Zach for dinner and I made one last check on the girls. When I peeked in Phoebe was out of her crib and hanging over the top of Lydie's crib.

 Even in the dark I could see that Lydie's t-shirt had brown something on it. I turned on the light and saw the mess and asked Troy to come back and help me figure out what in the heck the ladies had done.  

We found the brown pro-gel pomade open on the dresser. I am pretty sure it is intended for a black man's hair.  Phoebe thought she was putting lotion on Lydie ... you know, just super duper concerned about Lydie having moist young looking skin. Instead of moisturizing she was brown-a-nizing her sister. (Phoebe has a lotion obsession and is always getting into trouble with too much too often on her legs, hair, clothes, whatever.) 

It was dark so Phoebe could not have known she was making her sister brown. But, had she known I am sure that wouldn't have stopped her.These two have become the female version of Dennis the Menace  -  strong-willed and ornery and mischievous as all get out. Give them a couple years and they'll be stealing the car in the night to go to parties together. But not until AFTER they moisturize of course.

Paige got to help in the clinic today, she was all smiles and loved it. She gets to help tomorrow and Thursday too.  Tomorrow we're going to go visit Gran and Sophie and a couple other old friends from our old stomping grounds.  The babies wake up at 5am here - we're tired and calling it a Tuesday. G'Night!

Op-Ed NY Times

Go here. 

I think it is easier to look away. Living in the midst of a lot of suffering I still find ways to look away sometimes. Maybe even too often?  I'm thankful to those who see, those who care, those who work at grassroots levels to alleviate some of the pain and offer small pockets of hope. I am especially amazed by those who have been doing it for a decade+  and still press on.

You know who you are - we thank you!

Quoting from the NY Times piece:

“It is so much easier to look away from victims,” said Mr. Wiesel, in a speech at the White House in 1999. “It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes.”

But indifference to the suffering of others “is what makes the human being inhuman,” he said, adding: “The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees — not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.”

Kid/Family Stuff

From our short walk this afternoon:

Isaac:  "My favorite thing to be called is American-Haitian because I love America more than Haiti.  I love America first, Haiti second, and Florida third."

The little old lady on the path was such a trip. She was full of sage advice. She told Paige not to swear at her mother. She told me to stay strong and she told Troy not to make the baby cry.  She was a super cute and a super happy tiny little person.

(Noah and Phoebe had late naps and missed the walk.)

Monday

We successfully completed stage one of the swap.  As we looked at six kids piled into the car we realized that we have NEVER taken all of them out at once. Before Phoebe and Lydie we would all go out ... back in the Britt days. Something changed in us when those two joined us and Britt moved out. We lost our fight, or we got wimpy - or something.  

Jeronne tried to tell me that Lydie should not come with us.  She apparently has no faith in our ability to do all the kids without her help.  I assured her that we were an hour away if things got bad I would drop Lydie to her.  She loved that idea and is probably praying we fail. ;) 

Most of this week will likely be devoted to keeping our kids in line  - I am not sure we will really be much help to Lori or Zach - we'll see I guess. We also need to go visit a bunch of people out near our old house and check in on a few things ... we plan to do all of this as a family and test the power of our love and patience for one another. :)  Last night when Lydie and Phoebe refused to go to bed even though they were corn-holio tired we had a chance to exhibit superior patience skills.  This is going to be hard core family bonding week.

Day 1 of training was not so encouraging to me, but it is one day  - I covered the distance and tomorrow is a new day. Running is hit and miss, there are days you feel like a 102 year old and days you feel like a super-star.  Unfortunately the super star days are few and far between.

Paige is anxious to work in the clinic a lot on Tues-Wed-Thurs -- she has a bad cough we're hoping it is not anything serious. Lori will listen to her today to be sure.

Today is a tough day for Licia, Lori and big Z. - it is the 4th anniversary of the day they lost their Mom and Wife.  We met them three years ago and were never blessed to know Gretchen Zachary. Her legacy lives on through the work of her daughters and husband  -- and also a son in Washington who will one day return with his wife and daughter to work with his family here. Grief is a crazy thing and it comes in waves - four years does not necessarily take away the pain of their loss so we just ask that you might pray for their hearts today as they remember their Mom and Wife.

With Love from Cazale -

the 8 of us

(Photo - Amos and Story Ivey with Troy and four small Livesays)

Packing Pressure

There is no Target or Wal-Mart if I screw up and forget something. I always screw up and forget something. I started packing the 8 of us yesterday. (Jeronne and Annie are not joining us for this trading-spaces adventure.)

Today as I was hurrying around adding forgotten things it was nagging me that I was forgetting something big. I kept thinking, there is SOMETHING ... what is it?!!?!? I had to unpack everything in order to remember. As it turns out I had nothing packed for Hope. The boys, Lydia and Phoebe had clothes, diapers, books, sunscreen, etc, etc. Poor Hope had not one pair of skivvies or one outfit in the bags. I am glad I did not ignore the nagging or I would have had one ticked off seven year old girl on my hands - I could convince her of many things but she would never wear boy clothes/undies.

I wonder if the people in Cazale are aware the Ringling Brothers are bringing the Livesay Circus to town?

Rumors abound in this land, and for once I think a rumor is rooted in fact and it is not a good thing. Apparently there was some sort of a fire at the EDH main switiching station for a large area of the city. We have been with no city-provided electricity for three days and rumor is it will be weeks before it returns.

The problem is, if EDH says weeks ... that could mean months. Time is measured differently here. The average temp by 2pm in the shade on our porch has been 93 degrees with 65% humidity. This EDH fire is very bad for everyone. In order to have electricity the entire day it would cost about $25 in diesel per day. Obviously most of us cannot afford $750 of diesel for a month so we'll all figure out how to deal with zero electricity for much of the day and only run the generator to charge batteries enough to get through the nights.

Having lived in the countryside of Haiti I know that this is something that folks out there have to do without all the time, so really - I should quit my whining.... but I want to whine because it feels good. I also firmly believe that Port au Prince is usually about 5 to 10 degrees hotter than the outlying areas and those five+ degrees can make or break your attitude and coping skills. EDH is the payoff for living in this cement inferno - but when the payoff leaves ... then what?!?!? (Then I whine.)

To whom it may concern at Electricity D' Ayiti-
In the future I would like to request that EDH plans its fires in the months of December, January or February. June is not a good time to lose fans and refrigeration.
Hot sweaty regards,
T. Livesay

Missionaries of Charity

For those unfamiliar, Missionaries of Charity was established by Mother Teresa in 1950. Read the two links for lots of history and interesting information.

Last month when our friends from Minnesota were here they allowed me to tag along as they went to visit one of the Port au Prince locations. It was a blessing to be allowed to go with them because I had heard about M.O.C. but had only briefly visited the other location, a home for the dying. The location shown above is at Delmas 31 and is a home for children. Families bring their kids there for a time to help them recover from injury or severe forms of malnutrition - this is not a permanent home for the kids. It is a place to recover.

The Sisters allow teams and volunteers to drop in and work for a few hours. There is no shortage of things to do and see. You can walk around aimlessly staring at the massive number of sick and malnourished kids, you can jump in and change diapers, you can pick kids up and try to give them some human touch, you can grab a bowl of food and feed them, you can do something to try to bring a tiny bit of relief.

Admittedly, it is not much, and you feel that while you are there ... but it is something. If you visit I think it is great to remember that even if it is uncomfortable, we can all learn from doing uncomfortable things. On my first visit I sort of took it in and did a lot of observing. Last Friday we went back for another visit. We held babies and cleaned up puke and changed diapers. If there were forty of us instead of four, we could have all stayed busy.

For me it is an uncomfortable place to visit. I found myself feeling a lot angry and a little thankful. That was kind of an odd combo to figure out.

It is easy to look around and get angry. It made me mad that so many kids are sick and hungry. It is anger I don't know quite where to direct. It made me mad that they had to be there, that they were so ill. I was angry that there was not tons and tons of staff to give them non-stop one-on-one attention - it made me mad that there were 25 families waiting outside to place their children into the rooms with rows and rows of cribs. It just made me angry. But my anger serves no one and changes nothing - so I try to look on it with different eyes. I try to remember that I don't have the whole picture.

If the kids were not there, many would most likely be dead. They are getting a chance to gain weight and be given three meals and a couple of small snacks a day. They are being given medicine when needed and the Sisters and nannies try to keep up with the needs of each child as best they can. It is not good enough by my standards, I doubt Mother Teresa would think it was good enough, but it still beats the other option. (They are trying. They are showing up.) An under-staffed room full of 40 very sick babies is not easy to accept, but when the alternative is slow death at home of starvation, my paradigm suddenly shifts. These babies just hit the jack-pot. They are guaranteed dinner tonight.

I am completely fascinated by Mother Teresa. I read this quote below and felt nothing but admiration for her raw honestly, her struggle and her courage ... and I can safely bet that many who work in these front-line positions day in and day out feel the same way at times. [I think about Licia and Lori and the Sisters at MOC and many others across the world that deal with tragedy, death and abuses daily.]

"Where is my faith? Even deep down ... there is nothing but emptiness and darkness ... If there be God—please forgive me. When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul ... How painful is this unknown pain—I have no Faith. Repulsed, empty, no faith, no love, no zeal, ... What do I labor for? If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul then, Jesus, You also are not true." -Mother Teresa

I am hoping to make Missionaries of Charity a semi-regular part of our summer. I know I grow when I force myself out of the comfy places and I know I have lots of that to do. After we left we were discussing how overwhelming and devastating a place like that can be. My Dad summed it up best when he said, "Yeah, I spent a day there one hour." When you think of it, please pray for the people in Haiti working with the sick and the forgotten ones.

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Teresa

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.
Mother Teresa

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.
Mother Teresa

Photo Credit: Marcia Lard Erickson


*We're off to our "trading spaces" adventure in the village tomorrow. Not sure how often we'll update.*

Toss this training book out...

Above 85 degrees - the suggestion is: Forget it.

I don't think that training philosophy will work here. :) Maybe my trainer will arrange for Mother Nature to schedule only cloudy cool Fridays from here on out.

We met up with Mr. E for a total tour of the path he created around the Petionville Club and it was about a 1.5 mile loop of amazing beauty. Trees, flowers, grass ... it is nothing like the other running path we follow along Kenz Oktobe - nothing like it. (well - it is not a path - it is just a road with sidewalk here and there - and I use the word road loosely)

The hills are pretty steep and it will be like a trail run - but that's okay, I still love that challenge a lot more than the challenge of trying not to get flattened by tap-taps and UN trucks.

We have our plan and I got the okay to run there Fridays for four months. I will pack a little cooler of water, gatorade, powerbars and sunscreen and hide it along the path.

I even got a T-shirt. Meet my Haiti training sponsor:
Thank you Mr. E for allowing me to use the club - I'll try to get the club some ink in MN in October. :)

Thank you also for making up funny stories along the path and delivering them with such a serious matter-of-fact tone that I was gullible enough to believe them. Every time I am on the brick steps I will think of Henri Christophe and of your excellent sarcastic storytelling skills.

Ti Update - Many Topics

Kids are hyper. School is out. Aforementioned kids need direction and parameters.

(Photo Tuesday - 8th grade "promotion" ceremony)

Family meeting tonight, 8pm - BE THERE.

Purpose of meeting: To address concerns and air grievances. Let it be known Isaac cannot stare at the PS2 all summer. Paige cannot sleep all summer. Noah cannot whine all summer. Hope cannot feign total innocence while being mostly complicit all summer. We must survive this, our first full summer in Port au Prince, and not drive one another to drink or violence. (And we must not be jealous and hateful as most missionaries begin to clear out for a luscious summer with A/C and DQ in the USA and Canada.)

Paige is all official and pumped about being a High School student. She says "Aaaaah yes, 8th grade - I remember the 8th grade like it was yesterday." Troy teased because he does not embrace this culture's appreciation of ceremony ... he agrees with Mr. Incredible and said in a grouchy tone- "We're celebrating mediocrity." "We did what we're supposed to do - yay us!" He makes me laugh.

Paige celebrated her first day of summer with her favorite riding lesson ever and a trip to the orthodontist. She said she has never moved that fast on a horse in her life. She loved it. We are very excited that Paige has riding clothes coming her way - the generosity of this community astounds us.

This week has been insane. We did so many out of the ordinary things and we have been going going going like crazy. (Unless we were sitting sitting sitting in traffic.) Friday looks much the same. Saturday looks pretty chill. On Sunday we are clearing out of our house for one week. We're doing a "house swap" with someone we love very much. We're going to get a taste of her life and hopefully give her a chance to take a little break at our place. It should be good for all. A week in the village will do us cement city dwellers some good and a week away from an intense ministry will do our friends some good.

Lydie loves to kiss and give "the rock" - about 30 times a day she throws out her bottom lip and comes toward us with great purpose. She follows most kisses up with a fist bump, and knows that we should say "Kenbe fem" (stay strong - hold firm) as we connect our fists. It is beyond cute. She is teaching Annie to be cool too.

The initial response to the Medika Mamba Marathon is so very encouraging to me. I skipped around here all night feeling giddy about the outpouring of interest. We'll keep from making this the singular topic of our lives - but we are wrapped up in planning our work and working our plan, so we hope we can toss in a paragraph or plug here and there without being "that guy" - you know, the annoying one who never shuts up.

Troy said, "I am going to speak to you as your trainer and not your husband." He paused, waiting to be sure it was safe and said, "You are older than the last time you did this and I think you need to do some strength training." He then proceeded to lay out the plans to help me strengthen my hamstrings and be less injury prone. He is working hard to help me make this training possible and maybe even enjoyable. He is my nutritionist and my personal trainer and my cheerleader ... Oprah can have that little fitness guru Bob Greene, I have Troy Livesay!

I know lots of people despise running talk. I will keep it to the bare minimum. Training starts officially on June 1st. For those who care, I am following an 18 week Hal Higdon plan. I have used similar plans in the past with success. The key is the long runs. You have to get them in. I think Troy hooked me up with a way to do my long runs at the Petionville Club around the perimeter of a golf course. Yes, a golf course in Haiti. Troy mocked my Dad in a YouTube video that was filmed on the course. The news of this development is hugely encouraging. It saves on harassment and dust and diesel fumes; it gets me off of hard cement surface for one day a week. It puts water nearby at all times. It pretty much removes every obstacle but heat and lack of will ... Troy is the bomb. Long runs will always be eaarrrrrly Friday mornings.

The Mangine family moved here a month ago. We had their family along with Megan from Three Angels Orphanage down for dinner last night. I say "down" because they are all up hill from here. When they flush their toilets, their poo runs this direction. We forgave them for all that and it was a good time. I met the most sarcastic person I have ever met in my life. Prior to that I had always been convinced that I travel in only the most sarcastic circles.
[National Sarcasm Society: Like we need your support].

This week the weight of worry and grief that many/most/all? adoptive parents feel hit home with us. We spent this morning in the car driving through the yuckiest area of Port stuck in traffic and thinking of and praying for adoptive families. I don't know how you're all doing this wait - it is horrible! We want to give you a huge cyber hug and tell you that you are brave and strong and that we're so sorry you have to wait two and three years to get your babies out of orphanages and into your loving arms. I hate it. The greatest injustices always seem to involve power and government and when it is at the expense of children it is maddening and wronger than wrong. (Not more awesomer.)

I read this on Glenn Packiam's blog - sound familiar?
"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The phrase is Lord Acton's, a 19th-century English historian. He goes on to say that it is simply heresy to assume that the "office sanctifies the holder of it". In other words, just because you have power doesn't mean you are worthy of it. Even when it's earned, there comes a point where the kind of power given to a human surpasses a human's capacity. This was something the ancient Greeks sought to teach through the Myth of Promethius. The power of the gods cannot be handle responsibly by mortals. The Hebrews talked about the human heart as "deceitful and desperately wicked", "prone to wander".

I cannot write smart things - but I sure can read them. (and steal them and pass them along.)

Four babies have been born to ladies in our Heartline program in the last two weeks. All of them are wonderfully plump and healthy. Jina (pictured below) won the all time biggest Heartline baby competition when her little guy born just last Sunday weighed in at 9lbs today.

I need to prepare my notes and agenda for the meeting taking place in 10 minutes. Thanks for reading and jumping topics so well.

tara

Medika Mamba Graduates

These children are the first to 'graduate' from the WWV Medika Mamba program at the Real Hope for Haiti Rescue Center in Cazale. Below are their before and after pictures.

Clearly, these are amazing results. It is not only the peanut butter making such a huge difference in these childrens' lives - the love and hard work of the RHFH staff also plays an important role.

Enoch

Kettema

Horlando

Thank you to everyone who makes this possible. We are excited to see people getting behind this project and supporting Tara's upcoming marathon to help the children of Haiti.

-Troy

PS- Licia writes about her thoughts on this program HERE.

Marathoning for Haiti

The Shortest Possible Summary-
On October 4, 2009 I will be running the Twin Cities Marathon. I am looking for runners and non-runners alike to get involved and support me. Three amazingly generous matching donors have come forward. If I am able to raise $7,800 - they will each kick in $2,600, for an exact dollar for dollar match. Update: Match requirements were met on June 21, 2009. But we're still raising funds ... read on.

The Ask-
On the top left side of the blog is the best way to donate. Please use the "Chip In" button to donate. Will you please consider sponsoring me at $1, $2, $3, or more dollars per mile? I am asking for sponsors at these three levels: $26, $52, $78, or more. (For non-runners a marathon is 26.2 miles.) Will you please sponsor me? Any amount will help hurting kids recover.



The Benefit-
Every dime raised will go toward helping hungry kids in Haiti. You will be a part of something big and something that will help hungry kids. Go to this post to meet Renald and to see an example of a child in need of help and put a face and a name to what we're attempting to do here.

ALL FUNDS RAISED will be used to benefit malnourished children in Haiti. As Troy shared in this previous post we have been very excited about Medika Mamba and the results we've seen in the lives of sick and malnourished children. This locally produced product has incredible things to offer children in need. We could potentially use the product to help more than 250 kids recover from severe forms of malnutrition if you'll help me reach this goal. I am excited and I hope you'll get excited too.

The Truth-
Running and Haiti are very intertwined for me. I started running shortly after Noah was born in mid-2004. In 2005 my little sister and I trained for and ran two marathons together. During that summer and fall the Lord was placing Haiti on our hearts and aligning our will with His in preparation for a move here. Haiti was the topic of conversation on many runs and accomplishing the marathon distance did much to build confidence, courage, discipline and determination in me. It prepared me for moving our family to Haiti. I learned about pressing on when it hurts, when you don't want to press on anymore, when you're very afraid and uncertain of yourself ... all things I needed to further develop in order to board the airplane with five kids and a handful of one-way tickets.

I am by no means a natural runner. I am slow and I struggle with injuries. It takes everything I have physically to do long training runs. The heat, humidity, crowds, bad roads, ministry, and larger family have made it difficult to be able to run, let alone WANT to train for a longer race.

After I moved to Haiti I cut back my distance running and have not run more than 13.1 miles since 2005. But this is different. I really want this. Not because I am such a stellar athlete (I'm not) ... But because it might matter to someone. For me this will be a major accomplishment. To train and complete the race during the hottest time of the year in Port au Prince won't be all rainbows and ponies and happy thoughts -- it is going to hurt.

Money for hungry kids motivates me.

Four years since I last ran the Twin Cities Marathon with my sister, I would like to do it again and tie my love of running and my love for Haiti together and have it make a difference to more than 250 little kids who can only dream of doing the things I have been blessed to do in my lifetime. My sister will be by my side race-day to help coax me to the finish, Beth and Troy will help me train in Port au Prince, Haiti conditions, and you will encourage me with your sponsorship, and it will matter.

Other-

• To read a post I wrote about the sights and sounds on a Port au Prince training run go here.
• Please consider spreading the word on your blogs and facebook.
• Pray for strong legs combined with an extremely mild Haitian summer.

Medika Mamba

The name Medika Mamba means “peanut butter medicine” in Creole. It is produced by an organization called Meds & Food For Kids - you can learn more about them on their website at www.medsanfoodforkids.org.

We have seen firsthand that this product is culturally accepted, very effective, and in our opinion truly amazing. The Medika Mamba is also locally produced, which helps Haiti even more by providing many jobs in production and bolsters the economy and encourages agricultural development.

We will be partnering with MFK and Real Hope for Haiti (the Zachary's clinic and rescue center) to provide Medika Mamba for malnourished children in the village of Cazale, near Cabaret. We hope to expand the capacity and number of locations very soon. There are two other clinics currently being considered for Medika Mamba locations as soon as funds are available.

The pilot project in Cazale has been very successful - out of the ten children who started the program three 'graduated' in less than one month and five more have been added. One of the children currently in the program is HIV positive, and one of the original 10 children died last week due to complications from HIV. His name was Max Wildy. He was and is an angel. His story will be told in a later blog post.

Photos of the children involved in the program are currently available on my Flickr page here. We will attempt to post before and after pictures there and on the blog periodically.

Tara is planning a fundraiser for the Medika Mamba program and has obtained funds for a matching grant...stay tuned for details.

From a news article about the product:

MFK works to combat childhood malnutrition and related diseases in northern coastal Cap Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city, by giving Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to malnourished children between 6 months and 5 years old. The mixture, known to Haitians as "Medika Mamba," or peanut-butter medicine, is a nutrient-rich mixture of peanuts, sugar, oil, vitamins, minerals and powdered milk. It is distributed in plastic containers for families to feed their children at home and can be stored for several months.

Children start to show visible signs of improvement about 1-2 weeks after receiving the peanut-butter mixture, becoming more active and growing new black hair. One course of the six-week treatment, which can be enough to renourish the child, costs under US$100. (Full article here.)

Here is a video produced by the United Nations highlighting MFK and the Medika Mamba product:





We look forward to sharing more of the impressive results and life-saving stories in the upcoming months.
-Troy

not yer average missionaries ...

... and john is not your average ANYTHING. I have no idea how she does it.

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I have blogger block. I can't write right now for some reason. We're sad today as my parents leave. They have no idea when they will next see the kids and that always makes goodbyes so much harder. It means a lot to us that they came down to love on us. We were able to fill them in on lots of stuff that just cannot be shared over email or telephone ... lots of tears (and laughs) this weekend. Happy Memorial Day to those of you in the USA.