A Week In Pictures

How do you describe a whole week in one blog post?

Easy: post pictures, lots of them.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, just looking at these can tell you as much as I can about our week  in about 46,000 words. Oh and photo credit goes to Linda and Esther. My camera is broken. :(  If you happen to have an extra camera laying around - let me know!

This first picture is one that was taken driving from the airport to our home. The roads are currently a patchwork of paved and unpaved sections.

Colourful tap taps flit left and right between traffic.

Very often you can expect a car wipe down with a diesel rag while you are driving. Yes, this teenager is hanging over the front of our vehicle while we are driving.

Just because we live in the city doesn't mean there aren't any animals. Besides, rats, mice, cockroaches, mosquitoes and ants, we also see our fair share of cows, goats and chickens.

There she is, sweet baby Melissa. It was fun to take turns cuddling her as she was born the night our guests arrived.

On Friday Jason took our guests with him  to work as their were empty seats on his flights. Here's a good shot of what part of the city looks like from above.

Flying along the coast.

Untouched, natural beauty.

Small, inhabited islands.

Landing on Pignon's grassy runway.

The girls by the plane.

They had some extra time there so Jason rented some motorcycles and went to visit friends.

The sights you see along the village roads.

Hair time.

Typical village scene.

Our little friend Mona, all grown up. 



Mali and his youngest brother.

Visiting Djempsky's school.

=

A stop at UCI's mission compound.

On the way back, flying over Port au Prince.

A stop at the Apparent Project and the surrounding areas where our teams have built many houses.

Visiting the homes the girls helped build when they came on a previous trip.

A Saturday trip to the mall.

Vendors, vendors everywhere.

Wanna buy some sea salt?

Or goat parts?

How about some clothes?

All four of us found something we liked and had fun bartering for our purchases. I had to laugh when I heard the vendors chatter excitedly that things must be looking up in Haiti as they now had white tourists shopping at the local markets!

Sight seeing in the city.

Exploring Fort Jacques.

Two beautiful days at the beach.

Relaxing,

watching sailboats float by,

snorkeling,

(the little brother wasn't about to be left out)

admiring the coral and tropical fish,

and enjoying the pool.

At night we admired the beautiful colours of the sunset.

Esther took some photos of us.

Two movie stars.

The boy with the juicy lips.

Brotherly love.

The sun's parting glow.

B

And the final two pictures are of the boys enjoying their dinner.

This one is trouble; just look at those eyes!

A Haiti Birth Story

Note: some graphic descriptions, may not be suitable for children. 

"Madam Jason." I hear Anoud's voice calling my name along with a tap tap on my kitchen door. It's 7:05 p.m. on October 17 and it's been an interesting day so far. First of all it was a national holiday so all the kids were home from school, secondly, I had been surprised by my sister in law and two friends from Canada and to top it off Denise had been in labour with her fourth child since early this morning. 

 I open the door to Anoud's sheepish face. "Ki sa ou bezwen?" (What do you need?) I ask him kindly. "Denise gen problem." (Denise has a problem.) "Vini." (Come) I close my eyes for a moment to pray. These are the very words I've been dreading ever since she told me she was expecting another baby months ago. 

As I had worried about the what ifs, God had gently reminded me of the verse found in Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 

I cling to those words now as I make my way to Denise's room. I find her there, moaning in pain, hunkered down on a low stool. An elderly midwife, who I recognized from the last time Denise gave birth 4 years ago, is sitting beside her rubbing her hand. 

As I take in the scene, one thing strikes me. There are no supplies; no water, no scissor, no towels, no cloths, no rubber gloves, nothing. Since Denise is in too much pain to speak, I direct my questions to Anoud and the midwife. "What is the problem?" "The baby is not coming," The midwife responds, lifting her hands in exasperation. "It's taking too long. " 

Just then another contraction hits and Denise does her best to breathe through it. "Does she need to go to a hospital?" I ask. Anoud and the midwife both nod. I quickly run back inside to let Jason know. Where to take her though? Jason decides to call the hospital where we went when he had cholera like symptoms, but the Doctor there tells him they don't do deliveries. Jason than decides to put out a notice on the Haiti Social Network Site for Missionaries, Expats and NGO's. Meanwhile I grab a bottle of water and some crackers. 

Heading back to Denise's room I find chaos. Denise has nothing packed or ready for her baby and she now asks me to make a bag. Okay, let me think; diapers, baby clothes for a boy and a girl, a hat, receiving blankets, socks, baby powder. What about you Denise? Do you need anything? She looks at me blankly. Just wearing a loose robe now I decide she's going to need some clothes too, so I dig through piles of clean laundry to find somethings; Denise's niece, Dieuline, who is hovering nearby hands me a skirt and a blouse. Looking at them for a moment I shake my head. "Those are too small," I tell her, "Denise won't fit this after giving birth." Dieuline insists on the blouse however, so I quickly find one of Denise's maternity jean skirts and reluctantly take the blouse from her. 

Bags packed, Anoud and I help Denise down the stairs to the waiting vehicle and minutes later we're out in the dark in Haiti's capital city searching for a hospital. The first one we will try, Jason and I decide together, is the one closest to our home, even though I've been told in the past there are not always Doctor's there on duty. Sure enough when we arrive they tell us Denise can be brought in but there are no Doctor's on the premises and they are not sure when there might be one. 

 I reach for Jason's phone and check the networking sight. Sure enough, people are posting suggestions and I read them out loud. Two good options seem to be on Delmas 33. One is a public hospital there, and the second is a maternity hospital from Medicine sans Frontier (Doctor's without Borders). We decide to try the latter option first and thankfully find the building with the directions that were posted. 

The streets are busy and not very well lit so we take special care to cross safely, especially since at this point Denise can hardly walk at all. We rap on the black iron gate and after a few moments it opens a crack. At first they don't want us to enter, but when Jason insists the gate is reluctantly pushed open enough for us to pass through. As Denise leans on Anoud and me, she stops in the hospital courtyard and sinks to her knees with pain as she experiences another contraction. Although there are plenty of guards and bystanders, no one makes any move to help. Anoud and I wait helplessly beside her until the pain passes and she is able to rise once more. 

Leaning heavily on us we finally reach the hospital entrance. It is wide open and consists of a wooden desk. We are told to knock on the desk and a few moments later a nurse appears. She glances at us apathetically and then riddles Denise with questions about her name, age, phone number, prenatal visits, and symptoms; all the while seemingly oblivious to the fact that Denise is in too much pain to answer. 

 Anoud does his best to answer for her and when the paperwork is complete she motions us to escort Denise across the hall without a trace of interest or empathy. The nurses inside aren't any better as they barely acknowledge our presence before motioning Denise to lay up on a high exam table. Anoud, Jason, and I hoist her up. and then they wave at us to leave. "Go outside and wait," they tell us. Anoud and Jason head back outside, but as pains continues to wrack Denise's body and she is roundly ignored by the 6 nurses chatting at the station, I am hesitant to leave here side. 

They finally shoo me away like a pesky fly so I find a spot by the doorway where I can still keep an eye on Denise. Minutes tick by and my frustration rises as Denise's pain increases but no one pays the slightest bit of attention to her. Finally fed up, I head back to her side and hold her hand. Although I've always told myself I never wanted to see anyone give birth, as it is, in my opinion, gross and disgusting, I couldn't just let her lay there all by herself either. 

 "Dlo," she whispers. I pass her my water bottle and she takes a drink. "Go outside," The nurses warn me again threateningly. "No," I counter. "You aren't helping her, so somebody has too." We have to do a procedure on someone else they motion to a woman on the next exam table, "You can't be here when we examine her." "I'll close my eyes." I reply, not willing to back down. Frowning, they angrily motion for me to leave and I finally give in. "Okay, I will wait by the door." 

They pull closed the curtains so I can't see Denise any longer, so after a few moments I head outside where Anoud, Jason, Dieuline, and the midwife are anxiously waiting for news. I shake my head, blinking back tears as I continue to hear Denise moan and cry. "Nothing yet." I tell them quietly. 

 A few minutes later I head back to the entrance of the room; just in time to see Denise dripping water and being led to a room further down the hall. Her water must have broke. That's a good sign. Her moans and cries escalate until suddenly I hear the squalling of a newborn. Craning my neck, I catch a glimpse of a nurse with a howling infant. Did she have her baby? 

As soon as a different nurse appears from the back room, I pepper her with questions. Was that Denise's baby? is Denise okay? Is her baby okay? If that was her baby what did she have? Sighing, with annoyance, she finally tells me that; yes, Denise is fine, she had her baby and the baby is fine. She doesn't know yet if it was a boy or girl. 

I run outside, choking back tears of joy and tell Anoud and the rest the wonderful news. Anoud and Dieuline wave their hands in the air all the while thanking Jesus. 

Back inside a moment later,  I pester the nurses again, until they finally give in and let me see the baby for myself. It's a girl! Quickly pulling out my camera I snap a picture so I can show Anoud. When the nurse takes her eye off me for a moment I make a quick dash to Denise's side. She is laying on a nearby bed with a happy smile on her face. "You have another girl," I whisper in her ear as I grasp her hand. "You both did great! We will talk more later." 

I head back out to the nurse's station, where they tell me Anoud can sleep outside the hospital tonight and we need to purchase juice, snacks and food for Denise. Leaving the bag of baby articles and clothes with Anoud, the rest of us head out into the dark night. By a street vendor, lit only by oil lanterns, we purchase juice and a Styrofoam container of spaghetti. Since I had already brought crackers and there were no other snacks to be found at this hour we head back to the gate. 

The gate gaurds don't allow us to take the spaghetti in, for whatever reason, so I pass the juice and crackers to Anoud and then bid him goodnight. We head on home where Anoud and Denise's children are anxiously waiting for any news about their mom and her baby. I quickly explain to them that their mom and baby sister are fine, and then pass the over to Dieuline who readies them for bed. 

The following morning Jason takes our visitors flying as I wait for a phone call to pick up Denise and her baby. Several hours later Anoud shows up with his cell phone. Frustrated, that now I don't have a way to contact Denise if she needs be picked up I decide to head to the hospital with Anoud and Justin at 11:30. 

The hospital had said she would be ready in the morning and it is nearing noon now. At the gate we are refused entry once again. Me, because I have a small child with me, and Anoud for who knows what reason. 

I wasn't about to leave my baby out on the street though, so not taking no for an answer I push past the armed guard, march past the multiple people waving me back and head for the nurse's station. What's the big deal?" I wonder. It's not like I'm going to let him lick the floor or something. I'll just hold him so he won't contact any germs! With sheer determination I am finally directed to where Denise is laying in a crowded room with her baby fast asleep beside her. 

She smiles brightly when she sees me. I wait as nurses complete her final checks and then watch as she valiantly tries to fit the blouse her niece had packed for her. "This blouse doesn't work," she sighs, sadly. "I brought another shirt along for you," I tell her. She gives me a relieved smile. 

Back at home her three kids are anxiously waiting to see their mom and new sister. Since Denise is still very weak I quickly ready a bath for her and prepare her a warm lunch of soup, cheese toast, banana pudding and fruit juice. Then I set up the pack and play in her room, adjust the mosquito net and make Denise's bed. 

Clean and happy with a full stomach she proceeds to rest quietly on her bed; the baby sleeps soundly in Dieuline's arms. 

What are you going to call her? I ask Anoud and Denise now. "We still have to think about it." Anoud says turning to Denise. "Well, I kind of liked the name Melissa, after my mother," Denise pipes up. "Melissa;" everyone nods in agreement; a good name. 

"Hi Melissa," I whisper to the sweet bundle. She opens her brown eyes and my heart melts. 

Studying her tiny features I marvel at God's goodness, every step of the way he provided. How great is our God!

To Whom Else Can We Go?

Everybody's got their problems. I think we can all agree on that one. But how do we view them? What do we do with them? Where do we go for direction? 

I love the verse in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that says, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Looking at our problems or trials from an eternal perspective makes them appear light and momentary. Besides that, these light affliction are working together for good, for refining us for glory. 

Colossians 3:2 tells us, Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth. Are we keeping our face downward and only looking at our circumstances here on earth or are we looking up, trusting our heavenly Father who works all things together for good? (Romans 8:28) 

So what are we supposed to do with our problems, our struggles, our worries, our concerns? Philippians 4:6-7 tells us Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Psalm 55:22a tells us, Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: and in Matthew 11:28 Jesus tells us, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We don't need to carry these burdens alone or in our own strength, instead through prayer we can give them over to God and find peace and rest. 

But what if we don't know what to do, we just don't know the next step and there are important decisions to be made; then what? Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us to Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Two words really strike me in this verse; the words all and shall. It doesn't say bring only your big problems, your big concerns, your big questions to God. No, it says acknowledge Him in all your ways. It also doesn't say that if you do lay your questions, concerns, and decisions at His feet that He might direct your paths; No, it says He shall direct your paths. 

Numbers 23:19 reminds us that, God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 

An example of the importance of acknowledging God in all our ways can be found in the life of Joshua. Joshua had an impossible task to do; he had to fight against the unconquerable city of Jericho. What did he do? He prayed to God and God directed him. Then after Jericho was successfully conquered, the next city on the list was the small, insignificant city of Ai. Joshua sent out some spies like he had done with Jericho, but he didn't pray about it. The spies returned saying that it would be an easy battle, a sure win. "We don't all need to go up to attack Ai," they instructed him, "2 or 3,000 men is plenty." God however, was angry at the Israelites for taking accursed artefacts from Jericho, but Joshua didn't check with God before going up to battle. The end result was that Ai beat back the Israelites killing 36 of them and the Israelites hearts melted like water. (Joshua 7) 

So what can we learn from this? That even when there are small decisions to be made, ones where the answers seem so obvious, a sure thing, where others counsel us to go ahead; we always need to check with God first. 

Finally, in Sunday school this past week we studied that God is all powerful. The question is, do we really believe it? Genesis 18:14a says, Is any thing too hard for the LORD? Jeremiah 10:12 tells us It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. And in Matthew 19:26 Jesus says, ..with God all things are possible. 

So to whom else can we go with our problems, our concerns, our cares, but to the Creator of heaven and earth, who loves us like a father, who gives us peace and rest who promises to direct us in all our ways and for whom nothing is impossible?

Amazing Love

Sunday school classes are just over and in the gentle warmth of the early morning sun I make my way from our gazebo classroom to the main chapel. Lost in thought I barely notice the loose rocks and boulders twisting beneath my feet. This morning in our class we spent our time studying the love of God and I'm feeling overwhelmed. Some of the Bible verses we looked at were these: 

Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 

1 John 4: 7-11 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 
Martin Luther's comment on this was "So that our hearts cannot deceive ourselves and think, the Lord died for Peter and Paul but not for me." 

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 

Matthew 22: 37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

And finally, nothing has value without love. 
1 Cor 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

September 17 in Pictures

6:44 a.m.
The sun is just barely rising over the capital city as Jason zigzags the Toyota over the narrow, dirt roads. Since today is an uncharacteristically slow day on the MAF flight schedule, I have the privilege of joining my husband and two other pilots for a flight up north to pick up some mission cargo. Since the cargo isn't scheduled to arrive till sometime this afternoon and there are no other flights on the board, it is a perfect opportunity for us to explore a little of Haiti's north coast.

No time like the present to start documenting this special day; my camera firmly in hand, I focus and snap as the sun beautifully illuminates the coconut trees.

Fifteen minutes later we're safely at the airport. Pilots often joke that the most dangerous part of their job is driving to the airport, and in Haiti that is probably more true than most places.

We quickly head through security, fill out a manifest and then step out through the glass doors onto the tarmac.

Feeling a slight breeze on my skin I stop for a moment and close my eyes. I love airplanes, and airports and I take a moment now to simply soak in the ambiance of this place. Looking up I admire the cloudless, blue sky; it's a perfect day for flying!

As Jason, Bernard and Michael, ready the Cessna 207 for takeoff, I spend a little time exploring the old relics in the airport graveyard. How did this fire truck tip exactly?

In the graveyard I also find the remains of two Air Haiti airplanes.

When I question Bernard, always a good source of information, he tells me that in their glory days they were part of a fleet of several aircraft that flew around the clock transporting cargo in the Caribbean.

After Duvalier, a former dictator,  was exiled, several in his government who were major shareholders in Air Haiti forced the company to be shut down. Years later, an Israeli museum made a deal to purchase the planes and as part of the process removed the wings and other components. The deal later fell through, thanks to some other government official, and there they now sit; hundreds of thousands of dollars slowly disintegrating into nothingness.

By 7:40 a.m. we're ready to go. After taxing to the active runway Jason executes a smooth takeoff.

Up,

Up,

and away.

Over the mountains,

through the valleys,

and past tiny mountain villages, we go.

Crossing over a mountain range I admire the cloud layer beneath us.

Their white billowy shapes, remind me of hundreds of fuzzy sheep.

Nearing Cap Haitian we pass the famous Citadel. The massive stone structure was built by up to 20,000 workers between 1805 and 1820 as part of a system of fortifications designed to keep the newly-independent nation of Haiti safe from French incursions. Comissioned by Henri Christophe, it is the largest fortress in the Americas.

A little later, the Cap Haitian airport is in sight and we make our descent. As we come in for landing, I photograph the Cessna's shadow on the runway.

Since the cargo won't arrive for several more hours, Bernard calls a friend of his who agrees to loan us his driver. Heading through the bustling town, I can't help but notice all the garbage and filth everywhere.

Leaving the city behind we head up into the mountains towards the coast.

We stop at the cruise port, and step into a different world. As we wait on the dock to board a friend's boat, I admire the brightly painted water taxis.

My gaze shifts to the bottom of a cliff where fisherman are organizing  their nets.

A little further up a man in a kayak paddles off.

Up ahead a beautiful cruise ships is anchored and passengers disembark.

We skim over the water until we reach Amiga Island.

Once we've dropped anchor, we take the ten minute walk around the island. Then we snorkel to some giant submerged cannons and pick up sand dollars and sea urchins off the ocean floor.

A few hours later we're back at the cruise port. After grabbing a quick lunch, we take a ride on the zip line and roller coaster. Are we really in Haiti?

Outside the cruise port we are quickly reminded that yes, we are in Haiti, as we watch a motorist tie two mattresses to the back of his bike.

Back at the airport the MAF airplane is exactly where we left her, patiently awaiting our return.

The missionary cargo has meanwhile arrived and is now carefully loaded in.

Flying back I admire the luminous cloud formations.

Flying through the clouds makes me think of heaven. Revelations 21: 18 says this about heaven; the city was pure gold, like clear glass. Although I can't exactly wrap my mind around what that will look like I know it's going to be even more beautiful than these amazing clouds.