August 2 2009
Sharing Lots of people send us clothes, so many that we can't use them all, so we share. Our nanny Rose took clothes to a family in her neighborhood with 10 children. Mostly the children go naked because they don't have any clothes. Rose was immensely touched when the mother cried with joy because of the clothes Rose brought. Other nannies have had similar experiences. Seeing that they can make a difference has inspired them to even greater efforts to reach out to their neighbors.
When our staff share clothes, shoes, blankets, etc., they also share the message of Christ. Praise God that we are helping Haitians reaching out to Haitians!KidsJohnny's immune system is crashing and he needs AIDS medications quickly. His blood test last week showed a CD4 count of 383, 5.9%. The clinic approved him for medications but before he can start we have to take a class to learn how to give the medicines. Class is set for August 7th. We are trying to keep him away from anyone who is sick.
Please pray with us that Johnny will stay well so he can start the meds right away.Tuesday of last week, 7/21, a friend called to say there was a crying lady with a 1 month old baby at her house looking for help. They were homeless. This is her 3rd baby. The other 2 died as infants, she doesn't know why. I brought the baby boy,
Hulkeluno, and his mother home to stay in our back room until he is older and she can find a job. He has 12 fingers and 11 toes! Our doctor said that can be an indication of heart or kidney problems and we need to get him evaluated. We ran the usual blood tests: he has syphilis! She probably does, too. We'll get them both treated.
Friday of last week, 7/24, was hectic. first Pastor Luke brought us a grandmother and little girl,
Emanuella. Emanuella was seizing constantly and looked like she was dying. The day before Sherrie had taken them to two children's hospitals. The 1st hospital said the little girl was too far gone to help. The 2nd hospital gave prescriptions for amoxicillin and phenobarbital and sent them away. 'Luckily' I knew there were American doctors doing a clinic in the neighborhood. Two of them came right away. They said it looks like Emanuella is around 3 years old and has had chronic seizures for a very long time. They loaded her up with phenobarbital and told me how much to give her daily.
I have since been told that the 'grandmother' is a stranger who picked Emanuella up off the street. Our staff is afraid that she will try to use Emanuella to get money from a foreigner so we took Emanuella to the police Friday and told them the whole story. Staff from Social Services were there also and made an appointment for us to meet with them Monday morning. They will let me keep Emanuella and will help me to become a licensed orphanage.
Just after we got Emanuella settled, St. Damien's Hospital staff brought
Rosa, a 4 year old girl, and her uncle. Rosa has TB and HIV. Both parents are dead. The staff was concerned because Rosa's caretakers were not giving good care. Some of her behaviors make me suspect she was also being sexually abused. She is beautiful, scared, and doesn't know how to behave in a safe setting. Praise God, our nannies are loving and patient.
I am SO grateful that God brought Rosa to a safe place!!!!Later that afternoon Pastor Emory brought
Amania and her mom from Gonaives. Amania is 3 and still doesn't walk so we agreed to let them stay here while we have Amania evaluated. We have an appointment with a doctor next Wednesday.
Sterline's mom brought her along when she needed to get more formula, baby food and vitamins. With a heavier-than-normal head and casts on both legs, 7 month old Sterline only weighs 11 lbs. We gave as much as mom could carry and counseled her on feeding Sterline more food more often.
Kimberly's mom called and said she will come today to take Kimberly home with her. Apparently she has found a home. Praise God! We love it when children return to loving families.
Gertie spent July with her mother in their village of Thomazeau. They came back 7/30 so Gert could get ready to go back to school. But Gertie did not want to leave her mom; she cried. We gave them money for Gertie's school fees in Thomazeau (about $50 USD) and asked that she please come stay with us during school vacations. It was hard to let Gert go - I have raised her for more than 3 years and love her very much - but it was the right thing to do. Her village is beautiful and her mother now lives in a nice home and can care for her.
House hunting We know the mayor of Delmas will force the owner of this house to remove part of the house but we don't know when. Our rent is paid thru September and we will be allowed to stay on a month to month basis ($700 USD per month) until the mayor makes her start work. I have been looking for a new house to rent. Ouch! Anything large enough to house a lot of sick babies and toddlers with occasional mothers is way more than $700 a month, more like $2500 a month. It's time to think about buying a house.
I hope the owner will agree to sell us this house for a reasonable price and that we will be able to raise the money to buy it or another suitable house. Car We don't have a new car yet but the old one is currently running. Like the "little engine that could", it had a really hard time climbing the hill to the lab for blood tests but it made it at last.
Equipment Both the generator and the inverter have stopped working. We are now totally dependent on Haiti's erratic electric service.
Tidbits- Hulkeluno was born June 24. On July 21 his mom told us he was 2 months old. She thought babies were 1 month old at birth.
- We had a stinky weed growing near the back steps. One nanny didn't want us to pull it up because, she said, it keeps the lugaru (some kind of evil spirit) away. I made sure to remove it completely and tell her that God and His angels are all the protection we need.
- God promised to supply all my needs for this work in Haiti. Luck had nothing to do with having American doctors in the neighborhood when a critical child was brought to my home after being refused help at 2 hospitals. God is always good!
I will go to Florida on August 26th for a 3 to 4 week visit and would like to speak to as many groups as possible about the infant rescue mission. Please let me know if you would like for me to speak to your group. Prayer requests- The spiritual growth of our staff, for them to be bold to speak the gospel as they reach out to their neighbors
- Good health for our children
- Protection of all missionaries from spiritual attacks. Many of us are experiencing more than usual equipment breakdowns, frustration of our plans, personnel problems, bureaucracy, etc.
- Our equipment needs
- Our house
- Replenishing our pantry with foods to give hungry families
- School sponsors for the triplets, Richardson, Gertie and Rosa
- The group coming to do Bible studies with our staff
- For all of us to remember to praise God for all that he is and has given us whenever we are tempted to worry about what we don't or may not have
God is good, ALL the time! Thank you for your love and support.
Renowned artist Barbara Hughes spent a week in our home in November 2008 helping to care for our children. She has painted many of them and will exhibit the paintings at a show starting October 3rd in Sewanee, TN. God willing, I will be there for the opening. Barbara has caught the unique personality of each child. Her paintings honor God, reflecting His care for each individual. The work of the Holy Spirit is abundantly evident.
