Sweet Emma

Emma is really developing her little personality. And her vocabulary is exploding! She is saying something new everyday! One of my favorite things she does is say "Tank You!" in the sweetest little sing song voice. I have to get it on video before she quits saying it! :) And she'll say it for any and all reasons. If I give her a sandwich at lunch: "Tank You!" If I change her diaper: "Tank You!" It's hysterical. She is at such a fun age.

She has really turned into a Momma's girl lately. But, she doesn't bat an eye when I leave the house. She just waves and grins big, "Bye!"

I wasn't happy at all with idea of having 4 kids, but I truly can't imagine my life without her. She is such a joy and a happy girl. (I almost wrote baby just then, but she's not a baby anymore. :( She is really turning into a little girl.)

A fun pic I took of her and her Daddy. Her personality shines through!

I'm still here!

OK, so I haven't blogged since we got back from Haiti. No good excuse. We flew back on Lance's 40th, and Hope's 4th birthday. That was Wednesday, then I pulled off a surprise party for him on Friday, had Hope's party Saturday morning, Luke turned 8 on Sunday and ALL the family came over for lunch and then on Tues he had 5 friends over for a sleepover. CRAZY week! Probably the busiest I've ever had.

Then I got behind in blogging and wanted to upload the pictures with every event and I was always too tired at night to tackle that project. And have you ever gotten so behind on something that you just pushed it to the back of your mind and felt guilty for not just getting it done??

Well, now to top it off, I can't find my camera that has all the pictures on it! Dang! So, I'm just going to pick up now and start talking about our day to day life again. I will blog all those events when I find the picture, but for now, it's the daily routine again!

Whew! I feel better all ready! So starting tomorrow, we'll be talking about the big kids taking swimming lessons. Tomorrow is their last day and I've been so proud of them!

Final Day

How can I wrap up in words what I have experienced this week? My emotions are all warped right now. The love I have for the Haitian people is intense. Despite their conditions, most have smiles on their face. As we drive through the streets, these white Americans in the back of the truck, we wave at the children and adults and so many smile and wave back. Everyone in the back would throw tennis balls or candy to the kids and it was so cute watching the children run to the prizes.

We went to 2 different orphanages about 15 minutes from our house. I cannot begin to describe them. My heart is broken. No child in this world should ever have to live like that. No child.

The first orphanage was deplorable. It looked like a construction zone. Piles of gravel, scaffolding, raw sewage, open concrete staircases, and all the children playing on all of it. Children that are naked from the waist down and shoeless, walking around in filth, utter filth. I wouldn't even let any children walk around at this place, but these 20+ children live in it.

But the smiles. One little boy in particular was the sweetest thing. As a matter of fact, his nickname from the American teams is "Sweet Boy." He repeats everything you say. He came over to me and raised his arms and wanted me to hold him. I did and then I gave him a kiss. He immediately kissed me back. I said, "sweet boy" and he repeated me. It was priceless. Everyone got pictures of him giving me kisses. Then he touched my necklace and I said, "necklace." He repeated, "neckwace." I will never forget "Sweet Boy." I pray for him. And the others like him.

We went to the top of the mountain that our house is one to an overlook point. We were able to view the entire city of PAP. It was beautiful. Despite the destruction. We were able to buy some local mementos from the trip, also. I met LuLu their. He was selling his wares and I asked him his name in Creole. His face lit up. "You speak Creole?!?!" I told him, I had just learned a few phrases. He was so excited that I had. He spoke perfect English. He wanted me to remember him and I told him that I would be back to Haiti. At one point, he walked past me smoking a cigarette and I told him not to do that, that smoking was bad for him. He immediately threw it on the ground and stomped on it, and grinned. It was so sweet. I told him that I would come and find him the next time I am in Haiti. He came to me as we were leaving and gave me a seashell with a painted Haitian scene on it. He told me, "this is for you." Such amazing people.

Part of my heart will forever be in Haiti.

Weather! Wow!

Never in my life have I been in a place that I went from sweltering heat to the point of near heat exhaustion for some, to a monsoon type rain and flooding, then chills because of the cold in one day. I have now!

We had a rocky start to the day today. God is continuing to teach me flexibility and patience. (Will I ever learn???) We thought we had a plan and knew what the day had in store for us, but it quickly became apparent that our plans were not God's plans. I had to let go of it. And I'm so glad I did. We showed up at a Children's Home and had planned on meeting up with some people from GA we have talked with on the phone several times since Lance's first trip to Haiti. They weren't there. And we didn't know then what we were going to do. And Lance and I had plans on visiting an orphanage to make some contacts and we found out that we wouldn't be able to do that. I was getting frustrated.

Then, we let go and just went with the flow. And God showed up. (Actually, He was always there, we just got out of His way.) Isn't that how it always is? The team set up a clinic for the community at the Children's Home. Lance and I and Erin (our Thirst No More contact) took a driver and went to meet the folks from GA. We found out we were only 30 minutes from the orphanage that we had wanted to visit. So we took off and met a true man of God, Pierre Prinvil.

It was so hot that when we got back to the clinic and Lance started helping to see patients, he got overheated and was close to passing out.

When we loaded up and started heading back, we got caught again in the same traffic as we did this morning except this time the roads were flooded because of rain in the mountains. What should have been a 2 hour drive turned into a 3 hour drive. And the rain came down the mountain and we got soaked. Then when we headed up the mountain towards our house, it got colder and I was freezing! I had to come in and take a hot shower to warm up. Strange experience!

It has been a great day, and tomorrow holds some special things in store. Can't wait to see what God does next!

What an Awesome God We Serve!

We set up medical clinic today at the same school as yesterday. There were several people that we weren't able to see yesterday because we had to close down. So we saw them and several more others. We were able to treat around 150 people today.

We got smart (or should I say Paul got smart) and instead of trying to share Christ one on one with the Haitians as they left the clinic, he would share with a group of people after we triaged them while they were waiting to see a doctor. That way we didn't miss the opportunity to talk to anyone. And we had 20 professions of faith today.

It's natural to wonder if all of those professions were genuine, but let me tell you that 2 for sure were. There was one teenage girl who prayed to accept Christ. Paul was using a bracelet that has symbols explaining the plane of salvation and after she prayed, she asked him to go over the symbols again because she wanted to make sure that she remembered it correctly so she could go share it with her friends. That is life change.

And there was an older gentleman who came in to be seen. When I was questioning him about his complaints, he was pleasant, but no smile on his face. After Paul shared the gospel he prayed to accept Christ. After he saw the doctor and then went to the pharmacy, he made his way to me with a huge smile on his face and gave me a hug and said, "Merci!" many times. That is life change.

We can only rest in the Lord that He is in control and through His Spirit will continue to change these people's lives. We are referring them to local churches, but God has repeatedly shown me that he doesn't need our help. He just allows us to be participants in His plan.

First Full Day in Haiti

I don't even know how to begin. There are so many emotions surging through me right now. We've set up a clinic today and ministered to over 200 people. It was heartbreaking, amazing, and exhilarating all at the same time.

Most of the children are the happiest things. They aren't used to seeing white people, so we were quite a novelty. Most of them would smile at us shyly while others were brave and smile and wave at us. One little girl said something to me in Creole but my translator had stepped away. She was grinning when she said it and seemed a little embarrassed. When my translator got back, I asked him to ask him to ask her to say it again. He did and smiled when he looked at me. "She said, 'she loves you.'" So sweet. I took a picture with her, but it takes too long to upload here.

We saw several older people. One lady 88, one man 80 and one lady 90! The 88 year old was spunky! Several of our team were taking pictures of her and she was hamming it up! I got my picture taken with her.

And there were so many heartbreaking cases. One lady probably has cervical cancer, one little girl with possible leprosy, one lady with severe edema in her arm, one little girl with a damaged eye who will never see out of it again. It is hard for me to think that if any one of these people were in the states, they wouldn't be experiencing this heartache. They could be treated.

Driving through the country of Haiti is an experience that I can't describe. Even with Lance telling me about it and seeing the pictures he took when he was here the first time couldn't prepare me. I know it's a futile effort to try to explain to people when I get home. There is no way to comprehend it unless you are here to see, smell, and taste it. Utter devastation and abject poverty. The only hope these people have is Christ.

I am so excited to be able to share this with Lance. He is amazing. Even his translator jokingly said he needed a break because Lance was so fast. And the love on his face for these people is evident. God had the best in store when he prepared Lance Faddis for me!

I'm in Haiti!!!

It has been such a whirlwind week. We had an activity every night, plus we were getting ready for the trip. I fell into bed every night and didn't have anytime to blog. The girls' end of the year preschool celebration was Thursday and Sara "graduated" (cap and gown and all!) I'll have to blog about that next week and load some pics.

Right now, I'm in Haiti!!!! Crazy how fast it all happened, once again. We were so incredibly busy preparing. And once again, I'm bursting with pride. My husband is amazing! We spent the day traveling and getting to know all the people on our trip. All but 2 go to our church, but we all didn't know each other that well. That is already changing and by the end of the week, we will have a bond that most people won't understand.

I am anxiously anticipating what the Lord is going to do this week. I feel it in my soul. I don't know what it is, but I know it is going to be big. As we were landing in Port Au Prince, I was praying and just opening myself up for whatever God has planned. As we drove through the city, my heart broke. There is no way to describe this place. Even the pictures can't convey.

We have our supplies organized and are ready for tomorrow. That is, as ready as we know how to be. Each day will be a new day. We are splitting up a little tomorrow. The other Dr. and a nurse and 2 other team members are doing a mini clinic and Lance, myself and a father/son team are going to start construction on a house. And by house, I mean shed. 12x12 plywood building with a tin roof. A mansion for most people living in Haiti.