Guess who got to go to Leogane yesterday? Yup, that's right, this girl did. My friend Frankie called and said that he had to run to the girls orphanage to pick up some tools. I took the opportunity for a free ride to go give the girls hugs and kisses and bring Katie to meet them. I miss them so much when I'm here and wish I had more chances to go see them. They're pretty special girls.

On the way to see the girls we drove past a big truck piled high with sugar cane. The guys who were sitting with the sugar cane were throwing pieces off every once in a while to the people walking by. They threw off a pile to a bunch of kids who swarmed it like a pinata had just broke. It warmed my hart. I wonder if I had a truck full of sugar cane to sell in the market if I would have given it out to people passing on the street..

In Bon Repos, two nights in a row, a mechanic down the street has been burning HUGE piles of tires. The first night it happened, we were worried a house was on fire because it was so big. Anyway, we woke up in the morning to a yard covered in soot from the tires. We're hoping it rains soon to wash it all away. Our floors are soooo dirty. All of our feet are covered in black soot all day long because we track it everywhere. When I give the boys a bath at night the water runs off brown. Yuck.

Also, the boys have been getting up into a crawling position. It won't be long before they're mobile. We'll be needing to put up some baby gates for sure!

That's all the updates for now!

These past few days have really made me not want to leave Haiti. These kids have been so sweet. Peter, oh Peter. He is a sweet kid but he's very emotional. When he's upset, he's UPSET. And man can he hold a grudge. Being his teacher, I sometimes need to make him do things that he doesn't want to do. So I often am the target for his anger. I've gotten used to him being upset with me for the majority of the day. However, for the past two days, he's been so good! He has rarely been angry. Two nights ago after everyone had gone to their beds, I asked him if he wanted me to rock him to sleep. I had asked him this question before and he always had said no. This time he said yes. I loved rocking him! Last night, he even ASKED me to rock him again and of course I said yes. School had been going a lot smoother and we've been having way more positive interactions. Hopefully we can keep it up!

Yesterday, it was Jennifer's turn to go on the weekly trip to the market with Fabula. She always gives the kids a few Haitian dollars to spend while they're there. When Jennifer got home, she pulled me aside to my room to give me a lollipop that she had bought with the money Fabula gave her. She used 1/3 of her precious money to get ME a gift! I was so touched because going to the market is such a treat for the kids because it happens so rarely. Thanks for making my day Jennifer!

Our new boy, Marvins, is doing good. He's a happy kid and pretty darn cute. He has been sleeping well and seems to be enjoying all the delicious food we eat. We sent him to school already and he has a good time. He has trouble pronouncing words which makes it hard for the other kids to understand him. It could be because his four front teeth have partially or completely rotted out. We've also discovered that he is a bit of a wild child. I don't think he's stopped moving since he got here. Even in his sleep he moves! We think that he probably has ADD. Last night Katie had to give him a coloring book because we could not get him to settle down enough to sit for more than 5 seconds. He finally calmed down and went to sleep two hours after the other kids. Tonight, we JUST got him into bed. He's not asleep quite yet but at least he's quiet. (Two hours after the other kids) He had Katie and I laughing so hard tonight. He literally was trying to bounce off the walls.. I told him to come to me and before I knew it he was up on a chair jumping into my arms. (just kidding about him being in his bed, he's running around the halls now...) Katie and I seriously are considering giving him some cough medicine. Is that ethical? Probably not huh? He is so sweet though and he loves giving huge hugs and kisses to Katie and I. It may take a while for the other kids to warm up to him but it's understandable. Marvins hasn't yet learned the rules of the house so it get's annoying for the other kids sometimes. The older kids are working hard at trying to kindly remind him when he does something wrong. We have to tell him things like "Marvins, we don't hit our friends.  In our house we are kind to each other. Marvins, we don't jump off the chairs like that in our house. Marvins, your feet belong on the floor, not the walls. Marvins, the balls belong outside and the books belong inside." He's only been here a few days so I'm sure with a little more time, he'll catch on. I really like that goofy little guy but man, are we in for it.

The boys got their first hair cut today. I really wanted to have them grow out their hair until they said their first word because that's how people do it in Haiti. But it was just so long that it was getting impossible to comb without them screaming their heads off. Sue said she was going to cut it after I left anyway so I just decided to do it on a whim today. Paulette did it for me but I took a few snips here and there just to say I did.

Noah's first hair cut!!!

 

 

Things in Haiti, politically speaking, are heating up. A while ago, the prime minister resigned. Without a Prime Minister, the government can not function. That is not good news for anyone, especially the families who are in the process of adopting. In addition, yesterday, thousands of Aristide supporters gathered in protest in Port Au Prince. This is also bad news. Aristide was president of Haiti but after being forced from office in 2004, he was exiled. He returned to Haiti in March of last year. During his presidency he supported Haiti's ruthless and violent gangs and those gangs supported him. Needless to say, he was not the best President Haiti has ever had. This is why it is bad news that his supporters are gathering for protests. It could mean that more protests are to come and more protests could mean violence. We found out today that Aristide probably has something to do with the resignation of the Prime Minister. Be praying for Haiti people because things may be getting crazy.

18 kids and counting... AGAIN

Now we’re back to 19 kids again. This time it’s a different little boy who’s going to live with us. His name is Marvins. He is 5 years old and has the sweetest little face. A woman, who we will call his guardian, showed up at the gate today with him saying that she couldn’t care for him any longer. She said she was friends with Marvins’ mother and that he was left with her one day. She said she hasn’t heard from the mother since he was dropped off. I don’t know if this is the truth or not, but either way, he’s here to stay. She can’t care for him and wants him to be adopted. She’ll be back (hopefully) later to have a meeting with the man in charge of adoptions as well as to visit Marvins within two weeks.

When Marvins first walked in the gate, he was visibly scared and unhappy. The look on his sweet face brought Katie to tears. When his guardian left, Marvins ran to the gate and yelled out “mommy!!” For the first half hour or so, he just sat on the steps looking so pitiful. After some time and a lot of coaxing, he finally came to get a tour of the house. I made him a bowl of corn flakes which he seemed to enjoy. At this point, he was being responsive and answering questions and the like. After a few hours, he finally got up and started running around with the other kids. He and another boy were were running around the house while I was inside doing school work with Peter and Michaelle. Marvins walked in the house with Katie and blood was streaming down his face and onto the floor. Apparently he ran into a piece of metal sticking out of the side of the house and cut his head open. Not one tear fell from his eyes and not one sound came out of his mouth while Katie was working on him. If we had been in the states, I’m sure he would have needed 10 stitches. The cut was big and head wounds bleed a LOT. I couldn’t watch and knew I’d be of no help so I went to mop up the drops of blood which led all the way outside to the crime scene. Makes me nauseous just thinking about it. Katie ended up using little strips of duct tape to close up the wound. Paulette shaved off the hair around the cut so the tape would stick. Marvins did so well and although I’m sure he was scared and hurting, he didn’t freak out and let Katie fix him up calmly. Every time a Haitian kid gets hurt, I am amazed at how brave and tough they are. All Haitian children have been through so much. I can’t even imagine what this precious little boy was thinking today. First, he was abandoned (I don’t like using that word because it has a negative connotation towards the “abandoner” although many times, the “abandoner” is making the best decision they are able to) and then, the poor kid got a giant head wound only hours into his stay here. I thank God for the resilience of human beings, especially Haitian ones. A lot of hardships make for strong people. I can already tell the Marvins is hardheaded and will likely be a little stinker, but I will have to look back to his first day here remember where he came from, and how he’s had to learn how to live in this unfair world. A teacher in college once told me that every behavior is born out of a need. When working with kids, it’s my job to figure out what that need is and meet it. That has really helped me remember to have compassion and patience when working with all people, but especially kids.

One more kid in this house will make things more hectic. It will be a challenge but I will need to remember that all these kids come with needs. They won’t ever behave perfectly because I can never meet all their needs and there’s no such thing as a perfect kid. There’s no such thing as a perfect me either. That means that I need prayer for patience and compassion times nineteen!

On a silly note, I unintentionally started a water war with the five kids who stay at home for school. It started innocently enough with a few drops of water on peter’s foot. It ended with me getting soaked from head to toe. Peter, Claudeson, Michaelle and Samantha made it out pretty dry but at least Katie and I got one good bucket of water on Jennifer’s head. I also spent a good part of my day laughing with Jennifer, Samantha and Michaelle while they braided my whole head. It’s moments like those that make me want to stay in Haiti forever. 

Baby SonSon after eating a Mango. He's wearing his new underwear! Potty training has commenced for little Sonson. Pray for us..

Marvins enjoying a Mango pit

Haitian and American flag crafts to hang on the wall of our school room

Me and Noah

Me, the boys and Dianna

Handsome Claudeson (big SonSon)

Baby SonSon and Fabula

Bebeesh, me and Jean

Visitors

Two American moms were just here for a weeklong visit. Serena (Michaelle and SonSon’s mom), and Mary (Juliette, Jennifer, Joshua and Dianna’s mom) came. They also brought their friend Shannon and her 13 year old son Collin (coolest 13 year old EVER!). I’m so glad that they could come to visit (no, not only because they brought me chocolate and other treats!) It was so good to see how much the mom’s love their kids and can’t wait to get them home. They taught me a lot about life and love. I really enjoyed talking to them. Both of them were foster moms for a long time. It was good to relate to them about raising other people’s children and learn from discussing their stories. I’m having a really hard time recently thinking about how I’m leaving these kids soon. Katie and I have been talking about it a lot. I can’t even imagine how I’m going to be able to be home after being with these kids all the time for 8 months.  In a lot of aspects, my time here has flow by. I only have a few months left. Yet, I feel like I know these kids so well. I don’t know what I’ll do when I get home and don’t get to wake up the boys talking in their cribs and Peter and Claudeson singing in the shower and Dianna coming to show me her pretty outfit for the day. Part of me wants to go home to the U.S. and be comfortable again, but the other part of me wants to stay in Haiti forever. I have always had a hard time knowing what the right next step is. I haven’t figured out how to tell what God’s will is. How do you ever know??

On a different note, I got to go to the beach TWO times this week. Shannon, Serena, Mary and Collin watched our babies for a day while Katie and I got to have a day off at the beach. We went with Frankie, his sister Taberno, and their two friends. It was so wonderful just to sit and relax and interact with other adults. Then, on Friday we took all the kids to the beach. The kids had soooo much fun! Jackson, Noah and Joshua stayed home with Sue but the rest of the kids got to go. It made my heart so happy to watch the kids on the taptap getting so excited about everything they were seeing. Jean pointed out EVERY vehicle he saw to me like it was the most exciting thing in the world. All the kids could hardly stay seated in the taptap because they didn’t want to miss anything. I wish we could take the kids out more often to go do fun things like that. They keep talking about it today and I’m sure that we’ll continue to talk about it for weeks to come!

All in all it was a great week and I wish they would come visit every month! 

The best we could do at getting a group picture at the beach

Jackson, me and Noah reading in my bed

Samantha and SonSon in their masks for Kanaval

Shower time

Taking a shower in the rain is always a good idea during rain storms in Haiti.

Another life experience completed.

Here are some recent pictures of all the kids

Bebej

Samantha

Claudeson ("Papa")

Peter

Mislanda

Gangster Noah

Noah and I having a very exciting conversation

Betchina and Jean

Scheelanda

Dianna, Josh, and Juliette

Jackson

Noah

Baby SonSon

Jennifer

Michaelle and Jennifer

Erline

Francesca

"Kanaval"

Kanaval (Carnival) is happening in Haiti right now. Kanaval is a countrywide dance party/parade/reason to celebrate. There are major Kanaval events that happen on specific days with one main event. However, all week they have "little" events with live music and dancing. Last Sunday night my friend Pierre (who is Haitian but lives in the U.S. and does lots of work for Extollo) was visiting and showed Katie and I some Kanaval festivities in Bon Repos. There was a giant flat bed semi truck that had a live band on it that drove down the street and everyone followed down the road dancing. It was very festive and I was so happy that I got to see it! It was also probably the craziest thing I've done in Haiti and something I probably should never do again. There were TONS of people dancing and singing and having a good time. I can't imagine what the Karnival in Port Au Prince or Jacmel is like since there are so many more people.

Yesterday, I went to Leogane to stay for one night. Frankie (Pierre's brother who lives here) came with me. We took taptaps (bus/taxi) because I didn't want to have to pay the $75 US it costs for him to drive me in his truck. Instead, I payed about $6 U.S. dollars on taptaps.  I only went to Leogane for one night because I can't be away from Sues house for too long and I also had Frankie with me to help. The reason I went to Leogane was because I needed to pay (finally!) for Yveline's school. It was a long ride for such a short visit but was necessary.

Our trip to Yveline's school this morning didn't go as well as I had hoped. I wanted to give her school the complete amount for the year and not have to deal with them telling us they needed more and more money later on. From my experience, that's a constant problem when people find out Americans are involved in paying for anything. The director of the school ended up giving a price that was higher than what they had originally told Yveline. I'm sure it was because he saw me there and knew that I was helping here. I wish I had stayed outside and kept out of it. Oh well. We ended up only paying for her tuition so far and I'll save the rest of the money for the other stuff that she needs to pay for later like supplies and graduation. Keep it in your prayers that her school won't charge us more than the money that was donated.

Although it took a long time and was a short visit, it was so good to see the girls and I enjoyed the experience and the price of going by taptap. It gave me a chance to get out of the house and see the country I love. I miss doing that. As we drove through Port Au Prince I saw so many little kids dressed up in the traditional Kanaval dresses with a lot of glitter on their faces and in their hair. I saw groups of little kids who were all dressed up and on their way to the party. What an exciting time! All the kids in Bon Repos have a Kanaval party at school tomorrow and their outfits are all picked out. Katie is going to make face masks with the kids who stay at home for school. We probably won't do much school and just end up watching a movie or something. It should be fun.

Things here at the house have been going pretty good. I get bored sometimes once my teaching duty is over for the day. The boys are so good at playing on the floor by themselves now and aren't as demanding as they used to be. They're getting so big it's amazing. Some days it seems like they change over night! They just had their 5 month birthday on the 10th. I can't believe that the have been here for 4 months and I've been here for 5. Life is SO different for me here in Haiti than it was 6 months ago! Crazy.

La plaj

I was having a really hard time the past couple of days. I was feeling really burnt out and just ready to go home. My friend Pierre has family here and was visiting. He showed up at my house on Friday and invited me and Katie to go to the beach with his family the next day. His invitation couldn't have come at a better time. Katie and I both needed to get away and it was a lot of fun. 20 (I think) of Pierre's family members and Katie and I all piled onto Frankie's (Pierre's brother) taptap and headed to the beach. His sister cooked beans, rice and chicken which we packed up and took with us. It was really fun getting to know some more of Pierre's family. Most of them live right down the street from me too! Pierre's kids were there as well.

I have started to teach Pierre's kids English once a week which has been interesting. They're pretty shy but learning quick. They come over to my house once a week for an hour and I teach them some simple phrases. Hopefully they'll warm up to me more now that we got to hang out at the beach together. I really like them.

Other than that not much else has changed. Oh! The boys have been sleeping through the night for a while now which has been so wonderful. If I wrote about it already, then I'm sorry, but it truly is the most wonderful thing ever to get an uninterrupted nights sleep. Speaking of sleep, it's past my bedtime. Bon nwit!

Updates on previous posts

The number 19 is back down to 18. The woman who does laundry came back with family members. The baby's aunt on the fathers side said that she wanted to take care of him. The mother has come back to do laundry every day since and seems in a good mood. I hope that things are going to work out for everyone to be happy and healthy. I'm glad that he can stay in Haiti with people who love him.

Below I've posted some pictures of Yveline from her first year graduation. They have a party/graduation every time they successfully complete a year of school. 

Yveline is on the very right hand side in the front

Yveline is on the far left

We have found a family interested in adopting the boys. I've been in contact with them and am excited to learn more about them. I feel "right" about them and a peace that I hadn't felt with other families who showed interest. Please keep praying about this that it will work out for everyone if it's the place that the boys are supposed to go. I know that the family is working very hard to get things in place for the adoption and they are trying to figure out the best time to come visit. They seem very excited and so am I! It will be the hardest thing to leave my boys but it will make it easier if I know they're going to the perfect family.

Pictures

Guitna, Jousline, Shabeen. My girls in Leogane.

Katie and I holding the boys in our new carriers!

Jean, me, and Shelanda

Jackson

Noah

Jackson and Noah

Noah, me, and Jackson doin' what we do

Noah

Me and Noah

Jean, Diana, and Francesca making a train

Jean and his two favorite girlfriends

Peter doing his first book report

Michaelle loves school! (sometimes)

Bath time

blan missionaries, guilt, and cheesecake

I'm still in Bon Reops but I wanted to recap some things that happened while I was in Leogane with the girls a few weeks ago.

During our trip, Amy and I decided to catalog all the girls that were there. We took pictures, wrote down names, and measured their waste sizes. We had some underwear to pass out to all the girls so we ordered the girls names from biggest waste size to smallest. It was amazing to see the order of girls. When Amy and I were looking at it we realized that it matched up completely with their social status. The girls with the biggest waste size were definitely the girls who have the most power in the orphanage. That's how it is throughout all of Haiti too. People with more money (power) typically have bigger waste sizes. Our list of sizes of the girls was an interesting (and unintentional) test of the social ladder within the orphanage.

Unrelated, except for the fact that it took place in Leogane: One night, all of the girls were "playing" church. It was hilarious! All the kids were involved which was fun. Some of the older girls dressed up in ridiculous church outfits which made us all laugh. The girls who dressed up ended up pretending to be"blan" missionaries. Yveline (the nursing student) was among the blans. They did the normal church routine of going up in front of the congregation to introduce themselves like any other church service I've been too. Their portrayal of white missionaries had me laughing as well as thinking. She introduced herself and said "Silence! I am happy to see you. I speak piti piti Creole. We are Americans and we are here to help you. You love us. (a girl behind her touches her) OH! Haiti has a problem because you touch me. Don't touch me. Thank you." After her speech, she opened up her purse and started throwing candy out to the congregation (where she got candy, I have no idea. but apparently they wouldn't be white missionaries without it.) Their impression of white missionaries is very hilarious but also disheartening. I have had my own opinion of the behavior of people (like myself) who come into this country ready to help and a lot of is isn't positive. It was interesting to see the girls impression of how white missionaries act and what they're here to do. The girls who played missionaries didn't stand at the front of the church asking how they could help, they stood at the front and stated what they were there to do and then threw candy at people. Is that really all we accomplished my first week-long trip here? I sure did bring candy. I sure did come with a VBS planned without knowing if that was truly the need. I sure did think those kids loved me. Is that the impression I left on all the people I interacted with while I was here? I want to be making a bigger change than that.

I have been thinking a lot about this recently and I'm slowly losing hope in the human race. Even (especially) myself. Sometimes all I can think about is when my time will be up in Haiti so I can go home buy a $5 coffee without thinking about the kids who don't eat and can't even play because their little bodies can't muster up enough energy from lack of food. I want to get a pedicure and go see a movie then buy a new outfit. I want to spend $25 on a meal at the Cheescake factory and buy a $7 margarita. But then I look around and I see Tchaly (malnurished), the mother of the twins (can't keep her own children because of lack of support, money, everything), Migluise (dead from high blood pressure), and many, many others. None of them  have a date to look forward to where they get to do all those things on my list.

I feel guilty for wanting those things. But it doesn't make me not want them. Amy and I have talked about guilt and she was talking about how guilt is good for us because it propels us to change. I made a change to come live in Haiti. But it doesn't seem to be enough. What is enough? What am I supposed to be doing? Do I need to keep changing until there is no guilt left? Is it ever possible to have an absence of guilt? I think part of the reason I came to Haiti was to try and escape guilt, but it's not working. I'm still the same selfish person I was before I left.

I'm reading the book "After Shock" by Kent Annan and it often parallels with so much of what I am thinking and feeling. Here is a section that I read just today:

Circling Like Angels (Like Vultures)

On the plane with thirty-four people,
Circling in toward destruction.
Like angels (like vultures).
    Why?

The city collapsed six days ago. The easy-to-reach cadavers: burned already.
The drive up Rue Delmas this time - the thousandth time - will apparently stink of rotting flesh instead of gas fumes.

Why do we go?
Flee in horror; run to watch.
Run to help; flee to get away.

Many want to go help. More than can make in on the limited flights. Waiting lines. Finding a way via the Dominican Republic. Clamoring for access like it's a Disney ride in high season. It's a small world, after all.

This time it makes sense for me. It didn't after the tsunami. This time I have to go. I didn't after New Orleans. I do not. (Celebrities always do. Good for them. They have the means to do what makes them feel alive.)
My goddaughter is sleeping now in a bean field;
her family's home destroyed.

 Death slammed shut for so many.
Peek-a-boo. Peek-a-boo. Open and shut. I just kissed my son goodbye.
We circle in closer, like cultures, like angels.

I grew up on the edge of fundamentalism: Purity and Holiness, words deeply important.
    Other words, to me, have taken higher priority now: Justice and Humility.
But the words change easier than the shape of your soul.

This drive for purity is in me and I recognize it now and am disappointed that purity once again stays elusive, a shadow dancing with blurry edges on the cave's wall as the real world operates elsewhere.

And in this tragedy of historic proportions - not even purity here, among the impure mix of shattered concrete blocks and blood?

No. Personally and in those I'm circling down with, one recognizes the opportunity to help but also to be: courageous, heroic, compassionate, and just a little better than everyone else who isn't going. To feel more alive.

Some clamoring to get down are so transparent in their messages, and on Face book and on Twitter, doing it for their own sake. Can't you invite admiration more subtly, I think in disgust? You'll blow the cover for the rest of us.

Occasionally givers are mostly concerned about themselves, about the integrity of their money, making sure it doesn't go to any waste, making sure it goes to what they need to feel. Their attraction to help goes so quickly through the filter of their self-importance that it's hard to take seriously.

Except that those in need seriously need them.

We each make meaning in our lives with our decisions.

This is what attracts us to suffering. The plot of our own stories makes more sense if we make a difference for other people.
   We circle like vultures (like angels) seeking meaning, to reinforce the better parts of ourselves.

We're repelled but attracted to:
a. the genuine possibility of helping
b. wanting the same help for ourselves if the roles were reversed, and
c. the possibility of finding meaning and feeling better about ourselves.
We want to help but are repelled when it:
a. brings us closer to meaninglessness, to questions rather than answers, and
b. reveals us as more selfish - even as we give- than generous.

We want to find proof of God, one way or the other.
We shouldn't turn away, one way or the other.

Like angels, we help. Like vultures, we scavenge on the suffering of others to feed our hunger for meaning. {Purity cannot be checked in or carried on for these flights. The baggage is ourselves. Always ourselves.

The U.S. military radios approval to the pilot. Time to land. My heart isn't pure, but it is broken. I need to be near.

Help! Updated

Just wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to all of those who donated money to Yveline's nursing school fund. We ended up raising enough money for her for one more year! She is VERY thankful and was so excited when we told her. The money that was raised will change her life and give her opportunities that very few people have here in Haiti. Education is the most important thing for getting a job. A job means money, and money means she won't starve or have to look for other ways of getting by. One year of school may not seem like a life or death issue to most of us in the United States but here in Haiti one more year of school very well could be saving her life. 

Thank you!!!

18 kids and counting

I'm back in Bon Repos. My trip to Leogane was WONDERFUL and relaxing. I missed the girls so much and it was good to see them for a long period of time. I wished I could have stayed longer. I did miss my boys back in Bon Reops though and when I saw them I cried. That was unexpected. It's hard to love kids in two different places! I wish I could be in Leogane and Bon Repos at the same time.

Today the number of children living in this house went from 18 to 19. We got another baby. He's one year old and beautiful. He is the baby of the woman who does laundry for Sue. I'm feeling really weighed down.  It's really hard to process how difficult life is for people here in Haiti. It's hard to see a woman who has a job (which pays more than average for Haiti) not be able to afford to feed her kid. She has another child who is in school and all her wages are going to keeping him in school. She has the option of giving one of her children up for adoption to give the other a good life. How does a mother make that decision? I can't imagine how hard that must be to make that choice. But how many people in Haiti don't have any choices but to let their kids starve? How many people in Haiti have five or six or ten kids to feed and clothe and send to school and can't afford it? If things are expensive for a mom with only 2 kids and a job, how hard must it be for families with no working parents? What do they do? What do I do about it? I'm feeling hopeless.

Help

My visit to Leogane has been AWESOME. I love these girls a ton. Right now Amy and I are in Jacmel visiting friends. I'll write more about that later.


But for now...


My friend at the orphanage in Leogane, Yveline, has been attending nursing school for the past year. Last year we set it up that Extollo (https://www.extollointernational.org/) would pay for her education in exchange for her taking care of a baby named Charlie who wasn't getting enough care. There was a miscommunication in how much her school would cost and now Extollo is now unable to pay for the last two years of her education. Extollo is trying to raise money right now to build a trade school and have limited funds. But they're not giving up on Yveline and neither are we. Yveline was informed yesterday that there was no more money. We talked with her and she was devastated. One year of education isn't going to get her anywhere. My friend Amy and I have been thinking a lot about how hard it is for kids to age out of orphanages. Where are they supposed to go? How will they make money? Where will they live? There is no one to teach them what to do. Yveline worked hard to finish high school which only a very small percentage of Haitians do because the exams are really difficult. She's a hard worker and that's why we knew she would put a nursing education to use. This is her opportunity to make something of her life.

So what can you do to help??

We (and Extollo) still want to help Yveline and we hope you do too. If we can raise $1,000 it will allow her to go to school for another year. This is her only hope for continuing her education.

In the United States, education means a better job and more money. In Haiti, it means life.

If you're interested in donating you can go to the Extollo website (https://www.extollointernational.org/donate/donation-form), fill out the form and click on "general fund." You also need to email christie@extollointernational.org with your name, donation amount and a note that it's for Yveline.

-Becca

Stress

Since all the workers had family member who died and left, a lot more troubles have happened... It's been a very stressful time couple of weeks.

One of the other workers had to go home for a while because her 15 year old nephew got hit by a car and died. She's been gone for the past couple of days. The Laundry lady finally came back which is good. She had a TON of laundry to catch up on over the past few days but with help from the kids, she got it done! We have a ceramic water filter that we use. That stopped working about a week ago. Now we have to go out and buy water and carry it every day. During the holidays all the stores were closed so we almost ran out of water a few times. Somehow it always worked out at the last second and we could buy one more jug. Not only did we have a hard time finding water during the holidays, we also almost didn't have dinner for the kids a few nights. The workers had to walk all the way to town (no taptaps during the holidays) just to try and find bread. Hungry kids are cranky kids. In the midst of all that Sue got sick. One  day she stayed in bed the whole day which never happens. I was really worried and almost took her to the doctors. She ended up feeling OK after a day but she said it was the worst her lungs have ever hurt. On the day that Sue got sick, we got four visitors from the U.S. They're a college group from Florida. The next day, 14 more people came to visit. They're all staying for about a week. Currently, there is a total of 41 people sleeping in this house. The floors are literally covered in people. Did I mention that all these visitors are sharing our ONE bathroom with a door? That's one shower, one toilet, and one sink for all the visitors and us to use. Luckily most of the kids don't use that bathroom... I don't know how we all end up getting showers. Luckily, I'm up with the babies before everyone else in the morning and can sneak and use the bathroom first. I had to brush my teeth outside last night because I got sick of waiting for the bathroom after an hour. Craziness!!! 

Lucky for me, I am leaving for Leogane today. I am feeling a BIT guilty for leaving Sue during this crazy time but hopefully it will be OK. I need the break. I'm most looking forward to a guaranteed 8 (or more!) hours of sleep a night for two whole weeks. Oh, and I get to see the girls and Amy! ;) I'm very excited. I'm worried about leaving the babies with Sue for the whole time. That's a lot of extra work. But Katie came back so she will help out. 

Please be praying for...

-Sue to stay healthy

-Amy and I's trip to Leogane to be productive and fun

-Things not to be too crazy for Sue while I'm gone

-For calm in the house even though there are so many people packed in!