Another Feeding

I went on another feeding yesterday, this time with three other volunteers, although there was only two of us in each truck. There were two trucks that went on the feeding and each truck probably had about twenty or more people, sitting on the rice in the back. It was a really good day. It was very hot and very tiring, but a really good experience. It was a two and a half hour drive there, but we stopped about halfway for some pop and chips. This is a picture of me and Beth, one of my roommates, enjoying the break.
When we arrived at our destination, we were once again greeted by lots of people very excited at our arrival. All the kids wanted their pictures taken so we spent a few minutes just having fun with our cameras! Then it was time to get to work. Everyone was seated in rows and we did some singing and someone gave a short sermon and then we gave out the rice as fast as we could. We gave two bags of rice to every adult and one to every child. As soon as we finished giving out the rice, we literally ran back to the truck... yes, we were being chased by all the Haitians who wanted more rice. As soon as I reached the truck, a couple people who were already on the truck grabbed my hands and yanked me up on the truck before we drove away from the mob to our next stop and completed the process all over again. It was actually quite exciting and I was really glad that I could be a part of bringing these people their food!

I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to post next. Our generator died and I'm using my laptop battery to make this post. Tomorrow is a holiday here, so we're not sure when we'll be able to get the generator fixed. Just thought I'd let you know in advance. Thanks for all your prayers!!! 

School Kids

I thought I'd post this picture because it's such a common picture here in Haiti. These kids are on their way to school. Each school here, has a different colour of uniform, so you can always tell which school the kids are going to when you see them walking along the road... and yes, they do all walk to school here. In Port au Prince or Petionville there are lots of different schools, so it's kindof cool to see all the different coloured uniforms along the roads!

The kids, in this picture, are going to a school that's only about a five minute walk from GLA. We often see them walking down the road and when I take my kids for walks, the school kids always like to stop and say hi. Sometimes they even walk with us and they always tell me that my baby is beautiful... and of course I always agree!

There aren't any public schools here though, only private schools, so there are still a lot of kids that don't go to school, because their parents don't have the money to send them. Some of these kids like to hang around outside our gate and talk with us whenever we come out. It's really nice to be able to walk through the neighbourhood and have people calling out my name! Word spreads fast around here and often people I've never seen before will know who I am because someone else told them they'd met a white girl with red hair named Stacey. I definitely feel a part of the neighbourhood here. The people are used to seeing me out with my kids and are always friendly and stop to say hi and ask me how I'm doing. I've definitely been able to establish some pretty cool relationships with the people here and I look forward to seeing them every day... I know I'm going to miss them when I go home! 

The Waterfall

Today was a really fun day! We decided to round up a few of the older kids, from the Toddler House, and take them on a walk to a nearby waterfall. When I say nearby, it was actually about a forty minute walk, straight downhill on the way there, and straight uphill on the way back. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we got back and most of the kids ended up being carried, but it was so much fun, and well worth the effort!
Here's a picture of me with the kids. The waterfall really wasn't that big, but it was so much fun anyways... and we were so hot and sweaty by the time we got there... it made it that much more fun! In this picture, Daphne is putting her hand in the waterfall and making the water spray all over us. We were all just soaked to the bone, but it was so hot out, that it was really refreshing!
Here is a picture of me with 'My Noodjie' (that's her name). We had a lot of fun together today. She just loves the water, and she really liked it when Daphne was splashing us with the water fall and getting us soaked. It was so much fun to see all the kids having so much fun today!

There's a team here from Florida, for the week, so they all came with us. It's been really nice having so many people around. There's also a couple families here picking up their children: one from Holand and one from France. It's nice to be able to meet people from all over the world! There are a lot of people always coming and going through GLA. My roommates, Trish and Melissa, went home a couple weeks ago, and now I have two roommates, Daphne from New York and Beth from Saskatchewan. We've had a lot of fun together. A couple other people from the room next to me have gone home too, but then Candace came from Manitoba and Leah from Saskatchewan. I really do enjoy meeting so many people and developing some really good friendships! I'm so glad God made the body of Christ so big!!! 

Wagon Rides!

We have a wagon that we keep up on the balcony at the main house and we like to give the kids short rides in circles around the balcony... since we can't use the wagon on the roads cuz they're too steep and rocky.
We had a lot of fun with the wagon today. Of course, there's never just one kid in the wagon... it's always pretty full! It's always amazing to me how much fun the kids have, even though they're only going in circles! In the picture above, we have Lykenlove and Alexandra, the two girls on the left... they're my girls... and then on the right, is Gary and Jude... they're not technically my kids but they still like wagon rides!
...And at the end of the day, the kids are always pretty tired, but of course they don't want to leave the balcony so they just fall asleep where they are. These two both fell asleep on the balcony with their cookies in their hands and the top one absolutely refused to let go of his toy. It was pretty funny! Haha! 

The Lookout

Last Saturday, we stopped at the lookout point on our way home from shopping in Petionville. Of course the lookout is way up on the mountain and it overlooks Port au Prince. We only live a few minutes from the lookout point, so I've actually been a couple times now. It's a really beautiful view and it's really interesting to be able to see Port au Prince from that angle. In the first picture, you can see the port... I remember seeing all this from the plane when I first flew in.
Then in the second picture you can see the Palace, right in the middle of it. Just look really closely for a big white building in the middle and just up a bit in the second picture.
In the third picture here, you can see the airport where I flew in. I thought it was really cool just to be able to see everything from high up and realize that everything's so close to us and yet it takes us so long to get there because of the roads here! Haiti is a very small country, but travel is difficult here, that's for sure! Haha! 

Going for Walks

Well, going for walks is something that I really like to do and it's also something that I do a lot around here. The other day I went on four separate walks with my kids and I must have pulled a muscle or something because the next day my back was so sore. I think it's because I had to hold each of my kids' hands, while we were walking, and so I was slightly bent over the entire time. I didn't realize it while I was walking, but I don't think it was very good for my muscles...! Haha! Don't worry, I'm fine now.
This is a picture of me with two of the girls that went for a walk with me. Valinda is on the left and Jesse is on the right. They're both very fun girls, but both very quiet. It's been really fun to watch them open up and to just enjoy spending time with them and watch them grow. It's definitely worth a sore back... although I did learn my lesson: that I should only take one walk a day! 

A Day Out...

Well it's been quite a fun day today! We started out by doing some shopping in Petionville, which is always exciting because there are so many eager salesmen. They're all very friendly and love to chat. They also love to joke around and have great senses of humour! Whenever it's time to go, we always leave some great friends behind.
After we left the shopping area in Petionville, we decided to head to a big grocery store, one that I had never been to before. On the way there we got stuck in traffic for quite awhile and since we were stopped, Molly bought us all some Pipita from one of the vendors walking down the street. Pipita is just deep-fried plantain with lots of salt on it. It's really good and actually tastes a lot like potato chips.
Well, we waited in the traffic for a really long time and then even when we got to the grocery store, there was another traffic jam in the parking lot. We were totally blocked in and couldn't move at all. Then everyone started going around us, but we finally got things rolling along and found ourselves a place to park. I'm guessing there was so much traffic because the elections were yesterday and not many people have been out and about for the past couple of days.
Also, while we were stuck in traffic, we had a couple friends who enjoyed peeking in our window and loved having their picture taken. Of course, they were asking for money... something I don't think I'll ever really get used to. I just hate seeing so much hunger and poverty all around me. I am glad that I can be here though, and at least know that if the poverty is going to exist whether I choose to see it or not, that at least I'm doing something to help. I choose not to close my eyes to the reality of the world around me and I chose to open my heart to those who need help. That's what Jesus always did and I'm sure that if Jesus were here in the flesh today, He'd have quite a ministry in Haiti! 

Elections

Today was the day for the legislative elections. On Wednesday night, the Hatian government decided that Thursday and Friday of this week would be holidays... so the kids didn't have to go to school. This is because they were anticipating that a lot of people would be out voting. Unfortunately, our Creol teacher came to class this morning and told us that he didn't see many people out voting. He said that at the election last February, he went to vote at 5:00am and there was already a line-up of 2,000 people. It seems that not as many people are interested in voting this time around, but who knows... maybe more people decided to vote later in the day this time. Either way, we sure haven't noticed any unrest around here whatsoever.

I don't know what the news has been saying, if anything, but there's not really much to report. It has just been like any other day... except the kids were out of school. I just thought I'd give you an update on that, since I'm sure at least some of you have been wondering how things have been going. A lot of people have asked me how the political unrest has been, but I haven't seen any. Things here are obviously different than life at home, but thankfully, I haven't seen any unrest at all. I'm also told that when there is unrest, we don't usually see it up here on the mountain anyways... so that's a comforting thought! Haha!
Thanks again for all your prayers!

Aspiring Cooks

Here we have Miklene and Rosemani, two beautiful girls from the toddler house. I thought I'd show you this picture just cuz they're so cute! They both love to sing and dance and of course, they love to laugh!

Today was just an average day here at GLA, I took my kids on four separate walks, so I've been getting lots of exercise... plus one of the other volunteers works out with me every weekday morning. There's a treadmill here, as well as some weight lifting equipment and an exercise bike. It's so nice to have these things here, because there's absolutely no way any of us could work out on the roads here. They're just far too steep and far to rocky and full of potholes!
The weather was beautiful again today, quite warm but not too warm for me! I so appreciate all the sunshine we've been getting, even though it's the rainy season. It usually only rains at night, but sometimes for a bit in the afternoon too.... and once in awhile it rains a lot!
We had pizza pops for supper tonight... it's nice to be able to still eat American food, even though I'm in Haiti! I'm sure not complaining!!! 

Fun at the Toddler House

I thought I'd try to post a short video clip so you can see a panoramic view of the play area at the Toddler House. The kids love to play skipping and climb around on the equipment they have. They also play games with rocks. They throw one up in the air and then pick up a pile of rocks before catching the one they just threw in the air. The like this game a lot and I've seen them playing it pretty often. They have a lot of fun inventing their own games and using their imaginations. Once in awhile they'll have a movie night, but they're certainly not used to watching TV on a regular basis! I guess it's good for them though, cuz they don't seem to have any trouble creating their own fun! 

Geckos

Here in Haiti, we have lots of little geckos running around. They're pretty much harmless, and I actually find them to be quite interesting little characters. There are probably as many geckos here as we have squirrels at home. They climb all over the trees, as well as the walls of houses. I'm told that if you pick them up by the tail, their tail will fall off and if you step on them, they just go flat and their guts don't squish out. I think that's pretty cool.
When we were at the hotel last Sunday, I saw two pretty big lizards walking around on the pool patio and no, they weren't anyone's pets. It really caught me off guard, cuz I've never see big lizards out in the wild before!

Just Enjoying My Kids

Every morning, when I enter the gate to the main house, I am greeted by these babies watching me from their view up on the balcony. They always like to watch what's going on outside and they love to say hello and wave when I look up at them... they're also learning how to blow some kisses!
Jude is a very energetic little guy and always full of smiles! He loves to play with balls and run around on the balcony. He even knows how to hold my hands, crawl up my legs and do flips off me! Haha! He's always lots of fun to have around!!!
This picture is of me and one of my girls, Alexandra. She will be going to a family in Sasketchewan pretty soon... her papers just came out today, so it shouldn't be more than a couple of months now. It's really exciting to see so many of our children go home and to get to meet their parents as well! 

Happy Easter!

Well, it's Easter Sunday, but it doesn't really feel like Easter Sunday to me. We went to church this morning and had an nice Easter service, but I didn't come home to a turkey dinner with my family.

I'm not going to complain though, because I got to go swimming at El Rancho, the hotel we visited a few weeks ago. It was another beautiful sunny day and I enjoyed every minute of it! We all ate lunch there and I had a chicken sandwich, which was really, really good!

Then we all went swimming, which was especially fun today, because we brought along Carlene and her newly adopted mom. Carlene had never been swimming in a big pool before and probably had the best day of her life. She has absolutely no understanding of danger though, and had no fear of the water whatsoever. She just jumped right in and loved it when we dunked her underwater! It was really fun to see her so excited and to be apart of her first swimming experience.
So, although I do miss my family and it would have been nice to have a big turkey dinner, I had a really good day at the pool... and I know that if I was at home, I'd be wishing I was here! 

Sun, Sun and more Sun

We've had a lot of sun these past few days.... I'm not complaining though! :o)
It's been really nice and refreshing. Even though it's really hot in the sun, it's quite comfortable in the shade, so it's nice to have the option.
I didn't do too much today. I spent time with a couple of my babies in the morning and then I decided to go up on the roof of the Toddler House, where I fell asleep in the sun and got a little sunburned. It's not too bad though. I'll be okay.
After I woke up on the roof, a bunch of us all made cards and brought a cake down to our security guard, Mike's house for his birthday, which is today. Unfortunately, he wasn't home and so we had to leave the cake with his guard... hopefully it won't melt before he gets home....
It stays light longer now, since we switched to daylight savings time, so we're planning on going up to the lookout point after supper tonight. It's really clear today and I could even see the ocean from the roof, so it should be a great day for the lookout! 

Good Friday in Haiti

Well, we didn't go to church today, because we were all taking care of our kids, but our church in Port au Prince did have a Good Friday service today. Good Friday is remembered all over Haiti, both by Christians and also by the voodoo worshipers. The voodoo worshipers celebrate the death of Jesus with what are called 'Rah Rah bands'. Basically, it's just a bunch of people who walk down the road, playing instruments. A few of them start out and as people see them walk by, they just join in the fun. The one's I've heard don't sound very good though. They play all kinds of instruments... trumpets, drums, and whatever else they find lying around. I don't think there's much order to their music either. It sounds like they just sortof play whatever. I'm told the 'Rah Rah' bands go on all year long, but more so during the season of Lent, and definitely mostly on Good Friday. Our Creol teacher didn't come today because he thought it would be difficult to travel, with all the 'Rah Rah' bands on the streets. When we were up on the balcony at the main house today, we could see quite a big procession down in the valley. It was quite a big 'Rah Rah' band. It's sad to think that people are celebrating the death of Jesus, but at the same time, it gives me such peace to know that my Jesus rose again and that it's because He lives that I have a purpose for living! On Sunday, I know that it'll be us Christians who are celebrating and I'm glad to know that we'll be celebrating something much more exciting than death!

As a side note, I thought I'd share with you something one of my roommates said to me today. I have a tendency to talk in my sleep and apparently a few nights ago, I was talking in Creol while I was sleeping! Haha! I guess I've come a long way in Creol and I am able to converse with the Haitians now. This makes it much easier for me, since most of them don't speak English. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting lots of practice with the kids and the nannies at GLA! :o)

Sylvio

This is one of my little boys. Sylvio just came in a couple weeks ago, and La Dawn added him to my list of kids to work with. He's such a beautiful little boy and I love working with him! Today I took him on a walk with some of the other volunteers.We walked about a half an hour to a grocery store called Hispanola. The first part of the walk is the most difficult because it's basically straight uphill. By the time we got to the top of the first two hills, we were exhausted and I was covered in sweat. I was glad I'd brought Sylvio because he's my smallest baby. A couple of the girls brought some pretty big babies, and I know they wish they'd brought smaller ones because they get so heavy!
We like to take walks to Hispanola sometimes, just to get out and also to get some snacks. They have great stuff there, even Oreos and all kinds of chocolate bars. It was quite the expedition! All the Haitians seemed to think that it was funny to see four white girls carrying black babies, strapped to us in baby carriers.... We got lots of comments and lots of smiles!  

A Cold and Rainy Day

Yesterday was a very cold and a VERY rainy day! Of course we were all still up on the balcony with our kids, so we brought out the hats and socks! :)
Some of the kids really liked to wear the hats and others tried to pull them off. Almost all the kids tried to pull off their socks. They're not used to wearing them....
It was a very relaxing afternoon on the balcony. We were all wrapped up in blankets and the kids all liked to cuddle. Even though it was raining a lot, we were dry under the covered part of the balcony. Then at the end of the day, the sun came out again! 

Meal Time

Meal time around here is quite an occasion! Of course, we volunteers, don't eat with the kids, but sometimes I like to peek in and see how it all works. I never stay long though because they eat in shifts and the babies in the nursery, who haven't eaten yet, are cranky and they always cry if I don't pick them up! Haha!
The first picture here is taken on a balcony, just off the main nursery. I've never seen anything like it, but it works great!





The second picture here, was taken at the Toddler House. They also eat in shifts, but they actually sit on normal chairs! :)
I don't care much for most of the Haitian meals that the kids eat, but they just chow them down! The all seem to have really healthy appetites! It's probably from all the running around that they do! 

Laundry

I used to sometimes think that I had a lot of laundry to do... now I really don't think I have much at all! The ladies here work really hard to wash clothes for all the kids, here at GLA. These laundry machines are at the main house, but they handwash all the clothes at the Toddler House and hang them on the roof to dry. It's a big process!

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and all the kids at church had palm leaves that they waved while the came down the aisles at the beginning of the service. It was the warmest Palm Sunday service I've ever been in! I was so hot in the church I was using a paper as a fan to cool myself off! I've been going to an English church in Port au Prince, which is nice cuz there's an American pastor there, I understand the sermon and I know all the songs!