Living and LOVING life here at the CHCH.

I can assume with the combination of the storms and hurricanes passing through the Atlantic and me being pretty terrible at keeping up with my blog, your minds are probably wondering if I am even still alive. Well here I am, alive and well, and LOVING my life here in Haiti.

And why has it taken me so long to write to you?

Well here are a few REALLY good reasons:

 1. Because we had a team in from Utah for 14 days, whom I might add were a fabulous, hardworking, and lovely group of people that I am so blessed to have had the pleasure of meeting and working with, and in the duration of their trip, we were all pretty occupied here at CHCH helping their team get settled in, getting projects organized and started, and in the meantime, running around every which direction completing the day to day tasks to keep this orphanage running.

2. We had another small team of two women (Adrienne and Maggie) come in with such creative and amazing plans for outreach within the community and surrounding areas—so we were out  quite a bit with those lovely ladies learning from their beautiful examples how to love and serve our neighbors.

3. I have also been quite active in my attempts to keep my family and close friends updated on my well being, and with our source of internet, that in itself is a rather frustrating and time consuming process.

4. Every day is different here at CHCH, so I get overwhelmed when trying to think of how to update you on what my responsibilities look like on a daily basis. I want to, but there are just so many different jobs and roles we play.

And last but not least, 5. I can’t find the words or even know how to begin to describe to you the beauty of these 61 children.

So finally with all that said, I am going to stop everything I am doing and do my best to fill you in on what life is like here at CHCH, because you all need and deserve to know.

Okay, I know that everyone is busy in their life: going to school, having a job, maybe even raising a family, but here at the orphanage, Hunter, Jillian, and I, the three of us, keeping this place up and running is to say it lightly is A LOT of work. The children come to us crying with their boo-boos, wanting us to sign off and give them permission for them to go off the grounds, needing money for school, transportation, clothes, food, or just simply needing some good ole TLC. The staff comes to us with questions, concerns, and/or problems. People in our neighborhood come to our door asking us to fulfill their needs of money, food, sending them to school, or even for us to take in their children if they are unable to care for them.  Every so often, we also have meetings here at the orphanage with the organization that is arranging the adoption process for 6 of our kids, so we can stay up to date and hands on in those processes. Thinking of the future for the orphanage, maintenance and projects for upkeep of the orphanage, keeping kids safe and healthy, keeping an organized budget for ourselves and the orphanage, having the responsibility of organizing and creating lessons for teenage small groups for 3 days of the week here at the orphanage, writing bible studies or sermons for our church congregation, and in the midst of all that—older or younger, whining or cheerful, respectful or not, we are attempting to raise 61 children in Christ.

We are not just raising your typical child. They are all here because their parents are dead, their parent(s) got sick and couldn’t work to pay to feed them, they were severely abused and/or beaten, they were once slaves, or their parents just simply didn’t want them and abandoned them. These 61 kids were left with no say in the matter, they have so much baggage that we cannot fathom— these are the kind of kids we are raising. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds terrible in description, but raising these kids is so much fun to be a part of, and I am learning a lot. They love to be loved; they need love and want love. They want hugs and kisses; they want to color pictures with you and for you, and they need to be given medicines when they are sick; they want help with writing their names, wisdom for their futures ahead, and last but of course never the least, they need and seek guidance in their paths with Christ. There are many challenges we face in this task, but it’s also very beautiful that we get to be a part of it.

I don’t have enough words or time to describe to you every single one of these beautiful children, but I do want to introduce you to a couple of my new, sweet, kids I have had the pleasure to meet, love, and have them love me while I have been living here. If you desire to know or hear more about any of them, please feel free to ask me or just come see them for yourself J

So let me begin by introducing you to Wenchy. He is a 7 year old little boy. Wenchy is actually his nickname; his real name is Gehovany—not quite sure why he goes by Wenchy, but it suits him just perfectly. He loves to giggle, play jokes, teach me Creole; he gives the best hugs and is so polite. When Wenchy saw me come out of my house the other day, he gave me the biggest smile and face of surprise—I feel very special every time come into contact with one another. On top of everything else wonderful about Wenchy, he speaks some really great English. Recently, Jillian and I taught him to say “Duhhh” if anyone asks him if he can speak English— it’s pretty hilarious. Here’s another awesome Wenchy story: the other night to start our devotional Hunter asked Wenchy to lead us (an entire group of 65 people, including adults, teenagers and children) in a prayer. Let me just tell you, I don’t know much Creole, but man was he preaching it—all the kids, even the teenagers clapped for him after he finished praying. Praising God, having community, fellowship, and encouragement with and from his brothers and sisters around him, witnessing this 7 year old little boy pray was beautiful beyond description.

Meet Jhonny. Jhonny is a very smart 10 year old boy. He ventures to create many different things in his love for sewing; he learned to sew from some of the teams who have come in and done sewing lessons with the kids; he has made several pillowcase purses to sell, and he also made me 3 pillowcases—they are made with love, and will be by far my favorite items I bring home from Haiti. Jhonny is also going through what I would call a “teenage life crisis”. He is sometimes “too cool” to talk to me, or at times is pretty disrespectful to me. At the beginning of my time here he saw me as only another visitor passing through, so a lot of his disrespect stemmed from him guarding his heart from the hurt of connecting with someone else and losing them after a week or two of having their full attention. He is an amazing kid whom will continue to flourish and learn so much as he grows in life with his very ambitious and intuitive nature.

Now enough about boys let me tell you about a couple of the amazingly sweet girls I have grown to love so much.

 If Haiti had Haiti’s Next Top Model little Chedeline would win for sure. At only 8 years old she seriously is drop dead gorgeous, and not only that she has a smile that is so kind and genuine that I can’t even describe to you the amount of love that I get just through that sweet gesture of hers. She loves to give much of her time to help anyone. She helped me up to my house the other day with my groceries, and afterwards I let her sit down, color pictures and eat some candy. Because she was so happy to bet there, with me and my undivided attention to her, she could not even concentrate on what she was doing while coloring her picture. I would catch her watching me move around my house, then our eyes would meet and she would just smile so big. She wants and needs a lot of love and attention, especially a girl at her age, and I am so happy to be able to invite her into my home and help her to sustain that stability in her life.

A couple weeks ago, baby Biverly was not feeling well for a few days with a fever most likely from teething; I have learned that fevers here in Haiti are much harder to fight off because of not being able to escape the heat. Thus meaning she was fussy, tired, and in much need to be able to get a good night’s rest in a cooler and quieter place. Of course I volunteered for her to sleep with me; it was just not even an option for that baby to sleep without a fan with a fever like that. Biverly is the youngest here at the orphanage at 1 ½ years old, so that alone can tell you why I connect with her so much. She depends on someone to care for her at all times, and how could I not want a hand in that. Her innocence is so precious, her love for life is so wholesome, and I find myself striving to protect the purity and joy in this little one’s life. But to see the way the older kids step up, take initiative to care for her, and love her is so encouraging to me, and I am very confident that this little toddler will have no problem in having a successful and promising future ahead.

So that’s it, me attempting to give you a snapshot of my life here in Haiti, of why I love it so much, and how it takes no convincing from anyone for me to consider staying here and pursuing a permanent placement. It’s all in God’s hands, and we will see what He wants for my path, but I ask that you please pray for my future here at CHCH. My prayer is that God will so boldly show me what He wants for my life, for me to allow Him to take control and for me to willingly stand back and follow Him. Pray for me to gain His guidance, wisdom and discernment in this big decision.

I thank you in advance for all of your prayers, and I cannot wait to see what God’s answers are. The opportunity for me to come live and work here as a missionary will require a substantial amount of financial support, so please help me in spreading my story and the opportunity that lies before me— I need as much support and encouragement I can get to start confidently in my journey ahead.

Here they are! From left to right, Wenchy, Jhonny, Chedeline, and Biverly, and YES this is the best picture I could get out of them! J