Pirate Robie turns Two

 Robie celebrated his 2nd birthday by dressing up in his favorite pirate outfit. He is such a good sport. He was a shelter cat who has found a home in our hearts.

Wonder Women!

It was a good week at my company, BCS Financial. We had a charity drive which raised well over $6000  in cash, clothes and can goods for a local DuPage County organization, The Peoples Resource Center. They do good work. You can check them out at http://www.peoplesro.org/   The week ended with an interesting event where 3 employees (aka "The Wonder Women") volunteered to do crunches and if they did a sufficient number of them within 2 minutes and 12 seconds, the company would continue to have Jeans Fridays. Needless to say, the company showed up to cheer them on. They performed superbly and denim will continue to make a weekly appearance. I am grateful for all of the generous and fun-loving people at BCS!

Crunch Time

Some of the many cheering onlookers.

The triumphant Wonder Women graciously sutograph their posters for their adoring fans.

One Last Look

I looked over my photos from last week's trip to Port-au-Prince and wanted to share these that I don't believe were part of previous posts. They speak for themselves.

One Last Day in Port-au-Prince

I have returned home but wanted to post photos from yesterday prior to catching the 5:30 flight back to the States.

My primary objectives for this specific trip were to carry in 100 pounds of supplies (primarily powdered infant formula for the orphaniage), assist with sponsorship packages for HIS Home for Children, hug as many children as possible, meet Eduardo, and to identify specific ways that folks back home might be able to help. These objectives were met. And this is probably sufficient reason to travel to Haiti.

But I also continue to go because of the enormous personal benefits that I receive. I meet amazing people with countless stories of tragedy, resilience, courage and hope. There is no better place to examine one's own lifestyle and values. The mangos are delicious. There is virtually no way to continue the delusion that one is really in control of things. You just have to go with the flow - slow down and enjoy being in the moment. And try not to rely too much on electricity.

So I invite you ( if you have not yet done so) to find your own "Haiti". Step out of your comfort zone and contribute your time and resources to those who need your help. I would suggest that you not waste your time and energy trying to "fix" the problem, but just respond to the need and go with the flow. Our Lord God calls us to serve and that is indeed Joy Filled Living.

Now for my final batch of photos:

At the courtyard of the HIS Home for Children boys house. Please note "basketball hoop" made by hooking seatless chair to wall and using soccer ball. These guys were pretty good.

Dave is one of the kindergardeners.

I wish I could remember all the kids' names, but alas no. There will be a special prize to the first person who goes to www.hishomeforchildren.com  , checks out the sponsorship page where there are photos and names of all the children and correctly identifies these 3 cuties. Just leave me a comment.

School yard. While there was some basketball shooting, the main game is soccer and these guys and gals are very competitive.



With some of my buddies.



Toddlers at their playground while the big kids are at school.

Take a piece of foam, wrap it like a Christmas gift with vinyl and duct tape and you have a new pad for the nursey changing table.

Joseph and Cherdinor. We had a fun time coloring and eating animal crackers.

This is Brandon. Those are socks on his hands to keep him from scratching the eczema on his face and scalp. The medicine has been helping and he was a happy camper. He has the biggest smile that just lights up his face.

Joceline loves to pose for the camera. In fact, the way it usually worked is that you would take a shot and then show it to the children. My camera screen is smudged from all the little fingers pointing and naming each person in the scene. It was very interactive.

This was a typical in our neighborhood to have bougainvilla cascading over the front yard walls.

Nursery Nirvana

This was our last full-day in Haiti. We stopped by Carmel Wagnac's home. She is the founder of the Nelly's House school lunch program that feeds over 500 schoolchildren each day out in southwest Haiti. Feel free to check out her ministry at http://www.nellyshousehaiti.com/   Carmel is also concerned about the problem of the abandoned elderly. It is not that unusual for the elderly who ceased to be able to assist the family through caring for the grandchildren and such to be cast out. It is a function of poverty, there is just not enough food to go around. So assuming you even beat the odds and live to an advanced age, you might then die of starvation. Carmel currently houses 7 elderly women and pays a lady to cook three meals a day plus a snack. The seven ladies are sleeping in 2 bedrooms (4 beds to a room) but are so grateful to have a safe, clean place to live and not to be hungry. Carmel is out of town at the moment, but we did speak with Michelle, the director of the elderly program and I'm really glad that these ladies have this haven. 

We spent the remainder of the day setting up the orphanage nursery room with the new cribs. We scrubbed all the toys and mats and things were looking pretty good by dinner time. Without a doubt, we worked like dogs. There was a lot of dust and slobber to wipe away. In Haiti, I have learned that it is good to celebrate the small victories and today we celebrated a cleaner nursery. It was our Nursery Nirvana Day.

And speaking of dinner, we thoroughly enjoyed another traditional Haitian dish, black rice with beef sauce along with fried plantain. Life is good. So now we're packing up. All the supplies that we brought down (300 pounds) have been distributed to various organizations. This is the third year that I've been buying artwork and wooden items from Andre. Without a doubt, Andre had a good sales month. Tonight when he parted, he didn't just say "Mesi", he exclaimed "Mesi an pil! (thank you very much!)

The plan is to fly out from Port-au-Prince airport tomorrow at 5:30 via Ft Lauderdale to Chicago. My plan is to post our last day photos sometime this weekend. 

It is now raining pretty hard which will settle the dust.

This is a typical dog that you will see on the streets of Port-au-Prince. He hangs out at the HIS Home gate and would escort us whenever we walked up the hill.



Cherdinor is riding a very clean rocking horse. He was born with a cleft palate which has been surgically repaired. He is beginning to talk. I've been teaching him the phrase "Auntie Linda is my favorite aunt."



Tina and Steve scrubbing the play mats.  

The mats are drying.

These 3 little busters are waiting to be taken to visit with their soon to be adoptive parents. They flew into Port today and will be able to spend a few days with them at a local hotel. The rather glum faces are probably due to the fact that as I was taking this photo, I was blocking their view of a TV cartoon show.

Tina with her latest purchase of wooden trinket boxes. Sadly, I didn't take a photo of Andre who assured us that he was most content. We are very pleased to be able to support Haitian made items. Haiti has a rich history of metal work and other crafts.

Traffic and More Firsts

It was a bit more humid today in Port-au-Prince. We took a ride up toward Petionville to see the wedding dress rental shop that will be opening soon. Things are looking great. We spent a while watching all of the traffic on the main route (I think) from downtown to Petionville. There were lots of tap-taps, trucks, UN SUVs, tankers. I bought some kind of cookie bread from a street vendor. Very interesting - sort of a almond and ginger flavored scone cookie. We finished up all that we could do with the catalogue. Baby Brandon was a bit fussy in his crib, so he sat on my lap while I finished typing up the dress description pages. In the evening we loaded up the truck and drove over to the Habitation Hat Hotel where the kids swam and then we had dinner. We invited 3 of the older girls from the orphanage to join us. Two years ago they were living in tents, today they got to swim in a pool and then have a nice dinner in a restaurant - two things they had never done before. Tina and I ordered Kabrit (grilled goat), another first. It was pretty good. As I write this, a gentle rain is following - hopefully, just enough to settle the pervasive dust, but not enough to cause problems.




When I donned my U of M shirt, then Dana had to change into her MSU t-shirt.



The wedding dress and fancy dress rental store is almost open for business. I understand that they are just waiting for the paperwork to be completed to obtain a business license.

View of the road to Petionville.

Another view. It was busy but the traffic did flow.

James will manage the wedding dress rental store (real name: The Creator's Design Boutique).

Tap-tap. I counted 15 passengers.

I just thought that the bunch of colorful brooms on top of this super-sized Tap Tap was interesting.

Look closely over the truck and you can see the only traffic light that I've seen since I was down by the airport.

Typical side road scene.

Kids in pool at Habitation Hat Hotel.

Today I met Eduardo!

It has been a glorious day in Haiti. We started the day by greeting some cows in the street just outside the guesthouse gate. We then attended opening exercises at TLC Barefoot School and Mr. Nickson, the principal, gave us a tour of the facility. This school enrolls almost 100 children grades pre-school through 8th grade. These children come from very poor families who could not otherwise send their children to school. Public education for all Haitians does not currently exist. Feel free to check them out at http://www.tlcbarefootschool.com/  I can vouch for this place - it is outstanding.  We then walked down to the orphanage and did some traditional division of labor. The guys sanded and painted newly constructed metal crib frames for the nursery. The women worked on setting up a catalogue of over 250 wedding dresses and formal dresses for the formal dress rental shop that is being started to give the older girls in the orphanage some vocational training. To clarify, HIS Home for Children not only houses children that are up for adoption, but also has a separate house for 30 preteen and teenage girls that had been living in the tent cities without family protection. In the afternoon, I was so thrilled to meet the young man that my family is sponsoring. Eduardo just graduated from TLC Barefoot School and is in his first year at high school where he is doing very well. His dream is to become a doctor. His mother passed away from cancer almost 4 years ago and he wants to help others avoid such an early death. His father is a good man who has not abandoned his children and struggles daily to support his family. But for the TLC sponsorship program, this very bright young man would not be able to attend high school - public school is not free. We met at the school after he had finished his classes for the day and had a wonderful chat. Then he invited us to go to his home a couple of blocks away and meet his father - this was huge honor. As I write this, I am still overwhelmed with joy. For less than the cost of the laptop that I am currently using to create this post, Eduardo has the support for one year, one grade closer to his dream. So after that, the rest of the day just floated by. Oh, and another story as to why I love Haiti, last night 3 new guests arrived late in the evening at the guesthouse. One of the men looked at me and said that I looked familiar - turns out that Bryan and I were guests here 2 years ago after the earthquake, but that's a story for another day. One last thing, the city electricity is currently off and the roar of the guesthouse generator engulfs us. In Haiti, it is best not to rely too much on electricity.

Here's the cow.

The kindergarten classroom at TLC Barefoot School.

The 5th grade teacher at the blackboard.

Babies Jameson and Brandon taking their morning nap at HIS Home for Children.

Dana is working on the wedding dress catalogue. The majority of the dresses were donated by a bridal shop in the US. 

Kindergardeners during afternoon recess at TLC Barefoot School.

Eduardo and I. Have I mentioned what a great kid he is!?!

Steve putting the primer on the double-decker cribs.

What's a day in Haiti without an "art" shot?  This is a bougainvillea blossoms in the front yard of HIS Home.

Steve with Damine who lives at the HIS Home older girls house. Steve is her sponsor.