Hi all,
I thought I'd take a few minutes to provide you with a little more of an update on how the weekend in Colorado Springs went and some of the ways that God was visible throughout it all.....
Focus on the Family - the meeting went very well. As I'm sure you probably know already, Focus, along with Family Life and Steven Curtis Chapman are in the middle of a major initiative to promote the cause of orphans all over the world. Check out www.voiceoftheorphan.org. John and Dixie Bickel and I had an almost 2 hour meeting with people from the orphan care department. There are two ways that Focus on the Family invited God's Littlest Angels to take part in their initiative:
1. Dixie and I were both asked to write "articles" for their new website. They are working on a website that will provide information and "human interest" stories about people and organizations who are meeting the different areas of orphan care, from people who are running church orphan care programs, to foster parents, to people who go on mission trips, to orphanage directors to parents who have adopted. They are planning that this will be a resource to encourage people to read more about it, consider different avenues to be of service, and be able to get in touch with people who have been there and done that. So I'm going to have the opportunity to tell our adoption story on a Focus on the Family website! Talk about a God thing!
2. The other thing that Focus is working on is an "alliance" (they don't know what they are going to call it yet) where they are essentially putting together a list of organizations who work in the orphan care business and asking them to subscribe to certain standards (ethical, religious, financial, practical) so that they can recommend them (on their website, in print, etc.) to people as organizations that people should talk to if they want to pursue sponsoring a child, doing a mission trip, adopting kids, etc. In our board meeting on Saturday, we started working through the details of the standards that Focus is setting and should hopefully be able to work through the logistical and procedural steps that would be required quite soon.
After the meeting on Thursday, I called Cheryl and told her about it and said that even if nothing else happened this weekend, the trip was a resounding success. Just being able to form the start of a relationship between Focus on the Family and God's Littlest Angels is a wonderful thing, and a thing that will open more doors than any of us can imagine going forward. God is good! All the Time!
Friday night, we had a fundraiser dinner and it was a wonderful evening. I worked the registration desk with one of John and Dixie's older sons (who lives in Colorado Springs) so I actually had a chance to talk to almost everyone who was at the dinner. I don't know yet how much was raised in funds (the totalling of that will come tomorrow) but I can tell you that, no matter what the funds raised, it was a success. Let me tell you a few reasons why....
1. There were many people who commented to us on the way out, "Thanks for all you are doing to take care of those kids." "God bless Dixie," "This is really neat!"
2. Bethany Christian Services had a "booth" at the dinner and I had a chance to talk to the three people from Bethany during the dinner. To say that the three of them were excited, when I introduced myself and explained that my connection with Bethany was that I connected Bethany with God's Littlest Angels,would be an understatement!
3. There was a couple who came to the dinner because they were invited by someone. When they filled out the registration form, they didn't check the box that said, "please send me your newsletters." After the dinner, when he came to settle up on what he bought (oh, and he was the second highest buyer at the auction) he made sure that I changed his registration form so that he got on the newsletter. He then asked if he could make his check out for more than what he spent. I told him that we'd love it if he did! Well, he made it out for 2 1/2 times what he spent! There was a man who had his heart touched by God on Friday night.
God is good! All the Time!
On Saturday, we had a rare occurence. We had a board meeting where 80% of the board was all in one place. We had people from Canada, Oregon, Colorado, Haiti, and Michigan there (two board members - one from Canada and one from Arizona couldn't make it, so they teleconferenced in). We spent about three hours in the board meeting and it was very obvious that God was with everything that happened this weekend.
So, where do we stand? Well, within the next couple of weeks, the final plans for the orphanage will be finished. It's going to be a 39,000 sq. ft orphanage at an estimated cost of about $51 per square foot (pretty inexpensive when you figure it's made of stone and concrete!). That comes out to about $2 million that we need to raise. The land has been paid for, the wall around the land is being built and will be done by December, along with the maintenance/storage building and both of them are paid for. We would love to be able to start building the orphanage buildings as soon as the wall is completed. The baby house, offices, guest house and director's quarters will take about 2 years to build and then another year to build the toddler house.
What do we need? To put it very simply, we need 840 people to pledge $100 a month for the next 24 months. Or we need 1600 people to pledge $50 a month for the next 24 months. Can you help? Any amount, however big or small would be appreciated.
We have all said that we really felt that God was with everything that we did this weekend. It wasn't our doings, it was his plans. Thank you for your prayers, they have been very much needed and it has really been felt.
We'll keep you informed, please continue to lift up the cause of God's Littlest Angels and the children in Haiti in your prayers.
Tom Vanderwell
tvanderwell@sbcglobal.net
(616) 292-7559
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A Resounding Success!
That's the way I'd describe the fundraiser that was held tonight. It's really really late, so I'm not going to go into much detail, but let me give you a couple of highlights:
1. The food was delicious - I haven't had that good of Haitian food since I was down at Dixie's house!
2. There were, I think, over 150 people who attended. Many of them had no contact with God's Littlest Angels before this.
3. It was very obvious in talking with people that many of them had their hearts touched by the story of GLA and the "plight" of the orphans in Haiti.
Everything went smoothly, all except for 6 of the auction items sold, and everyone had a great time. We had a really neat band performing that was really special because it was a family band with 3 of the kids being biological and 3 of them adopted from Haiti. Check them out at www.lukehamsandwich.com. Yes, that really is the name of their group, but the reason is because that's quite close to how you'd pronounce their last name! Check it out, they are quite something. I spent a while talking to the Mom and they seem like a really neat family.
I don't know the totals of how much money was raised, but it was a resounding success.....
If you want to consider holding one like this in your area, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Doug Rollings who does this type of thing alot.
1. The food was delicious - I haven't had that good of Haitian food since I was down at Dixie's house!
2. There were, I think, over 150 people who attended. Many of them had no contact with God's Littlest Angels before this.
3. It was very obvious in talking with people that many of them had their hearts touched by the story of GLA and the "plight" of the orphans in Haiti.
Everything went smoothly, all except for 6 of the auction items sold, and everyone had a great time. We had a really neat band performing that was really special because it was a family band with 3 of the kids being biological and 3 of them adopted from Haiti. Check them out at www.lukehamsandwich.com. Yes, that really is the name of their group, but the reason is because that's quite close to how you'd pronounce their last name! Check it out, they are quite something. I spent a while talking to the Mom and they seem like a really neat family.
I don't know the totals of how much money was raised, but it was a resounding success.....
If you want to consider holding one like this in your area, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Doug Rollings who does this type of thing alot.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
God is good! All the Time!
Hi all,
I thought I'd put a quick update on here about the meeting with Focus on the Family. I'll give you a couple of quick highlights and then write more later when time allows.....
The meeting went for almost 2 hours. It is truly fun to talk with other people who share your passion for the orphans of the world.
Let's just put it this way:
Focus on the Family is working on some initiatives that will generate much more exposure for the plight of orphans in this world, both internationally and domestically.
Based on our discussions today, GLA will be able to play a part in that initiative! We're still working out some of the details but we firmly believe that God is enabling a huge organization like Focus to help smaller organizations like us achieve what God's calling us to do.
I'll let you know more as I know more, but like I was telling my wife today, if nothing else happens productively out of this trip, I'd still feel like this was a very worthwhile trip. God is Good! All the Time!
I thought I'd put a quick update on here about the meeting with Focus on the Family. I'll give you a couple of quick highlights and then write more later when time allows.....
The meeting went for almost 2 hours. It is truly fun to talk with other people who share your passion for the orphans of the world.
Let's just put it this way:
Focus on the Family is working on some initiatives that will generate much more exposure for the plight of orphans in this world, both internationally and domestically.
Based on our discussions today, GLA will be able to play a part in that initiative! We're still working out some of the details but we firmly believe that God is enabling a huge organization like Focus to help smaller organizations like us achieve what God's calling us to do.
I'll let you know more as I know more, but like I was telling my wife today, if nothing else happens productively out of this trip, I'd still feel like this was a very worthwhile trip. God is Good! All the Time!
I'm here!
Hi all!
I got into Denver around 6pm last night and got down to Colorado Springs around 8:30. It's kind of fun, I'm driving a rental car - a bright red PT cruiser!
Met with Jean Bell last night and worked up some details for the meeting with Focus on the Family, then got settled into the hotel for some sleep. By the time I got to the hotel and got settled, it was a 20 hour day!
I'll write more as I have time later today after the meeting with Focus.
Thanks for your prayers!
Tom
I got into Denver around 6pm last night and got down to Colorado Springs around 8:30. It's kind of fun, I'm driving a rental car - a bright red PT cruiser!
Met with Jean Bell last night and worked up some details for the meeting with Focus on the Family, then got settled into the hotel for some sleep. By the time I got to the hotel and got settled, it was a 20 hour day!
I'll write more as I have time later today after the meeting with Focus.
Thanks for your prayers!
Tom
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Tomorrow!
Well, tomorrow is the day! I'm heading off from Grand Rapids Michigan to Colorado Springs for the rest of the week. Here's an overview of what's happening during that time:
On Thursday, Dixie and John and I are going to be meeting with people from Focus on the Family to talk about ways that we can jointly work together to raise awareness of the orphans of the world and encourage more people to adopt (specifically Haitian kids!)
On Friday we have the fundraiser (see Dixie's previous posts about that!)
On Saturday we'll be having a board meeting and discussing various ideas in terms of how we can raise $2 million to build a new orphanage.
I'll be coming home on Monday.
Stay tuned, I'll keep you informed on how things are progressing. I'm excited about what God is doing and I'm looking forward to seeing how I and many others can join God in his plans to take care of his Haitian Angels.
Please pray that:
All who travel will have safe travels. I know people are coming from Oregon, Alberta, Haiti, Michigan and other places for this.
Pray that we'll have a wonderful turnout for the fundraiser on Friday.
That the meeting with Focus on the Family will be productive and that God's will be done.
Thanks!
On Thursday, Dixie and John and I are going to be meeting with people from Focus on the Family to talk about ways that we can jointly work together to raise awareness of the orphans of the world and encourage more people to adopt (specifically Haitian kids!)
On Friday we have the fundraiser (see Dixie's previous posts about that!)
On Saturday we'll be having a board meeting and discussing various ideas in terms of how we can raise $2 million to build a new orphanage.
I'll be coming home on Monday.
Stay tuned, I'll keep you informed on how things are progressing. I'm excited about what God is doing and I'm looking forward to seeing how I and many others can join God in his plans to take care of his Haitian Angels.
Please pray that:
All who travel will have safe travels. I know people are coming from Oregon, Alberta, Haiti, Michigan and other places for this.
Pray that we'll have a wonderful turnout for the fundraiser on Friday.
That the meeting with Focus on the Family will be productive and that God's will be done.
Thanks!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Update on Hurricane Dean
This is from one of the staff members at GLA
Well, we survived Hurricane Dean. It was definitely quite windy during the night, and as a result, I got very little sleep. But, we didn't have any damage, and so we are very thankful for that. I am so glad we did take all the precautions and clean up stuff, because the wind really would have blown things around. ......and she has a small balcony off of her room. She had one of the wooden rocking chairs on her balcony, and it was on its side this morning. So, had there been lighter things, they would have blown away. It is still very cloudy and a bit rainy today, but the wind has died down, and I expect by tomorrow, everything will be back to normal.
Well, we survived Hurricane Dean. It was definitely quite windy during the night, and as a result, I got very little sleep. But, we didn't have any damage, and so we are very thankful for that. I am so glad we did take all the precautions and clean up stuff, because the wind really would have blown things around. ......and she has a small balcony off of her room. She had one of the wooden rocking chairs on her balcony, and it was on its side this morning. So, had there been lighter things, they would have blown away. It is still very cloudy and a bit rainy today, but the wind has died down, and I expect by tomorrow, everything will be back to normal.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Hurricane Dean is heading for Haiti!
I just got these pictures from Laurie B at GLA (about 30 minutes before they lost satellite connection). They show the storm coming in and some of the preparations that they have made.
Pray for their safety, pray that landslides won't be a problem, and pray for those who don't have nice cement houses to keep them safe!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Addendum to the Update
I am so sorry that I left some information out of my Parquet update!
Many of you are wondering about the dossiers coming out of parquet. Yes, it is true that we had dossiers go into Parquet on August 1 and exited on August 6! Another entered on July 18 and exited August 6. Then others entered 4 months ago and are still there!
I truly believe that when Mr. Gassant told his staff to sign them and get them out, they started from the top of the pile and not the bottom! Parquet has not notified us any problems with the dossiers there. When there has been a problem, Parquet right away gave the dossier back to the lawyer.
So...yes, it's not fair or right that that they are not going in order signing the dossiers at Parquet!
Blessings,
Dixie Bickel, RN
God's Littlest Angels
Orphanage Director
www.glahaiti.org
Many of you are wondering about the dossiers coming out of parquet. Yes, it is true that we had dossiers go into Parquet on August 1 and exited on August 6! Another entered on July 18 and exited August 6. Then others entered 4 months ago and are still there!
I truly believe that when Mr. Gassant told his staff to sign them and get them out, they started from the top of the pile and not the bottom! Parquet has not notified us any problems with the dossiers there. When there has been a problem, Parquet right away gave the dossier back to the lawyer.
So...yes, it's not fair or right that that they are not going in order signing the dossiers at Parquet!
Blessings,
Dixie Bickel, RN
God's Littlest Angels
Orphanage Director
www.glahaiti.org
It's only $20 a month - I'm doing it, can you too?
Hi!
I wanted to give a short update before I leave for the USA tomorrow, Wednesday.
I will be in Colorado for our GLA Fundraiser. It takes place on August 24, so I'll be busy helping to get last minute details finished.
Léa LaPointe will be in Haiti doing the adoption paperwork and LaDawn Penner has returned to GLA for a month to help while I'm out of country. Laurie, Molly and Joyce will also be here, so things should run smoothly. John, I, and the boys will return on August 31. I will be in touch via email every day, so if there are any problems that need my attention the staff can reach me easily.
While out in the USA, we will be working to get a newsletter printed and put together. We probably won't get it mailed until after the fundraiser, but you should receive it around the first of September.
EDUCATION
It is that time of the year when children are lining up in our driveway applying for assistance with school tuition! Last year, 296 children went to school through GLA's sponsorship program at a cost of $50,000 USD! Unfortunately, we did not receive that much in donations last year. That is why we had to make a hard decision that unless enough donations came in for education, some children will not be re-enrolled in the program again.
We hate to see any child not attend school, but the mission cannot afford to pay that sort of money out of our charity fund. Please can you take the time to sit down and send a small donation to help put a child in school?
Chris Davies arrives the first week of September and one of his jobs will be helping to set up and organize the sponsorship program. We have not had the staff or time in the past to send out photos and information on the sponsored children. It will not be a sponsorship program like a large organization such as Compassion or Save the Children can do. That is not our primary work here in Haiti nor do we have the staff that you need for a program of that size! We want to send you a photo and information at the beginning of the school year and then once or twice during the year, we'll give you updates.
To sponsor a child for the whole year will cost $240 USD. For just $20 per month, you can have the satisfaction of helping a child attend school and learn to read and write. These children will just sit at home, if you don't help.
Please help educate a child......
ADOPTION
The adoption news out of Haiti, as always, is nothing but confusion and rumors! I try not to panic when something is reported because so many times nothing happens after we hear a rumor or things change before something can take place!
Many of you will remember back when President Aristide left in 2004 and Mr. Cadet became director of IBESR. For 2 years, we fought with IBESR about the law of 1974 and we went through a period where Mr. Cadet would not accept any dossiers that did not meet those requirements of the law of '74. Then Mr. Cadet started being more lenient with dossiers and the law of '74 was not strictly followed.
Now, here again, Commissioner Gassant in Parquet is demanding that IBESR follow the law instead of balancing what is best for the child along with the law. I truly do not believe he is against adoptions, it is just that he cannot see anything except the law. I think they realize that the law is out of date and needs to be changed, but until it is changed, he is insisting that the old law is followed. Now of course even in the Parquet, he told us exceptions would be made for couples who are infertile. So as you can see, even in the Parquet, there is confusion!
The new law is ready to go into chambers at the Senate. I was told yesterday that it hasn't gone but it is ready. Then it will be studied, voted on, and hopefully passed. I think our lawyer's estimate of it being voted on by October of this year may be too optimistic! We'll just have to wait and see.
I have to tell you that I have a peace about all of this. Having lived in Haiti 16 years, I have gone through so many highs and lows with adoptions that it is difficult to see the changes that are taking place today as lasting very long. There are other things going on with Parquet that makes me think maybe things will possibly change in a few months.
So, for right now, if there are any problems with Parquet's rejection of a dossier, we will fight to get it passed. We will ask for a Presidential Dispensation if needed. We will do everything that we can do, because this is not right. God has chosen each of these parents for these children and we will do all we can too see them together!
Have courage and faith and do not get discouraged!
And life goes on in Haiti....
Dixie Bickel, RN
God's Littlest Angels
Orphanage Director
www.glahaiti.org
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Guest Blogger - Britt
Hi all,
The post that I'm copying below was actually written by someone I've never met, though my daughter and my wife have. Even though I've never met her or her parents (and siblings), I consider all of them to be close personal friends. They are working for Children's Lifeline International in Haiti. You can read more about their family at www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com .
I'm posting Britt's comments because I think they lay out very well the frustrations that many people who live and work in Haiti feel and they lay out the reasons (just some of them) of why I admire people like John and Dixie (and Troy and Tara, Britt Paige etc.....) for the work they do and why I try to do what I can to help them help the kids in Haiti....
It's quite lengthy, but it's worth the read....
Friday, August 03, 2007
Mountains, Medicine, Moving & Other Muddled Musings
By Britt:
`
Yesterday was a crazy busy day for Paige and me. We started out our day at 5:45am and were out the door by 6:30 to head up the mountain to Petit-bwa. It's about a 5 mile hike, there and back. This was Paige's 4th time, but this pic pretty much describes how we both felt after the first 45 minutes, which oddly enough is the hardest part of the hike:
But then we started following a path on the left side of the mountain, which was completely shaded. The rest of the way up wasn't so bad - we took our sweet time, taking pictures and chatting along the way. Once we got to the top - which really isn't the top at all because deye mon gen mon (Haitian proverb: "behind the mountains, there are more mountains") - we laid out a blanket and sat in the soccer field that is on the outskirts of Petit-bwa. The new header on the blog was taken on top of the mountain from a January Petit-bwa trip, in the same soccer field where Paige and I attempted to rest/lay out yesterday.
`
Yesterday's scene in the soccer field was very similar to the blog header, except about twice as many kids and this time adults. They were sort of surrounding us and trying to speak multiple languages (we heard broken Spanish & English ... which was weird.) We were not amused by the flash mob-like situation. But this is their country after all and we reasoned that if we were them, we would come stare at the white girls too. :) So we just tried to ignore their gawking, bought a coke from the mountain vendor, and eventually set out on our way back down the mountain. We also called and talked to Dad; that was weird - talking on a cell phone on top of a mountain. Digicel has really changed the communication capacity of this country - it's awesome, but very surreal.
`
After the soccer field, we headed to our favorite mountaintop hang-out, this huge mango tree that is used as a shady resting point. We climbed up in the tree - probably higher than my mom would care to know - and chatted and giggled like only sisters can. The funniest part was when we heard a couple of innocent gardeners approaching the tree. We decided to be really quiet and see if they would notice the white monkeys. Right when we thought they'd passed unknowingly, one of the men saw us out of the corner of his eye and then proceeded to look closer, tripping and falling at the sight of the silly blan girls. It was so funny - cruel, I suppose, but laughable none the less! Here are a few pictures from our morning hiking outing:
When we got home, a teenage girl was sitting at the gate waiting to see me. I took one look at her hand and the mini-high that I had from climbing the mountain disappeared. Sigh. Her name is Jislun and she is seventeen. She lives in a village that is four hours away, up in the mountains past Petit bwa. About two weeks ago, she fell in a cooking fire, burning her knee, right hand, and part of her forearm. She had been treating the burns with a home-remedy; the knee had healed completely but there was no change in the burn on her hand. There is kind of a 'duh' to this -- the burn on her hand is probably the worst burn I've ever seen as far as severity goes. It is a full-thickness burn, but one that I don't see healing without months and months of dressings and several skin grafts. It is so bad that I can't bring myself to back-post the picture and put a link to it.
`
After figuring out the story and realizing that there was nothing I could do for her, we sent her and her sister with Pastor Rony into Port to try to find help. Before they left, I had to explain that I couldn't even attempt to clean/bandage the burn because if she had a bandage, the hospitals in Port would definitely refuse her. The concept is, if you have a bandage, then you must have someone ki prann swen or who is taking care of you. I also had to ask them to basically lie about when it happened - or at least try to be vague. But I guess it was to no avail .... MSF or Doctors Without Borders refused to take her because they said it had been too long since the burn occurred.
`
This is so frustrating. I understand that everyone has to have their limits and that that particular MSF clinic is more for trauma patients. (Isn't a severe burn a trauma though?!) But it is SO disheartening how quickly people just clean their hands of problems .... they didn't offer any other ideas for Jislun and didn't refer her to another hospital - they just out and out turned her away. People want things to change here, but it seems like most are unwilling to put very much effort into what it will take for the change to occur but rather wait for someone to do it for them or figure out a way to cheat their way towards change. I'm not saying MSF doesn't do some great, life-saving things - they do; it's just that lots of times it seems like people are turned away because of sheer laziness. Of course there are other possibilities: they don't have the supplies to handle burns, they don't have the knowledge or personnel, blah blah blah. But why couldn't they have given her a referral or some sort of hope? Please pray for Jislun; we sent her to a small burn clinic in Titayen that hopefully will be able to help her.
`
I feel ultra-sensitive to all of Haiti's/the world's injustices this week. On Tuesday, I stitched a boy's split lip. Throughout the procedure, little bugs kept flying around he and I and sometimes even into his open mouth. I was really angry that I didn't have a better option to offer him - he deserved better than that - a clean, sterile, closed room where bugs would be out of the picture.
`
This morning I saw fourteen patients. I don't know why so many people came today, but I was still feeling kind of put-off by the inability to do things differently or offer better care or options. Two different people came with a gaglionic cyst. Most of these eventually go away on their own, but that isn't what a patient wants to hear after having had it for over a year. Blah. I also had to turn away a mountain woman and her eleven month old malnourished son. He has ringworm on his head, so I gave some antifungal cream for that but it just didn't feel like enough.
`
A little boy from Barbancourt came with his dad who I'm currently treating for an infected foot sore. I had to explain to him that I don't have amoxicillin for his son's ear infection but that most ear infections go away on their own. Blah again. I think the American in me hates this explanation -- because I've had a "quick fix" option available to me my whole life, I think this should be available to everyone. I feel like such a loser saying, it will get better on its own, he'll just have to deal with the pain a little longer. I realize most doctors in the states aren't even prescribing amoxicillin for ear infections anymore for this exact reason (and so that the pt doesn't build up resistance to the antibiotic for future, more imminent uses) but still.
`
Mikenlove, a 6 year old boy that's in the feeding program and lives here in La Digue came again today for the third or fourth time. He has a persisting rash on his scalp - I've seen rashes like this before, it's not ringworm but basically just caused by Haiti living environment - being a boy who probably doesn't bathe enough, sweating and playing in the dirt every day. I've given antibacterial soap, triple antibiotic ointment, and other supplies to treat it. But I don't think he's ever getting any of the stuff I give - his mom or somebody must be using it on themselves instead.
`
The reason I haven't done it myself is because I truly believe that at every opportunity possible, I should help others help themselves. So over the year and a half, I have gradually released more and more of what I do/give (supplies) ... if it's something that I think the person can treat well on their own and I have the supplies to give them and they feel comfortable doing it on their own - then that's what we do. I'm going to start seeing him daily.
`
The best part of my morning was with Franchesca. Her burns are completely healed and today was her last appointment. I took pictures, gave her a sucker and finally asked "Eske ou bien ave'm?" Or "Are we friends?" She gave me the sweetest smile and loudly said "WI!" Ahhh, silly silly girl. But I'm happy for her.
Aren't these two cute? They are three year old twins. They have a really bad case of heat rash (so do I ... feelin' their pain) - hopefully hydrocortisone will help them.
As I was sweating under the tin roof, seeing patients, a thought occurred to me. I had overslept and was late starting; I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed. In evaluating my bad attitude, I realized that a month from now I'm probably going to be spending my mornings working some job, making coffee or answering phones or stocking shelves - I don't know yet. But I most likely won't be sweating my buns off or swatting away bugs. Nor will I get to feel like the work I am doing is directly beneficial to another person and/or myself. I realized that heat, bugs, and sometimes discouraging situations are such a huge blessing. (wait wait wait, of course I viewed what I am so privileged to be able to do here as a blessing before today ... just hang on) I just mean that I am so blessed to feel fulfilled in my "job" - even when I feel inadequate or discouraged about the lack of options - I feel still fulfilled.
I don't really view it as a job, but more a service that I get to offer; I don't think I'll be able to say the same working at a typical-teen job in the states. I'm thankful for the time that I had here. But I have a feeling that wherever I work, it is going to be a huge adjustment. Instead of dealing with people that really have no choices - yet few complaints, I'll have to be patient with a customer who freaks about only seventeen flavors of coffee syrup instead of the normal eighteen.
That being said, I know I am pretty much doomed to feel annoyed with America and the unfairness of it all. My feelings about moving are increasingly conflicting. At first, I was super pumped to go back to Minnesota, get rid of my heat rash, swim a final season, finish up high school and move to college and towards my goals in January. But now I find myself wanting to white-out the countdown I put on my calendar.
I can't really put into words the conflicting jumble of emotions I feel towards leaving in just nineteen short days. I completely love and don't love this island all at the same time. I want to leave, I am ready to leave, but then again I don't like the idea that I'm not coming back for a long while.
I will miss my Haiti friends, I will miss my roles in this community - but part of me is starting to back away from them, distancing myself from my love of the morning medical "clinic." I hate that - why can't I just enjoy it up until the end? Why do I defend myself by pushing things/people that I love away from me? Is it really going to make it easier to leave or me any less in-love with what I was blessed to do and my life in Haiti? I don't really think so.
On a lighter note ... I'd like to address some of my re-entering worries and annoyances. My mom thought I should share this .... people who know me will appreciate this more, knowing that I used to be 100% type A. Friends and family have written, asking about dates and plans. I find myself becoming quite indifferent towards and maybe even irritated with the whole plan-making process. Who cares? My initial response is to write back and say that I'll figure it out the week of the proposed activity/event. (For example, Paige & I decided we'd climb up the mountain about 8 hours before we actually did) Ahhh! How am I ever going to switch back to the "cold climate culture"? Maybe I need to read this book, but for the opposite effect - to learn how to relate to and understand the ways of the cold culture.
I haven't adopted the "hot culture" as my own entirely. I am still not "relationally oriented" and still appreciate to-do lists and completing tasks. But I really do have very little concern for time or the future past a week from now (at least with small, optional plans - of course not big, scary plans like deciding where to go to college.
I also don't care about choices. My thoughts mirror what my mom said in the post below. Gol! I wish that they sold Haitian sugar (un-refined, straight from the cane), Haitian Pepsi, FRAC cookies (which actually are from Chile) and Famosa ketchup in America ... I'm really gonna be ticked about not having those choices at the grocery store. But otherwise, I don't care.
Actually, truthfully - going out to eat and or shopping is overwhelming to me. Overwhelming is not an understatement. I've actually gotten headaches from leisurely shopping with friends. Maybe that is why I don't want to make plans, because planning in and of itself is a choice. And if we're planning to go out to eat, then I will have to decide what to order at some point. I think I have a phobia of choices. Or decision-making anxiety. There's too many of them! And America demands that I make one after another ... I like it better when I only have two brands of food to choose from, knowing that both will probably be a little expired and/or stale. It's so much simpler this way.
I know from visiting the states, that time for me is a really hard thing to control. I do not know how to walk into a Target with a list of the things I need and walk out without sitting at each selection of products, contemplating which brand of shampoo or which of the 5 white shirts to get. It is seriously a challenge for this usually task-oriented person. I've come to the conclusion that shopping is like a hobbie in America. I strongly dislike shopping! Even like fun shopping, for clothes and stuff, is really not all that enjoyable for me anymore. I tire SO much of not only the over-abundance of choices, but of the materialisticness of it all. I hate name-brands; I just do. I don't judge others for loving/wearing them ... I just realize - that a year from now their once-trendiness will be goodwill rejects, being shipped down here.
Another thing that has changed is being late versus early. I used to get so mad when my mom would make us late for stuff (she can attest to this.) Tardiness really doesn't concern me now - I like to live by the "We'll get there when we get there" mentality. I'm probably going to have to change that - if I plan on finding and keeping a job. But if we make plans to go out to eat, just tell me to show up 15 minutes prior to when you're going to be there. That way, we'll show up at the same time. :) Also, please don't ask me my opinion on which mall we shop at or who should drive ... please please please just decide it all for me and let me follow along like the puppy that I want to be. If we follow this arrangement, things will be just fine.
This post makes me feel really strange. I am kind of a fool .... who would have thought that the planner, time-concerned Britt would be dreading returning to the culture and "system" she once so willingly embraced. I used to scoff at TCK (Third Culture Kids) concepts ... That wasn't going to happen to ME. And I've only been here a year and a half - no wonder people hold stereotypes about cross-cultural people who have lived their whole lives this way.
But you know what, I'll be okay. I have a wonderful support team that is going to be going through all of the same stuff and together we can stand in the aisles of the MEGA store trying to decide which brand of low-fat-calorie-reduced delicious (not) Ranch dressing to buy.
We might not have it all together, but together we have it all.
The post that I'm copying below was actually written by someone I've never met, though my daughter and my wife have. Even though I've never met her or her parents (and siblings), I consider all of them to be close personal friends. They are working for Children's Lifeline International in Haiti. You can read more about their family at www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com .
I'm posting Britt's comments because I think they lay out very well the frustrations that many people who live and work in Haiti feel and they lay out the reasons (just some of them) of why I admire people like John and Dixie (and Troy and Tara, Britt Paige etc.....) for the work they do and why I try to do what I can to help them help the kids in Haiti....
It's quite lengthy, but it's worth the read....
Friday, August 03, 2007
Mountains, Medicine, Moving & Other Muddled Musings
By Britt:
`
Yesterday was a crazy busy day for Paige and me. We started out our day at 5:45am and were out the door by 6:30 to head up the mountain to Petit-bwa. It's about a 5 mile hike, there and back. This was Paige's 4th time, but this pic pretty much describes how we both felt after the first 45 minutes, which oddly enough is the hardest part of the hike:
But then we started following a path on the left side of the mountain, which was completely shaded. The rest of the way up wasn't so bad - we took our sweet time, taking pictures and chatting along the way. Once we got to the top - which really isn't the top at all because deye mon gen mon (Haitian proverb: "behind the mountains, there are more mountains") - we laid out a blanket and sat in the soccer field that is on the outskirts of Petit-bwa. The new header on the blog was taken on top of the mountain from a January Petit-bwa trip, in the same soccer field where Paige and I attempted to rest/lay out yesterday.
`
Yesterday's scene in the soccer field was very similar to the blog header, except about twice as many kids and this time adults. They were sort of surrounding us and trying to speak multiple languages (we heard broken Spanish & English ... which was weird.) We were not amused by the flash mob-like situation. But this is their country after all and we reasoned that if we were them, we would come stare at the white girls too. :) So we just tried to ignore their gawking, bought a coke from the mountain vendor, and eventually set out on our way back down the mountain. We also called and talked to Dad; that was weird - talking on a cell phone on top of a mountain. Digicel has really changed the communication capacity of this country - it's awesome, but very surreal.
`
After the soccer field, we headed to our favorite mountaintop hang-out, this huge mango tree that is used as a shady resting point. We climbed up in the tree - probably higher than my mom would care to know - and chatted and giggled like only sisters can. The funniest part was when we heard a couple of innocent gardeners approaching the tree. We decided to be really quiet and see if they would notice the white monkeys. Right when we thought they'd passed unknowingly, one of the men saw us out of the corner of his eye and then proceeded to look closer, tripping and falling at the sight of the silly blan girls. It was so funny - cruel, I suppose, but laughable none the less! Here are a few pictures from our morning hiking outing:
When we got home, a teenage girl was sitting at the gate waiting to see me. I took one look at her hand and the mini-high that I had from climbing the mountain disappeared. Sigh. Her name is Jislun and she is seventeen. She lives in a village that is four hours away, up in the mountains past Petit bwa. About two weeks ago, she fell in a cooking fire, burning her knee, right hand, and part of her forearm. She had been treating the burns with a home-remedy; the knee had healed completely but there was no change in the burn on her hand. There is kind of a 'duh' to this -- the burn on her hand is probably the worst burn I've ever seen as far as severity goes. It is a full-thickness burn, but one that I don't see healing without months and months of dressings and several skin grafts. It is so bad that I can't bring myself to back-post the picture and put a link to it.
`
After figuring out the story and realizing that there was nothing I could do for her, we sent her and her sister with Pastor Rony into Port to try to find help. Before they left, I had to explain that I couldn't even attempt to clean/bandage the burn because if she had a bandage, the hospitals in Port would definitely refuse her. The concept is, if you have a bandage, then you must have someone ki prann swen or who is taking care of you. I also had to ask them to basically lie about when it happened - or at least try to be vague. But I guess it was to no avail .... MSF or Doctors Without Borders refused to take her because they said it had been too long since the burn occurred.
`
This is so frustrating. I understand that everyone has to have their limits and that that particular MSF clinic is more for trauma patients. (Isn't a severe burn a trauma though?!) But it is SO disheartening how quickly people just clean their hands of problems .... they didn't offer any other ideas for Jislun and didn't refer her to another hospital - they just out and out turned her away. People want things to change here, but it seems like most are unwilling to put very much effort into what it will take for the change to occur but rather wait for someone to do it for them or figure out a way to cheat their way towards change. I'm not saying MSF doesn't do some great, life-saving things - they do; it's just that lots of times it seems like people are turned away because of sheer laziness. Of course there are other possibilities: they don't have the supplies to handle burns, they don't have the knowledge or personnel, blah blah blah. But why couldn't they have given her a referral or some sort of hope? Please pray for Jislun; we sent her to a small burn clinic in Titayen that hopefully will be able to help her.
`
I feel ultra-sensitive to all of Haiti's/the world's injustices this week. On Tuesday, I stitched a boy's split lip. Throughout the procedure, little bugs kept flying around he and I and sometimes even into his open mouth. I was really angry that I didn't have a better option to offer him - he deserved better than that - a clean, sterile, closed room where bugs would be out of the picture.
`
This morning I saw fourteen patients. I don't know why so many people came today, but I was still feeling kind of put-off by the inability to do things differently or offer better care or options. Two different people came with a gaglionic cyst. Most of these eventually go away on their own, but that isn't what a patient wants to hear after having had it for over a year. Blah. I also had to turn away a mountain woman and her eleven month old malnourished son. He has ringworm on his head, so I gave some antifungal cream for that but it just didn't feel like enough.
`
A little boy from Barbancourt came with his dad who I'm currently treating for an infected foot sore. I had to explain to him that I don't have amoxicillin for his son's ear infection but that most ear infections go away on their own. Blah again. I think the American in me hates this explanation -- because I've had a "quick fix" option available to me my whole life, I think this should be available to everyone. I feel like such a loser saying, it will get better on its own, he'll just have to deal with the pain a little longer. I realize most doctors in the states aren't even prescribing amoxicillin for ear infections anymore for this exact reason (and so that the pt doesn't build up resistance to the antibiotic for future, more imminent uses) but still.
`
Mikenlove, a 6 year old boy that's in the feeding program and lives here in La Digue came again today for the third or fourth time. He has a persisting rash on his scalp - I've seen rashes like this before, it's not ringworm but basically just caused by Haiti living environment - being a boy who probably doesn't bathe enough, sweating and playing in the dirt every day. I've given antibacterial soap, triple antibiotic ointment, and other supplies to treat it. But I don't think he's ever getting any of the stuff I give - his mom or somebody must be using it on themselves instead.
`
The reason I haven't done it myself is because I truly believe that at every opportunity possible, I should help others help themselves. So over the year and a half, I have gradually released more and more of what I do/give (supplies) ... if it's something that I think the person can treat well on their own and I have the supplies to give them and they feel comfortable doing it on their own - then that's what we do. I'm going to start seeing him daily.
`
The best part of my morning was with Franchesca. Her burns are completely healed and today was her last appointment. I took pictures, gave her a sucker and finally asked "Eske ou bien ave'm?" Or "Are we friends?" She gave me the sweetest smile and loudly said "WI!" Ahhh, silly silly girl. But I'm happy for her.
Aren't these two cute? They are three year old twins. They have a really bad case of heat rash (so do I ... feelin' their pain) - hopefully hydrocortisone will help them.
As I was sweating under the tin roof, seeing patients, a thought occurred to me. I had overslept and was late starting; I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed. In evaluating my bad attitude, I realized that a month from now I'm probably going to be spending my mornings working some job, making coffee or answering phones or stocking shelves - I don't know yet. But I most likely won't be sweating my buns off or swatting away bugs. Nor will I get to feel like the work I am doing is directly beneficial to another person and/or myself. I realized that heat, bugs, and sometimes discouraging situations are such a huge blessing. (wait wait wait, of course I viewed what I am so privileged to be able to do here as a blessing before today ... just hang on) I just mean that I am so blessed to feel fulfilled in my "job" - even when I feel inadequate or discouraged about the lack of options - I feel still fulfilled.
I don't really view it as a job, but more a service that I get to offer; I don't think I'll be able to say the same working at a typical-teen job in the states. I'm thankful for the time that I had here. But I have a feeling that wherever I work, it is going to be a huge adjustment. Instead of dealing with people that really have no choices - yet few complaints, I'll have to be patient with a customer who freaks about only seventeen flavors of coffee syrup instead of the normal eighteen.
That being said, I know I am pretty much doomed to feel annoyed with America and the unfairness of it all. My feelings about moving are increasingly conflicting. At first, I was super pumped to go back to Minnesota, get rid of my heat rash, swim a final season, finish up high school and move to college and towards my goals in January. But now I find myself wanting to white-out the countdown I put on my calendar.
I can't really put into words the conflicting jumble of emotions I feel towards leaving in just nineteen short days. I completely love and don't love this island all at the same time. I want to leave, I am ready to leave, but then again I don't like the idea that I'm not coming back for a long while.
I will miss my Haiti friends, I will miss my roles in this community - but part of me is starting to back away from them, distancing myself from my love of the morning medical "clinic." I hate that - why can't I just enjoy it up until the end? Why do I defend myself by pushing things/people that I love away from me? Is it really going to make it easier to leave or me any less in-love with what I was blessed to do and my life in Haiti? I don't really think so.
On a lighter note ... I'd like to address some of my re-entering worries and annoyances. My mom thought I should share this .... people who know me will appreciate this more, knowing that I used to be 100% type A. Friends and family have written, asking about dates and plans. I find myself becoming quite indifferent towards and maybe even irritated with the whole plan-making process. Who cares? My initial response is to write back and say that I'll figure it out the week of the proposed activity/event. (For example, Paige & I decided we'd climb up the mountain about 8 hours before we actually did) Ahhh! How am I ever going to switch back to the "cold climate culture"? Maybe I need to read this book, but for the opposite effect - to learn how to relate to and understand the ways of the cold culture.
I haven't adopted the "hot culture" as my own entirely. I am still not "relationally oriented" and still appreciate to-do lists and completing tasks. But I really do have very little concern for time or the future past a week from now (at least with small, optional plans - of course not big, scary plans like deciding where to go to college.
I also don't care about choices. My thoughts mirror what my mom said in the post below. Gol! I wish that they sold Haitian sugar (un-refined, straight from the cane), Haitian Pepsi, FRAC cookies (which actually are from Chile) and Famosa ketchup in America ... I'm really gonna be ticked about not having those choices at the grocery store. But otherwise, I don't care.
Actually, truthfully - going out to eat and or shopping is overwhelming to me. Overwhelming is not an understatement. I've actually gotten headaches from leisurely shopping with friends. Maybe that is why I don't want to make plans, because planning in and of itself is a choice. And if we're planning to go out to eat, then I will have to decide what to order at some point. I think I have a phobia of choices. Or decision-making anxiety. There's too many of them! And America demands that I make one after another ... I like it better when I only have two brands of food to choose from, knowing that both will probably be a little expired and/or stale. It's so much simpler this way.
I know from visiting the states, that time for me is a really hard thing to control. I do not know how to walk into a Target with a list of the things I need and walk out without sitting at each selection of products, contemplating which brand of shampoo or which of the 5 white shirts to get. It is seriously a challenge for this usually task-oriented person. I've come to the conclusion that shopping is like a hobbie in America. I strongly dislike shopping! Even like fun shopping, for clothes and stuff, is really not all that enjoyable for me anymore. I tire SO much of not only the over-abundance of choices, but of the materialisticness of it all. I hate name-brands; I just do. I don't judge others for loving/wearing them ... I just realize - that a year from now their once-trendiness will be goodwill rejects, being shipped down here.
Another thing that has changed is being late versus early. I used to get so mad when my mom would make us late for stuff (she can attest to this.) Tardiness really doesn't concern me now - I like to live by the "We'll get there when we get there" mentality. I'm probably going to have to change that - if I plan on finding and keeping a job. But if we make plans to go out to eat, just tell me to show up 15 minutes prior to when you're going to be there. That way, we'll show up at the same time. :) Also, please don't ask me my opinion on which mall we shop at or who should drive ... please please please just decide it all for me and let me follow along like the puppy that I want to be. If we follow this arrangement, things will be just fine.
This post makes me feel really strange. I am kind of a fool .... who would have thought that the planner, time-concerned Britt would be dreading returning to the culture and "system" she once so willingly embraced. I used to scoff at TCK (Third Culture Kids) concepts ... That wasn't going to happen to ME. And I've only been here a year and a half - no wonder people hold stereotypes about cross-cultural people who have lived their whole lives this way.
But you know what, I'll be okay. I have a wonderful support team that is going to be going through all of the same stuff and together we can stand in the aisles of the MEGA store trying to decide which brand of low-fat-calorie-reduced delicious (not) Ranch dressing to buy.
We might not have it all together, but together we have it all.
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