Clinicians of the World

We were pleased last night to welcome a medical team from Clinicians of the World to Mission of Hope International.  Dr. Rowlens Melduni, a Haitian born MD living in the USA, organized this team of twelve to come serve the people of Grand-Goâve this week.  They have two goals for their time here.  They will deworm as many children as possible.  Dr. Meduni explained to the church this morning many of the negative effects these parasites can have on the children (poor absorption of nutrients, stunting development, fatigue, inability to learn in school, diminished capacity to advance in life…).  They will be teaching sanitation and building latrines for the village of Jeanty.  We are excited to work with this diverse team, with members from Minnesota, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York…  Welcome!!!

Another Sunday…

I love Sundays.  It’s different than every other day of the week.  The church gathers together early in the morning.  We sing praises, worship, hear Bible exhortation, give tithes and offerings and LOTS of hugs and kisses.  People dress up in their nicest clothes and proudly walk down the street, Bible tucked under the arm.  It’s a great time to let others know how glad you are to be sharing their lives with them – how much you love them.  It’s often a time of great animation – loud laughter, strong expressions (we call it “tying” your face), and appreciating all the new additions.  It’s also a time for the church to share our common bond with visitors from far away, as we realize we all love and serve the same Lord and Savior.  Because of His love and forgiveness toward us, we are able to live our lives, loving and forgiving others, too.  Here are a few pictures from this morning’s service…

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After church, when I’m all done hugging and kissing all the women and children, greeting the guys and attending any meetings that my husband has called (usually the women, youth or music ministries), I settle into my office.  There’s no school going on, no construction, so it can be very quiet.  Lately I enjoy joining my old church in Willimantic, CT (Light on the Hill Christian Fellowship), as I listen to Pastor John Heald teach from the Bible.  (He is 100% teacher and I always find something in his message to spark my love of learning.)  I’m so grateful for the good foundation that was built in my life back then.  I’m really glad that they do live streaming of their Sunday morning services, too.

Once I’ve indulged in some fruit or salad, I start thinking about posting on the MOHI blog.  I love to write when I’m feeling inspired, but inspiration is definitely not automatic.  I go through pictures that I’ve collected during the week and start to think about moments that I’d like to share with you.  Today I’ve enjoyed the pictures so much!  I feel like I would ask Scotty to beam you all over to Haiti to spend a week with me.

How I wish each one of you could share in my experiences here.  The sights, sounds and smells can be harsh sometimes, but on daily basis they are pleasurable.  The sound of children reciting their lessons in school, singing, screaming during recess and having discussions outside my window – I drink it all in.  Even the sound today of Mireille’s little boy, Stanley, SCREAMING at me just because I looked at him – I actually enjoyed it, as we all laughed.  I’ve obviously been greatly influenced by my friends here.  There was a day that I would have felt so bad for him, because he was so scared.  But I reacted with laughter and teasing, “Oh!  You ate ALL the bananas in my office without a complaint and look at you now!”  No, that was not my typical American response of “Awwww.  Just leave him alone.  He’s scared.  The poor dear.”  Nope, I laughed right along with everyone and stayed right in his face, as he tried to enter into his brother’s tummy.  Believe it or not, this is how they learn that the “blanc” is really ok.

The smells are not always so pleasant, as sweating is the norm, while deodorant is not.  However, the smell of garlic being sauteed for the rice and beans is just heavenly.  Madame Nelio’s paté frying right outside the gate can make me hungry.  Then there’s the high school students who come to school just drenched in perfumes and colognes.  Teens are teens all over the world.  The girls have their lips all painted and shiny.  The guys will come into the yard wearing the latest style of sunglasses – often taking turns wearing them.

It’s “pwa kongo” season.  Yay!!!!  My favorite time of the year.  This pigeon pea grows on a large, somewhat scrawny bush and has a long growing season.  Early on in my time here I would hear people getting excited about these ugly beans and think, “What’s the big deal?”  I tried them and decided I preferred lima beans, green peas or black beans in my rice.  The whole time we were in America this Fall however, I kept saying, “When we get back to Haiti, I’m going to eat pwa kongo everyday!”  It seems my tastes have changed.  I just can’t enough of them now.  Unfortunately between Isaac and Sandy, many of the bushes were destroyed, so the demand for the beans is much higher than the supply.  Nevertheless, yesterday we were able to find some at our local open market and today – well, I’m feeling really good.

Monday was an extra special day for me, as we began giving out the peanut butter that you all donated.  Oh my goodness, you just can’t possibly know the pleasure Lex and I experienced, sharing the peanut butter with our preschool classes.  Parents will sometimes sell gifts they receive for something they deem more important.  We really feel that the protein is so important for the kids, so we opened each jar and put a little bit on a cracker for each of the kids.   They went home with the rest.  Once the jar is used, no one will buy it.  I hope you enjoy the pictures here.  Use your imagination, knowing that the kids were just thrilled about it all.

 

 

 

 

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School Construction

Funds have been coming in to purchase the supplies necessary to install an electrical service in the new school.  We hope to begin laying it out while architect Paul Fallon is here this week. In the meantime, I am ALL excited to see the finish work starting on the front of the school building!  Watching the construction move forward little by little, I sometimes wonder if we’ll EVER be done.  But then there are the times that I think back to September 2000, when the MOHI school in Thozin was started.
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