Where He leads...: December 2013

This blog entry is LONG overdue. But better late than never, right?

I've lived in Haiti now for over a year and a half. It has become like a second home to me. I can't explain what it's like to share this place with my family and close friends, but I suspect you can imagine what a special blessing that is!

I wasn't sure if my parents would be able to visit Haiti this year. I think I can speak for them to say that Haiti was never on their bucket list of travel destinations. But by now they all know that Haiti has gripped my heart and I may be settling in for a while, and so they booked tickets to see this unique place their daughter is living. I was blessed to have Dad and Kelly come visit in September and then my mom flew down in October. Her trip was a whirlwind... we packed so much in! But it was incredible and a week neither of us will ever forget! I'll share more photos than anything to give you a peek at our adventures!

It's always interesting for me to see Haiti afresh from the perspective of a new visitor. I continue to see its beauty, the obvious challenges families here face, and the busyness of life. But I also take more notice of the brokenness, the dirty streets, and the poverty. Not that I forget them normally, they just become the "new normal" and you don't pay as much attention to them... or at least not in the same way you do in your first wide-eyed ride from the airport.

I always wonder if the Haiti that visitors see is the Haiti they expected to see... or more... or less... or completely different. Mom took it all in and like any trip like this, I'm sure will continue to process it well into the future.

Mom arrived on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday afternoon we were suitin' up for an adventure in the mountains! I wasn't sure how we would fit it all in, but I made it work. I really wanted her to experience an overnight in the mountains—like the many I've had this year—because I knew that it truly is a unique opportunity!

We packed the bare minimum in our packs, plenty of water, and off we went! Lesly dropped us off at a "moto station" and we hopped on a motorcycle that took us over the river and through the woods to the base of a mountain where we started our hike.

I think it took us about an hour and a half to hike up to Chevrine. We took our time, admired the the view, and snapped a bunch of pictures. Living near the Smoky Mountains, we've hiked many times, but hiking in this area of Haiti is much different. There are very few trees and the trails are rocky and slippery. Normally the hot sun is beating down on you, though we were so blessed that the sun decided to hide behind the clouds while we were hiking!! So timely!

We finally arrived at the home of one of our monitrices, Regina, and received a warm welcome by her family. Mom enjoyed getting to know them. They loved looking through photos on her camera to learn about our family and life in the States. And she loved learning about what life is like for them in Haiti, how they run their household, where they get water, and so on. They fed us well and we woke up to homemade hot chocolate made from real cocoa. Yum! Mom brought down flashlights that require no batteries, just solar power or a hand-crank. They were so excited to receive them and as we were all tucked in for bed, Regina was shining the light across the ceiling looking at every nook and cranny. :)

I chose to hike to Chevrine, of all places, because it was a close and easy enough hike, but also because I love the view from up there! I hadn't spent the night there before, but I could imagine the sunsets and sunrises and indeed, they didn't disappoint!!

I promised Mom that after that intense adventure, we would have time to rest and relax! We headed with Lesly a couple hours across the mountain (by truck this time!) to a town called Jacmel for a few days. It is more of a tourist location and has nice hotels and beautiful views. We stayed at Hotel Cyvadier, which was the perfect place for us and the food was incredible!

Even though we went to Jacmel to relax, I told her that we still had another excursion awaiting us! Bassin Bleu! Mom's trip to Haiti wouldn't be complete without visiting this incredible place! She loved it! (Of course!)

I can't say that I really wanted to keep putting Mom on moto after moto, but we didn't have much of a choice if we wanted to do and see everything on my list! She didn't mind and I just prayed hard for our safety and indeed, God protected us. :) If you didn't know, Mom went skydiving for her last birthday, so adventure is something she is always up for!!

And besides, when in Haiti do as the Haitians do! :)

Like I said at the beginning, my family knows that I've fallen in love with this country and the work that I'm doing here. Mom wanted to come see it for herself and meet the special people she's heard me talk about for months and months. We had a birthday party for Lesly's daughter Joulie so she could meet his family...

...And of course we spent some time at the children's home so she could love on those kids with me. She also went with Lesly and I a few hours away to pick up the mealpacks for the children's home. That was a neat experience for her to see how things get done and to see some familiar faces of some other missionaries from our home town.

We packed it in and she loved every minute of it! I hope to share more of this country with her in the future, but this was a great first trip for sure! Thanks for coming, Mom! It was a blessing more than I could ever describe!

(originally posted on CNP's blog)

Three!... that's how many weeks I've got left of the nearly 50 I'll spend with CNP this year. 2014 will bring new adventures in Haiti, but my official time with CNP will come to an end on December 20th. As much as I'm counting down the days until I get to spend Christmas with my family, I'm sad to be saying farewell to this incredible organization. Thankfully, I will only be living minutes away next year and I look forward to staying in touch with my friends here and continuing to join with CNP as I'm able to help raise up a healthy generation of Haitian children!

My internship has been filled with many highlights, successes, challenges, and adventures.

Some highlights...

Getting to know many of our great CNP staff on a personal level. Long car rides to Port au Prince and hikes through the mountains grant you the time to learn about their families, dreams, difficulties, and everything in between. I look forward to continuing these relationships into next year!
Having the opportunity to watch the sun rise and fall over some of the most beautiful landscapes in Haiti!
Learning more about the reality of malnutrition in Haiti and how to help combat it with both clinical and grassroots education programs.

Some successes...

The hundreds of children who have come through our nutrition clinic—coming as malnourished children and leaving as healthy children—are success stories I'll always cling to in the face of the harsh statistics that still exist in this country.
My Creole was good when I started in January, but it has improved even more. We don't use translators, which is great for Creole learners, and it wasn't long before I was off in the mountains by myself, conducting meetings solely in Creole, and depending on it for the majority of the work I do.

Some challenges...

Serving in Haiti is never without its challenges! I've been working alongside many of our Haitian staff members who have been with CNP for over 10 years. I've felt like a newbie and yet I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders to help push our programs forward. I'm thankful for their patience and for the respect I've been able to gain from them as we work together for the benefit of the families we serve.
As much as I want to see the children in our programs thrive, it's not always easy. There are so many factors involved when trying to help a malnourished child, and it can be challenging to find and address the root problems that are hindering the child's progress. You can will it to happen all you want, but it's a struggle and a fight—though it's definitely worth the effort to be able to see a child come out on the other side.

Some adventures...

3, 4, and 5-day treks through the mountains of rural Leogane with our mobile nutrition clinics, to do surveys, and to just spend time with and learn about the communities we serve. I'll never forget not being prepared (shoe-wise) for a 20+ times river crossing adventure or hiking a total of 7 hours (mostly uphill!) with our nurse on her mobile clinic route or staring down a tarantula in the middle of the night and then waking up the next morning to my fire ant infested backpack.
Milking Port au Prince trips for all they're worth by taking advantage of airport runs in order to eat sushi or pizza with other interns and/or play Supermarket Sweep at grocery stores to buy as many goodies as possible that you can't find in Leogane before your driver gets too impatient.
Spending a couple relaxing weekends away at the beach with the other interns to refresh and rejuvenate in the midst of our busy schedules.

So as I finish out these next three weeks and move on to the days ahead, I find myself extremely thankful for this incredible opportunity to partner with an organization that is doing so much to transform the lives of Haitian families. It takes special people to do the work that is needed here and I have been blessed to be surrounded by so many of them! And thank YOU (readers) for following along with our journey in Haiti and supporting our important programs. We couldn't do it without you and I'm grateful that you have given us all the opportunity to serve with CNP—and more importantly, that you have given these families the opportunity to live healthy, productive, and hope-filled lives!

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