Where He leads...

Growing up in East Tennessee, this is a phrase I've heard often.

"Tomorrow we will do such and such, God willin' and the creek don't rise." Meaning, we will do it—so long as no unforeseeable circumstances arise and change our plans.

Many Haitians use a similar phrase, tacked on to the end of every single utterance regarding the future... si Bondye vle or si Dye vle, which literally translates "if God wants". They make their plans, but realize that ultimately God is in control.

Every time our housekeeper Jocelyne leaves for the day, she'll tell me goodbye and that she'll see me tomorrow, God willing. I asked her why she says it.

"Maybe I get home and I get sick or start to have pain and I can't work tomorrow. So I say, God willing. It's God who decides if He wants it to happen."

Our cook Yvette chimes in and agrees.

I ask Jocelyne if she has anything else to add.

"That's it," she says. "There's nothing else to add." As in... it's as simple as that! We plan, but God is still in control. End of story!

Junior, our groundskeeper and go-to guy, has been listening and remarks, "I may go to sleep tonight and not wake up in the morning. It might be my last sleep. This is why we say it."

And that brings us to the topic of Haitian prayers that almost always include thanking God for letting us sleep and also letting us wake up. Maybe I'll save that topic for another post, si Bondye vle.

Creole phrase of the day:
A demen si Dye vle. (ah deh-min see jeh vlay)
See you tomorrow, God willing.

Fill in the blank. The fruit pictured below is called __________________.

If you said "corossol", you're right! This fruit can grow quite large, typically weighing a few pounds, and is characterized by its green color and prickly skin. Inside you'll find a delectable white pulp with big black seeds similar to watermelon seeds.

You can eat the pulp itself, though after a few bites, it becomes almost like indissolvable chewing gum and most people spit it out. In Haiti, it's more commonly made into juice... a juice I refer to as "sweet nectar from Heaven". One corrosol can produce a significant amount of thick juice that is then combined with sugar, evaporated milk, and sometimes vanilla or almond extract.

To make the juice, Haitians generally use a sturdy cup to mash the pulp juice through a sieve. If available, a blender may be used to chop and smooth the thicker pieces.

My friend Andremene making my favorite juice! It takes about 4 hours to hike to her house. Enjoying this juice in such a remote location is an exceptional treat!

I've already let our cook Yvette know how much I love corossol juice. She's been making it at least once a week! I'm getting spoiled!

A fruit of many names. Corossol is also referred to as soursop. In Haitian Creole it's kowosol or corosòl. And in many Spanish-speaking countries it's called guanabana. Other names include custard apple, graviola, and Brazilian paw paw. But what's in a name? That which we call a corossol by any other name would taste as sweet!

A refreshing treat to beat the heat. Many people in Haiti freeze corossol juice to make ice cream. Haiti's famous Pat n To's ice cream offers corossol as one of their flavors as does Bongu's canned shakes.

A wealth of health benefits. Corossol has been reported to offer a number of benefits including high amounts of B and C vitamins, relieving liver ailments and skin irritations, protecting against UTIs, and some even suggest it can prevent cancer. (Other uses include treating bedbugs and head lice with its leaves and using the pulp as fish bait.)

A hot commodity. It's not always easy to find corossol in the market. You'll need to rise early and have your 100 goudes* ready. One reason is that many Haitians know the benefits of this delicious and nutritious fruit. The second reason is that if you find a corossol tree, you typically only see a small amount of fruit hanging. The sources I found note shy-bearing of only 12-24 fruits produced per tree. *A decent sized corossol will typically sell for 50-100 goudes, $1.25-2.50.

So the next time you're in Haiti, keep your eye out for this impressive fruit. And don't forget to swing by the guesthouse so we can whip you up a fresh glass!

[This is a post I wrote for FHM's blog.] What kind of host would I be if I didn't give you a tour of where I live and work? Managing the guesthouse is one of my primary roles with FHM.

The Nancy Ferree-Clark Guesthouse is located in Leogane, Haiti along Route Nationale #2 and is named in honor of the Reverend Nancy Ferree-Clark, now pastor at Federal Way United Methodist Church in Auburn, Washington. Nancy was former Associate Dean of Duke University Chapel in Durham, NC, and served for 18 years as pastor of the Congregation at Duke Chapel. The Congregation at Duke Chapel, along with Duke Chapel, helped raise the funds to build the guesthouse. And my, what a beautiful house it is!!

Our guesthouse can sleep up to 24 guests, each of the bedrooms has an ensuite bathroom. My favorite part of the house is the big open living and dining area next to a spacious kitchen. And of course I love the wraparound porch! A great place for catching that appreciated Caribbean breeze! The house comes complete with 24/hr security, wifi, and even A/C for several hours each day.

Enjoy this photo tour...

While we're at it, I'll go ahead and give you a peek at my bedroom too. I love it!

And I will give you a proper introduction to our staff in upcoming blog posts soon. But you might as well get to know this lady immediately—Yvette is our cook! When you come see us, she will be joyfully preparing your meals. She puts out a delicious feast for us each day. You won't go hungry... in fact... you'll have to work extra hard while you're here so you don't gain a few pounds. :)

I'm making the new house feel like a home. I've always enjoyed putting some creative effort into everywhere I've lived. Whether it's been one room, a small apartment, or a 3-bedroom house. My options in Haiti are limited without forking out a lot of money or filling up a suitcase with only fun decorating items. So I improvise and do the best I can without the luxury of Hobby Lobby and other crafty and cute stores! I'm loving how my room is turning out. It's peaceful and relaxing. Just how I like and need for it to be! I'm going to buy a couple comfy chairs for the other side of the room to have a place to read, watch a movie on my granddaddy's TV (it fit in the suitcase!), and exercise.

The inspiration/first purchase for my room was the rug. And my favorite decoration is the banner above the bed. I just love how it turned out. :)

I saw a photo hanging contraption like this at Target and almost bought it. Then decided to make my own instead.

I knew how I was going to make the frames--what color, with the ribbon, etc. Just needed inspiration for what to put inside. Settled on some of my new favorite verses from Psalm 27 thanks to my friend Erika. :)

I wanted to bring at least one wall hanging with me. I figured this one is quite appropriate and a good reminder as I wake up every morning!

Even my bathroom got a mini-makeover with the plaque on the wall, new and comfy bathmat and new shower curtain. You can't tell from this photo, but I took the chevron ribbon from the other wall hangings I made and glued it around the mirror to cover up the blah metal frame. It's super cute!

This was my decorating contribution to the main living area at the guesthouse. I had some of my photos made into metal prints (thus the glare), but they turned out well and are a definite attention grabber.

It's a new year filled with new changes!

I'm back in Haiti and I'm getting settled in to my new position and a new house. I'm still in Leogane, about five minutes down the road from where I lived with CNP last year. I'm now the In-Country Coordinator for a great organization called Family Health Ministries. My main role for now is managing their guesthouse that's located on the national highway that runs through Leogane. The house is beautiful and doesn't take much to get used to. It has a big open living and dining area that I love and a great kitchen. My room is a blank canvas that I will have fun putting my touch to, and this will be the biggest bed I've ever had in Haiti! What a blessing! (It's the little things in life!) I also have my own en suite bathroom which is a nice perk!

The blank canvas. More to come (with photos) soon. :)

The guesthouse is beside a sugar cane field. You'll find lots of horses, cows, and goats grazing. This year FHM will be building a surgical center on this property.

I'll be managing the functioning of the guesthouse, making sure our visitors are well taken care of, and managing the staff. We have Yvette the cook. She's incredible! Lasagna is on the menu for tonight! Joslyn the housekeeper is also very sweet and takes pride in her job. Junior is the gardener and general helper around here. And Richard and Jonatas (sp?) are the security guards. We also have another security guard for one or two shifts a week, I haven't met him yet, and sometimes we'll have extra help in the kitchen when we have a big group. So that's us. :) I'll post photos of everyone in the coming weeks so you can put faces with names. I already have a small group here to start me off. I'll have a few people next week for a couple nights and then I'll have a pretty steady stream of guests through the end of March. It will be fun to meet people from all over and hear about what brought them to Haiti.

I'm looking forward to this new role and all the challenges and blessings it will bring. We headed up Monday to look at the projects FHM has going there. They have a school, children's home, and are building a women's health center that will have exam rooms, labor and delivery, a nursery, education space, and more. It's very exciting and will be a huge benefit for the community of Fondwa and the surrounding areas!

FHM's school in Fondwa

The site of FHM's new women's care center in Fondwa. What a view!

Of course I'm already making new friends of all kinds. :)

I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as I continue to settle in and learn about my new role with FHM. So stay tuned! :)

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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