The Good, the Hard, and the Unthinkable

Today started with a miracle ... well after an hour of Insanity, a run, a shower, and so forth. I walked into the clinic in time to hear the guard, Lavoil (luh-vwal), say there was a lady at the gate wanting to be seen. Tony had already passed out 30 cards making the line long but the lady was possibly pregnant and Tony doesn't turn away pregnant women often. She came in with her sister complaining she wasn't feeling good. To spare you from the details, after checking her vitals Tony decided we needed to send her to the hospital with a 102.3 fever and high blood pressure. Assuming she could in fact be pregnant, Tony checked her. I prayed since the situation didn't look good. In the midst of praying, Tony noticed that not only was she pregnant but a foot was coming out of her. Tony touched the baby's toes and the baby wiggled the toes back against his fingertips. There was no sending Mama to the hospital at this point. I prayed again feeling ill equipped to help Tony deliver this breach baby. Vladimir and I stood there with gloves on and suction ready to deliver. The mama hadn't let out a single sound but what seemed like a contraction started and the baby's body descended from mama. Two feet, two legs, the bum, the back, one shoulder, the second shoulder and finally the head. We suctioned the tiny girl and heard a wee little cry. New life. And then the flood gates opened and Tony and I both started sobbing. I had been holding my breath and the cry of the baby brought immeasurable amounts of relief to both of us. I went to get the water warm for the bath and Tony said "there's another baby in here." What? A few minutes later Baby B was born. Another little girl. Healthy and crying. Two babies. Two miracles. 8lbs altogether. I couldn't help but think of all the what ifs. The little girls had made it. The story doesn't end here. There's always more to it than two little lives coming into the world. The dad comes in and between the mom and dad there was no expression on either face. No smiles. No tears. Neither of them willing to hold one of the girls. The sister of the mama told us three years ago the mama gave birth to twins and they got sick. They both died of fever and cold .... on the same day. Very strange. Then Vladimir pipes up to say the dad is the voodoo priest in the village. The witch doctor. I think we all felt the whirl of emotions inside us as we try to celebrate new life and evil all together. The mama ended up needing more medical attention after the births due to complications than we could offer so we loaded them up in the truck and sent them to the hospital. The mama was unable to walk, much less carry one of her newborns and the dad flat out refused. Vladimir reached back to hand the aunt both babies and off they went. We pray for those two little girls against all odds to be healthy and know Jesus as their Savior. We pray the same for the parents. Lilly prayed tonight for their hearts to smile because Jesus loves them. I found that to be a good way to articulate it. In all, the miracle was in what could have been a sad story of loss today was instead a story of great favor and redemption. Those twins won't replace the previous set but they are a gracious gift after a tremendous loss.

They weren't the first babies born at the Hope Center this week. I received a text Tuesday morning at 5:40a.m. from Tony that 2 mamas were in the clinic in labor. I could hear their screaming from my bed room. We all know when they start screaming for Jezi (Jesus), that they are close to delivery. One mama was not at all enthused about delivering a baby and when the baby came out she slapped the baby and cursed at it. The other mama was singing hymns while contracting. Kelly and I both were at awe of how we could stand in between two mamas of two extremes ... like standing between good and evil. The baby girl went home with the mama's friend and we were all hesitant about her future. I can't describe the angst of watching a baby go out of the gate with a mama who doesn't want it. But it happens here. The angst is real on all sides. The other mama crowned and said, "she didn't feel like pushing." We ended up sending her to the hospital where she delivered a healthy baby girl. We deliver a 7:1 girl, boy ratio. Odds are it's a girl. The mamas never want to guess but we always do.

Going backwards from today ....

This week was the first week we had a good friend from "home" come visit. It was so good to have Kelly come and see life here, serve in the community and encourage me in the work God is doing in me and hopefully through me. We laughed and talked and spurred each other on toward goals to conquer challenges and aspire for excellence. It was good to sit on the roof and watch the sunset, go to the beach, run the rocky roads together, experience Haiti ... together.

We were both curious as to what to expect from our local church here on Easter (especially since I completely forgot to tell Kelly to bring "church clothes." Church here was definitely not the same as one you might experience in the States.

No Easter bunny
No chocolates or jelly beans
No baskets
No annoying fake green grass
No pastel clothing
No egg hunts
No Easter dresses

There also happened to be No pastor. Our pastor Mickenson didn't show, making Easter a little more unplanned and impromptu. Turns out he had a cold. I saw him later in the week and said, "we missed you on Sunday" which I admit was a little passive aggressive on my part. He said his cold was too bad to call in sick. And then he went back to what he was doing. Not quite how the conversation would go in the States. The local man who preached got E for Effort and maybe not quite T for Theology. All in all it was still refreshing to look at the passage on the resurrection and not have all the frilly marketing stuff we have in the States.

We did however, dye Easter eggs. Lilly and Ava had a blast doing it and we ended up with some brownish eggs from Ava dying them "every color." We went down to the orphanage to do it with the friends at the orphanage as well. They weren't quite sure why I was there with a dozen eggs and 8 bowls of dye but they soon realized that the dye on the white egg shell brought vibrant colors to life. It was fun and they got something to eat out of the whole thing.

So did Lilly and Ava. Haitians eat fish for Easter. Dried, salted fish for the most part. However, Vladimir came back from the street vendor by the airport with a plate of fish with plantains, rice and beans. Lilly wanted some. I brushed her off. What six year old wants a whole fish with the eye looking right back at her. She persisted she would eat it. Just to meet her match, I had Vladimir buy her a plate ... well let's just say Lilly licked the bones. It was all we could do to congratulate her for eating her weight in Haitian street fish. And lucky for me she didn't throw up later.

Another major event of the week was Charles making a chicken coop and us adding 6 chickens to our little life in the Hope Center. We kidded Charles that with all of his advanced construction/design, it was no longer a chicken coop but a chicken Marriott. These birds are living the high life. Now if they would just go ahead and start laying eggs.

The team was helpful this week with the chicken coop, putting numbers on the house, and supplying a bed to one of our patients who lives in a stick hut. It was good to have them here from Mississippi. The team that was here a week prior also blessed us tremendously with the music camps. I was really impacted at how much the Haitians in this community got into learning a musical instrument. They played a little recital the last night and joy overflowed the church by their sheer smiles in effort to play. We also had a praise and worship service almost every night in the church and we would attend as would some of the locals. The songs we all knew we would sing and the Creole and English would intertwine and a part of me couldn't help but think this must be what God hears ... praise and song in all tongues at one time that make up some kind of perfect tune. The Great Bridge team left the instruments with us and we hope those who are interested will continue to play and smile. One definitely will. A team member, 13 year old Julia, gave her first guitar to Lilly and Lilly has been singing and playing ever since. I am amazed at how Lilly walks into the orphanage and plays her guitar and sings her songs to her friends. They respond picking up a few words at a time. No fear. No question about what they think of her. Just a bunch kids singing a few lines of Jesus Loves Me and the like.

Ava said in her prayer tonight "thank you for the chickens and for Gran'Mary" because nothing in her little mind is quite grouped in any pattern. But we've been praying a lot for Gran'Mary so she has picked up on that. Mom is doing well. I spoke to her tonight. She is really seeing progress. Her headaches come and go but overall are less intense and span over less time. We are grateful for her recovery and even more so at the testimony of faith she shows us all through her resilience and trust. She is someone I aspire to be like with her willingness to endure and confidence to rise above the trials. I hope to teach my girls some of those characteristics. Please keep praying for mom as she recovers. It's a long road and one filled with uncertainties. I pray specifically for God to use this to impact others and bring glory to himself.

While I'm praying, I pray for home schooling. It's been challenging to get past the "I don't want to" and the "can I just go play" to actually complete a task that we can call school. With limited internet and creativity, I find myself falling short of the teacher I wish I was. A few team members who are teachers have assured me that we are on track and she is really doing well but the day to day grind of it continues to be a discipline instead of a delight. I'm praying for that shift to happen soon. Yesterday I admit I taught math from the treadmill. It's just real life happening how it happens here. I hope no one comes to evaluate me or audit my classes. Our next home improvement project is to have a school room or at least a school corner.

Ava, on the other hand, may need a corner herself. She is all over the place between the trampoline, the kitchen, mopping floors with Jilien and everything in between. We were all in the common area one morning going over some decisions when out walks Ava with her baby in the carrier in the grocery cart all wrapped up and bandaged all over ... She said she was on the way to the hospital and could we please move so she could get through. That girl is more laughter than any of us could have imagined.

We continue to look at life here and learn from it. The people's contentment, their strength, resilience, joy, and sheer endurance against odds. I am starting a Bible study with some of the ladies on the hill Monday. I'm hoping my limited language ability doesn't hinder us all from communicating but rather will connect us in more ways as we see God is universal and not just particular to any one place or nation. I did find myself the other day saying something in Creole to a waiter at the beach and I had previously spoken English so he looked at me surprised. He asked me if I knew Creole and I said yes and then immediately hoped our conversation ended there. Ha.

Other funny tidbits from the week:

While taking a shower the other morning, I ran out of water. Not ran out of hot water, I ran out of water. I got out soapy. Speaking of showers, I find it odd that the people who bathe out in the open choose to say 'bonjour' to me on my run. I instinctively turn to them and find myself curious why they initiate hello while bathing.

Kelly and I were on the way to the beach when we saw two men on a motorcycle with a few 12-foot 2 x 4 boards between them. They were definitely wobbly. As you can imagine the boards were sticking out about 6 feet on each side. We just wondered how far they made it. Crazy circus act that isn't.

I ended up driving back the last little bit to the Hope Center and in the short time I was driving the truck, Vladimir kept trying to tell me when to shift. Until I told him I was driving a stick shift while he was still in elementary school.

The next day there was a patient in the clinic who needed some help with some menstruation issues. Tony proceeded to tell me how to use a pad so I could show her.

I guess it'll take a little longer for me to convince people of what I already know and learn what I don't.

or not as funny ....

We definitely have an ant problem. And the ants here bite. Today I was putting a bib on Ava before she ate mango and pineapple when she started screaming. According to Lilly there were 20,000 ants all over her. Ava looks like she has chicken pox from the thousands of ants that apparently were nibbling at the leftover crumbs on her bib and decided instead to nibble on her. I felt like a bad mom when she said, "mama put all de ants on me."

One more little tidbit ... we bought plane tickets this week to return to the States. Lilly, Ava and I travel back on June 21 and Charles joins us mid-July. We will be in Memphis, Jackson, Waco, Atlanta and North Carolina during that time. We'd love to see you during our travels if we can.

That's a hefty update for this mama. Thank you for joining us in the journey.