Finally Home

Home is a bittersweet place right now. I woke up this morning and got pretty sad that I didn't get to go see my babies today. I have still been keeping up on the blogs and facebooks of the other girls so I know everyone was doing ok. Susan, the nurse at GLA, said that they had a 3.5 aftershock on Friday night. God was so good in that we were not there for that exsperience, but it still would have been a good story to tell. I checked Suasan's blog today and they got a new preemie from Kinscoff that is very malnurished. Please pray for Susan to have wisdom to know how to help out this little baby. If you want to check out her blog or any of the others you can go to glahaiti.com.

When we got back to the states we immeiately decided that we needed to get some good American pizza before our next flight. It was a brilliant idea at the time, but when you get ecoli and are throwing up on planes and in airports for the next 24 hours, then it's not so great. Thankfully God knew that I needed my mommy to be in Omaha when I got back. Her and Brett came down to Omaha then picked up Micah at Grace to meet me at the airport. They all three did an awesome job taking care of me after my sleepless, sickly, 24 hours.

God taught me a ton while I was in Haiti, especially to rely on Him for everything. He got me through safe and sound. I am so glad that I got to experience Haiti. I will never forget the people, the babies, or the amazing time that I had.

For now I think God wants me to be in Omaha going to school at Grace. Maybe one day I'll return to Haiti...I guess we'll see what He does in my life. Whatever it is I know it will be great!!!!

Chaoticness

When you tell God to take you out of your comfort zone, He does exactly that.
The morning stated around 7:45 with our daily walk to the main house. We all got proposed to by some Haitian men on the streets. So exciting. After arriving to the main house we got to hang out with our babies for awhile until we packed four trucks of food and clothing to distribute to the mountain town of Kinscoff. Alyssa, Kayla, and I got to ride in one of GLA’s brand new trucks. It was a very smooth ride which was different from the rest of the trips up the mountain.
When we arrived in Kinscoff one of the four vehicles went to pick up the mayor so that the distribution would go smoothly. Boy did that plan back fire. It ended up being that the mayor had a list of people that the bags of donations were going to. Problem is that when there are tons of backs left and tons of people that didn’t get one left. A mob broke out. It is so sad how the people of Kinscoff live. Our driver Jon said that the people are just surviving. So sad. After about an hour of chaos Jon decided that our vehicle needed to leave. He didn’t want us getting hurt. Jon reminds me a lot of my grandpa Dave. He is such a good guy. We ended up handing out our bag from our truck further down the mountain. The people were very grateful and one woman even thanked us repeatedly.
After the trek down the mountain we convinced Jon to stop at the Baptist Mission for ice cream and lunch. Of course Jon stopped for us. At the mission we met some missionaries that decided to come with us back to the house. Let me tell you twenty volunteers on a balcony with about twenty kids is never a good idea. I ended up getting a little overwhelmed so I helped do a few organizing projects.
God knew just what we all needed to end our hectic day. Pastor Joel came over to lead us in Bible study which was very refreshing. The team he brought with him lead the worship which was really amazing with the cloud coming across the balcony and the lightning across the mountains.
I have to leave Haiti in two days. I can say that I am ready to come home, but I know that what I have learned here is going to stick with me for life. Who knows maybe I’ll find myself back here one day. Or maybe He has a different plan for me. I guess I’ll just have to trust Him and follow His plan.

Calabase

Today we went up the mountian to Calabase to a school that Jon and Jack sponsor. Jon and Jack are staying and helping at GLA for a few weeks and making sure that their school is running good. While we were there we met Nixon who was hurt really bad in the earthquake. He is the principal at the Calabase school. He broke his arm and leg after failinf off the balcony during the earthquake. When we went up there we took supplies for the families whos children go to the Calabase school. It was a really fun experience. Calabase is way up in the mountians so the views were breath-taking.

For lunch we got to go the Baptist mission. They had little souveniour shops and there were people everywhere. I got some pretty cool stuff to take back to the states with me. It was kind of overwhelming trying to bargin with the men that were selling different things on the streets.

I also got to call my parents on the international phone. It was so awesome getting to talk to them. My mom definitely was crying. I guess I exspected it.

We get to relax the rest of the weekend. Off to church tomorrow. That will be just what I need to start another fanastic week!

Eww Mice!

Here I go!


This guy is a year old and weighs 12lbs so sweet!!



Me and my boy before bedtime!



Other than hanging out with and loving the babies we have done a ton of sorting of donations up at Fort Jaque. This is where the new GLA building will be. There was a ton of donations such as clothes, toys, and medical supplies that we sorted through. The only thing bad about sorting in a warehouse is the mice that live there. It's not that I'm scared of them, they just pop up whenever they want and startle me. No bueno! We have now cleared the warehouse and are ready to bring in more donations that have been waiting at the American Embassy.


Last night was very sad here at GLA. One of the little babies in the NICU passed away. It is hard to know that the baby passed but God will use it for His glory. The other babies here are so sweet. One of my babies reminds me so much of Casey. He is such a sweetheart.

Hope this is a good update on what's going on here. The internet is very limited so I don't get much time to upload photos. Enjoy!

The LORD is Good!!!

Well since I have last updated my blog we have done a ton. Everyday now we get to work with our kids in the mornings then we do sorting in the afternoons. Since the earthquake the orphanage has gotten a ton of relief items. On Monday we got to make relief packets for families in Kinscof. The town is up the mountain from where we are and apparently had a lot of damage but not a lot of people have been able to reach the people there. On Tuesday we sorted through a ton of clothes. We put them with various sizes and boxed them all up. Today we got to travel 30 minutes up the mountain to the new GLA site. We sorted through tons of diapers, toilet paper, Ziploc bags, and other random miscellaneous items. Did you know that all of the fences and houses are made from the rock on the mountain where the land is that they are building on? It is so fascinating. We found these preemie diapers that were so small that a small doll could where. Since there were only three diapers and they had been kind of ruined, I got to keep one. I think I will put it somewhere in my room back home so I can remember to pray for all of the babies.
There is a woman at GLA that is named Miss Vikki. She is so sweet. She takes care of this little baby that is one year old, but is only 12 pounds. He is so precious! He was a baby that was brought in after the earthquake and he was really malnourished. Miss Vikki told us that she is going to fatten him up.
Tonight Pastor Joel and his relief team came over for dinner. It was really nice to hear about what there team was doing in the tent cities. One of the men told me that there are around a million people that are living in the tent cities. It is a pretty sad deal. I am so glad that there are teams that are reaching the people in the tent cities. The people hear are still very scared to go inside any building so be praying that God will provide for this country. Pastor Joel then did bible study with us tonight. It was about going through trails so God can grow you. God is so awesome in sending the right people in our paths to encourage us.
Prayer Items:
Alyssa to get feeling better
People of the tent cities
For us to be a light in the darkness
The little babies in the NICU

Church and Noises

There are so many noises to here when trying to sleep in Haiti. There are some cows right below our room, rosters that crow whenever they want, goats, people singing and cars going by. It is definitely an adjustment from the sirens I always here in Omaha. Yesterday we got to go to a house church. Everyone there was American. It was such a blessing to be able to do worship in my own language. God is so awesome! The sun actually came out Sunday (there has been a huge cloud over the entire city since we have been here). It was so nice! I tried to catch a geco but failed. Oh well there will be plenty more oppritunities. I did catch a tree frog though. The older kids freaked out. I guess the Haitians think that if tree frogs pee in your eye, you will go blind. This one girl had a bat and was ready to kill it. Since the day was so nice, the older kids were outside most of the day. I told them my name was Amanda, in which I repeatedly heard my name the rest of the day. They never needed anything from me, they just wanted to say my name.

Today we got up around 7:20 to get ready for our mile walk down the road to the main house. We said hi to about everyone we passed on the way down. It is considered very rude if you don't say hi. We got right to work work playing, cuddling, and feeding our assigned kids. I have two little girls and two boys. They are all so precious. It's now lunch time then we will do some sorting and other random things around the house after lunch. My tan is coming along great just incase any of you wanted to know.

Pictures

Rubble from the earthquake.


Haiti from the air.



Me and one of the babies.


Lyssa and Kayla with the boys.


One of the two premie babies


Kayla and a baby


Smiley guy!!!


Me and 1 of the little babies.

All These Babies

Yesterday and today we got to come to the main house to meet the rest of the staff and the babies. We first went to the NICU nursery where the little babies were. They have a couple of little boys that are very premie and about seven other babies that were around 0-9months old. Next we went and saw the older baby nursery where there were around 25 babies from 1-3 years old. They all were coming and giving us hugs and wanting us to lift them up to hold them. Don't worry daddy I remembered rule #5 and was holding about four of them. After getting the tour I went back to the nursery and hung out with the little babies. It is so hard to not hold them all at once. We had a Haitian meal for dinner which was delicious! Chicken, rice, fresh avacodo, and fresh fruit. Afterward we hung out with the older kids that were tackling us and playing with our hair. We finally went back to the toddler house were we hung out with other volunteers and staff. Agnus and Amy are two of the other volunteers that are with us. Amy is from Pennsylvanina and is staying until the end of May. Agnus is from France and will leave a week after we do.

Today we got to sleep in. After we got up we helped clean our house and made Maccaroni and Cheese for lunch. We are now up at the main house seeing the babies again. We all were assigned our four babies for the two weeks we are here. We will get to work with them individually fpor an hour each day. Helping them with their milestones will be one of the things we do and just loving them up. Tomorrow we will go to church up the mountian, then have lunch at the main housse.

I'm going to try to upload some pictures so we'll see if it works.

Also pray that Alyssa will get over her cold and that we can start picking up the language because we are struggling.

We Made It

We finally made it! It was a long trip up the mountian to get to the orphanage. We all had to pee really bad but didn't get to until we got here. When we first landed we saw a US military plan which was really encouraging. The internet is limited so I can't blog a whole lot. Love you mommy and daddy!

A Few More Days

Haiti is just around the bend. At this current time I am trying to focus on remebering everything that I need to bring and finishing my school work. It has been a little stressful, but nothing I can't handle.

We get to meet up with Alyssa in Chicago then we will fly the rest of the way together. It will be a blast to see her again.

I'm still trying to prepare my heart for what I'm going to see and experience. It will definitely be life-changing. The thing I most need to prepare for is the fact that I can't bring any of the babies back that we will be working with. I know that will be the hardest part, but at least I'll get to love them a ton while I'm there.

Things to be Praying for:
Our flights are on time and go smoothly
We find our way around the Port-au-Prince airport okay
Our hearts for what we will see in the city of Port-au-Prince
Connecting with the other volunteers, nannies, and staff at GLA

I am really prepared?

This is a question I have been asking myself a ton lately. Last night Kayla and I read over the guidelines. This made my questions go away somewhat. As far as I know donations to take down to Haiti with us are going really well.

The only thing that I'm slightly worried about at this point is flying. This will be my first time flying ever. Yikkers! It will for sure be an adventure.

I checked the weather for Port-au-Prince yesterday and it looks like we will all be getting a pretty good tan. I'm so excited for the chance in weather. The snow is getting pretty old.

I know that God knew this earthquake was going to happen and that we were planning this trip. There is no mistake there. He knows what He is doing and I find major amounts of comfort in that.

Aniticipation

So it is exactly two and a half weeks until Alyssa, Kayla, and I leave for Haiti. I must admit that I am getting a little nervous to go. We have no idea what to expect. I guess all I am prepared to see is much devastation. I know that God has got our backs on this one and he will be the One that will protect us. It comforts me to know that the US military is down there so if we get in-trouble we can just go to a military member.

My job at the daycare and all the babysitting I have done has definitely prepared me for this trip. Continue to pray for last minute preparations that we are planning and for our hearts to be willing to do whatever God wants us to do while we are down there.

Here is the website to the orphanage where we will be going.

http://www.glahaiti.org/