Greetings once more from the oven.

It truly does feel like an overheated oven. Yesterday we did not get rain which meant the heat and humidity stayed high. With rain comes mud outside the compound but it also reduces the atrocious level of humidity somewhat, and makes for more comfortable sleeping. This is important especially in light of the fact that the generator continues to give us problems and has not been working again for four days. We will be sending someone to PAP on Monday, to where we purchased the generator for a new relay for the starter. We have been managing due to a 'fet' in Liancourt. EDH (Haitian Elelctric Company) does not tend to give electricity for things that are necessary to live, but will do so when people want to party for a few days. Right now I say "party on folks and keep the electricity coming our way too."

The construction on the foundation for the office at the school is nearing completion. Soon work will start on the building itself.

Foundation almost finished at school

Today the clotheslines for the children's homes are being moved to a better location. They are no longer between both children's homes, which was a nusiance, prevented children playing there, and an eyesore to boot. The lines are going up between Kay Timbrmart and the Multipurpose Room (aka devotion room). They will run the length of the fence there which will not be a problem for the play area - swing set, basketball court, etc. Today also, now that the clotheslines have been removed there, the cement in front of Kay Margo is being leveled, and the holes from the clotheslines filled in. There will soon be a beautiful place for the children to play between the two houses. Plus a nice place to walk quickly (which I tend to do) without the danger of being cut off at the neck by a line.

clotheslines moving to a better location

Clotheslines gone, cement being leveled

Due to the cement work being done today, the children all have to stay in Kay Timbrmart, watching videos (oh torture for them), and eating on the gallery there. The only problem is Ti Fi. She constantly sneaks out and tries to walk through the wet cement.

Movie time in Kay Timbrmart

Lunch time on gallery of Kay Timbrmart

lunch time

TiFi

I told you on the last blog that since Ti Luc's paperwork had not come through that he and I would not be going to NS and NL as planned. I had completely given up on the idea of attending the Springdale reunion and other reunions affiliated with it. It was not an easy thing to accept. Ti Luc and I were both very disappointed and sad, but I did my best to explain to him why we could not go. Well, thanks to my daughter Liette's encouragement, good advice, and gentle loving pushing (something like mine to dear little Anne to walk, not crawl over the rocks) I will be going, not Monday, 18th, but one week later Monday, July 25th. It means one week less to be away but it also means I will miss out on what is always very special to me - time in Yarmouth. I will have to save that for another year. I still can't imagine leaving without Ti Luc, and the tears flow when I think about doing it after my promises to him, but I know he and I will survive it. He cried a lot this morning when I mentioned it to him and kept saying "mwen meme tou Maman, mwen meme tou." "Me too Mama, me too." I know that I will have a precious and blessed time back east. Luckner, Jessie and Seth, agreed wholeheartedly with Liette that I really should go. Luckner, as usual, will be in charge here. He will have help from Seth and Jessie and the three of them will be covering things with Ti Luc. Jessie and Seth have agreed that Ti Luc can sleep at their place, and no doubt he will spend some time at Papa's too. That arrangement is what is going to make it easier for him with me going without him.

Our kids, including us big kids sometimes, are enjoying the swing set. Moving it here was a very smart move. I will be looking for two additional attachments for it that the children can enjoy.

Leica

Anne

Djeumima and Mirlande

Karma

Looks who likes the swing

Again thank you for all your support and encouragement. Together we stand, divided we fall. We need all of you to help us keep standing for the children of Haiti.

Anne 14 months holding Sandra almost 3 months

Dieunel, Ti Luc and Anne

My orange tree

Corn growing in back yard

Grapes on the vine outside my house

Karena and Josie

Jofky and Karena

Ismyis and Judel

My kids. Two missing

JJ and Mirlande

Ti Luc with Jessie

Moise & Vladimy

Anne with Jessie

 It is all about the children!!!!

Love from all of us,
Karen and gang

This blog will be more photos than words

I said last week I was going to try to blog more often but a week has passed and I am just getting around to it again. This blog will be more photos than words. I am too tired to think or type.

Ti Luc fell down hard last Tuesday and drove his teeth into his tongue through to the bottom. It was quite the gaping hole. He has suffered a lot but has been a real trooper. It is healing, but he is still suffering, and he will need to eat only very soft foods for some time yet. The first two nights I sat with him, not sleeping at all. My other kids love Ti Luc and after a few days five of my little ones came to see him. I was amazed and thrilled when little Dieunel told me he wanted to pray for Ti Luc. He told the kids they should sing first and they started singing "Rivers of Babylon". Dieunel prayed and then Josie prayed, followed by Judel. Karena wanted to too so I helped. She is my little parrot anyway. I was very touched by what I was seeing and hearing. It showed me we are doing something right here.

Ti Luc not feeling very well

Dieunel, Judel, Karena, Jofky & Josie praying for Ti Luc's mouth to heal

Still no adoption papers which means no passport or visa for Ti Luc. This also means when Air Canada leaves Port au Prince next Monday Ti Luc and I will not be on it. Sad indeed but reality must be accepted.

Construction is underway on the foundation for the office and for the library. Foundation only is being done for the library at this time. When the foundation is finished work will proceed on the office itself.

Measuring for school office

rocks and rebar delivery for construction

Preparing for cement work for support columns

Foundation construction

The swing set is up now and tomorrow the children will start enjoying it. I decided the kids needed a sand box. Seth built it and the kids liked it so much as it was that there is still no sand in it. Now I have asked Seth to build a playhouse. He loves to build things and does a great job of everything. I want to keep the playhouse a secret until it is finished.

Luckner in suit for a wedding working with spray paint

Swing set almost ready

We are busy with school things again. Registration for our school for September is taking place this week. Jessie has been a tremdendous help with getting all school lists and registration forms ready. She is experiencing life and work here with last minute decisions and changes. Go, go, go and never a dull moment. For someone who was organized in her Canadian life and liked to have things ready long in advance, I have had to make big adjustments to the way I work here.

School registration started

Recently I walked outside my kitchen door and into a wedding ceremony. There was Ti Luc and Leica sitting across from each other as they do in Haiti. (Ti Luc was being married in shorts and no shirt.) It was too cute.

Praying during wedding ceremony for Leica & Ti Luci Luc

JJ played his guitar in kid's wedding ceremony

A few months back we gave a lady a goat as a gift from someone in NS. She was thrilled. Recently she went to Luckner in tears because her goat had died. It had eaten a plastic bag. I told Ti Luc about this and he promptly said he could give her one. Someone has been looking after Ti Luc's goat. Today Ti Luc gave his goat to her. Both Bott and Ti Luc were happy about this arrangement.

Ti Luc giving his goat to Bott as her goat died

Cholera is still taking many lives and many thousands are ill all the time. Martha's husband had it last week. Luckner knows a lady whose husband who almost died recently with cholera. The clinic at the hospital close by needed to give him 40 IV bags over a period of many days. We continue to vaccinate children from our school and church.

Cholera vaccine for our church students

Thanks again for your support. May you all be blessed as you continue to be a blessing to the people of Haiti.

"Remember one person's life being changed is more important than all the material things the world has to offer." Children's lives are being changed. " IT IS ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN"

Karen and family

Anne's first steps during devotions

 

 

 

Luckner, Ti Luc & Sandra

Walking tires out the kids including Sandra

Seth making TV cabinet for Kid's Home, JJ & Moise building something

Sandra the sleeping beauty

Sandra

Karena Mariah with the Creole Bible

Cutitie Pitutie Anne

Moise with Anne

afternoon family walk

Hi everyone, I am finally back again.

Hi everyone, I am finally back again. I think we need to get Jessie blogging this week. She is behind in her share.

Lots to share today so where to start??

I will start with what is most important to all of us here and not just to this mama. Ti Luc's adoption papers. For all of us - the children, staff, Ti Luc, Luckner, Seth, Jessie and myself this is first and foremost on our minds and hearts. In two weeks, Monday July 18th, Ti Luc and I are supposed to be boarding Air Canada for Montreal, Halifax and later on again for Newfoundland. We plan to be in attendance at my home town reunion, family reunion, and reunion of the group (workteam) that came down last January. Two weeks and no adoption paperwork, no passport and no visa!!!

This past week Luckner and I went to Port au Prince on Tuesday, to the lawyer's office to do with the paperwork for Ti Luc. Again on Thursday we went to PAP and had to take Ti Luc with us. There is a push on now to try and help me get this finished. Too little, too late perhaps?? On Thursday an assessment on Ti Luc had to be redone as paperwork had gotten lost. This is Haiti. Mothers are allowed, actually expected, to brag right? I am going to do just that. Ti Luc made Luckner and I proud. When the psychologist saw Ti Luc walk in with us (different doctor than last time) it was obvious he had some problems. I could see how everything about Ti Luc was being scrutinized. I was asked if he could talk, to which I responded " he certainly can and in Creole and English." Ti Luc answered the doctor's questions. He was not one bit shy or nervous. He knew his colours. He told them his name was "Ti Luc" and it spelled like this - " T i L u c ". They asked if he could write the word papa. I asked them to put paper and a pencil on the floor and he would do so. They were amazed about the floor. Ti Luc wrote the work " P a p a " beautifully with his foot. They were surprised and the doctor signed the paper necessary. Needless to say Luckner, myself and the lawyer's assistant, there with us, were very proud of how Ti Luc handled himself. Those final redone papers were to be deposited at Social Services on Friday. This is Haiti. Did it happen???? We are hoping for a call to go back to Port early this week for the final adoption papers. If it comes we will then rush, hope, pray, plead and beg for a passport to be given very quickly. If and when things move in a good direction I will let you all know. Thanks for your ongoing prayer support with this.

Ti Luc in vehicle in PAP enroute to psychologist

Cholera is running rampant in Haiti. It is not in the news as much as it was last year but the situation here is serious. We are vaccinated, which is a tremendous blessing. Lately we have been giving vaccine to some students, thanks to the Rotary Club of Yarmouth. We continue to take every precaution possible. We know that the vaccination is necessary and we are thankful for it, but at the same time we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent. One of the construction workers, Jonas, to whom we gave cholera vaccine last October, and who lives next door to the mission, is presently in hospital with cholera. Luckner drove to the hospital close by yesterday and saw that the cholera clinic tents were filled to capacity and there were more than 500 people lying outside on the ground, all with cholera. It is like this and worse in many areas of Haiti.

Effrainse receiving cholera vaccine thanks to Yarmouth Rotary

Stephanie & Rosena taking vaccine for cholera

Eldad & Clermanta with vaccine for cholera

Recently we had a short but enjoyable visit from two UN Canadians, Martin who we have known for some time and we were thrilled to welcome back, and Serge who we met for the first time. Hopefully Serge will return to see us again too. Martin brought us more beautiful blankets that were handmade by retired teachers in Quebec. Many of our students (and in turn their families) will be blessed with a gift of a blanket. Martin and Serge delivered a lot of clothes and bedding, too, for me to distribute, that was left by the troops from Argentina. Juan had told me on his last visit to see us, that when they left Haiti he would send these things here. These items too will bless many in the area.

Martin with beautiful blankets handmade in Montreal

Serge & JJ

Serge, Martin & my family

This past school year we had some students in our sponsoring program attending school in Liancourt as they had finished their grade 9 at our school. I am happy to report that all five of them passed 3e ane secondary (grade 10). They will continue with their schooling in Liancount in September.

Idrose, Wislande,Rose-Laure,Ruth, Monise with my Ti Sandra

When school opens again at our HATS school we will be in contact with our sponsors. There are a number of reasons why some of you may be given a different student. Some students did not study and did not pass, some are moving elsewhere this summer, some may choose to not return to school, some are soon to become mothers. I will be in touch about your students later on.

Construction is about to get underway on the school compound for the foundation for an office and library. The big tree is gone and the swing set will be brought to this compound tomorrow. My kids are thrilled about that. The group "Sportsgrants Foundation" based in Oregon who are fundraising for work at the school will soon be posting a short video (interview with me and a little footage of my kids) to their blog site. I. in turn, will have it posted here to the HATS blog site. I would like for you to know who it is that is fundraising on our behalf for a lot of necessary work at the school.

tree down so construction can get started

Friday Canada Day we decided to have some fun with the kids. We made Jessie and Seth honorary Canadians for a day. We all put on our Newfie T-shirts, our Canada caps, our red and white scarfs and everyone had a small flag to wave. We put big Canadian flags on the front and back of the truck and we drove out of the compound and down to Luckner's where we all enjoyed a cold drink. Returned home and played musical chairs and other things. Kids enjoyed the day. Must admit no one has had to twist my arm, or Jessie's or Seth's, to do these fun things with them. We are just grown up kids ourselves, albeit one of us is a much more grown up kid than the other two. No comments allowed from you, Dickie MacDonald.

Happy Birthday Canada

always cold drinks available at Papa's

Jofky couldn't stay awake driving from HATS to Luckner's

Yesterday we gave the kids another fun day off the compound. I decided to take them all to St. Marc and give them a treat of a meal at a restaurant. A very big deal to my kids. I figured I could manage it with the awesome help of Jessie and Seth, along with our great security, Gesner, and the two house mothers on duty, Naomie and Laurette. We all pulled together and it went well. The kids had a blast and 'being packed in like sardines' both inside the truck and outside was not a problem for anyone. We pulled it off with all of us in just one vehicle. Could never get away with it in North America. But this is Haiti.

Family fun trip to St. Marc

chicken almost as big as Anne

Karena & Jofky happily eating their restaurant meal

Josie, Moise & Karma

Magalie enroute St. Marc with arms full of babies

The office used by Luckner and I has needed a facelift for a very long time. Actually the coat of paint on it was slapped on in a hurry so Theresa and I could get the office set up seven years ago. We had planned to repaint and fix up the office, but it never was done. Now the facelift is underway by Jessie and Seth, well actually more Jessie than Seth at times. Watching this young couple over the past four months I have been thinking about how different Americans and Canadians are in some ways. Seth does not believe in opening padlocks with a key as Canadians do, as you have seen in two blogs. He chooses to cut or smash them off. Not only does he not know how to open a padlock like normal people, he believes in lying down on the job too.

Jessie works and Seth lies down and rests

I have written too much and added too many photos, but I am going to add a few more anyway. I know I should blog more often and make them shorter. I am doing my best. Honestly. At least I think I am. Anyway now it truly is Jessie's turn!!

uninvited guests continue to visit

Dieumima, Karma and Mirlande

JJ is great with Anne and she adores him

Karena, Anne, Jofky

Guess who likes her thumb

Thank you from all of us here at the mission to all of you who support us in every way. Need you, appreciate you, love you, and asking the Lord to bless each and every one of you.

Karen and gang