We have been so busy lately that I have not had a chance to blog. I wish I could write more about each of the opportunities God has brought our way lately. We have an awesome team here right now and had a great team leave recently. We will post updates from those trips in the next few days...Lord willing!
Things are different here after the quake as you can imagine. The focus of everything is different and everything is harder. In some ways things are better but mostly everything is a worse right now.
Child Trafficking- a Rude AwakeningJoy cried herself to sleep more than once this week. Many of you have asked about her little twins that she rescued and has been feeding and everything. We know many of you have been praying for them. It turned out that we have not been able to update everyone but there are actually two sets of twins. The second set that she discovered the very next day were actually smaller than the first set because the mom also could not breast feed and was trying to feed her one month old twins spaghetti noodles because that was all she had. As Joy taught both sets of mothers to use the formula and feed them regularly all of them have begun to gain weight. But then we were introduced to the dark side of Haiti...another dark side I guess I should say.
Earlier this week we were going for our routine visit to check on them and two white men and two armed Canandian police officers came out of the house where the mother and the babies had moved to. As we approached the man, whom we had never met, the first thing he asked us was "do you want to adopt some babies". Of course Joy immediately felt uncomfortable and the man began telling us all the great things he had been doing in Haiti. He left and we went to see the babies.
The mother told us the man had moved her from where she was to this new one room house and told her she could live there. As Joy worked with the babies the man came back carrying a bag of rice. He gave it to the mother and told Joy that one of the babies was sick and that he had a couple in Pennsylvania that wanted twin babies. He had plans to take the babies to have them adopted by the family in the U.S. Joy asked what about the mother. He said he had talked to her and it was fine. After he left we asked the mom and she said through terrified eyes that he had never said he wanted to take the babies. He only told her that he was going to help her. The man owns an orphanage here that has always been suspicious but we had no idea. After the encounter we talked to some other local people that said he had been doing that here for a long time. It broke Joy's heart. She loves those little babies. That little mother loves her babies too.
We had a long talk with the mom and she has family in another area of the country near where we have a church. Tomorrow morning we are relocating the family. We have enough formula to last her several weeks and we will be making trips to check on them regularly. Please keep the little family in your prayers. We knew those evil things happened where babies are bought for a bag of rice but we did not think it would happen to kids we love. Praise God we were there at the exact time we were and that we found out what was happening. We know God has a plan these babies so keep them in your prayers.
Dying Babies
I told you about the little girl that we saw the day after the quake that was dying with a head injury and I had to tell the family that they just needed to keep her comfortable. This week I received a call that there was a little girl at the clinic in St. Ard where we have one of our eye clinics. They were told the little girl had been hit in the eye during the quake and wanted me to take a look.
I did not even get out of the bus when we arrived before I knew the little girl had not been hit in the eye. She had a horrible malignant tumor where her eye once was and the cancer had gone into her brain. She was barely responsive and dying quickly. Once again I was faced with the reality that another baby was going to die and that the family had to be told there was nothing I could do.
Why does God keep breaking our hearts?
An Uplifting Orphanage Visit
We visited an orphanage that was full of kids that were rescued after the hurricanes of 2008. It was a blessing to give some much needed food and treats to the kids.
Refugees:
We are working now with over 200 refugees here in Montrouis. They are located at two schools. The people come with absolutely nothing. I was there yesterday and as I sat talking to some of the families I heard one lady tell another that I was the husband of that white woman that took the clothes off of her babies and gave them to her baby the last time she came. The little kids were naked so Joy took off Jaxon and Judah's clothes and gave them to the babies. We are planning to go tomorrow to buy used clothes here in the market and give them to the families.
Jacy Klaire went straight home and came out of her room with an arm load of clothes that she felt she needed to give to the little girls at the camp.
A Humbling Gift
Many of you that have been to Haiti have met Pastor Remy. He lives in the distant mountains and pastors a small church there. He is the father of 7 children and lives in the two room house that I stayed in with Tracy Robinson, Tracy White, and Mark Ikerd the one trip we managed to make that far into the mountains. He fell and broke his shoulder recently and at about the same time their donkey died. They have a 3 hour trip to get water and without the donkey it was very tough for them. So we were able to buy them a new horse to replace the donkey. He wanted to come down and thank us and bring us a gift.
When they arrived they very formally told us they had a gift to give Joy and I as a thank you from their family. They first took out of their bag a large papaya. Next she pulled out a beat up cannister with ground coffee in it. Finally she opened a container that she had carried the four hours to meet us and began to pull out eggs that her chickens had laid. She gave us 10 eggs. I came up with the excuse that I would go and get a box. I actually had to go because I could not help but cry. To think that these humble people would bring us their best. They wanted to bless us so badly. I immediately was reminded how selfish and proud I am. God used this encounter to remind me what true love and humility looks like. Thank you pastor Remy. I know you will never read this because you lives miles from electricity and have never used a computer. But Thank you for being used to humble me and remind me why we left all the entanglements of the life of prosperity to come here to be loved by people that give us eggs.
