June 1, 2012

June 1, 2012 It has been a crazy busy 6 days to say the least. I will try to keep it short and sweet yet informative at the same time. 1. Heather Meyer has been really sick. She had Typhoid a weeks ago then later found out she had malaria and even after finishing her malaria medicine was still very sick and have seizures. She was flewn via MAF to Danita’s Orphanage (where she was a missionary for the last 2 years). Friends from Danita’s then took her to the hospital in Santiago, Dominican Republic. As of Yesterday She was still in the hospital with hopes to be released after the weekend. The plan is for her to stay at Danita’s till she is completely better health wise. While she is healing I am taking care of her little Hatian boy Peterson who a year ago she took from the Miriam Home as he was so sick and nursed him back to health. Since she got Peterson he now weighs 25lbs (gained 12lbs!!!). He is my first new roommate. My second new roommate is Chris-Cherry who is Pepito’s son. He has Cerebral Palsey and is 3. Pepito went with Nahum to Pourt-Au-Prince to get his passport. The boys have kept me very busy with making sure they are both feed (both on special diets), clothes, diapers changed, and happy :-) I love them both so much!!!! As I write this Peterson is sleeping on the bed and Chris-Cherry is playing in the pack and play. 2. Feeding and Nutrition for the Miriam Home children.- I have been taking time to help feed the hardest children at both lunch and dinner in order to figuere out the best/safest way to feed each child (positioning, spoon, consistency of food, techniques with utensils, etc.). So far I have worked with 4 kids specifically and have a plan for them. We also picked 6 of the most malnourished children to focus on increasing their calorie intake and nutrition to hopefully increase their weight (Shamma, Andy, Job, Rachel, Bertho, Stanley.) Our first attempt at this started 2 nights ago with feeding a night bottle with whey protein in it. None of the kids would drink from a bottle so we are having to use syringes. I was so blessed that the first night 4 of the interns came down and helped feed the kids. My favorite moment of that night was the fact that one of the interns sponsors Job and feeding him was also the first time she got to meet him. She came down yesterday during the day and asked to hang out with Job. It really warmed my heart (as many know Job is my special boy:-) 3. Food Depot- So about 2 months ago Stephanie and Heather realized that our kids were not getting the nutrition that they needed and the older kids were going to bed hungry most nights. As a Miriam Center staff we have set out to change this. The first way was to determine why the big food depot on campus didn’t have food for us by the last 2 weeks of the month and because of that we were using our market money (which is for buying the fruits, vegetables, and meat) was being used on rice, beans, spaghetti noodles, etc. We have asked permission to get all of our food at the beginning of the month (Stephanie calculated based off a months worth of data she collected how much we would need). Stephanie and I are sitting down this afternoon to plan a new menu for the kids (this is challenging as we have limited electricity and the sever and profound children need mush like food). We also only have a budget to spend 23 cents per kid per meal. We are really praying what to put on the menu and how to get the children appropriate nutrition with the budget we have. The plan is to make an ideal menu and test run this month how much it would cost per month to feed the menu. This month with the money I brought in we will be able to pick up any extra costs. Kimmy’s house is also bringing in divided plates and measuring cups so we can work on serving more appropriate portion sizes and thus serve more nutritious meals. I am really excited to get the whole food situation figured out (how much food we need, how to keep it safe, how to cook it, how to get the right nutrients, etc.) 4. FOR JONATHAN SAKE- I have had A LOT of fun with outreach this week just working with the kids and parents but mostly getting to tell them the EXCITING things in store this summer. I have been working with Presidue (the Hatian who runs this program) to set up a toy loan program where parents can take toys home for the week to play and interact with their kids and then return them the next week to get new toys. We are starting this on Monday. I have had multiple outreach parents ask me for Bibles and so I am working on finding a way to get them each a creole Bible by the end of the summer as a gift. Next Monday I will start training the parent how to stretch and brush their children. Each week we are going to add on a new dimension and I am making them each a binder to take home with picture handouts and the creole for each new therapeutic technique I reach them 5. I am slowly working on the wheelchair problems. Today Walden’s chair broke in a way I was unable to fix it BUT Justin (our handyman) was able to figuere out a way to “fix” it with plywood and some screws. I am really praying my crate with the wheelchairs arrive soon!!!! 6. Thickened liquids- I had talked the workers about using thickened liquids with the severe and profound children to decrease aspiration and to increase liquid intake to prevent dehydration. I have been so busy the last few days since telling them, I had not started anything. Well, today the mothers Stephanie and told her they needed the thickened water. So today during severe and profound preschool we had our first drink break. :-) I am hoping this evening to have a second one. The best part was my workers initiation with it today! 7. John Harvey and Missionary Flights International- John Harvey is a pastor of a church in Florida and He has been AWSOME in allowing me to send him supplies to carry in. When he got a huge donation he had connections to get items flewn in for me via Missionary Flights International. It is a HUGE blessing all the items coming in. Please take time to read his blog that gives more details ☺ All I have to say is BIG GOD!!! http://onelifeadventures.org/blog/ 8. PERSONALLY- I am doing well, tired BUT good. The days here go by so fast and it is hard to believe I have been in Haiti for over a week and a half. The days have been super duper hot and at night since I have a room in the Barnes’s house when I first go to bed it is great because the air conditioner but shortly after I go to bed the generator goes off and thus so does the air conditioner. I have been using a Ryobi fan which takes the edge off the heat. All of us missionaries are in agreement it is super hot for this time of year…which only means the summer will get hotter. I am loving the time I have got to love on the kids. I am still struggling balancing work, fun times with kids and personal time for devos. I have been horrible with eating meals in the kitchen but have great friends who keep me accountable to eating wether they save me a plate for when I finish feeding kids or make sure I break out snack food and eat. (Thank you Stephanie and Justin!). The ice machine is broken and so my biggest craving since being here has been a glass of ice :-) I have been drinking too much coke but I love the fact that they are cold…lol. Basically I am loving being here and already dreading when I have to leave (even though I am excited for some time in PA with my family and friends). Well Chris-Cherry is having a fit because I am ignoring him ( we are sitting outside on our bed mattresses because too hot inside). I think he needs some TLC (Tender Loving Care).