March 2008
"Wow, I haven't written since the end of January! Where does time go!? Caring for 18children makes time disappear! And yesterday we added the 19th child. Izaola, who left in November to live with her grandmother, came back yesterday. Her grandmother is extremely poor and can't give Izaola all that she needs. We will try to get Izaola back to good health.
All of our children are doing well. Jessica (almost 1 year) has started AIDS medicines. Emmanuel, Jessica and Claudine are walking. Richardson and Nerlande are responding well to long-term oral antifungal medication. Frantzo, Poutchino and Jovani are doing well in physical therapy at Healing Hands for Haiti. [Frantzo hates therapy but has learned to crawl in spite of himself.] Natasha (here until July to help us out) works with Poutchino everyday. She works with Frantzo when I cannot. Jovani's mother, who has lived here with Jovani since January, works with him every day.
Jovani's mother did something recently that reminded me of the widow who was praised by Jesus when she put two very small copper coins into the temple treasury (Luke 21:1-4). Jovani is 18 months old and handicapped. He and his mother live with us because she cannot work and care for him. They have virtually nothing of their own. One day when she took Jovani to the doctor, someone gave her an envelope containing 40 Haitian dollars. The next day she gave the envelope, still containing all of the money, to me to use for the children who don't have a mother. She said God had shown her that giving to others was the right thing to do. We all felt blessed to just be in her presence.
Our relationship with Healing Hands has blossomed. About every other week they send us a medical team. Some teams do community clinics, some work with handicapped children in our house and from the surrounding area, and some just come to see what we do and how they can help Haiti. We hope we affect their lives as positively as they affect ours.
Natasha Taylor continues to be a blessing as she lives and works with us. She designed the school corner and works with the older children almost every day. She helps Kervens stay on track with his chores and homework, does physical therapy, plays games with the kids and generally adds lots of laughter and love to our household. Today she is enjoying a well-earned day off at the beach.
A port strike is preventing supplies from entering the country. As a result we see dramatic price increases every time we go shopping. People who were barely staying alive are getting increasingly desperate. Gasoline is around 6 USD per gallon. Taptap drivers (semi-public transportation) plan a strike this coming Monday to protest the rising costs. We pray for a break in the economic conditions driving the inflation rate."
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