hey just saw this posted on karen bultje's Haiti blog...thought i would paste it here in case y'all dont check hers. you might have to copy and paste it into your browser. its a clip about what the UN have done in Haiti during 2008. pray for them, their safety, for wisdom, for the ability and drive to do more...much more, to have the favor of the Lord in all they do...may it always be good...seeking for peace and justice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yweLsMH6VGU&eurl=http://www.undispatch.com/node/7716&feature=player_embedded
thanks for everything. <3 <3 <3
natasha rae xoxox
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
learning...
i am learning what it looks like to be here in a certain kinda way. it reminds me of my first month or 2 in Haiti. it already felt like home before really being physically present, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly what my role and tasks look like throughout the day. i know my reasons for taking the internship and what i want to get out of it. i guess its more about learning what is expected of me.
As of right now most days i wake up and me and Becca get situated, work on her school work and then head a mile up the road to the much ministries head quarters, the marketplace. we eat breakfast and i see what mama Kathy needs from me. it always varies, and i am up for anything. one day i booked a teams tickets to Haiti, other times its logistical stuff around the businesses. I still am very much learning the ropes of it all, as they do so much. helping with Rebbecca is great! I cant express how much i like loving on her, she is so precious. its really fun to assist mama Kathy and have my own little assistant at the same time! the beautiful thing though is that the only real expectation of me is to be me. as the wonderful Casey put it..."they need some Tasha right now, and you're an expert at that." what a wonderful place to live in.
Papa Beaver affirmed me the other night by expressing that i may not feel like i am being of much use or very productive, but my presence in itself is a blessing. it was so good to hear him say that because i was feeling a little unproductive. however his affirmations reminded me that it does bless them to know there is an extra hand and heart seeking after the same thing; LOVING GOD, LOVING PEOPLE, FOLLOWING JESUS...being real...enjoying life...soaking it all up...having top quality at all facets of much ministries, whether it is one of the businesses, Haiti related or reaching out to the community of waynesville. they continually are giving me blessings and i only hope to do that in return.
things i have learned already...gosh that the work never stops. it is hard to run your own ministry...to take on all the things burdened in your heart...but that it is beautiful. God always makes a way...even in the small stuff. that life lived out like this really is like Haiti...calm and simple, but all at once can turn to complex and full of dependence on our Savior. it is really good and rich. everyday is a journey and you never know what is going to come your way. its totally an adventure. i like it :)
I do have to say though that I went to their board meeting and i felt very overwhelmed. i learned so much in terms of the kind of people to have on a board. i learned how much they have done and effort they put into everything. i learned what a risk it all has been. they are so full of faith. i felt like a crazy person that maybe i should wait like 20 years before i really start something like this. i mean wisdom wisdom wisdom...it is so needed. i am so young. i want it to be a God thing...NOT a Tasha thing. and all of the above just in a little over one week of being here. crazy...
As of right now most days i wake up and me and Becca get situated, work on her school work and then head a mile up the road to the much ministries head quarters, the marketplace. we eat breakfast and i see what mama Kathy needs from me. it always varies, and i am up for anything. one day i booked a teams tickets to Haiti, other times its logistical stuff around the businesses. I still am very much learning the ropes of it all, as they do so much. helping with Rebbecca is great! I cant express how much i like loving on her, she is so precious. its really fun to assist mama Kathy and have my own little assistant at the same time! the beautiful thing though is that the only real expectation of me is to be me. as the wonderful Casey put it..."they need some Tasha right now, and you're an expert at that." what a wonderful place to live in.
Papa Beaver affirmed me the other night by expressing that i may not feel like i am being of much use or very productive, but my presence in itself is a blessing. it was so good to hear him say that because i was feeling a little unproductive. however his affirmations reminded me that it does bless them to know there is an extra hand and heart seeking after the same thing; LOVING GOD, LOVING PEOPLE, FOLLOWING JESUS...being real...enjoying life...soaking it all up...having top quality at all facets of much ministries, whether it is one of the businesses, Haiti related or reaching out to the community of waynesville. they continually are giving me blessings and i only hope to do that in return.
things i have learned already...gosh that the work never stops. it is hard to run your own ministry...to take on all the things burdened in your heart...but that it is beautiful. God always makes a way...even in the small stuff. that life lived out like this really is like Haiti...calm and simple, but all at once can turn to complex and full of dependence on our Savior. it is really good and rich. everyday is a journey and you never know what is going to come your way. its totally an adventure. i like it :)
I do have to say though that I went to their board meeting and i felt very overwhelmed. i learned so much in terms of the kind of people to have on a board. i learned how much they have done and effort they put into everything. i learned what a risk it all has been. they are so full of faith. i felt like a crazy person that maybe i should wait like 20 years before i really start something like this. i mean wisdom wisdom wisdom...it is so needed. i am so young. i want it to be a God thing...NOT a Tasha thing. and all of the above just in a little over one week of being here. crazy...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Home sweet home @ Sunny Brooks Farm
I left Kansas City on Thursday, February 10th and headed to Nashville with my car over packed and a wonderful passenger...Amber Killingsworth. I went to Nashville to see Caleb, my best friend from childhood, get married to a sweet girl Jess. It was great, but I felt like i was just driving and eating driving and eating for most of it. I left Monday morning and headed to Atlanta. There I met Bethany and was surprised by Taylor one of the Brooks boys. He came up to ride with me the rest of the way down to waynesville. what a blessing!
We finally got into the sunny brooks farm at 10pm. its good to be here and good to not feel in transition anymore. i have a purpose here and its so exciting. its so sweet to have Becca as my roomie too. she is so excited. she might seriously be one of the coolest 10yr old girls i know. she wanted me to bring my record player and is so excited about listening to old music! how cool is that.
today i am helping her with her school work. i have a feeling i will be doing a lot of loving on her and running her around and helping her with school. i am excited to do that. tomorrow i am going to start training and learning the ends and outs of the marketplace and what Kathy and beaver want me to be doing.
funny story...mama Kathy told me that she is going to Haiti in march for 3 weeks. she didn't want to tell me until i was here...thought i might feel overwhelmed with responsibility and not come...i wont lie i am nervous, but its good. i am going to learn a lot. plus i am so thrilled for her getting to be there that long!!!
well just thought i would post something to let y'all know i am here. its good and there is much ahead.
oh also i wanted to give a shout out too, to my dear friend Jessica and her husband warren, who donated a large amount to support me in the sunny brooks marketplace internship. THANK YOU SO MUCH! it will probably get me through two months of living here! what an amazing blessing is that!
<3 <3 <3
We finally got into the sunny brooks farm at 10pm. its good to be here and good to not feel in transition anymore. i have a purpose here and its so exciting. its so sweet to have Becca as my roomie too. she is so excited. she might seriously be one of the coolest 10yr old girls i know. she wanted me to bring my record player and is so excited about listening to old music! how cool is that.
today i am helping her with her school work. i have a feeling i will be doing a lot of loving on her and running her around and helping her with school. i am excited to do that. tomorrow i am going to start training and learning the ends and outs of the marketplace and what Kathy and beaver want me to be doing.
funny story...mama Kathy told me that she is going to Haiti in march for 3 weeks. she didn't want to tell me until i was here...thought i might feel overwhelmed with responsibility and not come...i wont lie i am nervous, but its good. i am going to learn a lot. plus i am so thrilled for her getting to be there that long!!!
well just thought i would post something to let y'all know i am here. its good and there is much ahead.
oh also i wanted to give a shout out too, to my dear friend Jessica and her husband warren, who donated a large amount to support me in the sunny brooks marketplace internship. THANK YOU SO MUCH! it will probably get me through two months of living here! what an amazing blessing is that!
<3 <3 <3
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Dorothy's Update: February 10, 2009
Much has happened in the last 2 months, mostly good but some sad.
Our most exciting news is that we started immunizations for the children. They have so far had DPT, oral polio, RR (which is either measles and rubella or measles and chicken pox), and HIB. The first 3 were donated free by the government of Haiti thru a local hospital. The HIB was purchased at great cost but, having had personal experience with this nasty bacteria, I considered it well worth the price. Praise God that the government of Haiti is beginning to work for the good of its people.
Our saddest news is that Mackenson, who was 2 on Oct 24th, died just early in the morning on Feb 4th. Keziah and I were with him. He was severely handicapped: it was a struggle for him just to breath and eat. He has lived with us since Sept 07 and, even though he had very little awareness of the world around him, we loved him. This baby is now in heaven and has no more pain and struggle. Even as we mourn, we rejoice for him.
Mireille, our nanny who gave Mackenson the tenderest, best care possible, was inconsolable. Her life has been changed by caring for him: she is softer and warmer and more loving to everyone. Her life appears more Christ-like. She and all who met or cared for Mackenson learned what true love looks like. We loved and cared for him even though he did not give - could not give - anything back to us, not smiles or affection or progress. All he could do was breathe and eat: those tasks were very hard work for him.
God’s love for us is so like that. It isn’t conditioned on how many things we do for him or for each other. He loved us so much that Jesus died on the cross for us so that we could have life: eternal life, yes, but even now, here on earth in the midst of all its problems, we can have a rich and joyful life.
Bethsaica is our newest baby, a 9-month old girl who came in Jan 2nd weighing just over 9 lbs. According to her shot/health record, she was a healthy baby until she was 4 months old. That is when her mother stopped breastfeeding her. She had been steadily losing weight ever since. She doesn't have HIV, TB or syphilis (praise God! we were worried about all of those) but she is anemic. We treated her for an infection and are adding extra calories and supplements to her diet. She is gaining weight well and has settled in nicely. What a cutey!
A couple of weeks ago Dr. Ed called and said he had a baby at his clinic that would die that day without IV fluids and antibiotics and even then his survival seemed unlikely. There was no time to get him to a hospital, could we take him? Keziah said ‘sure’. He stayed with us for 5 days, Keziah providing round-the-clock nursing care, until we were able to get him into an excellent children’s hospital. I believe he had tetanus. Moise has a dramatic story. Check out Kez’s blog for more info: http://myhaitiankids.blogspot.com/
Little Emanuel (2 yrs) went home to his family before Christmas. When we pulled up to his house his older brothers ran outside and grabbed him to take him inside. They have missed him and were overjoyed to see him! His family is extremely poor.
4 other children have also returned to their families: Emily, Mickenson, Patrick, and Naphthalie. All are in great health and doing well. Natasha’s mother raised money in Kansas City to pay for Mickenson’s surgery. We’ll see the surgeon today to set a date for the surgery.
JJ had 3 seizures in January for no apparent reason. He has had a CT scan and EEG and we only need to get back to the doctor now for results. Please pray with us that nothing serious is going on with him.
Poutchino’s seizures had almost completely stopped since starting TB meds but they are beginning to increase again. His health is a constant challenge for us. We thank God that we have found a Haitian pediatrician with some additional training in neurology. Hopefully he can help us get Poutchino’s seizures under control. Other than the seizures, Poutchino is doing great! He feels good so he’s always happy and interacts with us. At 6 years old I think he has reached his maximum mental development but could benefit from physical and occupational therapy. Please continue praying that a family in the states will fall in love with him and adopt him. He would give them much joy.
In November we lost a 6 week old baby girl. She came in on a Friday afternoon, appearing relatively healthy, and died suddenly Sunday morning. We didn't have her long enough to get any tests done! We thought her death might be related to an abnormal heartbeat the doctor had told us to check out but her father thought it might be related to the amount of blood she had lost when attacked by rats. (Why didn’t he tell us that before?!)
Casey Nichols has come from Georgia to live with us four about 4 months. She will be doing pretty much the same things for us that Natasha did. By the strangest “coincidence”, Natasha is going to be spending about the same length of time in Georgia doing the same ministry work Casey did there. It is exciting to watch God develop the lives of these young women with such beautiful spirits.
My health has returned completely. Now that I have recovered from my surgeries I realize just how much the pain I was in for the past year and how much it hindered the work I was trying to do here. Good health is a blessing not to be taken for granted. I am glad that God reminded me how blessed I am.
May God bless you all and keep you in his loving care. Thank you for your part in keeping this ministry going.
Dorothy Pearce
Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue
http://dorothypearcehaiti.blogspot.com
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Cor. 13:13
Mailing address:
Dorothy Pearce
Agape Flights PAP 15297
100 Airport Ave
Venice, FL 34285
Donations:
Christian Light Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 23881
Jacksonville FL 32241-3881
Memo: For D. Pearce, Haiti
Telephone: 011-509-3529-1962
Our most exciting news is that we started immunizations for the children. They have so far had DPT, oral polio, RR (which is either measles and rubella or measles and chicken pox), and HIB. The first 3 were donated free by the government of Haiti thru a local hospital. The HIB was purchased at great cost but, having had personal experience with this nasty bacteria, I considered it well worth the price. Praise God that the government of Haiti is beginning to work for the good of its people.
Our saddest news is that Mackenson, who was 2 on Oct 24th, died just early in the morning on Feb 4th. Keziah and I were with him. He was severely handicapped: it was a struggle for him just to breath and eat. He has lived with us since Sept 07 and, even though he had very little awareness of the world around him, we loved him. This baby is now in heaven and has no more pain and struggle. Even as we mourn, we rejoice for him.
Mireille, our nanny who gave Mackenson the tenderest, best care possible, was inconsolable. Her life has been changed by caring for him: she is softer and warmer and more loving to everyone. Her life appears more Christ-like. She and all who met or cared for Mackenson learned what true love looks like. We loved and cared for him even though he did not give - could not give - anything back to us, not smiles or affection or progress. All he could do was breathe and eat: those tasks were very hard work for him.
God’s love for us is so like that. It isn’t conditioned on how many things we do for him or for each other. He loved us so much that Jesus died on the cross for us so that we could have life: eternal life, yes, but even now, here on earth in the midst of all its problems, we can have a rich and joyful life.
Bethsaica is our newest baby, a 9-month old girl who came in Jan 2nd weighing just over 9 lbs. According to her shot/health record, she was a healthy baby until she was 4 months old. That is when her mother stopped breastfeeding her. She had been steadily losing weight ever since. She doesn't have HIV, TB or syphilis (praise God! we were worried about all of those) but she is anemic. We treated her for an infection and are adding extra calories and supplements to her diet. She is gaining weight well and has settled in nicely. What a cutey!
A couple of weeks ago Dr. Ed called and said he had a baby at his clinic that would die that day without IV fluids and antibiotics and even then his survival seemed unlikely. There was no time to get him to a hospital, could we take him? Keziah said ‘sure’. He stayed with us for 5 days, Keziah providing round-the-clock nursing care, until we were able to get him into an excellent children’s hospital. I believe he had tetanus. Moise has a dramatic story. Check out Kez’s blog for more info: http://myhaitiankids.blogspot.com/
Little Emanuel (2 yrs) went home to his family before Christmas. When we pulled up to his house his older brothers ran outside and grabbed him to take him inside. They have missed him and were overjoyed to see him! His family is extremely poor.
4 other children have also returned to their families: Emily, Mickenson, Patrick, and Naphthalie. All are in great health and doing well. Natasha’s mother raised money in Kansas City to pay for Mickenson’s surgery. We’ll see the surgeon today to set a date for the surgery.
JJ had 3 seizures in January for no apparent reason. He has had a CT scan and EEG and we only need to get back to the doctor now for results. Please pray with us that nothing serious is going on with him.
Poutchino’s seizures had almost completely stopped since starting TB meds but they are beginning to increase again. His health is a constant challenge for us. We thank God that we have found a Haitian pediatrician with some additional training in neurology. Hopefully he can help us get Poutchino’s seizures under control. Other than the seizures, Poutchino is doing great! He feels good so he’s always happy and interacts with us. At 6 years old I think he has reached his maximum mental development but could benefit from physical and occupational therapy. Please continue praying that a family in the states will fall in love with him and adopt him. He would give them much joy.
In November we lost a 6 week old baby girl. She came in on a Friday afternoon, appearing relatively healthy, and died suddenly Sunday morning. We didn't have her long enough to get any tests done! We thought her death might be related to an abnormal heartbeat the doctor had told us to check out but her father thought it might be related to the amount of blood she had lost when attacked by rats. (Why didn’t he tell us that before?!)
Casey Nichols has come from Georgia to live with us four about 4 months. She will be doing pretty much the same things for us that Natasha did. By the strangest “coincidence”, Natasha is going to be spending about the same length of time in Georgia doing the same ministry work Casey did there. It is exciting to watch God develop the lives of these young women with such beautiful spirits.
My health has returned completely. Now that I have recovered from my surgeries I realize just how much the pain I was in for the past year and how much it hindered the work I was trying to do here. Good health is a blessing not to be taken for granted. I am glad that God reminded me how blessed I am.
May God bless you all and keep you in his loving care. Thank you for your part in keeping this ministry going.
Dorothy Pearce
Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue
http://dorothypearcehaiti.blogspot.com
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Cor. 13:13
Mailing address:
Dorothy Pearce
Agape Flights PAP 15297
100 Airport Ave
Venice, FL 34285
Donations:
Christian Light Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 23881
Jacksonville FL 32241-3881
Memo: For D. Pearce, Haiti
Telephone: 011-509-3529-1962
Sunday, February 8, 2009
home to Jesus...
this past week was a pretty hard week. i was feeling really disconnected again and missing Haiti a lot. I finished my last week of watching George after school and have started trying to prepare to leave. its been all kinda weird emotions as i again transition to something else. its good and i am so grateful for what is ahead, but uprooting no matter where you are or where you are going can be filled with emotions. I to be honest, haven't even started packing and don't know where to begin.
however above all that, i received an email from Dorothy Wednesday afternoon while i was with George that told me 2 yr old Mackenson died just after midnight. He lived with Dorothy and everyone at Faith Hope Love Infant rescue for 1 1/2 yrs. We all loved him very much. Mackenson was a special case...and i knew i probably wouldn't get to see him again by the time i go to Haiti next. he was our miracle baby; Dorothy was always saying that. one of his biggest tasks in life was to just breathe. i know he is in a better place, but there is a hole in that house now, and he will be missed. i thank Jesus he was loved on for so long and taken care of so well there. Dorothy and everyone did an amazing job. His presence and big beautiful brown eyes...ah sweet sweet child...you are at peace now, not fighting for a breath of air. Praise God for you little Mackenson.
i am burdened because of what he represents to an extent...precious children should not have to be so malnourished and deprived of what they needed from the get go that they cant live to see their 3rd birthday. pray for the world as people like Dorothy fight so that children can be loved on and fight for life.
keep them all in your prayers. thanks.
however above all that, i received an email from Dorothy Wednesday afternoon while i was with George that told me 2 yr old Mackenson died just after midnight. He lived with Dorothy and everyone at Faith Hope Love Infant rescue for 1 1/2 yrs. We all loved him very much. Mackenson was a special case...and i knew i probably wouldn't get to see him again by the time i go to Haiti next. he was our miracle baby; Dorothy was always saying that. one of his biggest tasks in life was to just breathe. i know he is in a better place, but there is a hole in that house now, and he will be missed. i thank Jesus he was loved on for so long and taken care of so well there. Dorothy and everyone did an amazing job. His presence and big beautiful brown eyes...ah sweet sweet child...you are at peace now, not fighting for a breath of air. Praise God for you little Mackenson.
i am burdened because of what he represents to an extent...precious children should not have to be so malnourished and deprived of what they needed from the get go that they cant live to see their 3rd birthday. pray for the world as people like Dorothy fight so that children can be loved on and fight for life.
keep them all in your prayers. thanks.
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