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Posted by Kathi on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Some weeks go by and I feel like we have made little progress. But this week was an exception if I were still in my business world; I would list the accomplishments in a matter of fact fashion. But what we do here in Haiti is far from a business. In fact sometimes when you look at it from a business perspective you just end up wondering – WHY? But this week I was reminded of the why? 
One example is that from a business perspective, it makes no economic sense to accept sick children into our care who are brought to us from IBESR (social welfare in Haiti). They don’t provide any financial support, or food or medicine – they don’t even provide the proper paperwork for the children. But when you look at the children you realize it is about God’s love and our role to help orphaned children in the world. Today, I was reminded of the why, when one of the new boys who was brought to us, slipped into unconsciousness. If he wasn’t under our care, I am not sure he would have made it. Both our Haitian nurse and a visiting U.S nurse attended to him and brought him to the hospital. We are waiting on test results but it appears he is suffering from severe malnutrition. So rather than list our accomplishments (*admitted 5 children) it is important to understand that each of these children have a story and their lives will be touched and improved through our programs in Haiti.
There were other major accomplishments this last week. After a few false starts, the van is up and running!! We still need to replace some parts, but for now we are back to 2 vehicles, which makes my life (as the logistics coordinator) much easier. The tile work at the Children’s Home is progressing really nicely. The downstairs is 80% complete and we have started on the upstairs. It looks beautiful. Having Pastor Maxime back from NY has accelerated the work. The youth group at the church organized a revival last week and it culminated with a choir performance after Sunday church. Choirs from 4 different churches performed – it was an amazing evening and hard to describe the joy, praise and worship that filled the church. We helped them by providing the funds to feed all the participants.
And speaking of MAJORACCOMPLISHMENTS the community center building is almost complete. Rome and her team from Lake Union have done an amazing job. They will have 99% of the exterior completed before they leave this week. They also managed to build the chicken coop, outdoor toilets, water tower and playground. The place is simply amazing. We all celebrated with a BIG fête (party) to honor Rome and her team. Thank goodness Nicole Newman, our sponsorship manager and party planner extraordinaire, was in Haiti to help me. It was a huge success and over 100 people attended. We had music and a combination of Haitian and American foods.
There was a tragic loss last week, Bethanie Legare, from our Empowering Women program passed away suddenly. She was a gifted artisan, who was using her jewelry sales to support her 4 children. It made for very heavy hearts for us all. And on a personal and superficial note, my face healed just in time for the party. Thanks to some amazing cream and prayers from friends all over the place – I am back to normal. Well, I doubt normal, would be the best word choice, but I am back to me and no longer have to wear a bandanna to cover my face! Please continue to pray and support our efforts in Haiti.
Comments (3)
Posted by julie bartolini on 05/22 at 01:23 PM
Glory to God for all the great work Kathi!!! Love your heart!!
Posted by josie on 05/22 at 01:40 PM
WOW! this IS awesome! praising the Lord for all the progress that is being made and for all who are giving so much to make it all possible! BLESSINGS to you all~~~
Posted by Steven Loken on 05/27 at 01:03 PM
looks like the wisdom of Solomon & the patience of Job paid off…
I’m impressed! Let me know when you catch your breath & have time to share some stories over coffee or a glass of wine…
