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I woke up on Monday morning at 5:00 to get a ride to the Medishare tent for the 7:oo departure to the airport. It was a difficult morning saying goodbye and leaving the childrens home because i could not get every single kid off of my mind. I know that they are going to be taken care of and get all of the love they need and it made it easier to leave. I met a pastor this week who lives in Gatlinburg and we talked nightly about his next steps when we leave and what he will continue to do over the next six months that he is here. Pastor Terry was awake at 5:00 this morning to assist us with carrying our bags to the truck and seeing that we made it to the Medishare tent on time. All of the clothes that i took this week was donated to Daniel the directors son. He has been here for two months and becasue of the environment and wear and tear needs newer clothes. I gave my flip flops to Pastor Terry to give to one of the kids he thought needed them hugged everyone and headed for the Medishare tent. We arrived at the tent with the rest of the medical staff going home and we all had time to debrief and say our thank you's and goodbyes.

We arrived at the airport to chaos and while we were standing in line a adolescent boy walked up and handed us a sheet of paper written in English. It told us his story stated that he was an orphan and asked if we would take him to the U.S. and provide him a good home. The letter stated that he knew the right people to make it happen and the 3-5 year wait on adoptions would not matter. We gave the letter back to the kid and Tony told him that there was nothing we could do.(Although i wanted to) The whole situation was hard but the kid did not speak any english yet handed us a letter in english, sounds like a human trafficking to me.

When we finally made it through customs and waiting for out chartered plane to arrive a young Haitian man and woman joined our team as well as a mob of CNN reporters and other TV stations. I found out that the man and woman had already mourned the loss of their daughter and just recieved a call last week that their baby is recovering in a rehab facility in Miami. She is a few months old and was separated by her parents after the earthquake, her head was severly crushed and today she is fully recovering.

As we arrived in Miami i could not get to a restaurant fast enought and get a cheeseburger, fries and coke!! After we ordered a man who flew in with us joined the group and after discussion he told us his name and why he was in Haiti this week. Dr. Daniel Campbell Susott the director of Ambassador Air which recieves donated miles to fly kids all over the world to the Hospital. He is Patch Adams colleague. I have not fully seen the movie but after talking with him Patch Adams is Day Clown and He is Night Clown. We talked with him about Marilynes storie and he stated that he did not see a problem with getting her to the states and getting the service donated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I talked with Dr. Looby and she flew into Denver with Dr. Susott last night and we have to send pictures to him and within the next two weeks she will hopefully get the procedure she needs. He gave me his information and i am going to e-mail him this week to check on the status and i will keep everyone updated on Facebook when this happens.

My fligth home was move from 5:45 to 10:00 and that would have meant that i would be stranded in Atlanta. I contacted my travel agent and she helped get me on a different airline and when i arrived in Nashville after midnight my baggage was still with the other airling stranded in Atlanta. We made it home and i went to bed around 2:oo a.m. because i had to contact Dr. Madosingh one last time and forward her our notes from the week so the new team can move forward. I had a great day with my family and again apprecitate everyones support. I will continue to follow up on facebook with any further information. I also apprecitate everyone letting me take you on this journey and hope to be going back within the year.

Day 8

It is 2:15 in the morning and i am just getting in and getting settled. The airlines misplaced my luggage and last i heard they will be spending the night in Miami. I will blog tommorow about my last day and look forward to sharing with everyone. Good Night!!!

Day 7

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! Today has been a wonderful day we had breakfast at 8:00 (great mango) and because we finished most of our work last night we were able to hang out with the kids and begin the process of closure. Sunday school started at 9:00 and the Easter service began around 10:00. I sat in on both services and cannot put into words the passion and love that the Haitian people have. The bible study (Kreyole) talked about Daniel and closed bringing it to the cross and ressurection. Although i did not understand a word the teacher said i felt the passion that he had with the kids while speaking to them in a way that they understood. It was intersting to see how the kids were separated by ages and becasue they did not have enough male teachers the home brought a few in from the city. The kids played instruments and led praise and again i was amazed at the worship experience. The pastor spoke about the cross and ressurection and was really visual as he read from the bible and told the story. I was able to get translation from Tony but did not need it because of the visuals provided. At the end of service there was time for prayer and we were invited to participate in communion. I hope to post pictures later and show you the beauty of the children and the extra efforts they took to dress up and get ready. I filled the memory card on my camera with pictures and video and cannot wait to share with everyone the experience today. My brother in law told me that this experience would be life changing and i have been moved by many things this week that will forever effect how i live from this point. I have been able to bring an aspect of mental health services to a small piece of Haiti and look forward to the growth that will take place from this point. As I sat outside tonight i hear in the near and far distance many worship services in the tent cities and in awe of this experience. I have committed myself to the Haitian people and will be back as soon as possible to pick up where the next few Medishare teams leave off.

I spent time with Mari today and tear up everytime I think of this beautiful child. Although she cannot speak she knows who i am and smiles at me with her striking face. She still has double pneumonia and continously keeps it becasue of the heat, humidity, dust and the outdoor air she lives in. Dr. Looby and i met two ladies that just arrived and started talking to them and eventually asked them to go with us to feed her so we could be assured that she would eat well when we leave in the morning. As i stated earlier Mari needs a procedure to fix her trachea in the United States and will not be able to eat or breathe to the best of her ability until this is complete. The physical therapist that arrived yesterday informed me that she has muscle tone in her arms and legs but is many months and years behind in therapy. I am going to make it my mission to do everything i can to get Mari the surgery she needs and will begin by finding out how much the procedure will cost and work with my colleagues and everyone at home to assist this beautiful girl. She spent a day and a half at Medishare this week and they will not fly her to the states because her issue is not life threatning.

I want to follow up on Crystal and thank God for sending a team of American Prostechics to the orphange to see our children. No one is sure how they got here or why but they drove up to the gate during service and asked to see the children who had amputations. The were from all over the world and the team leader from New Orleans did a wonder job with Crystal who lost her family in the earthquake and her leg while trying to successfuly save a family member. Wiesban came to the orphange after the earthquake and had a high amputation and was told he would never be able to get a prosthetic. I am happy to report that today Wiesban was fitted for a bionic leg and will be getting that in the next few weeks. As we arrived last week the the Childrens home was unsure if and when they would recieve a prosthetic. AS OF TODAY BOTH CRYSTAL AND WIESBAN WILL BOTH BE RECIEVING LEGS AT NO CHARGE FROM THE UNITED STATES AT A COST OF 35,000 DOLLARS A PIECE!!!!!! If it were not for the generous giving and support of reputable agencies who truly care Crystal and Wiesban would have been cosidered throw aways and outcasts.

The Army arrived today and comes every Sunday to love on the kids and provide them with toys and and Easter egg hunt. It was a peaceful experience to see the children running across the yard looking for eggs and proud of even the smallest toy they recieved. After they were finished the team had prepared eggs with candy for the children in the hospital because they did not participate with the orphanage. We had them step outside and hid them under their pillows on the cots and and anywhere else that would create a challenge. I again became emotional at the kids literally running after eggs with walkers and pins sticking out of their legs and again proud of what they were given.

During down time I took a few members of the team and we hung over 50 pictures from Franklin and Bowling Green and when we were in the hospital a 4 year old boy helped me tape and hang the pictures. He had disappeared at one time and instead of hanging the pictures where i had asked him, ran to his bed and started hanging him above his pillow. After we left there we went to the house that the kids are supposed to sleep in and began hanging the pictures over the cracks in the wall to assist with taking the thought and memory away when Founa who is currently recovering in the hospital wanted to paint my finger nails today and i pawned Dr. Scott off on her because i did not figure i would be able to get it off before tommorow evening.

Dr. Looby and Dr. Doria met with administration this evening to train them on natural and logical consequences to behavior and asked that the pass it on to the Mon Tons. Administration seemed excited about the information and will pass it on to the Director. She informed us that there was an aftershock on Thursday and i do not recall feeling it and glad i didn't. I heard tonight that there was an earthquake in California and hope that damage is minimal and no one is hurt.

We closed out the night by going to the chapel where the children were having evening devotional. It was beautifully led by a 12 year old adolescent and besides us there was only one adult in the room supervising. There were no disruptions and the kids were singing at the top of their lungs. After they were finished we asked if we could say something to the group and close out the week so they would not look for us tommorow. After we finished and Tony translated every kid in the room walked to the front of the room and hugged each one of us. As we were heading outside and continuing to tell everyone goodbye Jeremy came up and hugged me and would not let go, i kissed his head and as i put him down in english said "take me, take me" I am tearing up as i write this because i know these kids are in one of the best homes in Haiti, but they are orphans and there are people in Bowling Green, Kentucky and Franklin, Kentucky that will be able to provide the one on one attention that every child needs. I pray thay Jeremy is blessed in his life and that one day we meet again. I have taken close to 1000 pictures and recorded many videos. I am excited to share with everyone and most importantly increase everyones interested in the beautiful people of Haiti. The country has a long way to go and lost over 200,000 people in January many who are still under the buildings and never will be found. As the world and media is forgetting about Haiti i pray that we never forget. One last thing i am not sure if you have checked out the website for the home but i would encourage everyone who reads this to adopt a child for 30.00 a month. This will pay for food, water, shelter and the basic needs of the kids. I talked with the director tonight and she said that we could choose the kids we wanted to adopt. I believe that we could get enough support to adopt at least 15 kids or more. There is Crystal, Wiesban, Mari, Jeremy, Desir, Samy, Channel, Windsor, Jackie (wants to be a doctor, Christine, Jacques, Enock, Jimmy, Mario, Sanel, and Laurente to name a few. I have information on each and have many more names of kids that i connected with this week either through psychological first aid, playing hopscotch, frisbee, soccer, flying a homeade kite, coloring, group activities and want you to get to know these kids as well as i have. I talked with my connection in the states and it sounds like i may have the opportunity to come back and i am humbled to be asked. I want to bring a team of people here who love God and want to love People and show not only Haiti but these kids that there are people in the world that still want them. Thanks to the Medishare team Annie, Stephanie, Michael, and Tony for your support and excellent teamwork. Thanks to everyone for following me this week i appreciate your positve comments as well as your support. Thank you Brent and Julie Cole for making all of the technology possibly and allow me to see my beautiful family daily. I will see you soon!!!! James 1:27 Love God Love People!!!!

Day 6

I woke up this morning and seem to be having a difficult time getting awake and mentally begining to shut down. There is a rooster that has his schedule off and starts crowing every morning around 2:30. I had breakfast was able to shave (team member had an extra one) and met with the team for morning briefing. Dr. Looby and Dr. Scott went with Tony our translator to begin closure with some of the kids and prepare them for the team who will be here next week. I had asked for the team to do progress notes on each child that thay came in contact with in order to begin the process of creating charts and because i have put it off spent the next three hours in my room typing. While typing notes for the chart as well as the team that will be here next week Dr. Looby knocked on my door and brought Mari in to see me. I immediatly burst into tears at the sight of this little 4 year old girl who weighs maybe 20 pounds. I have built a special connection with her and although she cannot talk or barely move everytime i see her she smiles at me with her big eyes and beautiful white teeth. I immediately dropped what i was doing to take her back to the hospital and spend as much time holding her and kissing her beautiful face. I noticed when we were in ther room that Dr. Looby was blowing bubbles at her and she kept imitating her blowing bubbles. We soon found out that she was hungry and took her back to feed her lunch. Today it was noodles and sauce and a bottle of enfamil, it took about an hour to feed her and over the period of time we had to switch holding her because of the difficulties she had swallowing. I was overwhelmed with tears when i saw how hungry she was and if i paused in between feeding her she would become emotional. She finished eating and we changed her into a clean onsie and laid her down to rest. We had to leave pretty fast because she immediatly started crying for us. I later found out that she will not be transported to Miami because her illness is not life threating. I talked with the supervisor of the Mon Tons today and she stated that she could die because her trachea could shut down and not allow her to breathe. The procedure she needs can easily be done in the United States and allow her to breathe and live more comfortably. Continue to PRAY for Mari and that she can come to the U.S. for surgery, i am concerned that this will be the only way there will be any hope. My heart breaks for this girl but i know that God has her where she needs to be, i am amazed at how this children's home takes care of their kids and i have yet to see one kid this week that was dirty or mistreated.

It is extremely hot here and the mosquitos are the size of flies. I was walking to the hospital today through the gravel driveway and saw a yellow crayon completely melted. The plans we had today with mental health did not happen because some of the staff were unavailable because of the holiday weekend and we will make a last attempt to meet with them again tommorow. During our debriefing tonight we compiled everyones notes for the week and came up with about ten pages of notes to leave for the home and to pass to our colleagues arriving next week.

I wanted to pass this video along because of the importance of how God can work in and through our lives. This kid has nothing he lives in a tent city does not have clothes that fit him and may not know when he will get his next meal but still raising his hands singing Amen. I hope that this video touches you like it did me and everyone else at the orphanage.

We spent the rest of the evening planning for our last day and decided that we will not do anything clinical tommorow and spend the last day hanging out with the kids. The team prepared eggs with candy tonight for an easter egg hunt tommorow and we just found out that the U.S. Navy will be here tommorow to bring toys and candy for an easter egg hunt. There is a bible study tommorow at 9:00 and worship at 10:00 and i look forward to experience the ressurection with the Haitian children. Thanks for letting me discuss my day and for the positive feedback i will see everyone soon. (Pictures were used with permission from New Life Childrens Home)

Day 6

I woke up this morning in time for breakfast. we had fresh mango again and that was enough for me. The team discussed the plan for today. Tony, our interpreter, Dr. Doria and I began meeting with the adolescents for basic assessments. The purpose of creating the mini psychosocial file was to give the administrative staff, medical staff and future mental health professionals information on arrival that would help them get to know the children better. We met with six kids to ask basic questions about their age, plans for today, future and obtain their current thoughts and feelings about their situation. After obtaining needed information, we asked if there was anyone that wanted to stay and talk and a 17 year old kid teared up when telling us about his earthquake experience and his life leading up to being brought to the orphanage. It was a great response that he brought on himself without any lead and i will meet with him tommorow to work with him on the choices his parents made with his life and how he has had no control of what has happened. The time that we met with the adolescents we were able to begin the process of opening doors to communication with them and discovering the positive aspects of their life. The most important piece of information i want everyone to get out of my conversation with them was when i told them to tell me something about themselves the immediate response i got was "I am a hard worker", "love school" and had they all had career choices and a plan to ensure it happened. Dr. Looby and Dr. Scott prepared information to train the staff on positive and negative behavior as well as appropriate consequences. The childrens home does not allow corporal punishment and administration knowledge on alternative punishment is limited.

I wanted to give everyone an update on Crys the Haitian girl i talked about yesterday who did not want to wear the sock where her leg was amputated and i am happy to report that the intensive work that everyone has done with her today has paid off. I saw her after breakfast and she had the sock on her leg, we all praised her and gave her many hugs of appreciation. This is a difficult stuation as she has not fully understood the reasoning for the sock and Dr. Looby will set down with her tommorow and have her pick out a few different crayons and buy her a few dresses with matching sock for the amputation. I will keep you updated on her story as well as when she gets her prosthesis.

After lunch, the director along with Theodore one of the administrators took the team downtown to see the devastation and the current conditions the Haitian people are living in. This experience was humbling and life changing because of their resiliency to the catastrophe that happened in January. On our ride, we were taken through numerous areas of Port Au Prince and the entire area looked like a bomb had exploded. We went to the presidential palace that was completely destroyed and had the opportunity to see the tent cities that everyone has seen on T.V. When we got out at the palace to take pictures the putrid smell of garbage, urine, feces, rotting food immediatly hit me. We were immediatly approached by many kids asking for money, water, food, etc. and we were instructed not to give them anything because of the potential chaos it could create. We could only stay for about 10 minutes because the crowd of kids kept growing and it was begining to be a safety issue. (for the first time since i have been here i was a little nervous about what we were doing). I took over 100 pictures and numerous videos of the demolished buildings and it is one of the most intense scenes that i have ever seen and although i have pictures and video it will never compare to seeing this in real life. I stated all day that i cannot wait to come home and not only share the stories of survival with my family but with the students at the middle school. It is unbelievable what we take for granted on a daily basis.

I am finishing up tonight by Skypeing my contact in the United States about our success this week as well as passing along information to the team that will arrive on Monday. I promised i would show a kid how to play basketball (not Richardsville style) later and will head down to the orphanage in a few to see if he is still awake. I checked on Mari today to see if there was any progress and have not heard anything from the Medishare tent yet. I continue to pray that God will take care of her and that she can go to Miami for the needed surgery to assist her with breathing easier.

It is Good Friday and the Haitian people are already celebrating the ressurection of Christ. I am again excited about the Air Force coming on Sunday for an Easter Egg Hunt and praise and worship. I am running out of gas and ready for some needed rest and relaxation. I miss my family and cannot wait to see them on Monday evening!! Isaiah 40:29

The last picture says i believe in God and this was painted on just about every vehicle i saw today. The unbelievable part is the Haitian people are still proclaiming Jesus when their entire city looks like the first three pictures. Continue to pray for Mari and the rest of the children in the orphanage!!

Day 5

I woke up again to the smell of burning trash and roosters crowing. i did get an ice cold shower this morning and cannot tell you how refreshing it was. There are mango trees on the compound and you can see the children throwing basketballs or whatever they get their hands to throw at the trees trying to get the fruit to fall. We had a morning briefing of the plans for today and Dr. Looby, Dr. Scott and Tony (interpreter) are going to continue working with a young haitian girl who lost her right leg trying to rescue her family after the earthquake. She is going to get a prosthesis and must where a sock on the part of her leg that was amputated in order for the prosthesis to fit. She has been defiant about wearing the sock and the window of opportunity for her is closing. We are also doing some work with her peers because she has isolated herself and a group of girls have been excluding her. Dr. Scott and Dr. Looby have made wonderful strides to get her to wear the sock a portion of the day and will show her a video this morning on the purpose of the sock. With her consent, we hope to work as a team to provide some mediation skills to the kids and help them resolve the issues they have. When that is finished, we will spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon running back to back groups with the children to help us assess their feelings and begin preparing the team for next week when they arrive.

There was a church service last night and i was brought to tears at the Haitians praising Jesus! It was great to see amputees raising their hands in worship knowing that they have lost everything they have. The Haitian pastor talked about the resiliency of the Haitian people and how much they are blessed to be alive. He made many humbling statements specifically about his wife whom had to be flown to Miami for an emergency c section. They were there during the earthquake and when they arrived back home they had lost everything including their house. We find it hard to praise God when times are good and the message the Haitans brought last night was a true testament to faith, hope, love, peace and joy.

I checked in on Mari today and had another opportunity to hold her and offer her all the love that i could. She is still very sick and will be leaving for Project Medishare's tent for admittance. I did find out that along with CP and numerous other health issues she has Tracheadiosis? which mean that her trachea is not functioning correctly and she may be transported to Miami to recieve the surgery. Thank you for your prayers and continue to pray for Mari and her recovery. I look forward to seeing her smiling face soon!!!!

The team had a hour and a half staffing tonight to discuss the plans for the rest of the week and begin planning for a new team arriving on Monday. Tommorow we will be meeting with some of the adolescents to do some basic assessment and obtain needed information to put in their medical records. I know that these children have told their story many times and they are tired of repeating it weekly and sometimes daily. Our goal will be to offer support and assistance and help the children avoid being revictimized by repeating themselves. It has been a long and difficult week I miss my family and look forward to seeing them soon. One last thing the military will be here on Sunday and bring easter eggs for the children to hunt!! I know that i am here for a purpose of providing mental health services and support but ultimately know that God has been preparing me for something like this for many years. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the Haiti, Project Medishare, the children, and ultimately Jesus Christ!!

The website for the orphanage today. http://www.whmnewlife.org/