The Letter

The last two weeks have been interesting to say the least. They have not been easy. I laugh when I see the word "easy." Let’s just say I have grown a lot in the last two weeks. I’m going to process some thoughts through this blog post. Stick with me. 

Two weeks ago we decided it would be a good time to purchase our land. We originally have agreed to lease it for 10 years for a very reasonable price with the option to buy it after the 10 years or renew it for another 10 years for the same amount. Yet it  became very clear to us that if we were going to purchase the land it was going to be now or never. I thought it would be quick and easy. I mean God you’re on my side right? And you want our organization to be placed on this land, right? 

I figured negotiations would be simple. They have been up to this point. And, if God is for us then who could be against us, right?

I picture you all sitting in your chairs shaking your heads. I’m sure you know what’s about to come...and you are probably on the right path with your assumptions. 

The land negotiations have not been easy and they have not worked in our favor. Nothing feels like it has worked.

Amy happened to be in the States during all these negotiations...lucky her. It's okay though. It was perfect timing for her to be in the States since she really doesn’t like negotiations.. or money if we’re being honest. Those things fall under Jenn’s portfolio of roles.

Sigh. 

Okay, so back to things not going according to plan.

I was a tad bit angry. Poor sweet Amy received a little bit of my wrath via email. She encouraged me to reach out to the board, and to sit and pray a bit. It’s when you're irritated that you throw back a “what do you think I have been doing all this time?.” But she was right..maybe I hadn’t really been praying or maybe I needed to reach out and ask people to pray for me. 

Do you ever just sit during a bible study or small group and when asked for prayer requests you just sit there? Maybe if you're like me you can think of a thousand other people that need prayer but you would never think to include yourself? That’s me. 

I never thought of reaching out to people and saying, “hey, pray for me. My heart is heavy and it’s so heavy it’s not allowing me to think clearly.

So that’s what I did. 

I contacted the board. I either skyped or called every single one of them from Haiti. Two of the board members prayed over me over the phone, and another sent a Micheal W Smith youtube video of the song “Give it Away.”

You don’t find better board members then that. You really don’t. They were encouraging and uplifting. 

Then I sat down with a not-so-heavy heart and wrote, “The Letter.” It’s literally called “The Letter” in my google docs.

Confession: I got a little help with the grammar.

We are on the precipice of opening the doors of Second Mile Haiti to women and their children, and we couldn’t be more excited. However, we have hit a seeming road block. I say “seeming” because we serve an infinitely powerful and faithful God who has shown up for us over and over again in the past year. Instead of feeling discouraged, I feel excited because I think we are about to see God do something big. And we would love for you to be a part of it!

Unbelievably, it has been almost one year since we came to an agreement on renting the land Second Mile Haiti is building on. It has become absolutely clear to us that the most prudent decision would be to purchase the land. Unfortunately, when dealing with parties from two different cultures, there is the potential for misunderstandings and misperceptions. We want people here in Haiti to know our hearts and to grasp the potential this property has for the surrounding communities. Two weeks ago, we made the decision to purchase the land. Since then, we stopped all work on the land to focus on negotiations. We have met for countless hours in the landowner’s home, in rum distilleries, under mango trees, and even on a pig farm. These meetings have literally lasted from sunrise to sunset. We have been pouring out our hearts and vision for Second Mile Haiti, striving for everyone involved to be on the same page. 

And this is where you come in. In the past year, God has used so many of you to be His hands and feet and provide for the needs of Second Mile Haiti. We couldn’t have come this far without your financial support and your prayers and we are so thankful for you! In the past two weeks, we have reached two conclusions: First, we need help purchasing the land and secondly, we need some major prayer warriors supporting us.

Here's what we need, plain and simple:

In a two week period, we need to raise $15,000 in one-time donations, and we need to find 12 people willing to donate $100/month for one year. It sounds doable and easy when it's broken down. We serve a very big God that makes these numbers seem small.

Prayer warriors we need you too! We need you big time! We need you to pray for people to come into our life and commit to making this goal happen. We need you to pray for these one-time donors and monthly supporters. We need you to pray for our future negotiations and that the people involved in these decisions will see our hearts. We need prayer for guidance and direction at this critical time, especially as we look ahead to these next few exciting months.

I also have another request: Would you consider passing this email on to friends and family that you think might be looking for an opportunity to give? Or to someone else you know who is a faithful prayer warrior? This may be just how God wants to use you.

If you are interested in becoming a monthly donor or giving a one time donation via online then you can do so here.

If you would like to make a donation via check:

Make checks payable to Second Mile Ministries

5251 W Desert Falcon Ln

Tucson, AZ 85742

In two weeks, I will be sending out another email and I can’t wait to report back to you on what God has done. I know that God works powerfully through the body of Christ. Being a “missionary” means you often have to ask for things from people…it can be an uncomfortable position to be in sometimes. However, I am learning that it is when all of us work together as the body of Christ, each using the gifts God has given them, that He works most powerfully through His people. 

Thank you for the encouragement that each one of you are to us!

Blessings,

Jenn Schenk

Co-Founder

Amy and I might have had to hold our breath and count 1...2...send when we actually emailed  this letter to a couple of our friends and family. This is not our favorite thing to do. But just as we sent those emails we had response emails come in.

We had people respond that they were praying over the letter and others responded by saying they would pass it along to other people they knew that would be interested. We flat out had people tell us it would a great letter and we were thanked for sending it to them. 

Ha!

I laugh because I never thought I would be told it was a great letter and I certainly didn't think I would ever be thanked for sending it.

So in just a week's time we have had close to $8,000 come in and 4 more people committed to be monthly supporters. 

AND...drumroll please.

The price of land has decreased.

I guess if I was preaching a sermon this is where I would ask us all to give a hand clap for God. I would hope he gets a standing ovation. I think if we let him in our lives more often we would find ourselves clapping, whistling, and cheering quite often.

So here I am still with a not-so-heavy heart, and I can tell you..

This land stuff just isn't a big deal anymore. It's going to work out.

God just gave another trial to make sure we were giving him all the glory.

He needed people to see how freakin awesome he is in case they forgot.

And he needed to stay the main character in this story.

Small successes aren't so small here.

Small successes aren't so small here.

Today I woke up and started my day by inputting finances and working on payroll. Have I mentioned I love payroll? This time, inputting payroll had a whole different meaning to me. This time I was giving Dadou (our Haitian director/project manager/partner in work life) a check for the 12th time. 12 times means he has been working for a year! Time sure does fly by. He has been at my side every step of the journey. He has been a great teacher the last 12 months. Dadou has invested so much into me. He has taught me how to not get taken advantage of, prices in construction, appropriate creole phases, how to be a good boss to employees, and when it's appropriate to give. It's hard to sum up in one sentence everything he has done for me.  Let's just say he has played a huge role in Second Mile Haiti and all the successes that the organization has had so far.

Anyways, back to what I was saying. Dadou received his 12th check today. In a year Dadou has been able to purchase a motorcycle. This motorcycle has been a blessing to Second Mile Haiti. He has used the motorcycle to transport employees to the land, pick up random materials we need, and to give me rides into town and to the bank. Every time I go to the land his motorcycle isn't there because he is letting someone use it. That's what is so great about Dadou. He knows he has an advantage over most Haitians and instead of gloating or only using it for himself, he instead decides to use it for everyone and the needs of other people. This is what makes Dadou a great director. The higher he moves up the ladder the more he gives to people.

In a year Dadou has also been able to build a house! Dadou's house is almost finished. He put the roof on last December and today he has workers out at the house putting plaster on the walls. Today, I took a trip out to his house to see for myself. And as expected, It was bel. It felt good to be out at his house. The workers were singing, and there were smiles all around. Most of the workers were employed from his village. They were his neighbors and they were happy for him. There was even 4 other people standing in front of his house talking about how bel it was. This is exciting! There's something about a person 1. having a job, 2. rising through all the hardships, and 3. being able to build their own house. There is pride in that. A pride the unfortunately most Haitians don't get to understand. But, at least those workers and onlookers can look at Dadou, and say, "he did it, it can be done."

Best part of the story. Last week I sat down Dadou and we were going over everything for the week. He randomly interrupted me and said he had been saving 75% of his check each month and have been putting it in the bank. I smiled really big. He then continued by telling me he'd saved 3/4 of what he would need to purchase a truck. I just about gasped. A truck?? Wow. Now that's big time. And here's the what made me even more impressed; He started telling me all the reasons he wanted to purchase a truck.

"Jenn, when it rains to much it's hard to take Tania (his daughter) to school. I worry about her when she goes to school on a moto. And Jenn, there has been a lot of sick people in our village and people in my family are constantly going to the hospital. I need a truck so that I can take them to/from the hospital. (His mother-in-law recently had a stroke and once a week she goes to a local hospital for therapy.) And…when the organization's truck isn't working I'd be able to use my truck to pick up cement, rebar, and stuff for construction."

Wow. When he was finished talking I half expected him to borrow the rest of the money he needed for the car. But instead he said he thinks that in about 4 more months he'll have saved the rest of the money he needs.

This is why I love my job. I am glad I get to be on the same team as Dadou. I'm glad we have had the opportunity to invest in him, but I'm really glad that he's able to invest in me. I no longer see Dadou's job as an asset to his family alone. I see it as an asset to his whole village. Because he is building a house there have been job opportunities for his neighbors. Through him, his family and friends will be able to have the opportunity to go to the hospital on a minute's notice. And because he's just that good of a guy, his family and friends are taken care of.  The money he makes is invested back into the community when he makes purchases for things his family needs. And those people that sell food, and clothes, and materials receive much needed income. It's a chain. It's a chain I'm happy to be a part of. Our role as his employer seems so small compared to the role he plays in his friends and families lives. So yes, this 12th check meant something, and so will the 13th, 19th, and 24th. Don't worry I will let you know the amazing things that come from 24 checks ;)

Visitors, Viewpoints, and Traveling Tree

Jenn’s at the land today with this week’s special visitor. For those of you who have been following along we have been graced with Jason Gigure’s presence twice in the last 4 months and today marks the start of his third visit. Jason made his first trip to Second Mile Haiti because Jenn, while sitting on the Gigure’s couch, casually tried to turn the conversation to septic tanks. I imagine she asked Jason what he knew about drainage fields and I imagine that Jason responded in a nonchalant manner, “I know a few things about septic systems.” To which I imagine his wife Karen, quickly intervening. “Excuse me” she’d say ruining Jason’s attempted humility, “but you built our backyard septic system!” (I wasn’t actually there but that’s how the scenario plays out in my imagination.) Anyway...somehow or another the idea of a trip to Haiti was put on the table and the rest is history. 

Plumbing and septic projects in September

 

Jason fostered some great relationships with some of the workers on that first trip and returned just two months later to help us with a second plumbing project, the wash-area for the women. That project was funded in collaboration with Delicate Fortress Creations, an online shop where every purchase has poverty-fighting, sex-trafficking stopping, education-giving power. Founder Karyn Puller gets major creativity and generosity points by allowing projects like ours to benefit from a portion of their sales. That was in November. 

bath house project

 looks totally different now. but we're lacking the 'after' shot

This week he will be working with his Haitian buddies to place tile in the staff apartment. 

Look we already have pictures from Day 1 of tiling and Day 8 of the Education Center.

less than two weeks ago this building was funded. awesome.

Last week, we had the privilege of hosting yet another set of visitors. These two influential guys represented a company who gives generously to Christian and mission organizations around the world. Having included Second Mile Haiti in their giving last year these two trail blazers decided it might be a good time to visit Haiti and see the organizations they support in action.

There’s something about showing Haiti to someone who has never set foot on the island. 

Haiti can be overwhelming on a full night’s sleep. And guaranteed those of you traveling to Haiti for the first time didn’t get much of that. No matter how you try to swing it, flights to Haiti leave first thing in the morning. Unless, you fly in from New York, which I think is cheating, there's no getting around an awkward night spent somewhere in Florida. You can choose a late arrival into Ft Lauderdale or Miami and find yourself a nice piece of carpet. We all know that airport seats are good for nothing. You then spend the next several hours curled up in front of the check-in terminal where the automatic doors have a mind of their own and where TSA uses their monopoly of the intercom to remind you, most unrelentingly, not to accept packages from strangers. No sleep. Or you camp out near baggage claim, an area which seems to require thorough vaccuming between the hours of 1 and 4 am. Or if you’re brave enough to actually close your eyes at all you can check into a hotel for an entire 4 hours before you’re required back at the airport for 4 am check-in. Let’s just say that if you’re super attached to the idea of a “full-night’s rest” you might want to skip Haiti and choose a country with a flight time greater than 2 hours so you can get your beauty sleep on the plane. 

Anyway, the newbies always arrive tired. 

The first exchange with the tired newbie is usually the one where we promise that even though your bags didn’t arrive on the plane with you, they will get here, just later. Then you get in the car and you ask why it’s running and we tell you about the beauty of diesel and the beauty of living on a hill and roll starts and not being able to turn of truck off... and we promise that despite those minor issues it still runs extremely well and you won’t die. And it is here, pulling away from the airport that I try to recall my experience of visiting a foreign country for the first time, one where I didn’t stay long enough to grow accustomed to the sights and sounds. I think about what you, the visitor, might be seeing, things I may have stopped seeing forever ago. In this way I almost re-experience Haiti and re-fall in love with the country as I see it afresh through the eye's of a newbie. 

When orienting a newbie to the city I am no shortage of TMI. I seem to have lost that filter. Jenn says I’m a good tour guide but maybe it’s just her excuse to give her own vocal cords a rest. She’ll inevitably have to answer a million project related questions soon enough. So I take my job seriously and I tell you why that police building is blue and why that clinic building is green and where that person bought her shoes and where you can get the best fried plantains. If you’re lucky I might even tell you when, exactly, each segment of Cap Haitian’s main thoroughfare was paved, year AND month. Either my details fascinate you or you’re all just too polite to stop me. 

Last week’s visit was good for me. I got out of my “office” where I have been researching things like banana leaf killing fungus and iodine deficiency (which is all relevant, I promise) and spent almost an entire 48 hours driving to and from the city and our apartment and the villages where we work. 

All that tour-giving and time traveling in the truck and looking out the window at beautiful Haiti reminded me that I’m not finished learning about this place where I live. And in that vain I’ve found myself falling asleep to the words of “Haiti, The Aftershocks of History” a book which chronicles Haiti’s past. My desire to have Haiti’s complex history unpacked and laid bare before me is like...urgent. Although apparently, sleep trumps urgent. And in Kindle-speak I get through only about 1% of my incredibly fascinating history book in the time between my head hits the pillow and my eyes close. Still, in the 10% of the book that I have read, Haiti has succeeded as the first slave nation to gain independence and is establishing a democratic system to replace colonial rule. And there’s 90% more! Haiti is still going, still conquering, still rising. Do I know enough about those triumphs? Do I have all the juicy details about the grass-roots groups and community leaders that are making a difference today, where they live?

Honestly, sometimes Haiti surprises me. I see something working and I’m shocked. I see an individual or a group enjoying success and I am taken off-guard. And it’s wrong. To be surprised by what a nation, all be it a developing, “4th world” nation can do is paternal and wrong. 

When Jenn and I dropped our visitors off at the hotel on the first day of their stay we encountered a little bit of a blokis on our way home, actually this was a gwo traffic jam. Half-way to town on the main drag there is a monument that sits above a park. It’s called Vertiere and commemorates the battle of Independence. School kids visit the monument in the days leading up to Independence Day and take pictures there. On this particular night there were more people than usual out even though it was close to 7 pm. People were running in the direction of the monument as if there was something to see. We had to ask. “Is there a riot?” The number of people that were lining the hill and surrounding the monument  resembled stadium seating for the arrival of someone important. I though maybe the president was coming. But realized that he probably wouldn’t attract as many people. I finally got my answer when someone passing by told us that a tree had been carried from the other towns and was on it’s way to Ouanaminthe and was going to be sleeping here tonight. (Literal translation). "Don’t worry they’re not killing anyone” the guy said. First relieved, than confused. In Kreyol there are a lot of words that share multiple meanings. I was racking my brain for a better explanation. Anything that would make more sense than a tree...carried through Haiti...sleeping here... and heading to the Dominican border city. But sure enough, in a demonstration of what Haiti can do when the people unite, a tree, or rather a piece of art painted with national pride, was carried throughout the country. People from 45 different regions carried the tree, a distance of 700 kilometers on foot, and set it to rest in each major city so that people could celebrate. It’s an idea just so crazy it might work. And work it did. Our car was surrounded as thousands of people engulfed the tree and danced it into the city center to sleep for the night. Unity. Success.

ceremonial lifting of the tree by police staff, Port au Prince

If you're super curious about "Kita Naga"click here.

photo by Jenn taken the next day..while driving.

I want to be well-versed in Haiti’s successes and accomplishments so that those are the impressions I pass on to the newbies. I want visitors to leave with real and genuine respect for the men, women, and children of this country. They should leave with stories about nurses and hospital staff who are working together to combat HIV. They should look past the trash (that is sitting on the road, not because Haitians are avid litterers, but because it’s trash day and that’s how the canal system works here) and see the teachers that are shaping the future of Haiti. They should understand that the aging mothers perched on top of those wildly painted school busses are actually witty business-women who make long daily journeys to sell fruit and produce. Their weathered faces speak of years spent in the fields and the sacrifices they are still making to keep their teenagers and twenty-somethings in school. They should know that Haitian children living with their mothers actually don’t have runny noses because this is a culture that prides itself on hygiene and appearance. In the same way you might grab a water bottle or a granola bar as you run out door, a Haitian caregiver of a young child doesn’t leave home without a washcloth or mouchwa to keep runny noses at bay. They should recognize that young people who enter the field of nursing for example do it for the very same reasons that I chose this profession: compassion and the desire to do something tangible to help those that are hurting. They should know that moms and dads and uncles and neighbors pass along their skills and trades to the young people around them. Cooks and tailors and mechanics and masons prepare the next generation for a life of hard work. Haitians aren’t helpless or lazy or undeserving or evil or any of the other awful descriptors that I’ve heard attributed to this beautiful country. 

I know why I am in Haiti and it’s not because it’s the poorest place on some list. I’m not in Haiti because it has some grave need that my skills can fill. I’m not in Haiti to do anything different than what I might do in a rural clinic for immigrant workers in Georgia or in a safe house for battered women in New York. I’m not doing anything that anyone else couldn’t do, Haitian or otherwise. I am in Haiti because one day, freshly graduated and finally processing a semester’s experience of nursing in rural AIDS clinics in South Africa, I asked God to please let me be close to people like that. I wanted to be close to people who were sick and needed someone to care for them. I’ve realized that there are people like that everywhere and He could have sent me anywhere. I was open. I’m so glad my anywhere turned out to be Haiti. I think God set Haiti in front of me as an option because he knew I would love it here. And He knows me pretty well. 

We're back!

This post is coming dangerously close to being un-postable in that we’ve actually been back in Haiti for four, almost five full days. We’re settling back into life here and our routines, like oatmeal for breakfast, sermons on Sundays, running and reading are taking their proper places. The freshness of the new year is starting to wear off except that it isn’t. The words I wrote a few days ago are still quite appropriate. I guess there’s no wrong time to share what it feels like to come home. 

****

We’re back in Haiti and it smells and looks and feels exactly like it did 12 months ago, which in my opinion, looks and smells and feels amazing. We left Haiti for the big Family, Friend, and Fundraise Visit of 2012 (seriously, it’s such an involved affair it deserves an official title) on December 3rd and we arrived home yesterday, Jan 3rd. I think if you leave for 2 weeks, or maybe 3, you can return without much of a jolt to your system. But once you hit the month marker inevitably when you return, your body notices. Last year around this time we returned after being away from Haiti for 3 whole months, 3 months! Coming home then was intoxicating. Returning this time felt just as strange and wonderful. Things I had stopped smelling I noticed yesterday. Like the smell of the Haiti Babi mommas when they jumped in the truck for a ride into town. When I saw them waving madly at us as we pulled home from the airport, everything felt right in the world.  These women work out of an apartment we initially leased for the bead program and/or visiting guests. Now, it’s their knitting supplies that fill the place with warmth and tumble from every corner. I’m a sucker for the smell of Haitian women. It’s grown to be an incredibly friendly and familiar smell.  Not so friendly was the smell of mildew in our apartment but familiar none-the-less. Just as an aside, we’re working on the mildew today. So please don’t add that to the tarantulas and blazing hot temperatures. You can and should still visit. I promise. 

Today we spent half the day flying, 10 minutes unpacking, and half the day bringing our living space back to life. 

First stop: Cap Haitien’s main outdoor market. 

We filled our bags with plenty of fresh food and then moved on to the local cellular store to buy credit for our SIM powered USB internet device. What more do you need short of wi-fi and vegetables? Friends perhaps. And thankfully, we had a chance to see them too. Life is good and there’s plenty to smile about. Our absence did not go unnoticed and that has a way of making you feel just a little bit loved. 

Some things have changed here in this corner of Haiti, while others haven’t. Avocados are no longer in season, but the bank tellers still adore Jenn, calling her either “Schenkkkk” or “Jennifaire” for a combination of the two. The security guard at the gas station was at our window before we could even come to a complete stop. He was eager to share news that his partner, the shops other security guard, had left for Port-au-Prince to attend the police training academy. He’s on to bigger and better things. Big news, indeed. There’s mangoes at the land. The tree in the center of the property, which we’d know only for it’s shade during block-making, has entered a fertile season. This also, is new to us. And exciting. Jenn says it’s popping with fruit and we might just need to rig up a net of some kind to capitalize on it’s bounty. 

Earlier today, Jenn announced that we should make and sell pickles, that was after she learned that “a pickle” is actually a pickled cucumber. (Mind blown). Let’s just say she’s feeling inspired and innovative. And she should be! And so am I.

Our trip to the states was wildly productive in terms of fundraising. And now that we are back in Haiti more and more of our questions and concerns seem to either have answers or are working themselves out to some degree. For example we prayed earnestly that we might maintain positive and mutually engaged relationships with the local villages. A long-seated plan that the organization would tithe to local churches each month will begin, now! We’re feeling very confident that this is one way that we can be an extension of God’s love and mercy and bless the church from which they will bless the community. 

Also, the land looks amazing! Have you seen the pictures on FB? How can you not get excited about the transformation that will happen within those rooms when you see them? 

A year ago, exactly, we were stepping into something completely brand new and trusting God to guide our steps each hour of the day. Today I find myself with the same giddiness about being back. I find myself saying strangely similar things like...Jenn, we need to take a picture.. I think I could blog tonight.  We were only gone a month this time, so the excitement stems more from a sense of God’s presence and power fueling this project. 

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” (Eph 3. 20)

He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. The more I think about it, the more I think I might burst. In a good way. 

Praising Him for blessing our travels, bringing us safely back, and for what’s to come. 

this, that, and Thanksgiving

I know, it's been awhile since we've written. Of all the things I'm good at putting off, blogging gets shafted most frequently. So today, before I think the better of it, I am going to set aside 'urgent this' and 'urgent that' to write you all a little update. I will focus my urgency on sharing with you. Here's what's been happening in the heart of the Caribbean.

At "the land," buildings are just popping up right and left! That might be a bit of an exaggeration but we do have some building updates to share. In addition to the clinic and the recovery homes there is now a small apartment for our international staff (which presently consists of none other than us). Our decision to position the apartment above the clinic was quite strategic. When emergencies arise by simply taking the stairs two at a time we'll have access to the medical supply room in seconds. We are right where we need to be according to the words of wise man from Ghana who once told me to "stay close to your vision."

We'll be close alright.

From the apartment we can clearly see the mom and baby homes and we are just a stone's throw away from the gate. From the kitchen we can see the back property and gardens. From the porch we can see the road. And we saved a ton of money by building on an existing structure.

it may look a bit unstable. but i assure you she's safe.

 the roof is dry and the bamboo is just a precaution at this point. 

We had to cancel a few days of work  life... due to major flooding in Cap Haitien. It rained for more than 48 hours. 16 people died. Many homes were flooded. Others were carried down the mountain by currants of water. It was bad. Our friends and employees survived the storm. For one mom, it meant borrowing money to buy plastic table cloths which would be pinned inside her mud and stick home. For another mom it meant moving her family to an area unaffected by flooding while she went back to assess the damage and mop up the mess. The rains were followed by 3 days of hot sun, perfect for drying up 3 days of misery. Although for the families who lost loved ones, the tragedy is irreversible. 

The women are more beautiful than ever. I love the way they encourage one another and treat each other like family. During the storm, I would call to check on one and she'd instantly ask about the others. It's not uncommon to hear them say to one another "you're getting better [at rolling beads]!" or "you are much better at cutting paper than me" or "you're the fastest roller." 

My heart lives for inclusion. For those of you who attended a small liberal arts University or have experience with the "Strength's Finder" test you'll get me when I say "Includer" was one of my top 5. After answering what feels like hundreds of questions this pseudo-personality test detected that one of my strongest attributes was the desire to make others feel included. It's true. My skin crawls until I'm confident that everyone feels accepted and comfortable in a group setting. Needless to say, I've enjoyed watching Dorothy and Louismene whole-heartedly adopt Rosenie, the newest bead maker, into the fold. 

These women are held together by a common bond. All of them have children who are "sick." Not the kind of sick that gets better with rest and hydration and mom's kisses, but real heartbreaking chronic and disabling illness. Everyday when they arrive at work and ask each other, "How are the kids?" they are prepared for honest answers, downcast looks, or racing hearts. These moms come to work and enjoy it. They tell jokes and laugh. But I know that in the moments when they aren't chatting, joking, or talking about politics they're thinking, maybe even worrying, about their kids. 

(More on this in another post...)

The lady pictured one in from the left is Madame Melik. She's a gem. She cooks for our ladies and the Haiti Babi ladies each work day. She also helps keep this ship clean. She makes a killer legim. If you haven't tried this traditional dish then I'm sorry, you just haven't lived. If you visit, she'll make you a double portion and then mock you for your inability to eat as much as a Haitian. It's a battle you can't win. Either eat up or risk being that person... ki pa manje anpil. 

Jenn and I are busy, busy, busy this month! We are North American, traditionally and by birth. That doesn't mean we won't deny our roots the moment someone calls us Haitian, the highest of all desired compliments. It does mean that we are excited to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We'll be having a traditional Thanksgiving feast next week here at our apartment complete with turkey and cranberry sauce. You were all invited. But, since no one RSVP'd we'll take it as a hint that you love your family more than you love us. That's fine. ;) Until the big feast we will continue to prepare our staff for the month of December. They're going to be on their own for most of the month. 

In light of the holidays and the fact that my wonderful parents have probably forgotten what I look like, coupled with the need to fundraise and a personal desire to buy new underwear and curly hair conditioner, we will be heading to the US of A.

It's been a year since I've seen my family! Jenn and I are both excited to see our families and friends. We keep talking about what cooking ingredients we will stalk up on and what North American novelties we will partake in. Gingerbread house making,  Disneyland, the movies...wow, the opportunities for good old American fun are endless. We plan to run in the States, which is something we do a lot here. Here in Haiti we run up and down steep hill.  There, we will chart a course that's as flat as they come. We deserve it. 

We will also get to visit a few churches and speak about Haiti in a few different States. We can't wait to see the Edwards in North Carolina!!! That's always fun. 

What's not so fun is planning a big event from afar. The plan is to have a Silent Auction in Tucson the first weekend in December. We knew it would be a challenging undertaking but plunged ahead anyway. A few weeks ago Jenn spent a solid 6 hours emailing various businesses in search of donations. Our first "yes" response was from an Opera company who offered to send tickets. We've never been more excited about opera! The next yes was a few free yoga passes. This was also very exciting. The remaining 48 businesses didn't respond. 

That left us with two options: 1. cancel 2. ask for help

We asked for help and several wonderful people have come through with gift baskets and even an event location. We could still use more items to place up for auction. Do you have a business, craft, or trade that we could place up for Auction? We would be forever indebted to you for your donation. If you can come to the event please do! We are bringing with us some sites and sounds of Haiti and a few famous Haitian beverages as well. It should be a great night. 

In other big news, we have a Holiday Gift Giving Catalog on it's way. This will let you give a much needed "gift" to Second Mile Ministries this gift giving season. And, we were just notified of a donor that would like to match all donations up to $5,000 during this week before Thanksgiving. 

Between the sun, the building progress, the beautiful moms we work with, and our upcoming travels we have so much to be thankful. Top that list off with this potential donation, your prayers, new friends, and a God who never leaves us and we're flat-on-our faces thankful. 

We hope you have a very merry Thanksgiving! 

Matching donations start today. Donate here. 

cement bags + scratch paper = masterpiece.

jenn here.  i've posted a fair amount of “i love my life" statuses recently. this post should have a similar feel.  

i wake up and fall asleep excited about where i am at and the things i get to be involved in on a daily basis. 

my life is fun, and fulfilling, and God is right there in it. i couldn’t be happier. 

we’re building again. i know at least a few people who would be happy to know that the guys are back in action. 

we have a great team. i think they are really starting to get me and my penny pinching ways. for example, we needed to pick up cement today. 15 bags to be exact. dadou mentioned that he would swing buy to pick up the truck to haul the cement out  to the land. i stopped him. and i could tell that he immediately knew why. moto. not truck. the $3.50 it would cost to deliver the cement to the land by moto is less than the cost of diesel to get the truck out to the land and back. every little bit counts and they know i care about these things. these guys have gone the extra mile with these projects. they deserve   a blog post just to say how great they are. but that's not exactly where i am going with this one.. 

this is where we will stay. nice and simple. that's the bathroom and the kitchen. and that's hilary clinton. well it's the plane she flew in to Cap Haitien this afternoon. i actually dressed up just in case i got to meet her...maybe next time. 

     

        

i love to be at the land. i see God there more than any other place. it's amazing to stand on the roof of either building and see the expanse of land that has so much promise. it's crazy to sit off to the side under the shade and watch the work happen. i'm a human working with a whole bunch of other error prone humans. we could have screwed this up in so many different levels along the way. but God's in control and he hasn't let that happen. with each bit of progress i am blown away by just how perfectly the pieces fit together. 

our God is perfect. and he's a beautiful artist. 

i also just love the building process. 

for me it's numbers and calculations and spreadsheets. 

and it all starts on the inside of a bag of cement (yea, we recycle). then it gets official in my notebook and even more official in my google doc (i have a thing for functions)

for amy it's about sketching and doodling apparently. 

actually, the only thing we had in terms of official plans was this here little sketch. and it turned into the clinic. 

after that we mostly just got down to business with tape measures, and levels, and string to mark things out. 

we had to laugh at ourselves the day we took this little drawing to the land to lay the foundation for the mom and baby homes... but everything worked out. oh so perfectly. 

these are some of the things that make up my days here... getting supplies, calculating costs, making decisions about the building and hanging out with the workers. and i think that's why i am so happy. in all these things i get to be blown away by God's greatness. i get to see him work in the lives of the guys that come to work each day. i get to see him provide. and i get to see his glory when i sit back and take it all in. it's about Him. 

-jenn

life in Haiti

300 gouds 

$7.50

we had to meet kelinise today, on the side of the road, to give her money for laboratory tests she will have done on thursday at the hospital. 

it wasn't yet time for her monthly appointment but she checks her sugars at home. they'd been high. she suspected another infection. i knew she was going to the hospital today but i didn't ask if she had money to get there. i didn't want to know. she called several times between 8 am and 9 am. i didn't answer. I wanted to pretend that if i didn't answer my phone that it meant she'd be fine. if i didn't answer the phone I wouldn't have to deal with where she was or how much money she didn't have or how we'd get it to her. i picked up on the sixth time and she was fine. she was at the hospital and had already been seen by the best doctor this side of heaven (in my opinion). she was waiting for the lab orders. she had, in fact, had enough money to get to the hospital and enough money to take the tap-tap back into town. she would wait for us under the stop light. yes, the same place where we met up with her after last week's dressing change to give her money to get home.* the lab tests would cost $300 gouds.  

*home. it's not her home exactly. it's the home of someone her father knows. he has to pay this individual for her to stay there. with what money? i don't know. he has 14 children. he loves kelinise and is generous with her. but she is not welcome in his wife's home. he works in the fields and sometimes sends coconuts and avocados to Jenn and I when Kelinise makes the hour trip into Cap Haitien and then on to Milot for her doctor visits. her mother? Kelinise's mother has a total of six children but a stroke paralyzed her and rendered her unable to care for herself. she is now living with an adult child in the Dominican Republic. her house? the house where Kelinise used to live with her mother is being rented by another family. they don't want kelinise to stay in the house unless her brother is there with her. they fear her illness. what if something happened to her in the middle of the night? then what? maybe they fear that they'd have to rush her to the hospital if something went wrong. that would cost them money. 

no one wants to be responsible for these expenses. no one. 

her brother? her brother sounds like a nice guy. we've talked to him on the phone a few times. he cares about kelinise too. but he's trying to put himself through school. he would have only one year of school left had he not failed the national exam. twice. you only get two chances or you lose the school year. kid's in Haiti go to school for 14 years not counting any years that have to be repeated. it's hard to say if a 21 year old putting himself through school will have it in him to push through not one but two more years at this point. for many kids in the Haitian school system, that's just the end of the line. 

kelinise is 18. she's in 5th grade. Or she would be in 5th grade if she was enrolled in school. many people have given up on her education. the director of her last school took her books and her uniform and told her not to come back. she was too sick. children in Haiti get punished for being sick. 

in the time we been connected with kelinise she's been hospitalized 4 times, been prescribed 6 different blood pressure medication, suffered from 4 painful abscesses, begun treatment for neuropathy, been diagnosed with retinopathy, and gone from taking 30 units of NPH insulin a day to 45 units. after today's visit she thinks the doctor will increase her dose again. 

Jenn's quoted this article before but I think it's worth revisiting. there's an article posted on the hospital's website that discusses diabetes in depth. it doesn't talk to much about type 1 diabetes however, except to acknowledge that many cases of DKA (super high blood sugar that leads to shock) were seen after the earthquake when children lost access to their source of insulin. and then it says this line: "Type 1 Diabetics are not commonly seen in Milot. This is most likely the result of premature death."

we actually have two 18 year old friends who've defied the odds and are living with type 1 diabetes. the difference between Kelinise and Milonia is that Milonia has a mom. she has someone that she can call during the day when she isn't feeling well. she has someone that believes in her enough to send her to school even though she might not be able to attend everyday, even though she might never make it past the 5th grade. 

God caused our paths to cross with Kelinise's. we weren't able to turn away or say, "no." we fell in love with her smile and the way she said "take me with you" the day our American doctor friend called to tell us about a girl who was diabetic and living by herself; a girl he didn't think would survive. our involvement in her life has been tricky and delicate. her family situation is complicated and messy. we've tried to tread softly and we've tried not to screw up. 

to be completely honest we don't know what to do. we buy some food items for her each month yet after last month's visit the doctor called us into her office and told us that kelinise has lost too much weight. of course, we see it too. she couldn't more than 80 lbs. 

"we do give her food. maybe she's sharing it," we offered. 

"she's definitely sharing. they will always share. maybe you just have to give more" the doctor concluded matter of factly. "i'll try and get her into the food program at the hospital. it's for TB patients and i don't know how much pull i will have but i'll try." 

we thanked her and she thanked us back with unexpected sincerity. her and her husband, the hospital's lead surgeon, love kelinise. they treat her in a special way. they go the extra mile and they know she can't pay them back for it. i'd be lying if i told you i didn't wish that some nice Haitian family would just take her in. they'd be my first choice. 

so we pay for hospital expenses and transportation to and from the countryside where she lives near her dad. this allows her to receive care at Milot hospital's diabetes clinic whenever she is feeling ill.  we buy her insulin and insulin syringes, vitamins and the medications prescribed for her pain and hypertension. and we wait outside the room when she is getting her abscesses drained. 

we were with her in the hospital the day she turned 18. the physician was about to send her down to the peds ward because she looked no more than 14 and was wearing barrettes. A nurse piped in and told the doctor she was 17. i told the doctor that today was her 18th birthday. the doctor wished her a happy birthday and made a joke about the barrettes. i came back to her hospital bed later and the barrettes were gone. 18 year olds don't wear toys in their hair. 

statistics meet kelinise. kelinise meet adulthood. 

oh wait. you've been an adult ever since the day you were diagnosed. You've know this life ever since your family, hard as they tried, stopped being able to do anything to ease your pain.  

kelinise you are brave and courageous and your perseverance is...

we had to meet her on the side of the road today to give her 300 gouds ($7.50). no one else had that money. in Haiti $7.50 is too much. people die because $7.50 is impossible. 

no one wants these expenses.  and no one wants to watch a family member suffer. we get it. we understand. how she has survived this long…only God knows.  

it feels heavy. 

she has people who love her but they fear her illness. they fear the cost. they abandoned her. but now that she has access to medical care they've gotten her back. little by little we've watched her let them back into her life. 

she used to say she had nowhere to go. at one time she chose an orphanage over her family. now, at the end of a long day at the hospital she heads back up to her dad's. 

i've cried for her many times. i've woken up in a panic wondering whether she's still alive. i've fallen asleep praying for her. truth is we can't love her alone. we might need some more help.

i'm posting about kelinise because that hit me today. the whole $7.50 thing… i'm glad she feels like she has access to medical care. it's a human right, isn't it? but in the hands of her family she wouldn't. she wouldn't have access to medical care and that hurts. this is the very thing that makes us so passionate as we sit here in Haiti and fight for families and fight to create this thing called Second Mile Haiti…it's helping families get to a point where medical care is manageable and accessible and parents can ensure this for their children.

we want to open this up to the great community that reads this blog and follows our progress with Second Mile Ministries. $7.50 might sounds like nothing. it is. it's nothing. when she's not doing so well the visit total can easily climb closer to $75 (thus the statistics).  

here is her story.

i'm curious to see what God does through this group of people. i feel like we've set our sites too low on this one. i feel like He wants to invite us into the big plans that he does have for her scarred and sacred life. 

maybe its not too late to enroll her in school? maybe its vocational school instead? maybe she'll play a part in the future of Second Mile Haiti. 

maybe. 

i sort of love the word. maybe is made possible by the words of Phil 4:13. "i can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." whenever you think of it, please pray for our little friend. pray that God's plans for her life are realized and please pray especially that our humanness doesn't do anything to get in the way of that. 

and if you can contribute a small monthly sum towards this young lady's future please note 'kelinise' in the comments section when setting up your donation. 

to God be the glory for all He has done for his precious daughter.