A view from a roof in Port au Prince

6.28.2010

Week 1

The 2 month long adventure in Haiti has begun and time is flying by already. The weather is... actually COOL sometimes. Can you believe it? It's been raining a lot at night which makes it very comfortable to sleep. During the day I sweat buckets, playing jumprope, soccer, volleyball with the kids. Then late in the afternoon I shower and then eat and go to sleep around 9 or 10pm.

Kandice and I are in a 2 room, large white tent. Right now the first half of the tent is occupied by two nurses from the states and Kandice and I are in the back. It's great. I love our tent. It's very comfortable.Starting on Saturday we will have to whole tent to ourselves :)
The orphanage has been very busy with missionary groups and visitors staying. There was only half a day where Kandice and I were the only guests there.

The kids are doing well. It seems like there's a new kid or baby every time I blink my eyes. Baby Ben is a 6-month old newcomer. He looks about the age of a 2 month old baby. He has big eyes and a cute smile. He's been very sick for awhile with fevers in the 100-103. He has been steady lately and sleeping through the night better now.


Today was the first day of teaching English class at the nursing school. Kandice had the Sophomore students and I had the Freshmen. Technology failed, so I used up the time with introductions, singing and learning basic anatomy of the head. My class was great. The students were nice to me and sang "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" with lots of energy.

Tomorrow morning is English class again. In the afternoon both Kandice and I will go to the hospital to work. I'll go to the ER and Kandice will help iin the pharmacy. They are in desperate need of help this week, so were very excited when some extra hands showed up.

All-in-all, Haiti is good. Pictures to come soon...

6.06.2010

New Shoes



Recently a pair of shoes have fallen into my lap. They’re exactly how I would design my shoes if I could put my imagination into a tangible piece of art. They’re brightly colored and unique and would suit me perfect for an adventure across rugged grounds.

Perfect, right? Maybe. Are they my size? What if they’re too big for me and I trip along the way? What if I fall in love with them and the soles wear away and I’m left to walk barefoot on the rocky ground?

These shoes are real. A new opportunity has come to me to work in Haiti. The long-term goal would be to create a nursing center in the city. This center would offer both a safe place for Haitian nurses to work and a place for Haitians to receive quality healthcare and health education. It’s all about relationships. Relationships with fellow Haitian nurses, relationships with the community, relationships with supporters in the USA. It’s everything I thought I ever wanted. It’s everything I asked God for. So what’s the problem then? Maybe it’s the uncertainty of a life I’ve only visited and never truly lived. Maybe it’s doubts about my ability to fill these shoes. Am I qualified, prepared, the best person to take care of these beautiful shoes

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to find God’s voice. Is he using other people to tell me his will? If so, then whose voice do I listen for? My friends, my brothers, my mentors, my boyfriend, my mom? Or will God reveal his will directly to me? Will I appear to be a Noah of my current times; planning for something that seems impossible, yet is only possible because of God?

These thoughts whirlwind through my head in a tireless tornado. “Slow down Lisa, and trust God” is what I feel my heart telling me, but my head is so powerful.These shoes are in my hand. I'm feeling them over for their texture, their quality, their personality and learning just how they'll fit on my feet.


My next trip to Haiti is in the books. I will be in Haiti June 21-August 25th. I’m flying down with Rigan and a long-time friend Kandice. I will spend these two months living at jasmine’s orphanage and helping with the kids and building new structures for the orphanage, volunteering to teach nursing and English classes at the college, volunteering at the tent hospital, and will start to dig into this new project to create a nursing center.
I’ll update my blog as much as possible; hopefully on a weekly basis at a minimum. I'll let you know about these shoes. Maybe once my feet slip into them, they'll mold to my shape and I'll find them quite comfortable and perfect. So farewell for now! Next time maybe I’ll be writing in Creole ;)