Good news!!! About the little tiny baby boy we sent to St Damien- a couple weeks old who lost his mother, that tiny one. The 19 year old father came to see me today to tell me his baby lives! He spent 10 days in the hospital and now is home. Amazing! What a burst of hope and joy! The dad came to see about getting the baby into the child sponsorship program and if we could help him get formula. And Pearl's friend Liz Welenc is going to sponsor him. What a great thing all around. These wondrous beautiful events make my life in Haiti so rich. Thank you Liz Welenc!
And another piece of wonderful news. My own brother is sending down the rest of the rent money for the Pierres to rent the little house they hoped to move into. We have been having a really hard time negotiating renting it for them, as the guy renting it keeps turning down our offers, saying we can only pay up front for an entire year before they can even move in. It has been really discouraging and I was really worried I would leave and they would still be in a tent. I am so relieved and can rest in some peace knowing they will be in a house before the baby comes. Thank you Porter Childs!!! I am really blessed to have such generous people in my life.
Santilia and her daughters are here cooking up a storm for our big day at the beach tomorrow. We will have rice and beans, picklise, fried plantains, fried chicken and we have a trunk full of drinks. The excitement in the air is really fun, as we all get excited peparing for our big day. It is really fun to be part of. Santilia's kids are sleeping in the bunkhouse with us tonight as she cooks. I can't wait to be at the beach with all these great people, my large extended joyful fun-loving Haitian family.
This morning we did a last mobile clinic while I am here. We are really low on lots of medicines which was a little hard but we were still able to give out a lot of vitamins and some medicines. It is always really rewarding to go to this tent camp because the people there need so much and are so appreciative of any help offered. And I got to see 3 of the midwives who took our birth attendant class and they were really happy to see me again- and I them! Already planning my next trip here- hopefully in April. This time in particular feels really hard to go home. I become more and more comfortable here, learning more creole each time, loving this little country more and more.