US lawmaker calls for action against Haiti hunger

A prominent U.S. congresswoman called on Wednesday for a better-funded, systemic approach to fighting hunger in Haiti following an Associated Press report that child malnutrition is worsening.

Haiti: UN Mission Funds Public Works Projects

Thursday, 27 November 2008, 4:25 pm Press Release: United Nations The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti is providing $250,000 to fund two construction projects in the Central Plateau region of Haiti…

Thankful

Even though Thanksgiving is an American Holiday, we celebrate it in Haiti with our friends and missionary community here. We duplicate as much of the traditional meal as possible, turkey and other important items included. Thankfully, most of our friends have come to accept the fact that we don’t cook. At all. They assigned us corn. No problem there! There are at least seven families attending the celebration tomorrow afternoon.

We have much to be thankful for, and we’re reflecting on those things …

• Our children are all healthy and thriving in Haiti – a huge thing to us as parents
• Our kids are going to a school with great teachers and staff that love them
• Britt and Chris are doing SO well and preparing for their life together
• We get to live an amazingly exciting life and see God at work
• The Lord has protected us, our needs have always been met
• We have the love and support and prayers of many friends
• Our families in the States are doing well

Since last Thanksgiving many prayers were answered … We returned from furlough and transitioned back into life here easily, Lydia came out of Meningitis with zero long-term damage, our house in MN sold, Paige and Isaac and Hope made a beautiful transition from homeschooling to traditional schooling, we found a great house to live in just in time, we feel safe and settled in Port au Prince — all things we prayed about, all things that God answered!

When Lydie was so sick, so many people interceded on her behalf; on our behalf … it puts a lump in my throat even now. The internet is a funny thing. It can be used for bad things; but it also has the power to connect a community of people together. We’ve felt connected to you through this blog and we’ve felt the covering of your prayers and concern for our family. We’re humbled. We cannot thank you enough … we can simply say that this Thanksgiving we are giving thanks for YOU.

We wish you a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday; filled with His provision, peace, and protection.

With grateful hearts and much love from Ayiti,
Troy and Tara and Family

Kids Club Plan

By Paige

Hi everyone,

I am writing to fill you all in on my kids group.

A few weeks ago I went and talked to John McHoul about a Children’s club I wanted to start, talking to him really helped me. I feel like God has been prompting me to start this kids club. I am so excited.

On Saturday we (two other girls from church are going to help me) went out and asked around at a few houses if there kids would be interested in coming. There was one house that I have seen a little boy at before… he looked so sad and I wondered if he felt loved.

So I went to this house first looking for that little boy and there was no answer. After about 5 minutes of hitting their gate hard with a rock so they would hear we moved on down the street and went to Gorge’s little shop (he’s the one with no eyes and not very many fingers) and I asked him if he had any kids and if they were interested in coming. He asked me to come back when his mom was home which would be the next day at 2. So we were heading on our way back home with no success.

That was really discouraging, but I felt like we should go back to the first house and just hit their gate really loud. We did, and this time a woman called down from her porch asking who it was – I didn’t know what to say; so I just said “some girls that want to talk to you” which I think made her interested enough to come and talk.

A teenage girl came and I started telling her a little about the club and she looked very un-interested. So she said “Just come in and talk to my mom.” Now, when she said this I was thinking like we would step in the drive way and she would call her mom for us. But no, she insisted that we followed her to her mother. We went ALL the way around the house, through a pile of dirty clothes that were being hand washed while we walked through; and up a flight of stairs, and finally in their living room. The girl told us to sit and wait on the couch.

Her mom came out and was SUCH a sweet woman… for some reason it was this house that I felt super nervous about but she came out and was so sweet. I started talking to her about the club a little and she said she had one son, she said that she would be interested in letting him come, so that was exciting.

But I had to ask her if there was another little boy – that maybe worked for her or something (because her son was not the same boy I saw before). She said no and that he was her only son. I was bummed about not having the first little boy that I had seen but maybe God will open another door in the future for me to see that other little boy and he can also come.

I then went back to Gorge’s house on Sunday and talked to his mom. She said that there are five children she was able to send but she made a comment about how one of the girls that worked for her was young, stupid, and dirty. This made me feel so sad. I desperately wanted to tell the woman that she was so wrong about this girl! I told her that I WANTED that girl to come. I am really excited to meet her because it’s these kind of kids that I wonder if they ever feel loved. My goal is to show them that I love them – but not only me — Jesus loves them even more.

It starts this Sunday the 30th (My birthday!) at 3pm with 6 kids coming. Please keep this in your prayers that it will go well! We plan to meet each Sunday from 3-5 pm for games, snacks and story time. Some of the kids coming are kids that work for families in our neighborhood (restaveks) and are in need of love.

As children starve, world struggles for solution

Some mothers choose what their children will eat. Others choose which children will eat and which will die.

Many Haitians homeless and hungry months after hurricanes ravaged region

It may take years for Haiti to recover from the hurricanes and storms that have pelted the country over the last several months, says a former Fredericton resident living and volunteering in the impoverished country…

Pittsford middle school dedicates day to people of Haiti

Imagine how it feels to walk one hour to get to school. Imagine how it feels to not know when you will eat next.

Spare change for change

Students at C.T. Plunkett Elementary School are trying to help change the world just with their spare change.

Research and Markets: Haiti – Telecoms Market Overview & Statistics…

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Haiti – Telecoms Market Overview & Statistics” report to their offering.

A day in the life

We got up early. The EDH was on but the house kept losing power, over and over. One pot of coffee was restarted 8 times.

Tina and I went for a quick walk, got ready and headed to the airport. After the airport Troy and I headed up to Hope’s class Thanksgiving party. The photo proves Troy had a great time. After the party I had a spitting headache and Troy had work to do. I went to bed, he went to the office. The babies were all sleeping. That left Noah and Hope to play nicely and quietly. That plan worked for one of the two… Not hard to guess which one played quietly.

We heard a large crash and the breaking of glass. Then the sound of water rushing … Then the sound of a screaming boy. We all ran toward the sound from our separate locations.

Noah bypassed the full length mirror outside of Paige’s bathroom. He wanted to see himself in his Batman mask. He climbed up into the sink. The sink came off the wall and crashing to the floor with Noah in it. The water pipe broke. Noah laid in the center of broken pieces of porcelain with water squirting out of the wall onto him. It was hard to tell which cuts were bad and which were just surface cuts because of the hysteria and blood. He was screaming that he wished he “waaaassss noootttt a kiddd annnymmmmorre”. He blamed the entire incident on being a kid. (I am pretty sure it had more to do with being a ding-bat.)

We could not get him to stop screaming enough to ask which cuts hurt the worst. He had six on his hands/arms and two on his legs. After lots of pleading and begging we cleaned him up enough to learn that the hand cuts were not very deep and only one cut on his leg was bad.

Had Jen or Britt been here, they would have forced stitches on him, but the thought of bringing him to a Haitian clinic and having that trauma/drama and screaming seemed like a bad idea. We did our best to close it up and wrap it up. Tomorrow when we clean it there will be much drama again I am sure. I will get a photo for you Jen/Britt … but you’re kind of far away to be much good to us.

Example of sink attached to wall … not exactly something you’d necessarily want to climb up on to see a mirror. Especially not when you walked by one on the way to the sink.
Sink & Wall after …

The boy with no common sense…He is pretty sure he needs to “start out” in our bed tonight due to this injury. He is milking it for all it is worth. We’re very thankful that the sink was hurt much worse than the boy.