Busy few days...........

I feel as though I have done so much and seen so much over the last few days!

We (Linzi and I) have been to the Haitian Market (I will forever be thankful for Safeway), visiting Joseph and his family who live beside "the air strip" (read cow pasture) and took motorbikes out to visit a dear friend, Dameus who lives 20 minutes outside Ounaminthe and is dying of cancer.

Driving is a crazy free for all here and in the Dominican Republic but it's on a whole new level when we are on the motorcycle taxis.

This afternoon there are a couple of visitors here who are starting an orphanage in the DR and have come to see how things work here so I am taking them with Jude to the Haitian Market.
Now that I know the ropes.....?!!?!?!?!?

Linzi has gone across the border to spend time with her beau, Bertico who works at the orphanage so I will be flying solo at the boys house until I leave on the 5th.

No sure what I'm going to do without her. We love to laugh and make fun of Jude because he falls asleep ALL OVER THE PLACE. Kitchen table, floor, on the gallery ledge, on the railing outside............ it cracks us up. He is the hardest working person at the orphanage but all the photos I have of him are of him sleeping so it's a bit ironic.

We're going to do a little party with the boys around 9pm tonight. They have no clue what time it is so we'll do the countdown and say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Should be fun!

Happy New Year!!

Jen

No power!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adventures in Haiti include living in a house where we regularly lose power. We are supposed to have street power from 6 - midnight each night. We use that time to charge the inverter (8 car batteries in the roof) and then use the generator in the daytime. However the street power went out last night after being on for an hour which was not enough time to charge the inverter! So we turned on the generator which can't charge the inverter and had no power once we went to bed. It's 30 degree and humid at 2am. I know because I was up...................

Many of the boys speak enough english to get by but I love it when the grammar is off. This morning began with Jameson saying " Good Morning Mami Jennie - I want a kiss for you" He wants to give a kiss. Precious.

Annie, Mike and friends of theirs visiting came over during devotion last night and sang and prayed with the boys. Today they have an eye clinic going at the school and have been OVERWWHELMED by the amount of people coming.

We have a few sick kids right now. I brought 3 bottle of Children's Motrin with me thinking one for each house. Karris told me they went through 15 bottles 2 weeks ago because the kids were sick in all the houses with bad colds and Strep Throat. Oops.............

Going to try to post more pictures on Flickr today.

www.flickr.com/photos/jeninhaiti

Photo above is from a walk we took throught the neighborhood when we went to visit Likendly's mom. NOT the house we live in with the boys...............

Jen

Joyeux Noel! Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Day has been spent preparing for a feast of chicken, stuffing, gravy, pasta, corn and salad! Avec tout! About 100 people in total. It was awesome and chaotic at the same time. The boys are all outside running it off right now.

Tonight we will have dinner of pancakes and the girls have been preparing a show for us that they will perform! Can't wait! Afterwards we go back to our house "the little boys house" and we'll give the boys their Christmas present. I am amazed that only 1 out of 20 boys have asked when they get their present!

I've started posting photos on Flickr.com (Jen in Haiti) and will get more up now while I have WiFi at the Big Boys house.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Jen

Christmas Eve Day

Cold showers ....................

Nothing wakes you up better than a freezing cold shower! YIKES! It was wonderful in September when it was 40 degrees however it has been raining for a few days and the tempurature is low for here. Make the shower that much colder............

Thankfully it is hot and sunny today!

Being Christmas Eve we organized presents for all 80 children, labelling, wrapping and sending them to the different houses. Very much looking forward to sharing Christmas with the children!

We've brought the boys over to the "property" from the little boys house to get them running around. They go a bit stir crazy at their house as there is not alot of room to run. Thankfully 3 of the 4 houses have internet so getting online hasn't been a problem. Finding the time to do it is though!

20 boys at the little boys house with Linzi and I "holding down the fort" has been great. Linzi lived here for 10 months and is now in nursing school in Iowa. She is back visiting for Christmas. I could not have a better mentor! She is showing me the ropes both in the house and out in the community. We've been able to take the motorbike taxis to the border to pick up stuff in Dajabon, walked through the neighborhood to take one of the boys to visit his mother and siblings and talk alot about life here.

Next I'm going to work towards getting some pictures up on my flickr account so I'll send a message once that is done.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Jen

Arrived! Safe and sound! Spent an extra day enroute in Santiago running around getting items needed at the orphanage. Other than a part for a generator it was really important stuff like coffee and butter............ I was driven around by the taxi driver the orphanage uses (Francis) and with him speaking no english and my spanish limited to Hi - How are you? it made for an interesting time having to call Mike in Haiti and have him translate. Add spanish lessons to the list.......

Caught the guagua early Tuesday morning and got across the border into rainy Haiti by 1pm. It's been raining for days so the mud is inches deep!

So great to see all the kids and I've already taken a couple hundred photos! We've had a small Christmas celebration at the girls house last night and went back over the border to Dajabon to drop medical samples off at the hospital for testing and pick up a cake. Taking motorbike (taxi) in the rain to the border was an adventure unto itself!

I've spent the remainder of today practicing english/creole witht the boys, making Christmas tree ornaments and we'll be off to the big boys house tonight for a small celebration.

More pictures to follow as soon as I get the Flickr thing going!!!

Jen

Hello Everyone!

I'm heading to the Hope for Haiti Children's orphanage in Ounaminthe, Haiti to spend Christmas and New Years with the children and the wonderful team of people who are living there. I hope you can follow along through the holidays!

Thanks for taking the time........

Jen