Manman mwen ak Papi mwen ap vini deman!

What a week it has been already! Saturday I started my new job and the last 5 days have flown by. Saturday I woke up and had to prepare for the teams that were coming in that day. So I was running around trying to get the Guest Dome clean and making sure I had enough beds ready. I was so exhausted physically and mentally that I was nauseous so I decided to sit and right as I put my but on the chair the team pulled up. AS IF!!! (that was for you Brianna) Anyways so I got back up and ran down to the Guesthouse to greet the team meanwhile Lindsay is at the beach with a Team and Jeremy is doing a river walk with the other teams. So I showed the teams their rooms, got them settled in and told them they could wonder the property and go visit Hope House kids. I text Lindsay and told her to come get me when she got home from the beach because I was going to lie down and I went and crashed on the couch! What a day!

Sunday was pretty good! I woke up and put out breakfast for the teams, had a quick shower and headed down the hill on Lindsay and I’s ghetto ATV. After church we took the teams to Gwo Papa Poul (GPP). Side story- I text “BB”(the owner of GPP) Saturday night at 9pm and told him we had 100 people coming, this is the most people I have ever gone with to GPP in my whole 5 months… lets just say Lindsay and I were not looking forward to this and had very little hopes for it to turn out well. So We had soo many people we had to take 2 bus loads, I headed with the first bus load and we sat up stairs and they brought up the drinks and then the food started coming out too! Lindsay arrived with the second load about 30 mins later. I didn’t go down stairs until after I collected the money and brought it down to BB and Lindsay asked how it went I my response was “ACTUALLY- really good! How bout you?” We were really impressed. We had 100 people fed and happy! Good work GPP!

Monday to Wednesday are a blur! Going to the grocery store was a highlight. Other then that my job involves making sure the kitchen ladies have what they need to make food and getting supplies from the warehouse, answering a million questions a day and driving around a lot on my ghetto ATV running errands! I dropped in to bed the last couple night but was relieved that today was a little slower then yesterday!

I want to publicly say a HUGE thank you to Brianna and her family who have been a huge help to me. Between the 4 of them they have fixed the shower in the upstairs of the guesthouse, cleaned out my storage room in the guest house, set up a water cooler in the guest dome, put garbage cans in every room of the guest dome and are now organizing the guesthouse section of the warehouse! They have been incredible I don’t know how to thank them enough… what they are doing is going to make my life so much easier!

So now I will explain the title of my blog… Translation: my mom and my dad are coming tomorrow. For the last week or maybe longer I have been going around saying this creole phrase with the amount of days left until they come. Ana and Mina have been saying it too! The above is what I have been saying today! Tomorrow the day has finally arrived when I get to show them my world! I couldn’t be more excited! I can’t really sleep right now that’s why it is 12am and I am writing a blog!

I can’t wait to introduce them to all my new friends, my favourite foods, favourtie places, let dad eat all the watermelon he can eat in a week (can’t wait to have watermelon seed spitting contests with him), mom eat all the mango she can eat and letting my daddy drive me on the ATV. (hes kind of excited about that too!)

I can’t wait for them to see all the reasons I have fallen in love with this place.
For now I am going to try to go to bed and I will write again in a couple days and maybe even have mom write a blog for me!

Love, Blessings and Manman mwen & Papi Mwen!

Leeann

My Birthday week in Haiti!

A week ago today was my 21st Birthday and I feel blessed to be able to able to celebrate it in Haiti. The morning started off by opening cards and presents from home that mom sent with a paramedic! (Thanks Hilary) It was special to be able to open things from home as it was a little tough as this was the first time I wasn’t home for my birthday. Eight o’clock came and it was time for school, I walked in the classroom and Diana was wearing a pink skirt and a pink shirt… that was just the beginning… first Ana and Mina walked in all decked out in pink, then came Bridgely wearing his sisters pink shirt, Sammy, Teagan and Maddy entered next. Grayden has a pink shirt he sometimes wears but the funniest one was Riley who walked in wearing Sammy’s bright pink ‘Jonas Brothers’ t-shirt. They were all wearing pink for my Birthday!!! Check it out!

For Lunch we went to Yolty’s my favourite Haitian restaurant on a tap tap with my best friends in Haiti! Sadrac, JR Diana, My newest roommate Sarah and a bunch of the interns came out for lunch! I had goat! I love Haitian Food!

That evening we had a party at home church… for the Rumfords leaving Haiti and my Birthday. It was a fun time of just hanging out with Staff away from work. We had dance dance  revolution and guitar hero going, some DJ earworm and of course Cake!

Side note: The Rumford’s are a wonderful family that has been here at the mission for 10 months. Grant is a paramedic was the Emergency Medical Services Director (Man, did God know what he was doing when he called Grant to Haiti) His wife Sandy was the Haiti One coordinator. Grant and Sandy have 4 Children Michelle, Madison, Sammy and Riley! This family became my family away from home. I felt at home in their house and knew I was always welcome even when I was sick. Grant was a good Daddy and took care of me when I was sick! (Thanks Dad) I will miss them all very much. Pray for them as they Transition to their new life in Canada.

Friday we headed to the beach for the last day of school! This day was especially special for Maddy and Teagan as they graduated from grade 8. As a special surprise for them Diana and I stayed with the girls over night at Indigo! It was so much fun spending time with our girls. They are such wonderful young ladies already and I can’t wait to see how God uses them!

Check out Diana’s blog to see a poem she wrote about our school year.

So overall I have a fabulous Birthday week other then burning the back of my legs at the beach  and not being able to sleep on my back for 2 nights. This week I am enjoying hanging out with the van der Mark kids before I start my new role with teams and Teagan, Grayden and Bridgely head off to Canada with Laurens.

In other news we have Tropical Cyclone activity happening in Haiti. Which means scattered thunder showers and winds. The wind is wonderful but the unpredictable rain can stop! We even had hail on Sunday after church. It making the days cooler and nice for sleeping!

Will write again soon!!

Love and Blessings and summer fun!

Leeann

Grab your Kleenex!

Firstly I want to share a video with you all… You may remember me blogging about a boy named Job some time ago. You may remember that he left mission of hope to go to Austin Texas to receive medical care.

The following is a video of his story from the time he was dropped at our gate to where he is now! Job is such an incredible boy with a story of Gods love. He has touched the lives of everyone he has met. I miss him very much.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO 

Password: jobstory

Second I want to share with you a story about a precious little girl who came to the mission last week. I only know pieces of her story so I try to tell you the best I can. 

Her name is Rose Marie and she is 12 years old. Both her parents passed away sometime around December of last year. She was soon taken in by a family, not sure if they were any relation to her. While she was with this family she was treated like a slave, the beat her with a sugar cane stick… so bad they broke her arm and the bone was sticking out. When the earthquake happened she was able to escape this family and is now at an orphanage about 40 minutes north of us. Through our Haiti One connections the orphanage director contacted Mission of Hope and said that they had 40 orphans who hadn’t been seen by the doctor in a long time and within those they also had a little girl with a broken arm. Due to limited medical care in country this little girl has had this broken arm with the bone sticking out for 5 months now. Last week praise the lord was surgery week so our awesome team of surgeons was able to operate on Rose Marie’s arm. I met Rose Marie as she was waiting to go into her surgery… She was scared, as any 12 year old would be, as anyone would be.  I told her that I was praying for her and that I would come visit her when she was done her surgery. She smiled! Her surgery went well and was up and walking around the next day.  She was gone when I went to the ward yesterday but I was told she is back on Thursday. I am looking forward to seeing her again.

I have said this before but I’ll say it again… I feel so blessed to be a part of such an incredible organization that loves people the way God does. God is using Mission of Hope in truly amazing ways and I am blessed to be here and witness it all.

Love Blessings and Kleenex,

Leeann

Surgery Week Again!

Surgery week means many things here at the mission and for me personally. On Saturday we had a few teams arrive and among those teams came doctors, nurses and surgeons. Sunday afternoon we there were a couple scheduled appointments for a pre surgery consults. Among those appointments was my good friend Gabby.

So yesterday surgery’s begun… it also never fails that we have a trauma come in that the surgeons end up operating on.  I don’t know the details of the late night surgery last night but they were calling him "Machete Man" and it had something to do with his arm and a machete while he was trying to chop down a tree.

I personally really like surgery week… I love going down to the Patient dome at night. This month is a special surgery week because my good friend Gabby is back. You may remember me blogging about him in February and March. Gabby had a skin graft done in February and not all of it took so they are trying again tomorrow. In February I met Gabby down in the ward and went down almost every night to play cards. So last night after dinner I did just that! Thankfully it wasn’t as far of a walk then the high school ward. I walked into the ward very excited to see all the patients. There were also a couple more familiar faces from last month.

As I sat with Gabby playing cards and chatting; Gabby’s English is pretty good but there were a couple times I would say something to him and he would say he didn’t understand and would ask if I knew how to say it in Creole, 75% of the time I actually did! I think back to February when I would hang out with him… I was very limited on what I could say to him because I didn’t know Creole. So last night was a very exciting moment for me realizing how much Creole I knew and it was very useful last night! I still have a long way to go but it gave me a burst of encouragement to keep working at my Creole.

So for the next couple weeks I am looking forward to visiting the patients in the ward, chatting with them with the limited Creole I know but I always learn more Creole during my visits down the ward as the patients sometimes teach me and the translators help me speak to the patients as well.

Pray for the many people who will be getting surgeries this week. For many people these are life-changing surgeries (some still from the earthquake). Pray that we will not only help change their life physically but pray that we show God’s love to them while they are in the clinic and the Patient Dome/Ward especially those who don’t know him.

Love, Blessings, visiting patients!

Leeann

Prayer Requests:

-Pray for Gabby as he has his second skin graft done tomorrow. Pray for all the medical staff working on him tomorrow.

-Pray for Ana and Mina’s adoption. They are only a few steps away from being Canadian. Pray that everything would happen in Gods timing.

-Pray for all the teams who are coming in and out of MOH as the summer arrives.

-Pray for My parents who arrive in Haiti in 23 days!

-Pray for my mosquito bitten legs to heal. My legs have looked horrible for almost my whole time here and they are finally starting to heal. Simple request but I am tired of looking diseased. 

Master Plan!

Last week I was sitting watching some of the construction that is going on here at the mission. We are currently building a temporary Guest House and a covered sports complex. Progressively the structures have really begun to take shape and I found myself saying “ohhhh… now it make sense”. As I sit think about it, things became clearer I couldn’t help but relate it to our lives.  I’ve heard the analogy many times but this time it just really made me think about my own life. I remember talking to a lady from a team that was here about my future plans and that I was unsure of what I would be doing and she said well that’s because God doesn’t want you to know yet. That really stuck with me… if someone told me a 2 years ago that I would be a full-time missionary in Haiti, I would be trying to figure out everything on my own and working things out myself. Gods way is much better… he works everything out for us in his timing. Let Go and Let God!

So as I look at the structure, the sports complex started out a concrete slab then metal beams were added and they started a roof yesterday. Before the construction started on the sports complex I had my own idea of what it was going to look like but as it is progressing and we are starting to see the bigger picture it looks totally different then what I thought it was going to look like but I am excited to see the finished product because it is going to be so much better then what I imagined. Just like my life, I may have had a picture of what my life was going to look like when I left Canada in January but it looks completely different now. Sometimes things happen in our lives that don’t make sense but if we wait it becomes clearer.

When I came here in January the plan was to be a teacher’s assistant for the adorable newly adopted van der Mark twins and finish off the school year with them and come home at the end of June. I have been working along side Diana who has been in Haiti for 2 years now teaching the missionary kids. I am enjoying teaching Ana and Mina very much, they are little sponges and learn more and more every day. They are teaching me lots too… from patience to words in Creole.

From previous blogs it is not hard to tell I have fallen in love with Haiti and adjusted to life here. The thought of leaving at the end of June was bitter sweet. I felt a tug on my heart to stay and there was a need that I could fill.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO

Starting in July I will be transition into a new role as Guest House Manager. I will be taking care of team housing, food and Meals and anything else that happens at the Guesthouse. I am really excited about this new role and the opportunity to continue to serve here at Mission of Hope . Many of you know I took Tourism and Travel in school and while taking that it was always my hope to combine it with missions and this is better then I could have ever imagined. Another way God is in control and sees the bigger picture!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I will be responsible to continue to raise prayer and financial support to live here in Haiti.  To support my financially you can look on the side bar on how to do that or just click on the “DONATE NOW” button to donate by credit card. Continue to check my blog for updates on my time here and how you pray for me, Mission of Hope and the Nation of Haiti. 

I will be home late August early September for a couple weeks, I look forward to seeing you all when I am home to share pictures and stories. I will update my blog about when I will be coming home so stay tuned!

Love, Blessings and the master plan,

Leeann

Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.

Habakkuk 1:5

Here are some links to pictures on my facebook! Click below to see them!

Mountain Climbing pictures!
Easter Time in Haiti!
More Haiti Pictures

HAITI FLAG DAY!

May 18^th is Flag Day in Haiti! Like Canada day in Canada and 4^th of July in the United States.

Celebrations happen all around Haiti but we happen to be only about 20 minutes away from a town called Arcahaie. This is the town where Haiti’s first flag was created. This is really just a side note because we didn’t go to Arcahaie, we decided that it probably wasn’t safe for a bunch of “Blan” girls to go.

So Diana and I had the day off school and so Diana had the wonderful idea of getting a group of us together and going to climb a mountain. We are surrounded by so many beautiful mountains, so why not climb one. My morning started off slow… I got to sleep in a bit and then took my time getting ready. I headed over to Diana’s apartment around 10:30 to find out the plan for the day.  We ended up having a very Canadian lunch of Kraft Dinner, Pizza and Coke. We thought it was kind of funny considering it was Haiti’s Flag Day! Sadrac joined Diana, Beth Lindsay and I for this experience. Anyways… We headed out around 1:30. Our team of climbers consisted of… Myself, Diana, my room mate Lindsay, Beth (an intern that is working at the orphanage) Michelle Rumford, Sadrac (good friend and interpretor at the mission) Jony (another good friend I met though Sadrac and Wicky) Jean-Marc ( one of the older boys from the hope house) and another friend of Sadrac and Jony’s. We created what we now lovingly call the MIX team! 


See picture below...

Left to Right Jony, Beth, Diana, Sadrac, Lindsay, Me , Jean-Marc & Michelle

The climb was so much fun, there was a lot of walking, climbing and sweat but it was all worth the view and of course now we can point the mountain we all climbed on Flag day!

I am feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful country with so many wonderful new friends. Thank you GOD!

Love, Blessings, mountain climbing & Flag day!

Leeann

April was a blur!

May 6^th already! The first of April seems like yesterday! It has been a crazy month here at the mission. We had a team of 47 Canadians here for 2 weeks working on various construction projects and we had a bunch of medical teams that were able to go out on Mobile Clinics.  At one point we had over 130 volunteers here. That made it very hard to find quiet. The first day everyone was gone I remember walking into the guest house and seeing only 3 people sitting quietly… I though it would never be that quiet again! It was sooo nice. (Please don’t hear that I hated the Canadians and medical volunteers… I know this is Gods plan and volunteers are wonderful. They did amazing work while they were here, it was just something I’m not use to yet.)

 So here we are in May and I have now been in Haiti for 3 months and thought I would update some new Haitian experiences since my 1^st month here.

Haitian experience #8: Tap-Taps

I finally went on a tap tap! I have actually been on many times now. The first time I went on it was only about a minute ride to a friend’s house in the next village over. The next day I got to experience it with Lindsay for her first time and we went out for lunch with some friends after church. When getting out of the tap tap at the restaurant all of us bumped our heads on the way out and the Haitians laughed at us. I have learned something about paying when you get off the tap taps though, always have exact change or else you will get charged the white price (which is double the Haitian price-still very cheap) 

Below is a picture of Lindsay and I in front of a tap tap.

Haitian Experience #9: A wedding and a Funeral

Someone once told Diana to go to a wedding and a funeral and this will help you learn about the culture. I had the opportunity to go to both this past weekend. On Friday one of my really good friends Volcy who I really connected with at the beginning of my time here, he translated at the ward when it was at the high school and I would visit a lot and he was down there. Anyways he got married on Friday and it was quiet the experience.  The bridesmaids and groomsmen dance down the aisle to songs like Power of Love and Beauty and the beast.  The couple walks down one at a time and it probably takes 30-45 minutes for the whole bridal party to walk down the aisle.

On a sadder note another one of my really good friends Grandmother passed away a couple weeks ago and the funeral was Saturday. It was very different from back home.  One of the things that was different that there were tons to camera and video cameras, as way to remember the persons last moments in world.  This was a fresh wound for me as I just recently lost my grandmother. It was a very sad day.

Haitian experience #10:  Tuesday Night Worship                       

Tuesday night has become my favourite night of the week. Every Tuesday night there is a worship service from about 4:30pm-7:00pm. It is a wonderful time of being still and listening to God.  After only a few months here I know a handful of songs in Creole, which makes me very excited. So last week I had requested a song I really like. I thought Claudel had forgotten to play it and right at that moment I heard the into to the song and everyone began to dance… I loved watching the Haitians singing and dancing to this song. After that song they played 2 more of my favourite songs and the dance party began…  a couple of the hope house girls pulled Lindsay and I intro the aisle and a Congo line began and we were dancing and spinning! I was so out of breath and sweaty but the time the music stopped but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Liberte… nan nom Jezi! I am free… in Jesus’ name!

Lavi’m pa ka pase mal… paske Bondye vivan! My life can’t go bad… because my Jesus lives!

Jezi veri bagay yo! Jesus turns everything around!

First week of the month surgery has started up again and the ward will open for the next few weeks. I will hopefully get to go visit some sweet patients and practice my Creole. Speaking of my Creole… it has come a long way! I hit a certain point where I was like hey I think I’m getting this now. I still have a lot to learn but I am excited that I am able to communicate to the Haitians. They are very encouraging when you try to speak to them in Creole. Sometimes I walk in to the kitchen and just stay Mesi anpil! which means Thank you very much! And the ladies say ohh your Creole is soo good! If they only knew I don’t know much more then that. It means a lot to them when we come and take the time to learn their language.

Rainy season has arrived and after only a couple rains I could notice the colours changing… the plants were growing and the mountains were turning green. It rains almost every other night and I am very thankful for this because it cools down the nights for sleeping. Summer has also arrived make it very HOT during the day. On Sunday afternoon my thermometer said 45/112 in the sun!  For this I am even more thankful for the cool nights. My cool is not the same as it use to be. I looked at the thermometer last night when I was cold and it was still 25/77…don’t make fun… when you are use to HOT that is cold.

I am loving life in Haiti and enjoying the simple things. It’s the simple day-to-day things in life that make me smile.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement!

Love, Blessings, Spinning and Dancing,

Leeann