i love this picture of a few of the kids getting their baths! the 3 little boys on the left were having a great time playing & laughing together while they waited! i love that the one little guy has his arm around the middle one! they are all so precious!



and here is a picture of the outside of the baby/toddler dormitory...

hello!

so i was just sitting here wanting to send out an update & couldn't think of anything to write when don called me out to the back porch. a few of the guys from EGO left this morning to take the van into port-au-prince to try to get it fixed... it's in pretty bad shape. anyway, i guess they got to "city soleil" (i have no idea where that is or how it's spelled!) and somehow the motor 'died' (my auto-ignorant way of saying that something's wrong with it!) and they can't get it started again. so they are stuck there for the time being... they were hoping to get the van fixed before the American team comes in next week to pick them up from the airport. SO, since i'm on the subject, please pray for a van (& also a large truck while you're at it!) for EGO.

okay & since i'm in prayer request mode anyway, i'm just gonna throw another one out there for you! please be in prayer for Don & Doris. they just have a lot going on this week, and especially today. pray that the Lord will give them wisdom, strength, encouragement & endurance!

so, on an unrelated note, yesterday i found out that EGO has 112 kids right now!!! i was thinking that the count was in the 70's, but counting the kids that are in school in port-au-prince there are over 100! included in that are 38 babies/toddlers from 0-3 years old!!! it's so amazing to me how God is working here! the kids are all so precious! when i go out to the baby/toddler 'dorm' to give a couple kids their medications, all of the little ones swarm around for hugs! i posted a picture of the baby/toddler dorm today so you could see how cute & colorful it is!

alrighty, i'm going to sign off for now! thanks again for all of the comments here and over e-mail! they are so encouraging and it means so much to me to know you are praying & thinking of me! love you all!

baking bread with Doris in the small solar oven...

this is part of the beautiful view from Don & Doris's porch!

so, i decided that i'm going to start taking and posting a few pictures of the beautiful landscape here for all of you to see. i really haven't been taking very many pictures this time. i feel like i pretty much took pictures of everything i wanted when i was here last november (over 900 pictures in 1 week!!). but it's just so beautiful that i wanted you all to see where i am and get to enjoy it a little too! so here is one... Dessalines is located in the mountains and the orphanage is surrounded by them! it's amazing, sometimes i am looking at the mountains on my walk over from the guesthouse and still can't believe i'm here! i wonder if i'll every fully comprehend it before i leave!

anyway, we had a surprise visit this morning from E.G.O.'s veterinarian. he's an american vet who's been here for many years. he brought with him 2 men from the u.s. dept. of agriculture, one man from haiti's ministry of agriculture and another haitian vet. they talked mostly of the anthrax issues in haiti. all of E.G.O.'s animals are vaccinated against anthrax. it's fun to have visitors here!

this afternoon Doris invited the little girl with the facial tumor and her mother to come up for a visit. she talked with her about Jesus and then prayed with them. the little girl is 2 & 1/2 and is so precious and her mother has such a sweet smile. we are praying and BELIEVING for a miracle on her behalf!!! Thank you, Lord!

so, i'm not sure if i'll be able to get on the internet tomorrow, so:

MOM - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! i wish i could be there to say it in person, but know that I LOVE YOU & miss you!!!

DEE & TIM - HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY!! love you guys! i can't believe it's been a year already! "i have a brother?!" :) woo-hoo!!

the new school is being built across the road from the tabernacle. this is the building from the front...


this is a picture of the back of the school. Don(in the hat) and some other guys are working on the roof...

and this is a picture of the front taken from the far corner...

well, not much to say today except... THE ITCHING IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO-HOO!! i'm so thankful to God for that answered prayer! it's amazing how something so seemingly minor can disrupt your life... the things we take for granted!

so, i've got to say that i was missing home yesterday... i really do love it here, don't get me wrong, it's just...well, i think it's probably normal for missionaries to occasionally feel like "outsiders", right? (i'm not sure if i qualify as a "missionary", but it's the best word i could come up with!) the word "outsider" sounds really negative and it's not exactly like that, but it's the best description i can come up with. i think not speaking or understanding much of the language makes it difficult and then there are all of the "cultural" differences that i don't quite understand either. it's probably my own insecurities, but sometimes i walk past a bunch of the girls sitting on the bench talking and i have no doubt that they are talking about me & i hate not knowing what they are saying or thinking! i "have no doubt" because i hear them using the word "blanc"... that's the creole word for "white" and it's how many of the Haitians refer to any white person. i was playing basketball with the kids one day and they kept calling me 'blanc', so i finally commented (as nicely as i could!) that "my name is Jill, not blanc!" maybe that was inappropriate, maybe i should just accept it as part of the culture, but i said it nonetheless! and in reality, most of them probably didn't understand my bumbling creole anyway! although, a few do speak & understand English really well (thank the Lord)! anyway... i thank God immensely for Don and Doris because they are already like family to me (have been from the start!) and i can't imagine what it would be like here without them! i truly believe that God coordinated this time with them, He's teaching me so much more about prayer and praise especially, just by their example. they are humble and would never consider themselves great, but i will say that they are definitely amazing in my opinion and i think that God is pretty thrilled with them too! :)

there is an american team coming in a couple weeks, i'm excited about that! they are from Iowa and are coming to work on pouring the cement for the school's second story floor. which i've posted pictures of, by the way. it looks a lot different than when i was here last november! they are really making great progress. they currently have a few classrooms on the orphanage grounds for younger kids, but the older kids (grades 3 & above, i think) go to school in town. so, it'll be really great to have the school built!

alrighty, i'm gonna go! so much for "not having much to say in this post"! ha! what can i say? i'm a "wordy" girl! adios! (oh wait, that's spanish! what can i say, i'm trying to keep too many languages straight!)

i'm trying to think of anything new to update about, but my mind is coming to a blank! seems like things are settling into somewhat of a routine lately... we open the clinic mondays and thursdays, and everyday i go over there to give 4 kids with anthrax their penicillin injections. otherwise, we've still got sick kids of our own here as well. seems like everyday i'm adding another one or two to my list of meds to pass out. fevers, coughs and scabies abound!

i'm taking abraham tonight. i'm currently "sharing" responsibility of him with 2 others, which i must admit is really nice. i still get to love on him a lot, but have some free time as well. (and some free nights of good sleep!) he is really changing and getting so chubby! he crossed over the 3 month mark last week and has started smiling occasionally! but he's usually such a serious little man. he almost always has a little "scowl" on his face like he's really studying something indepthly! his other caretaker, Rachelle, is wonderful! i absolutely love her! she is always laughing about something and just has the most jovial personality! she's teaching me a lot of creole and speaks english well. she was laughing the other day at abraham's scowling saying that he must be confused by his two different colored mommies! one black mom and one white mom!

i'm posting a picture of a few of the girls on sunday morning... they are so cute! on sunday mornings, the kids all dress in their best clothes with ribbons galore for church! the third little girl in is my precious, Dahanna! she is such a sweet heart! she imitates whatever i say to her, apparently i've said "hi" to her, b/c now whenever she sees me she calls out, "Blanc, Hiiiiii!" she's only 3 and is already such an intelligent little girl!

alrighty, that's all for now! things are going okay here, i'm still itching, but doris found this amazing lotion that has been helping immensely and i'm able to focus and sleep again! Thank you, Jesus! it's amazing the little things we take for granted on a daily basis! thanks again for reading and praying! love, jill

more of the same...

so it's monday, we opened the clinic today... saw more of the same. another case of anthrax in a little boy. that's the fourth kid we're treating on a daily basis. one of the reasons i appreciate working with neonates instead of older kids... their memories are so short! the minute the older kids come in they start crying knowing that they're about to get a shot... and we have to give them for about 10 days in a row. i know it's necessary for them, but i still feel bad.

the other thing that seems rather prevalent here are cases of shingles (or 'zona' as it's called here). i guess i didn't realize that it was so common. we've seen quite a few cases in the couple days that we've been open to the public.

alrighty, not much new to share, so i'll go! thanks for reading and praying!
love, jill

this is the little girl with the tumor... the doctor's wife gave her a little doll which seemed to make her happy. i took a few pictures of her with the doll so she'd be a little more comfortable with the camera before taking some close-up pics for the doctor. he wanted some pictures to show his surgeon friend back in the states to see if surgery could be a possibility for her.

this is the little guy with anthrax... as miserable as he looks, apparently it isn't painful. anthrax is found on goats, sheep and cattle here in northern haiti. a person can obtain it on their skin, in their lungs or their Gastrointestinal tract after coming into contact with the sick animal or meat.

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pictures of the clinic...

my first patients waiting outside the clinic... baaaa...

so, it's been a full week and i'm so thankful that it is saturday and sunday is on it's way!! i got a beautiful nap today and am hopeful for another tomorrow! i don't know if it's the busy schedule here or because of the heat, but by the end of the week i am so tired and just mentally exhausted!

thursday was actually my first day in the clinic with the townspeople. doris is amazing! she knows so much and has been teaching me so much. we treated 3 little kids with anthrax. two of them had the lesions and edema on their faces and one had it on his arm. we'll be giving them shots of penicillin for approximately 10 days. we treated them on thursday and then when they came in for their shots on friday the doctor saw them. he was astounded as he'd never seen anthrax before. we also saw a little girl with a horribly disfigured face from a tumor. she's not even 3 yet. it's so sad to think of the reconstructive surgery that could be done in the u.s., but because of the lack of resources here it's not possible. the doctor did see her though and said that he knows a doc in florida that might be able to operate. so we're praying that it can all happen!

yesterday was also doris's 77th birthday, so the kids threw a big celebration in the tabernacle. many of the townspeople and kids from EGO from years ago showed up. it's obvious that she and don have impacted so many people over the years and are continuing to do so.

things are better with the teens... the 'ring leader' even told me he wasn't mad at me anymore! that kind of made me laugh a little inside, but i'm actually so glad that things are back to normal and half of the EGO population is no longer ignoring me! :) i was able to listen to a sermon on my ipod this morning that taught that instead of praying for God to change our circumstances we should be praying that He will change us... give us wisdom to deal with an issue, grow endurance or perseverance in us, etc. so, i guess that the next time it happens, (b/c realistically i don't doubt it will) i will be praying that God will be growing me 'tougher skin' ! (thanks dad!!)

more kids are sick these days, one with what is presumably scabies, one with multiple spider bites in his armpit (and a high fever - probably related to it?), more ear infections, kids cutting their big toes open while kicking a big rock... the list goes on! i've had to make a chart so i know who gets what med and when... the older ones come up to don & doris's porch for me to dispense them, but i have to go in search of the little ones. i really do enjoy it though, i've got to admit! oh yeah, and my legs are covered in some kind of little bug bites that are itching like mad!!! nothing seems to take away the itching expect for ice packs at night...which of course leaked all over my bed by the next morning!

alrighty, i'm gonna go! love and miss everybody! --j