Alex is with us!

Well, plans changed but it worked out for the best. Some volunteers from the orphanage were going to fly to Port au Prince to get some medical appointments for 6 of the kids here. Then they were going to meet Alex at the airport to bring him to us. Saturday morning one of the volunteers got really sick, so I went in her place. I helped with all the kids for the day, and was able to get Alex from Lori's employees. It worked out beautifully.

Alex is a big boy, and is doing great. He seems pretty healthy, except for a little cough. He eats really well, and is really happy. He even slept almost all night! He woke up around 5am. I can't tell you happy this made me. He wants to eat every few hours during the day and I was afraid this would be the case at night as well. I am trying to get him on a 4 hour schedule for feeding.

We leave for Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. Pray that we can leave from CAP without any problem!

Today W.'s adoptive parents arrived to take him home. I can't begin to tell you how extremely jealous I am right now! Yet I am so happy for them to be able to bring their son home. They seem like a very nice family.

Jeremiah's foot has not improved much. I am very worried. He had a fever last night and it is pretty gross looking. If it doesn't improve we may have to go to the hospital in Milot or have S. give him an IV. Please keep praying!

We went on a walk with the kids today. We walked down the road with about 4 kids and 3 babies and they really enjoyed getting out and seeing the wildlife. We saw some ducks, cows, horses, and birds. I also saw a really large lizard. Yesterday we took the same route, only with just babies. We ran into some local women who were interested in the children and were trying their hardest to communicate. Today we had the same thing happen, and when they realized we didn't understand them, they waved us on, saying "go on" in creole. I really would love to learn more for the next trip.

No news on our adoption. I was hoping to hear something this week. There are rumors of files getting signed out of IBESR but have not heard of anyone actually getting the good news. We will continue to wait patiently!

Approved

Alex got his visa approved. They have to go back on Friday after 2:30pm to get them. Pray that they will have them ready as we are planning on having him come to where we are in CAP on Saturday! Thanks for your prayers.

No news yet

No news yet on the Visa. I will keep you posted.

Sore foot

Jeremiah's foot has an infection. Don't know what it is exactly, started out looking like a blister, boil or bug bite on top. Now his whole foot is red and painful. Pray it will get better soon.

Bon Bagay

Jeremiah and I went in to Cap Hatien today with one of the long term volunteers, Arlin. It was such an adventure but a bit scary too. We tried with all our might to fit in with the locals, but sorry to say it is just not possible. We definately are "blans". You can't get everything in one place here, so we went to several grocery stores, a market, a pharmacy, a hardware store, a Coca cola place, and a place to buy cell phone cards. We saw Haiti in a whole new light! I felt relatively safe walking around. The traffic and road through town was so different than we are used to. I have a lot of pictures to post...it's a good thing (bon bagay)!

Visa appointment

Alex's second appointment for his visa is tomorrow morning, 7am central time. Please pray for him when you have a chance. Pray that he will get approval, and can come home with us on Monday!

Egg Hunt

We had an Easter Egg hunt here today after lunch. It was so much fun seeing the kids get soo excited about finding a plastic egg in the grass. There was no fighting or complaining about only getting one egg. So nice.






Elijah will probably go on antibiotics for his sores. They are really bad. Pray that he will feel better before we leave next Monday.

Happy Easter

We are here, we arrived yesterday early. We had a great flight, nothing too scary. The road to Children of the Promise was pretty good too. They have been working on it so we made it there quickly.

There are several other volunteers here, relatives of the long term volunteers. They are all very nice. We cooked a big dinner for Easter today. Turkey, potatoes, gravy, etc. plus an AMAZING potato salad that was to die for. We also had apple crisp with apples from the market ($20-30!) It was also VERY yummy.

I started feeling kinda sick this morning, and didn't eat breakfast. So when we ate at 1:00 I was pretty hungry and it tasted great.

Elijah is so cute, even covered in chicken pox. He looks pretty miserable and one of his eyes is swollen and puffy. I am praying that none of them gets infected.

I gotta go, I will write more later. Happy Easter!

We are off to Haiti....

...tomorrow, on the 6am flight! Pray for good weather and a smooth flight. Tomorrow I get to see my boy!

Key West

We are here in Islamorada, Florida. We are staying with Jeremiah's friend, Wendy. She lives in a loft apartment above an artist village. It is beautiful here and we took a lot of pictures of our day trip to Key West. It reminded me a lot of Lahaina, Maui, or Victoria, B.C. A lot of touristy type stores, street performers, and vendors, and lots of people from all over.

On the way down we stopped at Monroe County Sheriff's precinct and met some nice people there. (Wendy is a dispatcher) One of the Sergeant's recommended a Cuban restaurant where we stopped to eat lunch. Yum. We ate dinner in Key West at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Not too healthy, but we did a LOT of walking today.

We went to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum where they display recovered shipwreck stuff. Boring. The weather has been fine, nice and not too hot. Tomorrow we may just kick back, and maybe go to the beach.

I'm feeling like I'm coming down with a cold, pray that I will feel better before we leave for Haiti early Sat.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Please PRAY

Pray for Alex and a little boy named Sonel. They went to get their visa's today and were denied because of paperwork and rule changes. The earliest they can get another appointment is Tuesday. Pray that they can get an appointment early in the week, and that they will get approved. Pray that we will still be able to bring Alex home with us as planned. I will be so sad to come home empty handed!

We are in Islamorada, FL right now. We flew in tonight and are staying with a friend in a cool loft apartment over an artist studio. Very artsy and I LOVE it, termites and all. She wants to move back to WA and I think we should trade houses. Wonder what her landlord would think about our kids running around through the art galleries? Hmmm.

Getting ready

We are leaving in the middle of the night tonight. My mother in law will be here this afternoon. I am getting anxious about leaving, but excited about going. Does that make sense? I can't wait to see Elijah again, and to help out at Children of the Promise with all the little babies. Please remember to pray for us. I know it will not be a relaxing, restful trip and I hope God will give me the stamina and energy to keep up with those little ones!

We are going to the Florida Keys for a few days and are staying with a friend. It was cheaper to fly to Fort Lauderdale in the middle of the week, but the Lynx flight was sold out on Friday, so we fly to Cap Hatien on Saturday.

I will post when we arrive in Haiti, on Saturday. I'm not sure if I will be able to upload photos, I'm guessing probably not. So you will have to wait until we get back for that. Sorry. Until then...

Alex

The little guy pictured in the post below is a missionary. Bet you didn't know that? He is a missionary because he is coming to our country to do wonderful things. He will come here to teach us how to love like Jesus; the same Christ who loved the sick and dying. He will come here to teach us about faith; faith that God will give the doctors the gift to heal him. He will come here to show others that it is ok to have a disability, a birth defect or an illness; that these people are a viable part of society. Without them what would our world be like? He will come here to teach us about strength and courage; having brain surgery without close friends and family around him, in a foreign land. His parents are leading by example by giving their child this chance to leave and stay with strangers. Jesus loved Alex and planned for him to come to the U.S. Alex, in my eyes, is a missionary....I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks.

We leave tomorrow for Fort Lauderdale, then Saturday for Haiti. Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for Alex as we are traveling here with him, and for the impact he will have on the world.

Ideas anyone?

Looking for ideas of a way to get information into the hands of the Haitians that birth defects are not curses,and that there is help and hope for most of these children. We're talking about handouts, information sessions, health seminars, radio shows, and an information session for pastors teaching them these things so they can go back and actually PREACH to their congregation that this isn't a curse and they can hand out the flyers, etc.

Please leave a comment if you have any ideas on how we can get this information out to the people in Haiti.

February Photo of Elijah

Our handsome SMART boy!

Elijah opening the book we gave him for Christmas...

Gifts from Aunt Heidi, Uncle Ben, Jacob and Gracie

Gifts from Aunt Heidi, Uncle Ben, Jacob and Gracie

I got an update from Lori at Real Hope for Haiti, where Alex is:
height 23.5 inches
weight: 12 pounds 13 ounces
wearing 3-6 month clothes

I guessed that he was smaller than this and will have to return the diapers I bought and get some bigger clothes. Most of what was donated was 0-3 months.

His paperwork should be getting to Haiti next week for his visa!

New pictures and updates

height 23.5 inches
weight: 12 pounds 13 ounces
wearing 3-6 month clothes

Can you believe how big he is? For Haiti he seems large for 2 1/2 months old! I guessed he was smaller and most of the clothes that were donated were 0-3 months. I will have to do another shopping spree or pray that people can gather up some more donations!

Blessings from strangers (and friends)

I am amazed by how people band together to help others. I just got a call from my husband telling me that a fellow city employee gave him an envelope with $100 in it. I've never even heard of the guy! A few weeks ago we had an elderly woman at our church hand us a $20 bill. My brother and sister in law sent us a check the other day. The amount covers our costs of traveling to pick up Alex and staying in Haiti! I feel guilty taking money from people, and my husband does too... but I know that they want to help. I feel so blessed.

News

Host family in Nebraska: found!
I have been in contact with a wonderful woman who shares the same passion in helping children as I do. She will be a great host mom to this baby girl from Haiti.

I also have a large list of possible families. We just have to wait now for doctors and hospitals to agree to donate care, and then we can nail down where the children will be staying. It is exciting to see every detail get worked out.

I also have had many people donating things/ money for Alex. We also went shopping a few days ago for diapers, bottles, etc. I can't wait to meet him. I hear he is in the rescue center now, getting used to bottle feeding. Poor baby and mom.
Please continue to pray for him, our trip and his surgery details.
Thanks

Opposition

From the Livesays blog:

The door to success swings on the hinges of opposition.

"Remarkably, this saying implies that opposition is not just a natural accompaniment or antecedent of success, but that it is a means by which the door opens. One can think of many biblical examples. The opposition of Joseph’s brothers opened the door to his leadership in Egypt. The taxing of the empire opened the door to getting the Messiah born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth, and thus fulfilling prophecy. The betrayal of Judas opened the door to the salvation of the world." (From the Desiring God website.)

This makes us think of opposition differently, doesn't it?

Lots to do

I have been running around like crazy, and have been on the internet a lot this last week. I am trying to get all my tasks on my to do list checked off. I'm about half done! I have been trying to line up a host family in Nebraska for a little girl with an encephalocele from Haiti. I found a nice family, and met a fellow adoptive mom too! Baby Di. is going to be traveling within the month!

Please support MAT

The Medical Advocacy Team is selling T-shirts to help with the work they are doing. Please consider supporting them by purchasing a shirt! Just click on the button "Men Anpil" to the right.

Prayers for Haiti

Saw this article today. This country desperately needs to be lifted up in prayer...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4403186

Other things are tied up with Haiti's government too...

Saw this article today. This country desperately needs to be lifted up in prayer...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4403186

Other things are tied up with Haiti's government too...

Saw this article today. This country desperately needs to be lifted up in prayer...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4403186

Host Families

I am the host family coordinator for the Medical Advocacy Team. If your family is interested in hosting a medically fragile international child, please contact me at smithjklc@hotmail.com. If this is not something you feel you can do but would still like to help, please consider making a donation, get you church or community involved in fundraising, or just pray for these precious children.

Amazing...

Look at these before and after pictures of the girls..
Helande before:
Helande after:


Ella before:

Ella after:




Here is another picture of Alex. I can't wait to see what the miracles of medicine does for him in America. In Haiti, he would possibly die, and be shunned the rest of his life.


Thanks to wonderful doctors, hospitals and volunteers he can live a normal, healthy life! I feel so blessed to be able to help.

Gilbert

I just heard that Gilbert passed away. Please keep his family and those who cared for him in your prayers.

Pray for Gilbert

Please pray for baby Gilbert. He has Spina Bifida along with being very sick. He got his medical visa today to go to TX for surgery. He is not doing well, but is so close to getting the help he needs.

New Elijah update (old pictures)

The Boat Room kiddos have been very creative though and have worked out how they can still escape! R. and Elijah are our resident expert escape artists and like to slip in between the steel bars. R. is so fast he usually manages to run and mix in with the older alligator kids by the time his nannies have found him. Elijah loves to run away and be chased; it also gives him a chance to see his Colin, Isaac and A. Now that they have moved up Elijah has become much more verbal, he is taking all the time, calling out names and forming full Creole sentences. He is always pointing out things and alerting the nannies to any trouble. The kids love the new kitchen that I wrote about in their last updates and someone very kindly sent down lots of toy food and dishes for it. They’ve been cooking up huge feats and love playing with all the new food. Elijah likes the pans as they make the most noise, he’ll bang two of them together until he is distracted by something someone else has.

I got these quotes from a friend's blog today and I really think there is a lot of truth to them.

"Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best--better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His."
~Neal A. Maxwell

"We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and pattern to unfold in our lives, on His timetable."
~Robert C. Oaks

Please check out the link to my new "public" blog. It is mainly about the work we are doing with the Medical Advocacy Team. Thanks!

Meet Alex

This is Alex (age 2 months). He is in Haiti with his family right now, and we are going to be meeting him in a few weeks. We are bringing him home with us on a medical visa, and he will be having surgery in Sacramento this spring. Alex should look completely normal after surgery. If he was not able to have surgery here in the U.S. he would die, or be treated horribly because of his birth defect.

A lesson learned

Patience and trust were both learned as God surprised me three times with blessings for our trip. We got an email from our sister in law and they want to help out with some of our costs- Yay! I got a call from a woman I just met yesterday at church wanting to bring over baby clothes. She came by, we had a good chat and she left us with 3 big trash bags full of clothes, blankets, and such. I have been conversing online with a woman that wants to help with the medical visa kids, she lives near the airport and offered to let us park at their place! I was going to make reservations to park at a lot for $6 a day plus tax, so this will save us about $100. I can't believe how well everything is working out for us to bring Alex back with us. Can't wait!

A new hope

“The best thing you can do for your child is to take them home and let them starve.” This is what a mother and father were told when they walked their sick infant several miles to a clinic for help.

In Haiti, a child with birth defects is treated like garbage, something to toss aside like trash. The country is one of the poorest in the world and many people practice voodoo. Parents either believe there is nothing that can be done for their child, or they believe their child is “cursed”.

Several children are now being saved by an organization that was recently founded called the Medical Advocacy Team under Remember International. Several volunteers arrange life-changing and often life-saving medical treatment to children who live in areas where such medical care is not available. It is our mission to provide these children with the highest possible level of care so that they can return to their home countries healthy and ready to live their lives to the fullest. We work together with many doctors and hospitals that donate medical care. With their help, and with the help of many other volunteers, we are able to change the lives of children around the world!

Last year, we helped host two girls, Helande and Christella from Haiti. Their parents brought them to Lori, a missionary nurse after trying many different hospitals and clinics. She sought the help from my friends and together they obtained medical visas and donated medical care for these girls. They both received care from a doctor in Texas and my friend Sarah and I escorted them back to their families in Haiti when they were healthy.


While we were driving to the airport with nurse Lori, she spoke of how amazed she was that strangers from another country would want to help these babies, the undesirable. She said she was surrounded by so much death and despair that she had almost no hope left. She was so thankful for the help and love that people so willingly gave those girls. Can you imagine how this gratitude spread through their village?

More children are being referred to the Medical Advocacy Team. When Jeremiah and I travel to Haiti in two weeks, we will be meeting Lori with a little 2-month-old boy, Alex. Alex has an encepholecele, a hole in the front of his skull in which his brain protrudes between his eye and nose. He will be coming home with us, and in several months he will be having surgery in Sacramento. Eventually he will be returning to his family in Haiti.

Here is an encouraging email I got from Nurse Lori the other day

I wanted you to know that this is the first child that I have seen with this condition. It's not because it doesn't happen around here. It happens, but the people think that it is a devil child. They think that the thing coming out of it's head is a horn. In our area, they have killed every child that has been born with this condition until now. I think that Alex's parents heard about us through Schnider's parents and just took a chance. It will be a monumental testament to God's Grace if Alex gets surgery and comes back here. If they can see that these children CAN be helped, grow up, and NOT turn into a devil....you, my wonderful friends, will save many lives for years to come!

Let down

I have known for years that you cannot always count on your friends, or those around you when you need them, yet I am always disappointed. I will have a problem, or exciting news, call my best friend on the phone to share, and get an earful about their impending vacation to Hawaii. I should rely and call upon my Lord. But do I remember to always do this? No. I have a need and call people I know who may be able to help. Most of the time I am let down or disappointed. I should have called upon Him. Do I always remember to do this? No again.

I don't know why it is so hard for me to learn from my mistakes. I need to learn to turn to my Lord and Savior at all times, when I have exciting news, a need or problem, or to thank Him for the day.