March 6, 2010

Man! Haiti is LOUD at night. Dogs howled, whined, and yipped ALL night long, horns honked, rooster crowed....I think every one of us woke up a hundred times. As soon as the alarm clock went off at 6:00, everyone snapped up and began chatting. I hate waking up so early, but we have to use the daylight while we have it! 'P' and 'K' slept on the porch and have some kind of bugbite all over their faces...they look like chicken pox. Of course, being drama queens, we will not hear the end of this!
Becca said that the orphanage we're going to this morning is the hardest. She said there's mostly babies and they are all in bad shape. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Ph 4:13

Oh man, I have diarrhea and a migraine. Today I had to push myself to keep going. It was a Loooooonnnnngggg day! We started with a really good breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and toast. After a few chores around the house, we took off to the first orphanage, Gertrude's orphanage. It was SO MUCH better than the one we went to yesterday. They actually had a house. They were finishing up breakfast (grits?) when we got there. But once we were in, no kids were interested in eating. They immediately started playing with us and wanting to be held. They had a lot of special needs kids and wheelchairs. The workers just wheeled them out, parked them, and sort of forgot about them. When we tried to talk/play with them, there was no interest shown. The other kids ate up all the attention until they literally fell asleep in our arms. I had probably 4 kids fall asleep in my arms...they were absolutely precious. When we left, I got a little choked up, but was fine after a minute. It took atleast 2 hours for our next stop. It was apparently rush hour. 3 lanes were all going in one direction, then one car decided to use up the 4th lane...tough luck for anyone that wanted to go in the opposite direction. Along the road, walking vendors stopped at cars to sell water, snacks, lottery tickets.... When we were approaching our next destination, we saw lines of people waiting outside the gates, some with steaming plate of rice. The place we stopped was Mother Theresa's house for the Destitute and Dying. We were only stopping to schedule a time for a visit. 2 hours to schedule a time. Boy, I wish they had a phone! We'll be going Monday morning. Soon, we left to go to the third orphanage...what became known as the "baby house." We went through winding, rubble-filled streets. We were able to go through the wealthier part of PAP, which was the most effected by the quakes. The President's Palace was crumbling and there was so much devistation. The streets were packed again, and driving was rediculous! There was one point where it was impossible to get through in our direction. Joseph got out to direct traffic. Then a UN tuck full of UN police go out and stopped traffic so that we could get through. That was really cool! Out of nowhere, we stopped and they said we were there. Becca said to start in the baby rooms then go upstairs to the older kids. I pretty much stayed in the baby room the whole time. The babies were not responsive at all to our cooing and attention. That was heartbreaking. Of course, they never get attention other than feeding and occasional changing. The first baby I picked up was full of diarrhea diaper and it got all over me. I was so disgusted, but didn't show my feelings. I wondered how long she had been sitting in this mess.
Rebecca told us a story about when she first started at this orphanage. The babies would sit, motionless, in plastic chairs. Feces and urine was all over the place. She fell in love with the homeliest little girl that had it the worst. She would fall out of her chair and be bleeding and lying in blood and feces. This is how Rebecca found her several times. There were always flies around her, and they layed eggs in her ears. Rebecca and her daughters had to hold the baby down as they pulled maggots out of her face and neck. A few days later she died. I can't even imagine experiencing something like that. But these are conditions that are happening everyday in this world.
The ladies working at the orphanage really didn't like us there. They'd rather the babies just stay in their crib bunks quietly all day long. They clearly were putting an act on while we were there...quickly changing diapers and clothing kids as we were walking in. There's SO MUCH need here and so little help! The director is overwhelmed with an overload of orphans and we just found out that his son was kidnapped before the earthquake. He goes out every morning and digs through rubble trying to find him. He has his own family turmoil and yet he continues to run an orphanage of 70+ kids. That is what selflessness looks like. He is so loving and selfless, I can barely fathom a life like his.
After having the same baby for a while, she began to respond slightly. I got her babbling and even imitating me. That was probably the only developmental stimulation she has EVER gotten. I would've guessed by her body that she was 3 months old, but she had almost a full mouth of teeth, so we was probably close to a year old...very malnourished.
When everyone else left the baby room, I enjoyed the alone time with them. I was physically feeling horrible and really needed some down time. I ended up feeding bottles to 2 of the babies that I was holding at the same time. I've never seen a bottle drank so quickly! I don't think either of them stopped for a breath the entire time. Would they have gotten this bottle if we weren't there?
I decided to join what sounded like great fun upstairs. We began to hand out stickers and bubbles. Handing things out is so chaotic because everyone wants something that they can call their own. Bigger kids steal from the little ones, and they trick us into giving them more than one. They have no concept of waiting, sharing, anything....
Tonight at devotion and sharing time, Rebecca had to talk to us about the boys that are helping us this week. She has 5 or 6 boys that she's taken under her wings in the last few years. She adopted 8 boys from the same group, but were unable to take the whole group...so these are the boys that she couldn't adopt but still has a heart for. They began as street kids who begged and stole. She brought them to Christ and gave them a new start. She trusts them and they love her like a mom, but she is still cautious. She told us to be firm if they were ever to ask or hint for anything. She doesn't wanting them handling any of our money, and she keeps money and passports locked in her room. Her main goal for these young men's lives is to make them employable. I'd say she's doing a great job! They are a wonderful and fun bunch of boys!
They came from MB's home for street boys. He's an American who "rescues" street boys and has TONS of financial support from America.....but he sexually abuses the boys. Rebecca told us her life story. She's been threatened by MB and the Embassy supports him and has threatened her. She is trying to out him, but he has insider support. I guess the FBI is involved now, so she has to be very careful. She gave her testimony and story one night and we recorded it...I can't wait to share this story with others. MB's website is Haitianstreetboys.com >>> DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO THIS ORGANIZATION. Though he may feed, cloth, and house kids...he is molesting them....DO NOT SUPPORT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!