#89 24i, Cap-Haitien, Haiti...

My house…

Now keep in mind that affordable housing in Haiti is hard to find. If I had $1000 each month to pay I could get a place that was nicer with hot water and AC… but I also don’t need or want AC, although hot water would be nice. My thought process (and this is just for me) is that the people I serve don’t have a lot of luxury so why would I need it? There are people in Haiti working with poor and have AC. I have no issue with that. This is just my personal decision.

Thus, we negotiated for the landlord to put in ceiling fans in each bedroom. I also have a stand up fan that burned out after too many power surges. It makes a nice clothes tree. When we have electricity the fans are quite nice ;) The house is pretty cool because it's a first floor apartment, my neighbors on the second floor tell me it gets pretty hot when the power is out. I also had some of our security staff members build a screen door for me. The breeze is so nice to have during the day without letting all the mosquitoes and flys in the house.

 view from the street.

my back door and propane tank for cooking 

Tipapi patiently hanging out at my house waiting for me while I work with a good wifi connection! He was pilfering wifi so he didn’t mind too much for the delay.

the “living room”…not a lot of living done here, just clothes folding.

This was Youvenx bedroom. Now its my guest bedroom.

my bedroom.

the bathroom.

This is the washing machine that was stolen from inside my house.

Roubi (9 months)

La Pousa (means "waiting for trouble)

And these are the guard dogs that did nothing to stop it ;)

And the occasional donkey caravan outside...  

And then of course there was Ti-Pierre, the little gecko who lived in my kitchen. He would sit on the screen and watch me cook or over the sink and watch me do dishes. He would hide in my dishes, or pop out of the pans. He also enjoyed playing in the clean ice trays. He was very friendly and eventually had no problems with me picking him up...especially if he was on the floor. I would put my hand down, he would run onto it and I would put him back up on the screen near the bugs. He was fun. I put some fly poison down on the other side of the kitchen... that's all I can think of. I found Ti-Pierre on the floor in front of the oven one morning last week. I went to scoop him and he didn't move. He was dead :( I was sad. My little buddy is gone. Now I have another zondolit (gecko) but he's fat and ugly and not friendly.

Ti-Pierre

Just in time for Valentines day... Christmas update! #sarcasm

I’m finally starting to feel recovered from the whirlwind of parties and visitors, more parties and sports events!… I hate to say that I have to “recover” from Christmas (and New years and my birthday) but I do. It was all so much fun, but also so incredibly exhausting! How do moms do this every year for even just a few?

hmmm...me and Jhony thinking about this perplexing question

I had a quick fundraising trip to the US with Linsey during the beginning of December. During our weeklong trip to Texas, we were able to raise over 20k. That’s huge! Also on this trip we received the funding to MOVE OUR KIDS TO ANOTHER HOUSE!!! This is such a huge blessing and answer to prayer. We are currently down town Cap-Haitien. (I say we, however Linsey and I have our own houses. We do not live at the safe house and neither do our staff, just the boys and the security staff for the night).  The house is roach/bug infested and too small for us. There is no outdoor space for our kids to play and so they go back out on the street to look for something to do. Not good. As of mid February we will be in a 14 room, huge house on the edge of the city.  This house not only has plenty of bedrooms and a huge “living” room, it has a separate house we can use as a shelter for the rough street kids not in our program (safety off of the streets) and a yard!!! Our kids will have their very own yard to play soccer and basketball and really whatever they want!

some of the kids touring the house for the first time, one of our night security guards is in all black. (Linsey and our Exec. Director in the background with Judelin our 4 year old)

Also, during that trip I was able to eat my weight in blue cheese (love that stuff) as well as Thai, Indian, and Tex-Mex… everything I can’t get here! Christmas shopping for our staff was so much fun, but giving them their gifts was by far the best part of December. It’s nice to see the staff feel appreciated. They really work hard, long hours to protect the house, Linesy and I and keep the kids thriving! To everyone who donated their old, unlocked iphones… THANK YOU!! Our staff were beyond excited to get them!

I’ve said this before; I love my life. I can’t imagine living anywhere else or doing anything else.  With that said, it’s not easy here and taking risks comes with a price. I had to kick out my foster son. I still cry about this. The betrayal kills me. I believe somewhere in his heart that funny, sweet, thoughtful kid I met 2 years ago is still there… but recently he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and made poor decisions, including stealing from me… a lot. How could he turn on me? How could he do that? He took all the prizes I bought for the kids for scripture memorization… he took my personal stuff?!? I just don’t understand how he could do that? This is not the kid I knew, this is not the kid any of us knew. Totally betrayed. During my time in Israel, a beautiful friend of mine gave a lesson on betrayal. What sticks in my mind right now is the question she asked, “what will you do with the betrayal of your heart?”.  Coincidentally, there is this really great book I like to read that talks about this. Even though Jesus was betrayed and denied, He still loved those that didn’t love him. That is the example I have to follow, even when it's hard. He has asked for my forgiveness and I have given it, but he will not live with me again.  

Even with our kids… One of my favorites, Johnky, had been incredibly horrible to me for a few weeks. He wouldn’t talk to me, gave me dirty looks, and ignored me blatantly when I address him, especially in front of visitors and other kids. This kills me inside. This is (still) one of my favorite kids. He had my picture on his backpack for months. He prayed for me everyday while I was sick. This is my baby… he called me mom…what happened? I would go into my room and cry sometimes at how mean he was. How is it possible that this kid can break my heart, can hurt me so badly… and for what? I had no idea why he was upset with me. He wouldn’t even talk to me. I hate to admit that I thought a few times “forget about him. He’s not worth it.” And all the while, I have 40 other kids that are so happy to see me every day, and I’m excited to see them too. But when one pulls away, it is excruciating in my heart. But I chose to love him regardless. I told him that every day. For weeks I would find little ways to whisper to him “I love you still… even if you don’t love me, I love you still”. Mid January, Johnky came to me and apologized. I didn’t ask him why he treated me like that… it doesn’t matter. He apologized. He may very well do it again some day. He has endured some very serious abuse in his life; I can’t even imagine how I would cope emotionally if I had his background.

my "baby" Johnky

Now on to the parties!! One of my favorite things is watching our staff interact with the boys.  With one of our groups, we had a beach day. As soon as we got to the beach the boys attacked Sony! Hilarious! Kids were diving at him and teaming up to take him down. Sony laughed and ran… this went on for a good 10 minutes until Sony was on the brink of a heart attack in his old man state ;) The kids had a blast, ate great food and just really felt like “normal” kids all day. It’s so cute to watch them and know what life used to be like for them… they hardly remember that life anymore. And!! they remember to say “thank you” on their own… we’ve come a long way!

Also, since most of the kids know where I live now, I often wake up to little knocks on my door at the crack of dawn on Sundays asking me if I will go to church with them... Frankie and Zamor started this trend. Since it was too early for church to start I gave them nutella and crackers and some juice... I am pretty sure word got out that I do that and THAT'S why they come over so early now (including Johnky...TWICE!). Gotta nip that one in the bud ;) The 6:30 wake up call, not the kids wanting to go to church ;) 

left to right: Frankie, me, Zamor

Christmas morning… The entire week of Christmas there was, not one, not two, but MULTIPLE parties on the street ALL night! I could hear speakers blaring popular Haitian songs, voodoo drums, and 24 hour church revivals all competing for who can be the loudest. All night. 
So naturally Christmas eve, in true Haitian fashion, my Landlord (who lives on the 3^rd floor of my house) threw a party with the speakers strategically placed right outside my window. I was exhausted from being on the go for the entire week… and despite the fact that my house was pulsating with the beat of the music, I fell asleep fast in preparation for my 4am alarm. Even at 4:30 when I was finally on my way to the safe house, the streets were packed with people having mini parades, mini revivals, and just hanging out in prom dresses (literally). We snuck around the house putting the kids stockings in the bed with them so when they woke up they would have their presents with them. They all start waking up around 5ish anyway… they were ecstatic to say the least! Each kid got a new watch, a bandana, fresh new shoes for football or basketball (depending on what they play),  head phones with little radios, and a ton of candy. So many people played a huge part in donating to our kids Christmas! Thank you for making these kids really feel special!

"you're a grumpy little elf"... please tell me someone get's this quote! 

Zamor loving Christmas morning!

Julio also got new shoes... he has the highest GPA in the house. Almost straight A's by US grading scales! 
​

So now, after being spoiled for Christmas and a day at the beach, our kids hosted a Christmas party in Petit Anse (one of the poorest slums in Cap, we call it the “landfill church” because that’s what it looks like out there). Our kids facilitated the (surprisingly) orderly conduct of getting each child in the Petit Anse church an individual photo they could take home. Jacquelin Louis, who is usually very quiet and reserved, took charge. He surprised me big time! He had an entire system worked out and everyone fell right in line. Super proud of him.  All I really did was dance (literally. I think it’s programed into my DNA… music = must dance) around and play with the little kids while our kids worked. If they needed me, I was there, but otherwise, I let them do their thing. We really want to teach our kids AND the community that it doesn’t have to be the foreigner coming in to save the day. Haitians can help each other.

​so while our kids are busy working I'm playing with the kids in the church ;)

Finally, the main event… The “ALL STREET KIDS PARTY” was held the last Saturday of December. The kids on the street look forward to this. For weeks as I would drive through town on my moto, I would hear kids yell "Jenni!! 27 December!!!". Word was out and they were pumped! For 4 hours, we had fun games, music, dancing, crafts, photos and a feast for every street kid in Cap. All are welcome regardless of clothes, shoes, and hygiene… All the local hotels and some businesses made donations to make this party happen. Rice, beans, chicken, veggies, juice and CAKE!!! Our staff and all the volunteers had a great time too. At the end of the party, we had stockings loaded with goodies and hygiene items. The kids are supposed to each get one…ONE. They are sneaky though; they were coming back around trying to get more with the first one stuffed in their pants. I had our older boys helping me with this and our staff trying to keep the line from fighting. Remember, these are the rough kids that have not left street life or the mentality that comes with that lifestyle… eventually every kid got a stocking and no one got stabbed. I was just impressed they formed a line ;) Baby steps people, baby steps!

panorama of the party, all of our staff working and many ex-pat's volunteering as well. The party was packed!

Little Williamson was happy to have a sticker book for Christmas

Fritzon has been with us for almost 2 years. He's a great kid, doing well in school and is learning English

Giving very specific instruction for handing out stockings... 

The miracle line... hilariously enough, I do see one of our kids in this line trying to sneak a stocking. Ha! Also, notice my knee strategically placed on the box to hold the lid down ;) Sneaky lil' boys! 

3 weeks left brings a lot of thinking...

My entire journey in life leading up to Haiti is a miracle. I am a miracle. In reality we are all miracles. The way God works in each of our lives; the fact that we are alive; the way He provides for us even when we don't see it... life is full of tiny back to back and overlapping miracles each day. I have been very pensive as of late regarding my time here and my walk with Jesus. If He took away everything I did not thank Him for... what would I have left?

Not that He would. The point is He is good and I am ungrateful most of the time.

The life He has given me is not extravagant, but it is sufficient. My life is wonderful because I have a God that loves me. He is a God big enough to make the entire world and all that is in it. and yet He loves me enough to die for me; an insignificant and often disobedient daughter. He loves me enough to care about the small details of my life...to be a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. He loves me enough to sing over me while I sleep, speak to me, to guide me and to shower me with peace when things don't go according to MY plan.

Words can't describe a relationship with Jesus; you must have one to understand the significance of it; the intimate details of it. Each relationship is different. He is a Father loving on each of his children. We are all made uniquely thus must be related to by him uniquely. But He knows. He knows me. He knows what I need. He always provides for my needs; not always my wants, but always my needs. He laughs with me, he cries with me, He rejoices with me. He corrects and teaches. He provides before I call out. In my weakness He is strong. Thus I hold fast to this faith I profess for He who promised is faithful.

I don't know what is next. I know leaving this home where I have been loved and where I have loved will be hard. I know leaving these people that have taught me so much about Haiti and even more about Gods love will be tough. Leaving this family and these boys I have grown to love will be painful. But I know that God has a plan. His plans are good and loving and merciful. He is good always. I will thank God for the time I have had here. For the things I have learned. For the kindness that has been shown to me. I have 3 weeks left to soak in as many new memories as possible and then God will open new doors. Leaving is always bittersweet. I love my family here and am eternally grateful for the time I've had with them.

Guest blog... Life in Haiti

I love the look on people’s faces when I tell them “God told me to sell my stuff, leave my career and move to Haiti… He coordinated my move. I just said ‘Yes’”. A few years ago, I would have been that person with the blank and/or skeptical stare. But now I know otherwise. Saying ‘yes’, although extremely exciting and rewarding, is a scary step… to trust God for the things that don’t make sense to the human mind; that is hard. John 14:21 summarization basically says that the more we obey God, the more He talks to us. This is exactly what is going on in the life of Linsey Jorgenson. God said ‘start’ and she said ‘ok’… At StreetHearts, daily, you will see God move in the details. You will see how much God loves Linsey by His provision and you will see how much God loves those boys. Linsey’s interactions with them is one such example.

If you go back and read the archives of the blog, you’ll read her sincerity and transparency in writing the blog. Her work is hard. Her work is rewarding, but it is hard. She is quick to tell you this isn’t her, this is “Gods project”… and it is. After being with her for one week, there is no possible way a human can accomplish all that has been accomplished in the last year. He is doing amazing things with those boys, with her staff and with her.

It was my absolute honor to fill in the gaps wherever I was needed. I had a few commitments of my own, but other than that…and playing momma to Lins during her bacterial infection (there’s always something going on!), my time in Cap was devoted to StreetHearts and to the boys. It’s funny how you can fall in love with a child after mere minutes. I found that much of my time was spent, yes laughing and talking with the boys (they were so patient with my broken Creole), but really observing the house, the interactions, the staff, the needs; physical, emotional and spiritual. How is it possible that this precious child laying here in my lap sleeping, has lived a life I would not wish on even the most heinous of enemies? He has lived his childhood in a mans world needing to provide and protect himself. When can he be a child?…

Thus… LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!! The week was Awesome!! Another volunteer popped in for a few days and so the two of us decided to pool our money and take the boys to the beach. We were able to afford to take 6 boys and 3 staff; the staff picked the boys and off we went. The ride there is one of the most beautiful rides. Northern Haiti is lush, green and the ocean is spectacular. We were taking the boys to Paradis beach, a public beach only accessible by taxi boat from the landing at Labadee… where the Royal Caribbean (RC) cruise ship comes in. RC is pretty intense about security of their passengers in any country and because of an over dramatized media portrayal of Haiti, they are extra tight on security in Haiti. When the cruise ship is docked, entry from the road to Labadee is prohibited.

We rounded the corner of the road at the security gate to find another car with some wealthier locals talking to the guard at the gate. The car drove in and the security waved us through as well. The road from the top of the gate to the shore is winding and really bumpy. As we are driving down the road, you can smell food. Pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs… not typical Haitian cuisine. I can see the RC staff inside the fence line staring at us… note: I’m used to being stared at in Haiti, but this was intense staring. We passed another guard gate where we didn’t even pause, we just kept driving. Again with the intense staring, but we had a beach to go to! As we round the corner at the bottom of the road, even my mouth dropped to the ground! The ship was there… how the heck did we make it through 2 security check points?! I have been on a cruise before, but this ship was HUGE. The look on the boys faces and even the staff was priceless…. even better was the huge smile on Linseys face just before we both started to laugh about the fact that WE SHOULD NOT BE THERE! We got the boys to pose for a picture before we took off in the water taxi’s. Pay not attention to the censored shirt on the right. It really cracks me up when people here wear shirts when they don’t know what the words say. Needless to say we got him a new shirt once we read what his said!

The day was amazing. The boys had a great time splashing, swimming and doing flying ninja sidekicks in the water. Lavila, one of the staff got in and swam around with us for a few hours. He was so fun to watch him with the boys. Discipleship changes lives and seeing the staff interact with the boys and the boys respond makes my heart happy! Since Paradise is a beautiful beach, RC apparently offers it as a beach excursion. One curious couple from the ship made their way over to talk to me. They were from Israel. They could not comprehend why I, a white woman, would chose to leave my life and career in DC to work with Haitian children. It made for a very interesting conversation about Jesus. They asked A LOT of questions and eventually asked for the website. Who knows… regardless, the day with the boys was richly rewarding!

By mid-week I was giving tours of StreetHearts as if it were my own baby (which it is now a precious “neice” or “nephew” like project in my mind). I am passionate about what God is doing through Linsey and with those boys. I am also passionate to see Haitians provide for Haiti. Linsey is not teaching these boys to rely on her to provide for them. She is teaching them to be proud of THEIR heritage. She is showing them that with God all things are possible. She is giving them a safe home to be kids. A safe place to learn, to play, to be loved. She is trying to provide connections to families for jobs so they can get their kids back. Every child should be raised by their family. No family wants to tell their 7 year old to go live on the streets of a city and send money home, but that is the unfortunate reality for some rural families in Haiti. Why water the fruit when the root is what provides for the fruit?! Water the root and entire plant will thrive. Linsey’s vision does just that. She has an amazing 3 tier program depending on the situation of the child. I won’t go into it here, but I encourage you to check it out.

(I am learning a new Jido move in the above photo. Clearly, I’m intensely listening to the details of the move.)

The nature of Haitians: Before the feeding program kicked in (special thanks to God for hooking up random encounters with Chick-fil-a to provide all we needed for the kitchen and thanks to all our donors!) and the boys were still providing their own meals. The boys would tell me “I’m hungry” when I first got there in the morning. I would tell them “me too. You haven’t eaten yet and neither have I” by the end of the week, the boys were using their money to bring me food. I couldn’t believe it. Here they are, haven’t had breakfast or lunch and they want to provide for me. That is true Haitian culture. You share your first bite with someone who also is in need. Linsey felt the strong prompting of providing meals for the boys. This is a huge financial commitment. Two meals a day is no small task in any country for 80+ boys. The only thing cheap in Haiti is manual labor. I’ll just tell you. Prices of groceries here are more than I paid in DC. Haiti may be the poorest country in the western hemisphere, but it’s expensive to live here (thank you Clinton for your rice embargo… and yes, I’m happy to discuss in detail). I strongly encourage you to consider being a reoccurring monthly donor to contribute to the food budget.

Our last Friday night together… Linsey and I were exhausted. As we went over our day and all the amazing things that happened during the week, we commented on the fact that we were going to bed before 10…Life is different these days. Thank God for new perspectives and priorities in life!

The hightlight of my time with the boys?… after telling them all week how much Jesus loves them, Johnky (one of the rougher boys that didn’t believe Jesus loved him) asked me to pray for him. I can’t wait to go back!! My dear sweet Nixon!!… N’ap we talé!!

Nepali Mission

I apologize for the horrible layout...this computer is so slow if I don't just throw them on here I'll never get a post up!!

did I say "Ni-Hao"?! I meant Kanichiwah!! oops! these Japanese people were very nice considering the insult of saying Hi to them in Chinese!!! :/

The bull on our hotel front porch every morning..

Napali women at the end of the day

Everest, Nuptse and I forget the 3rd peak.

Me and Mindi out front of Hotel Herati, Kathmandu, Nepal

quickly before my computer crashes: The airport and road to the small village of Khandbari is shut down...for whatever reason, we don't know. We have thousands of dollars of medical supplies waiting to be put to good use and a team of volunteers anxiously waiting to help the local people. There is need every where we look but we can't just set up triage on the streets of Kathmandu and start practicing. The process to find a clinic that can use our team on such short notice is a bit like trying to catch a baby pig during a rainstorm. We have been working withe the US embassy in Kathmandu to try and find placement (Thank you Jason for all your efforts!!). We flew to Pokhara yesterday and are fairly certain we will start with a local hospital here in 2 days (such is life in a 3rd world country).

IN the meantime I am enjoying just being with the local people. I was given a motorcycle tour by my new (and dear) friend Niraj. He and I have decided we are twins...He is an amazing man with a heart of gold! I am really captivated by the culture and the customs. life here is so different than anything I could prepare myself for. I am including a photo documentary for the time being. I'll send updates as soon as we get more news. I am also including a video of the traffic situation...I thought China was full of crazy drivers. I think it's far more chaotic here!!

Much love to you all, thank you for your support while I'm here!

so apparently the streets are two ways; bikes, scooters and people, chickens and stray dogs also welcome :)