Beating the Odds: F's Story

The statistics on childhood morbidity and mortality in Haiti are staggering.  One in every eleven kids born in Haiti won’t make it to their fifth birthday.  One in five children are malnourished.  Sixty three percent of kids under the age of five are anemic.  Many Haitian children have no access to basic healthcare services at all.  In urban and rural areas alike, cost and distance are barriers to care.  The leading causes of death for kids in Haiti are malnutrition, diarrhea, and respiratory illnesses.  I think that’s something that people in developed countries can hardly wrap their minds around.  But in Haiti, kids are literally dying from a lack of food, IV fluids, or antibiotics.  That’s the reality that’s just outside our gates and the reality that families in Haiti face each day.  I can only imagine how easy it would be for families to feel hopeless against those statistics.

But you know what’s great? God doesn’t care about statistics, and neither do we.  We care about God’s command to care for the orphan, the poor, and the least among us.  We believe that these kids can overcome the odds stacked against them.  We fight alongside these families because we have a hope that their children can live a healthy life.

COTP has known F and her family for a long time.  She has been a part of our formula and Mamba programs, to help assist with her nutrition.  Yet, despite this, F has always struggled a lot.  F has some special medical needs, which make her care especially challenging in such a resource poor setting.  She’s been admitted to the hospital countless times, many of which it didn’t seem that she was likely to survive.  F’s mom was doing her best to care for her, but I can only imagine how desperate and hopeless she must have felt, watching her daughter struggle.

F came back into our care over the summer.  At two-and-a-half-years-old, she weighed just 8.8 pounds, one of the most severe cases of malnutrition I’ve ever seen.  She was admitted into our care, so we could help to get her healthier.  Her progress has been slow, but steady.  When F first came in she was so tiny, she didn’t even fall on any of the growth charts.  She had so much spasticity in her muscles that she cried out constantly.  She was running fevers, had diarrhea, and a cough.  She was in rough shape, to say the least.  But F has worked hard over these past couple months.  We celebrated with each pound that she gained and now she is up to 15 pounds!  She laughs and smiles, showing off the dimples in her now chubby cheeks.  Several times, someone who hasn’t seen F in a long time, has looked at her and asked, “Who is that new baby?”, only to be surprised that this is the same malnourished toddler that came to us several months ago.

Now, when F’s mom comes to visit, she also has a big smile on her face.  She tells everyone, “Have you seen F? Do you see how good she looks?”  F has not become another statistic in Haiti.  We are still working on a long term plan for her, but seeing the joy in F and her mother’s eyes fills us with so much hope for her future, for her health, and for her years to come.  We have hope that F and all of the kiddos in our care can have a healthy future.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -Romans 15:13

Children of the Promise has given permission for the posting of the photos on this site.  Photos taken of  the children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.

Happy Birthday Jess!

I'm grateful for the time that I've been able to spend in Haiti for many reasons.  One of those is, undoubtedly, that it's enabled me to become friends with some pretty incredible people.  I've met so many awesome people during my time here...Haitian friends, short term volunteers, adoptive parents.  My life has been so blessed and enriched by these relationships.

One that I'm particularly grateful for is my friend, Jess.  We first met at Hospital Bernard Mevs in November 2013, when we were both volunteering for the week.  Since that time, she's become one of my closest and dearest friends.  It's crazy to me that we've only been friends for two years, yet have had so many adventures together.  Working night shifts together in a Haitian hospital, flying a toddler to his new home at an orphanage, running 5Ks in the mountains of Colorado, hanging on a beach in the Caribbean, and ice skating in Minnesota, are just a few of the memories we've shared.

She was with me when I made my first trip to COTP.  After two days here, I told her that I thought God was calling me to move here and she didn't think I was crazy, but she was excited for me.  She was also there when I made my second trip to COTP.  On the airplane ride back to the States, she was the first person that I told.  It was official.  I was coming to Haiti.  Since that time, she has been one of my greatest supporters and encouragers.  One of the first ones to sign up as an official supporter.  The one to give me a Creole bible.  The first one to visit me at my new home.  The one who has truly been my go to person when the days down here get tough.  She "gets it" in a way that few others could.

Jess, I am so very thankful for your friendship.  I'm so thankful that, through Haiti, God allowed our paths to cross.  I am blessed to call you my friend and my sister in Christ.  I hope you have the happiest of birthdays.  I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you.  But I know that you, of all people, understand why I'm here instead.  Happy Birthday!  Bon fet!

Children of the Promise has given permission for the posting of the photos on this site.  Photos taken of  the children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.

Michele and Lisa's Visit to COTP

I love having visitors from home.  I love getting to share COTP with them, getting to introduce them to the kids here, and getting to show them my life in Haiti.  I've been really blessed to have so many visitors during my time here.  Last week my friends Michele and Lisa came down to COTP.   Michele is a pediatrician and Lisa is a pediatric physical therapist, so their skills were definitely put to  good use here.  We did well child checks on all forty nine kids, therapy evals on twenty two of our kids with special needs, and began developmental screenings on all the kids as well.  With a few trips to the hospital and some teaching for the nursing staff mixed in, it's safe to say we had a full week.  It may have been a bit crazy, but I can't believe how much we were able to get accomplished in that short amount of time.  Thanks for blessing me and the kids with your gifts!  We hope you'll come back again soon!

A few pictures from the past week...

Excited to go for a ride in the "machin"

Can't get enough of this little guy's dimples and chubby cheeks

Passing time at the hospital

M in her new wheelchair from Lisa

Two of the kiddos who got therapy evals from Lisa

J checking out the stethoscope

P & M hanging out together in their bumbo wheelchairs

F getting his checkup

Our little Doc McStuffins

This guy is up on his own two feet now and he's loving it!

Michele and Lisa leaving their handprints on the wall

Thanks for a great week!

Watching B figuring out how to walk was definitely the high point of my week

Children of the Promise has given permission for the posting of the photos on this site.  Photos taken of  the children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.

Vintage Faith Community's Visit to COTP

During the first week of August a team of eight adults and four kids from my church in St. Petersburg, Florida came to volunteer at Children of the Promise.  This was Vintage Faith Community's first mission trip, and I was certainly honored and blessed by their decision to come spend a week alongside me in Haiti.  They've heard me talk about Haiti and COTP for many years, so it was pretty cool to finally get to introduce them to it firsthand.  They had Vacation Bible School for the kids each morning.  The kids loved the craft activities, games, and music time.  The following week there were many requests for more "lekol" (school).  The kids definitely enjoyed the fun activities they got to do with the visitors, and I certainly enjoyed having them around for the week.  It was pretty incredible to see my VFC family ministering to and serving my COTP family.  One of my friends told me that when I told her I was going to more to Haiti, she didn't understand why I wanted to come live here.  But after a week at COTP, she understands why these kids and this place have my heart.  Thank you Vintage Faith for coming to serve COTP.  I hope to have all of you back soon!

I love getting to share my new life with my family and friends from home.  It was extra special to get to share it with Vintage Faith Community, who has supported my move to Haiti in countless ways.  VFC left their mark on Children of the Promise, and I hope it left a mark on all of your hearts as well.

Children of the Promise has given permission for the posting of the photos on this site.  Photos taken of  the children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.

Baby R

Baby R was admitted to COTP in early April.  She was the first child to come into our care after I moved to Haiti.  It was a tough time for me.  Not that I expected it to be easy, but transitioning to life in Haiti was even more difficult than I expected.  I never second guessed my decision to move here, but I did wonder how I was going to adapt to life here.  Things seemed rather overwhelming, then baby R came to COTP.

As is all too often the story in Haiti, R’s mother had passed away and various family members were struggling to care for her.  R was a part of our formula program, yet she continued to lose weight.  Her family wasn’t sure that they could continue to care for her.  We agreed to admit R into our care.  It wasn’t clear how R’s story would play out.  Would she be able to be reunited with her family one day?  Would adoption be the only option for her?  We hoped that R’s time with us would give her the opportunity to get to a healthy weight, and that it would allow her family a chance to identify an ongoing caregiver for R.

When children are admitted into our care, they often stay with a staff member at first.  Since they are usually malnourished or sick, it gives us a chance to give them a little extra TLC and one on one attention, before they are transitioned into our nannies’ care.  I gladly took on the task of taking care of little R when she was first admitted.  At a time when I was struggling quite a bit, taking care of R was a welcome distraction.  Caring for her gave me a sense of purpose in being here, after all, I did come here to take care of sick and malnourished kids.  I set up a crib in my room and took to the task of feeding her every three hours.  One night, as I was giving R her 3AM bottle, I marveled at the fact that this was my new life.  How blessed was I to have the opportunity to love on this sweet baby?  This new life wasn't easy, but it was blessed.  R was six months old and weighed only eight pounds, but she took a bottle easily.  With consistent feeding, she started gaining weight in no time.  After a week with me, she was transitioned into our nannies’ care.  I was a little sad to see her go, but she was clearly ready.

R continued to gain weight and truly flourished here.  I would go by the baby room to spend time with her every evening.  The nannies would always tell her, “R, zanmi ou se la”, “R, your friend is here”.  Her face would light up when she’d see me, she’d flash her gummy smile, and then she’d begin her eager crawl towards me.  Most evenings we’d go for a walk or sit beneath the mango tree to play.  She’d come with me to church on Sundays.  Every week was the same routine.  She’d chew on whatever necklace I was wearing during the worship music, fall asleep on my chest during the sermon, and wake up with a smile as we sung the closing song.  I took her on a few trips to the hospital to get some different bloodwork done.  I was relieved when we got encouraging results.  One day as I was riding home from the hospital on a moto taxi, I had R on my lap, and I again reflected on how different my life had become, but also how grateful I was to be in Haiti taking care of R.

All along I prayed for R.  I prayed for her health.  I prayed for her family.  I prayed for her future.  After three months in our care, R was reunited with her family this past week.  Thankfully, a family member was able to assume the task of caring for her.  That is always what we want for our kids.  Kids should be in a family, not at an orphanage, though we certainly miss them when they go home.

When we prayed for R before she went home, I thanked God for giving us the opportunity to take care of her.  R and I had a special bond, and this little baby helped me through some tough times.  R may not remember me when she grows up, but one thing is for sure, I won’t ever forget her.  

Children of the Promise has given permission for the posting of the photos on this site.  Photos taken of  the children in the care of Children of the Promise are not to be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.