"My Good Friend Carmen"

I just wanted to introduce you to my neighbor Carmen. She lives two houses over from me. I first met Carmen, I believe back in 2002, when I came down to Haiti with David Walmer and his Duke class. Carmen lives directly across from the Hospital St Croix. In 2002, we stayed at the Hospital Guesthouse and every monring and afternoon our little group would pass Carmen in front of her home. We would always say, "Bon jou or Bon swa" depending on the time of day to Carmen as we passed her home. One day she started yelling at us "BON jou, BON swa that is all you foreignors say don't you know anything else?"(translated to English) Of course, we didn't. We went over and tried to speak a little more with her. I asked to take her photo and she said yes as long as I made her a copy. I promised to make her a copy but could not promise when I could get it to her. She agreed. I am happy to say the photo was delivered to her about 3 years later. She was pleased to get it and happy I didn't forget. We have been friends ever since. I will get these photos to her in January 2011. If God wills. Peace, Love, and Joy. Missy

"Need a Vacation, How About the Hotel Cyvadier Jacmel, Haiti"

"The New Shelves Are In Place"

Just a little update. I finally have shelves in my cabinets and now I have been able to start organizing the kitchen a little better. Thanks Suzi for getting the cabinets for me. Everyday the place gets a little more comfortable. Peace, Love, and Joy.

"Kodenn Tomas Gave His All For Dinner"

"Election Day 2010"

Yesterday, was elections day. Here in Leogane it was quiet. Saturday night before the election was really quiet. At 9:30 PM the streets of Leogane were deserted and the restuarant Mesaje, which usually has music blairing until 1:00 AM in the morning, was closed up tight. It was a little unnerving.

I got up and went to St Croix Church as I usually do on Sunday morning. At the end of the service they always do general announcements. Father reminded everyone they should be sure to go and vote. He told them what I say to people when they say they are not going to vote. Father said, "If you don't vote, you are letting someone else vote for you."

I spoke to a couple of my friends who went to vote and they said it went smoothly. However, that is not the case in other parts Haiti. There has been a request by 12 of the 18 canidates for president to throw out yesterday election. There are stories of people arriving at voting locations and being told they were not register there and they were sent to another locaton only to find out they are not on the rolls at the new location.

I spoke with several friends in Port Au Prince and they said where they were things were quiet.
Let's continue to pray for the election process in Haiti. Peace, Love, and Joy.

"Happy Thanksgiving!!"

Hi Everyone, I hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. I am sorry I haven't made an entry in a while but I was travelling back and forth to Port Au Prince, Leogane, Fondwa and out to Jacmel so kind of hard to keep up with things. Also, the Internet isn't working at my house anymore so that adds another obstacle to blogging everyday.

I did have turkey for Thanksgiving. Delson, the doctor who works with Family Health Ministries in Leogane, was given a turkey from a friend of his. Usually, the turkey would be saved to be eaten in December around Christmas. However, Delson said I have several Americans staying here at my house so I am obligated to give them turkey for their special day.
I thought that was kind of him. The meal was delicious it wasn't like home but special in its own way. I am thankful for all of you and all my friends in Haiti. Peace, Love, and Joy.

"Brazil Beats Argentine"

"Happy Birthday to Me!"

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday (50Th to be exact) with my friends Emile, Denis and Napeau. The guys treated me to lunch and bought me a birthday cake. We had a great time. After lunch we headed to Cite Soliel Christian Church for a soccer match between the fans of Argentine and Brazil. These are the two most popular soccer teams in Haiti. Last night Brazil took the match up 2 to 0. Everyone had a great time. Peace, Love and Joy. Missy

"St Antoine School Fondwa, Haiti"

The classroom building built by Dave Williamson and volunteers is still standing after Hurricane Tomas' winds came through the community of Fondwa last week. The building has eight classrooms (Preschool 1 through 5Th grade are housed in this building). The temporary secondary class rooms were destroyed by the strong winds (see middle photo). However, they have managed to use part of that structure to have classes in for now. They have also set up tents to use for classrooms. Even with the set back the school is up and running. When I arrived yesterday classes were in session and lunch was being served to the students. A "little wind" isn't going to stop the children of Fondwa from learning. Please consider sponsoring a child or a teacher through Family Health Ministries (http://www.familyhm.org/) to ensure the children of Fondwa have the opportunity to attend school and the chance to change their lives and the lives of their families. Peace, Love and Joy. Missy

"Hurricane Tomas Strikes Leogane, Haiti"

Hurricane Tomas passed through Leogane last Thursday. In Leogane we didn't have strong winds but a lot of rain. The rain started at about 3:30 in the morning and I got up and looked out to see if there was flooding. No sign of flooding. At 5:30 am I checked again no sign of flooding. At 6:00 am I heard a lot of noise outside and there the streets were covered in water. My neighbor Carmen was evacated from her home as the water was entering her small home. She is doing fine and has returned to her home. The hospital was flooded and patients and equipment were moved up to the second floor. The water came quickly and was gone after a day and a half. Just a lot of clean up to do. No matter what happens the people of Haiti keep on going. They are survivors and they do what they do best and that is going about the business of living. My one friend, Cine who lost his leg after earthquake, said. "I can choose to lay down and die or to get up and live. I choose to live." May we all have that same drive. Peace, Love, and Joy. Missy

"Electricity and a Drill That's All You Need"

Tonight we had electricity after supper so I asked Peter if he could come with his drill and install my towel racks for me in my bathroom. He said, "Yes." To make a long story short Peter could not come over but he said I could use the drill. So, I went and picked up the drill and came back to my apartment and got to work. In Haiti, when you have electricity you have to work quick because you never know when it will go out. Well the job is done and I think the towel racks look nice. Peace, Love, and Joy. Missy

"A Woman's Work Is Never Done"

"We're Survivors"

Hurricane Tomas passed by Haiti. Here in Leogane we have heavy flooding over some of the streets. Today, the sun is out and a cool breeze is blowing and the water is going down. Thank you God. Peace, Love, and Joy. Missy

Update on Camp Adjacent to Matthew 25

Another update from guest blogger Janet.

Those of you who have visited Matthew 25 House since the earthquake will be interested to know the status of the soccer field camp adjacent to the guesthouse.

At the peak there were 2200 residents; now there are 711. Today, all received a donation from Food for the Poor of rice, oil, flour, packed by the now 11 workers employed by Matthew 25 to run the camp. At the peak there were 22 workers. The camp has composting toilets, their own water filtration sytem, and a school for 259 students.

The tents are definitely flapping in the wind, but in general, people are going about their days in a normal fashion, particularly now that it has stopped raining. School holidays were called nationally for Thursday and Friday of this week.

Report from Hurricane-Tomas Land

Greetings from Janet Portzer in Port-au-Prince. Missy is still in Leogane and doesn't have Internet access so I'd thought I'd give you all a report.

We are not yet experiencing anything other than light rain and light winds. We don't think the storm is really here yet, or that it is on either side of us, because here at Matthew 25 we don't have any flooding either. Last night included only gentle rain and wind, too. A sick child from the adjacent tent camp came in for the night with his sisters as a precaution. The rest of the tent dwellers are doing okay.

Missy reports that the streets are flooded in Leogane, but that is not really unusual in a heavy rain. They have received some heavy bursts of rain, unlike us here in PAP.

Yesterday was a great day. I visited 8 employee homes and took lots of photos. I was very encouraged by all the progress. The employees who received emergency funding have made great progress on their homes. Everyone is in a safe dwelling except Aliette, who is in a constructed tent that looks to be well-built, but still with tarpaulin walls. I look forward to sharing all the good news as well as the ongoing needs.

Today the Blanchard Clinic is closed so I'm staying with a few other people who have had planes cancelled - 5 guests in all, plus the irrepressible Nancy Hibbard and her staff here at Matthew 25. Everyone is in good spirits, enjoying an unexpected, free day.

Missy was to come into PAP and spend some time here with me, but hasn't felt good. Instead, I have spent my time with Denis as translator and Emile, our driver. Both have done a great job of getting me around - and they are fun to be with, too.

Pray for the people in the camps, please.

-Janet

"Six Grade Class Says We're Ready for the National Exams"

A look at the tent being used for the sixth grade classroom. It's a full classroom. Peace, Love and Joy. Missy

"Introducing the First Grade Class 2010"

They are just so cute. I love when you enter their class room they all stand up and say "Bonjou". The temporary classrooms look great.

"It's Electric"

Just want to report last night at about 11:30 the electric came on to my apartment. I haven't had electricity for over a month. I was sitting on my bed with my headlamp on doing work on my computer when all of a sudden I heard a loud noise. I thought we were having an earthquake. Then papers started flying and I realized the fan was working. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. Then I jumped out of bed and started dancing around my room giving praise to God for the electricity. After praising God, I quickly plugged in my computer, cell phones, and the charger for my camera battery. I needed to act quickly because I didn't know how long the power would last. I am happy to report it is still on. I hope to get the water pump reconnected so I can pump water later today if we still have power. Just another day in Haiti. Peace, Love and Joy. Missy

"School Photos"

"The Gang Says 'Hello Annick!"