Thank you!

I have raised enough money to help my homeless families from the Ravine! In fact, you have been so generous that I have received more than I asked for. The extra will be put into an emergency fund to help with medical costs in the Ravine such as meds that I can't get donated or fees for xrays and blood tests at local hospitals. My families will receive the money within the next few weeks through my friends at Much Ministries.

A huge "Thank you!" to everyone who responded with donations and with prayers. We are so grateful for both!

"It rained and poured for 40 daysies, daysies..."

OK, it hasn't actually been 40 days yet. It's only been...hmmmm...26 days!!


If that isn't enough of a clue for you, I'll make it completely clear: I am not in Haiti. I am beginning week 5 of 10 weeks at summer camp in Maine. Normally, I look forward to my summer "vacation" as an idyllic time of sunshine, green trees, lots of river swimming, and beautiful sunsets. And thus far, I have enjoyed exactly...hmmmm...3 days of said idyllic weather. The rest of the time, it has been raining or misting or pouring or drizzling or dripping or fogging or drenching or RAINING!

The day the docks flooded:

But here's the thing: we don't let the weather ruin our summer here at Chop Point! My average day consists of staff meeting at 6:30am where we pray for it to get sunny. At breakfast, I give out morning meds and try to convince campers that their sweatshirts don't smell like mildew (a blatant lie). At 9:00, I lead French Bible study with the French campers in the boathouse because it's too wet to sit in the gazebo where we normally sit. At 10:00, I climb the hill to the field where I play a vicious game of muddy soccer with an incredible group of 15 muddy campers with muddy cleats and muddy clothes that they wore in the last 3 muddy games of soccer. Did I mention that we're all rather muddy? At 11:00, I go down to the docks, try unsuccessfully to wash the mud off my arms and legs, and then stand in the rain wearing 2 fleeces and a rain jacket lifeguarding the 10 brave kayakers and 3 very brave waterskiers who have the courage to face the elements. At 12:00, I take off my 2 fleeces and my rain jacket and I put on a shorty wetsuit so I can teach Swim for Fitness, a class consisting of 7 girls who turn progressively blue over the next hour of swimming but do everything I tell them to do. At 1:00, I take a steaming hot shower and shiver my way to the dining hall for lunch.

Waterfront activities: sailing, kayaking, blobbing, and canurfing





In the afternoon, it's pretty much the same picture. Add in a delightful sail in the rain, perhaps a trip to the blob where I sit in the rain and watch campers hurl each other into the water with gusto, a ride in a motor boat to rescue a windsurfer who got caught in the current and is on his way to the next town downriver, and an epic game of ultimate frisbee from which we emerge coated head to toe in mud and completely and utterly happy.

Mud fight with my frisbee co-leader



All in all, we are wet and cold but we are having lots of fun! And rumor has it that in 8 days, the sun is going to come out. So we are hanging in there. I miss Haiti, but I love seeing my American kids again, catching up with them, and partaking in all the fun and mud that is Chop Point Camp.

Staff week: Painting cabins, relaxing in my room after hauling my bed and armchair across camp, lifeguard training on a slightly less rainy day.




Teaching Ella to play piano


Sports night: the incredible Red Team


Campfire with cabin Cranberry


All dressed up for Horse Races



Welcome to Chop Point!

Happy heartbreak

Today is a very happy and scary day for Job Adonis. He is flying to Spokane, Washington to start life with his new family, the Moores. It will be hard to leave behind Haiti, HFC, and everything he's ever known, but it will also be exciting to meet his new siblings and experience life in America.



Unfortunately, Job's departure will be extremely painful for Bernadin. They are both being adopted by the Moore family, but Bernadin's paperwork is not done. It could be months or even a year before he goes to his new home. Imagine the pain of watching your brother leave with your mother and having no idea how much longer you are going to have to wait to be reunited with them. My heart breaks for him and I hate the fact that I am not in Haiti to console him after they fly out today.

Peter and Matt

While I was in Boston a few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to visit HFC's Peterson and Mathurin, aka Peter and Matt, in their new home in Massachusetts. I almost didn't recognize them! OK, it would have been hard not to because they make up nearly half of the black population of Ashburnham so when you see 2 black teens walking down the street there, you can be pretty sure it's them. But still, they looked different. Both of them have much thicker and longer hair now that they are not required to shave their heads every month, and Peterson has gained 17 pounds since coming to the US in February. Plus, it was the first time I'd ever seen them wearing cold weather clothes!

We played basketball together and talked. The boys were very honest with me, telling stories about school and home life. They said that it has been hard to get used to having parents that actually get mad and discipline them - I think a lot of our kids get the impression from movies and from the short term visitors at the orphanage that American adults don't get angry or set rules. Reality check, boys! They miss Haitian food (good old rice and beans) and they think our milk is disgusting. In Haiti, they drank powdered milk with lots of sugar. The thing they miss the most is the other boys, though they are very grateful that they are allowed to call the boys' home every 2 or 3 weeks. On weekends, they aren't really sure what to do with themselves because they are used to having 30 people around. A house of 6 seems very quiet when you're used to 30!

The kicker question for me was this: "Do you feel more loved here than you did when you were at the orphanage?" The kids come to the US with high hopes of getting a good education and a good career and a chance to help their native country, but more than that, they come with the hope of a second family. If we fail to provide them with that, then what was the point of removing them from their HFC family? To my relief, they responded to my question with an unhesitating "Yes".

Top 10 things I miss from Haiti

In no particular order:

1. My HFC kids





2. Sammy and his guitar


3. Kevs



4. Quiet moments on the roof



5. My fellow youth leaders, Marc, Karen and Michael




6. Speaking Creole and being told that I "speak like a rat" (that's a compliment in Haiti).



7. My Quisqueya students




8. Pate and rice with legumes



9. My roomies




10. Johnny J