Going to Grandma's

I had a wonderful time visiting my Grandma. It was a little strange being back in the States, quite a different life. Thanks to some generous team members I was able to visit Grandma probably for the last time, as she is in the latter parts of cancer. I shared pictures of Caitlin, and also the work we are doing here. It was a sweet time service. Of course it was also nice to see familiar family faces, Aunt Belva, BJ and JR, Clint, Doug, Missy, the whole crew. My Dad was there too. It was nice to see him and spend at least a couple of days with him. And when does playing with cousins ever get old!

Abandoned babies

Caitlin and her friends found this little girl and her mother out in one of the villages one day. They had recently walked from Haiti. This is a common thing, as the Haitians seek a better life here in the DR. It is about a 2 or 3 day walk from the border. They come to this area because they know there are other Haitians and possibly family who live in the villages surrounding the sugar cane. She is about a year and half old. The girls immediately took them to the public hospital. They hadn't eaten in days. The little girl looked especially rough. Her skin looked like that of someone of 90 years old. I borrowed some pictures off of Jessi's blog, you can also refer to hers for a more accurate medical take. (the "jessi" link on the left) She had infections and swelling from unkept bug bites. She was almost lifeless as she hadn't eaten in days. The girls made sure they received proper treatment and bought the mother enough food for her daughter to last awhile. When they returned a couple days later to check on them, the food was gone. When asked what happened, the mother said she didn't know what happened to it. Having dealt with this situation in times past, Faith, our friend, instantly knew what had happened. "She sold the food". Meaning yet another day where the little one hadn't eaten. The mother was in fact starving her little girl. It is something that frequently happens in the Haitian community. It's their form of birth control. Something none of us could ever begin to understand. So, the girls took the baby. Now, she is staying at the Crossroads mission house until she is nursed back to health. After that we are not sure, Neither Crossroads nor Kids Alive, in this site at least, is set up for an orphanage. She is doing much better after just 2 weeks. Her swelling is going down, and I actually saw her smile for the first time today. Her skin is improving as the old is falling off making way for the new. This is the second case of this we have witnessed in the last month. One little boy who was being starved is now living with a friend of ours just down the street. Please pray for these situations as they are unfortunately not rare. Pray we would know what to do when they arrive and the proper way to handle them. Pray also for the children, although I myself haven't really figured out specifically how.

Fun

We're having fun!

Walls

We Just keep building!!

All day

Pouring concrete here is tough work. Concrete truck? Who needs 'em when you have these 2 studly workers. What a team!

Rest

WE GET A VACATION!!! Well sort of, we went down the road a little bit and stayed 2 nights in a hotel by the sea. It was a much needed break. We sat by the pool and read our books, snorkled in the sea, and most importantly, relaxed. We also spent some time with friends. This is the entire Amlingmier family. To have all of them together is very rare and special. They are the family that runs Crossroads, the ministry "next door"

The promised land

We found Land!!! It was a little more than we expected, but it's the perfect location and pretty much only place available. Alberto, our school director who is also playing a big part in Ruben's house, keeps saying; " there is much future here, thank you God."