Oh what a week!

This past week on campus was busy! We had a vision clinic, dental clinic, Halloween festivities, and much more!

Vision Clinic!

LOVE this! How exciting for her to have a new view of everything!

Dental Clinic!

Scott is a dentist that returned to serve in the clinic. I don't know if you could count just how many teeth he pulled and filled!

Rose is a dental hygienist and she cleaned LOTS of teeth (most had never had a cleaning before...she had her work cut out for her!)

Halloween in Haiti!

Ok, so Halloween isn't celebrated in Haiti but we decided to have some fun!

E'tienne, myself, and Aubree are the nurses on campus...for the party we were the Greek Goddesses=)

We even had a magic show!

Rose told our fortunes...we shall see just how those turn out!

The kids trick-or-treated all of the doors on campus and got lots of candy!

Bobbing for apples!

A party isn't complete without a corn-hole tournement!

Art festival!

Each year there is an art festival in PAP. Artisans from all over Haiti come to sell their iron work, paintings, figurines, jewelry, and much more. And a festival isn't complete without lots of authentic Haitian food. It was a fun day!

Not everything about the week was great though...

Tarantulas--this would be my least favorite thing about Haiti!

Shoes!

Shoes. Everyone loves a new pair of shoes. Especially when we’re talking about the first day of school. We all had to have the newest style, the best brand, and to top it off even an extra pair with non-scuff soles for gym class. In Haiti the children all wear uniforms to school. They have matching shirts, skirts, hair bows/barrettes, socks, and black shoes. Each child files into the school exceptionally clean and beaming with pride. Today, we started physicals and it was beyond adorable to watch the preschool class come through the clinic. Some were giggly and others were in tears simply because of being in the clinic. Each child received a head-to-toe assessment, height and weight check, pill to kill any worms, and had their feet measured for shoe sizes. Measuring feet is where the real story begins. A fellow nurse and friend, E'Tienne, was measuring each child’s foot and as she removed a little girls shoe she felt something on her hands. She looked at her hands and they were covered in black ink. The children are required to wear black shoes to school, but this little girl’s shoes had been colored or painted black to disguise the white tennis shoes she was wearing. We were all silent. I was struggling to get over the sight of E'Tienne's black, inky hands while holding back tears. I was overwhelmed with sadness that not only was this the saddest attempt at "black" shoes, but they didn't even fit her little feet. I wondered if the other kids noticed or if the little girl even realized her shortcoming. Working through the surprise and sadness I found myself feeling proud. I was beyond proud and encouraged that her parent chose to do whatever it took to make sure she was in school. Even though her parent couldn't afford or didn't have access to the "proper" shoes, s/he chose to find a solution. That solution was black ink on white tennis shoes. Black ink that stained my friend’s hands and broke each of our hearts, but also left us smiling. Squeeze your foot into a shoe that’s covered in ink and two sizes too small and let me know if you could ever swallow your pride and truly understand what it’s like to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”.

Mobile Clinics!

The last two weeks on campus have been busy! We were blessed to have four different teams on campus. Medical and some non-medical people from the teams all assisted in running mobile medical clinics. NVM has three different sites that we have intentionally invested in and are also dedicated to providing medical care for. Each of the sites serve people who were displaced by the earthquake and are still living in tents without running water, electricity, etc. The medical teams from Indiana and Florida were able to see over 1,050 patients in just seven clinics. We were busy! I am always blown away at how amazing each medical team is. Team members come from all different medical backgrounds, locations, and specialities and yet they join together to serve each and every person that sits in their chairs. Nurses and doctors work together as one team and each person builds up the other and everyone asks the rest of the team lots of questions....because let’s be honest, no one really knows it all=) The language barrier is removed with AMAZING translators who are also dedicated to providing the best care. Doctors and nurses all pray with patients and multiple times a day are moved to tears by the stories and people they meet. Each healthcare provider truly invests in each and every patient. Time isn’t rushed and lots of hugs and kisses are handed out along with medications and basic healthcare education. Needless to say, the mobile clinics aren’t fancy (tent, metal chairs, rubbermaid bins filled with various medications, and a folding table) and yet they change lives of both the Haitian and American people. More important than any medication we hand out...the medical teams provide hope and give out lots and lots of love. At the end of the two weeks I felt exhausted and yet blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve with each and every team member.

It's what I love!

Here are some photos that were from the last week. As most of you all know...I believe there is no better way to spend a part of my day than rocking and playing with the little ones. I hope you enjoy seeing all my friends and even more importantly, I hope you are able to see just how special they are! I know many of you are praying for them and I love that you will be able to watch them grow over the year.

Davidson is in my lap. He is the cuddliest little 9 month old with the most precious grin. Natamara is cuddled in my arms...right where she fits perfectly. She is the happiest baby and is always smiling!

Another of Natamara...you will be seeing a lot of her over the year. She has completely stolen my heart and has an amazing momma that I love spending time with too.

This is Kris (one of Natamara's sisters). She has the most precious little laugh!

E'tienne is a nurse from New York and is also here serving with NVM for a year. I have been blessed to have her as a friend and as you can tell...the children in Chambrun also think she is pretty wonderful=)

The boys had soo much fun with this pile of dirt! They made E'tienne, Aubree, Adam and I all sorts of "food" because we were very hungry! We all laughed a lot and of course left the village full from our meal of dirt.

This is Vanesta and Jean-Love. Rarely will you see the two apart and honestly she acts just like a little momma for him instead of his big sister. Vanesta loves playing with us and would love nothing more than to be tossed around and loved on by us. Jean-Love has a completely different attitude towards us and is 100% afraid of us. This makes it really hard for Vanesta to join in on fun when we come to play because she can't put him down or go more than a step away from him. E'tienne is starting to win over some of his love though so maybe just maybe he will have a change of heart by the end of the year.

Little Don Peter came into the clinic earlier in the week weighing all of 2.36 pounds at 19 days old. He came back later in the week and gained some weight! Hopefully he will continue to grow and thrive and in time...he will be a chubbly little man=)

For more pictures...click on the link below. It is a link for Facebook but you do NOT need to have Facebook in order to see the pictures. It's much easier (and I think more people see them) to put pictures on Facebook so the album is updated more frequently than the blog.

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150374500225831.405560.529825830&type=1&l=885a6310be

One month

One month. One month ago I said a lot of goodbyes and boarded a plane with a one way ticket to Haiti. Even though a lot of people weren’t surprised by my move to Haiti, I felt deep down this was a very un-Brooke-like thing to do. I’m a type-A personality and love to have everything neat, organized, and with a plan. I truly believe God has a huge sense of humor lately because nothing about my life is any of the above. This past month has been a huge adjustment. I didn’t think that all the “things” in my life really mattered and was one of those people that always said I could do without all the material stuff. In reality being removed from your “comfort zone” is hard and painful. Honestly, there are some days I wish so badly I was in my home and I question why I’ve been called to Haiti. It’s in those moments though that God shows me glimpses of hope. I love that each time I’m in the village I recognize more and more faces and am slowly learning more names. I love that the children recognize me and call my name (ok, they can’t really say my name..it sounds more like B-look). The language is still overwhelming, but the smiles I get when I say something correctly or actually understand what someone is telling me are literally priceless. I love that I have the opportunity to actually form relationships and not just be a visitor in this community. I love being a part of NVM and the opportunity I have to connect with people all around the world who come to serve. Most of all, I love going to the village in the afternoons and simply washing babies and visiting with the women and children.

I don’t know what God has planned for this year in Haiti. At times I’m completely overwhelmed with the reality of living in another country that is far away from family, friends, and just my comfort zone in general. And then there are other moments when I know I’m right where I’m called to be. A bible verse, that was used in church a lot the month before I left has been on my mind daily...

Eph 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

One month. One month ago I boarded a plane and that glowing “Fasten Your Seatbelt” sign somehow felt quite directed towards my future!