story time

Brandon and Katie (two other American's on staff with NVM) brought back a children's bible after Christmas in the States.  I was instantly jealous because they found a book in Creole and I knew the kids would love it!  I was really excited last week when a team arrived on campus with more of the bibles!  I quickly claimed one and couldn't wait to share it with my little friends.  Today, I tossed the bible in my bag and when I arrived in Chambrun the kids noticed it immediatly.  They couldn't believe it was in Creole and that all their favorite stories were in it.  We started with the story about Jonah and the whale.  Watching their faces was priceless--I mean how in the world could this big fish swallow a person and how could he live in the belly of this fish?!  From there we moved onto the story of Mary and Joseph and then to Goliath (I was surprised he was third in line!).  Reading the stories gave me an opportunity to not only work on reading skills with the children but to talk about the lessons in each story.  Love that they have already requested I bring the bible back tomorrow!

Clearly someone needs to hear a few more bible stories=) Nothing like
pushing/hitting on your friends during story time!

Natacha and her momma (Feb. 2013)

Haitian Proverb:

"Kreyon Bondye pa gen gom--God's pencil has no eraser."

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person that loves to witness a moment that was an answer to prayer.  Last March I blogged about a little baby, Natacha, that I met in the clinic.  From the moment I met this little girl I knew she was special.  There was something about this momma and her baby girl.  Maybe it was the fact that her mother was young and seemed to have all the odds against her.  Maybe it was simply because the little girl had a cleft lip and palate and the mom looked afraid and hopeless.  A few days after meeting Natacha I read a post on facebook about another organization that was letting people know they would have a surgeon in Haiti to repair cleft lips and palates.  I knew it was an answer to prayer to have just met Natacha and then days later see this posting- I also knew the chances of meeting this little girl again were slim.  Natacha returned to the clinic the next week though and our physician was able to talk with her momma about how important it was to take Natacha to this hospital and how this was a place that would take excellent care of her daughter.  The last time I saw Natacha and her mother I felt so overwhelmed at all the obstacles that stood in between them getting to this hospital for the surgery.  This little girl has been on my heart for almost a year now and I have prayed for her daily.  On Monday I was completely surprised when I saw Natacha in the clinic!  I quickly gave her mom a hug and then of course asked her all sorts of questions about how they were doing.  I found out that her mother took her to the hospital we told them about and that they were able to do the surgery.  Her mother said they had no problems with the surgery and that Natacha was doing great.  Natacha was full of smiles and even let me hold her for a minute- she's a momma's girl!  I love that I was able to see them again and that I was able to see this prayer answered.  

Natacha Feb. 2013

Natacha and her mom- March 2012

Natacha- March 2012

To read the first blog entry about Natacha click below:

http://brookesmalley.blogspot.com/2012/03/letting-go.html

little miracles

Bedtchina, Bedjine, and Benardia with mom and dad.

"People see God everyday, they just don't recognize Him."

~Pearl Bailey

One of my favorite parts about working in the clinic is getting to talk with the mothers and their little kiddos.  I love how proud most of the mothers are and how much pride they take in their children.  A few weeks ago I was talking to one of the mothers and at some point in the story she shared that she had three little girls that were all one year old.  This mother was older than most of the mommas with little babes so I was sure that I either misunderstood her or that she worked in a children's home.  I asked her over and over how old the other two children were in her home--and each time she answered that they were all born on the same day.  I asked her if they were her grandchildren because then it would be possible to have three the same age- but the answer was no. I could not come up with the word for triplets so I finally said you were pregnant for twins but really had three?  She laughed and said yes, she had triplet girls at the age of 39.  Her other children are older and when she found out she was pregnant she had an ultrasound that revealed she was pregnant for twins.  It wasn't until she delivered the "twins" that she realized she was actually pregnant for triplets.  And the best part- she delivered the girls in her home up in the mountain.  For the rest of the day in the clinic I couldn't stop thinking about just how much of a miracle this birth was.  The fact that all three girls survived the pregnancy and delivery is a miracle--but they also made it to their first birthday.  Love the testimony this mother has and the story the girls will be able to share one day- I have a feeling God has some pretty big things in store for them!