pretend play!

Every afternoon the children let me know that they will walk me to the road.  This is a big deal because only the children who are "big" enough to behave, not cry, and walk back by themselves are allowed to come on this adventure.  One of the new favorite games the kids like to play on the road is a sleeping game.  As soon as we leave the fence the children let me know that they are going to sleep on the road, to which I'm supposed to get all upset and let them know that they are NOT allowed to sleep on the road.  They tease back and forth and quickly run ahead of me.  It's my job to "stumble" upon this group of sleeping children who are sprawled out on the ground.  I typically stand over them remarking at how loudly they are breathing and snoring.  I question if I should wake them or leave them to sleep there on the ground for the entire night.  Before long it's my job to yell "leve, leve, leve" so the kids can jump up while screaming as loudly as they possibly can to let me know that they are now awake!  They then rush ahead of me once again to "sleep" on the road one more time before it's time for them to  give me kisses and return home.  This has literally become a favorite activity for the kids and something that we all enjoy.  There is honestly nothing cuter than watching them pretend to sleep and hold as still as they possibly can while I'm standing over them.

The "sleeping" children=)

the church

I was recently asked to share my thoughts on how I saw God or on what was impactful to me during church service.  Most Sunday's it's easy for me to get lost in the brokenness that is literally right in front of me.  A majority of the people who come to church on campus also come through our clinic for medical care. It's often hard for me to turn off the nursing side of my brain and to simply "be" in the church.  To not be in the service for work but rather for worship.  Life here is hard and when you realize the reality of life, it can at times just seem hopeless.

I sat and watched as a young girl raised her hands in worship.  This girl has always seemed to have a hardened heart.  She is rougher than others and yet for some unknown reason she is special to me.  She is the only believer in her home and I know that choosing to follow Christ hasn't been an easy choice for her.  Just a few months ago I sat with her after telling her that the exam was positive.  She was pregnant.  I sat and watched as her face was hardened to even hearing those words.  Her life was already difficult and would now be even harder.  And yet, I've watched as the people of the church have surrounded her.  They have pushed her and yet still loved her.  I've heard many tell her that she will return to school and that she will work hard in order to provide for the baby that is to come.  Many have walked the same path and they know what is ahead for her.  And yet they still love her.  She comes into the church building broken and yet watching her pursue her relationship with Christ is humbling.  By no means does she have it all figured out but she is there, sitting on the bench with her arms lifted high.

I watched as a woman made space next to her for some of my friends to sit.  That one action pretty much sums up this momma.  She is a servant through and through.  She who by the worlds standards literally has nothing, and yet still gives absolutely everything.  This woman has turned everything I thought I believed upside down.  She doesn't just "talk the talk" rather she lives it.  And yet, if you were to hear her story and to know the details of her life you would think it is all hopeless.  I've cried with and for this momma and her family more times than I could even count.  She has never asked for anything she didn't actually need and has always freely given to me.  She is an amazing mother who fights for her children, all seven of them.  Today, during offering this mother pulled out her portion to be placed in the box.  This mother who doesn't have the money to provide for her family today is still living with palms wide open.  What is hers, is His.  And she truly knows that He will provide.  That is how she lives each and every moment.  If you watch her worship you know that this is how this sweet momma breathes.

I sat and watched as our sweet mommy came walking into church.  She just giggles when you ask her age, because she really has no clue.  If wrinkles were an indication though you would for sure think she is really old.  In typical fashion, she was around 1 1/2 hours late for service.  She enters the church hot and out of breath from the long walk.  Because she walks in the hot sun around two miles just to get to church each and every Sunday.  She is quick to greet me with a kiss and hug and then she heads towards the front of the church to squeeze into an already over-crowded row.  Watching mommy worship is like getting a glimpse of what heaven will be like.  She praises the Lord with her arms lifted high and oh does she dance.  Her little frail body that can barely walk at times literally knows no limits when the music starts playing.  This sweet old woman doesn't have anything of earthly value and yet she is filled with the presence of the Lord.

You see, today I saw the face of God well before the sermon started.  I saw Him in the people of the church.  Our church has "official" services each Sunday and on multiple days during the week.  And yet those services are the smallest portion of what is really going on in our congregation.  The lives that each and every person in the church are living out is a true testament of their faith.  They are living and breathing their beliefs and that is something that impacts me more than could ever happen during one 3 hour church service.  The hope of so many isn't in today but rather in the eternal life that Christ offers.  And so, today during service I watched as so many of my friends chose to worship God.  They chose to worship Him, regardless of circumstance, in a way that was one hundred percent palms wide open and arms lifted high.

I am now an official resident of Haiti!  Today, after months of paperwork, I received my Permis de Sejour or my Haitian residency!  I don't know if Haiti will ever be able to get rid of me now:) 

three years

Photo taken September 2011
Ludia, Rose, and Natamara. 

Oh how things have changed in three years!  September 1st, 2011 seems like forever ago and yet in many ways it was just yesterday.  The last three years have been filled with lots of laughter and tears.  I love that I've gotten to live life in the village with these sweet (and mostly crazy) little ones.  I love that every afternoon my lap is never empty and that there is always a fight over who gets to be held next.  Learning what it takes to create relationships in another language and culture has been hard and honestly, really messy.  And yet, it has also been beautiful.  Through all the ups and downs, I am thankful that the Lord called me to move to Haiti three years ago today.  Haiti has become my home and the people here my family.  

Kris, Daniella, Rose, and Natamara!
Rose and Natamara are getting SO big! 

a long overdue update!

Leslee, Amy, myself, and Kayla with the kiddos!
They had no problems making friends in the village!

The summer months were a complete whirlwind of activity that left little extra free time.  I'm not sure how September is already just a few weeks away!  Once again our clinic was blessed to have four student nurses come to serve with us!  Carli, Lindsey, Amy, and Kayla are junior and senior level students that chose to leave their homes, families, and jobs to work in the clinic at NVM!  I loved watching as each of them truly jumped right into life here in Haiti.  They were quick to learn Creole and truly served each person they met well.  They learned some new nursing skills but even more importantly I loved watching them grow in their relationships with Christ.  I watched as they learned to combine their faith and nursing skills.  There were moments that truly humbled me as I watched them pray over different patients in the clinic.  They saw each person as more than just a diagnosis or clinical need.  Each of these young women made an impact in the lives of the patients they cared for and the children they spent every afternoon playing with.

Carli and Lindsey in the village!  

Another HUGE highlight of my summer was having my sisters, Mila and Yarley, come for a visit!  I love the moments when my Indiana family and Haiti family are together.  Watching my sisters play and love on all of my little friends was priceless.  I typically feel like I have two separate lives, one in Indiana and a completely different one in Haiti.  My Haiti family really doesn't know my Indiana family and vice versa.  It's in these rare moments when family comes to visit here that these lives get mixed.  I love to show off my kiddos and to watch as my family falls in love with the people and country of Haiti.  The children all loved getting to spend time with my sisters and are already excited for them to come back again!

Rose, Yarley, and Mykel

Mila and Dashline

Loved watching Aaron serve!  I've known him since the day he was born and felt
SO honored to watch as he pursued his relationship with Christ in such a real way. 

In July I had the opportunity to join Beaver Dam Church on a trip to Jacmel, Haiti.  Beaver Dam is the church I attended until I was in middle school.  This church has supported me financially, through prayer, they have hosted meals, collected multiple suitcases full of supplies for me, sent me encouraging notes, and so much more for the last three years.  This is a church that has truly loved me well.  I was honored to be asked to join the team as a guest for the week!  The week was packed full of activities and church services.  What impacted me the most was watching as this group of high school students pursued their faith.  It isn't easy to be a Christian as an adult, let alone a teenager in high school.  They asked lots of hard questions and they truly desired to know more.  I watched as Pastor Butch, Jim, Sue, and Rob invested into the lives of these students.  They encouraged the group daily and let them know that they were literally waiting for them to come and talk about absolutely anything.  The week spent in Haiti was just the beginning for this group of students.

The Beaver Dam Church team!

After the crazy of summer, Leslee and I were blessed with the opportunity to slip away for a little vacation in the Dominican Republic!  It was amazing to have some time to simply relax and to allow my brain to shut off for a few days.  Life here is pretty non-stop with projects or someone always needing something.  Having time away to just be was such a blessing.  Typically my "vacation" time is spent in Indiana where it is filled with trying to see all of my family, friends, and supporters.  Having a true vacation where there was no calendar filled with events, no cell phone service, and days filled with nothing but time by the pool was refueling.  

Attempting to work some of the energy out of the kiddos by
doing jumping jacks!  Clearly we need more practice=)

As amazing as relaxing by the pool was, it was pretty great to get back to Haiti to all of my little friends.  They were FULL of energy when Leslee and I arrived in the village to play.  I feel blessed to have had a summer full of meeting new people, time with my family, and time away to personally rest and refuel.  

Another way to use up some extra energy is to have the kiddos run races!
This is one of their favorite things to do!  

july newsletter!

Getting to take home school books at the end of
the year made for hours of fun!  

The July newsletter has finally been mailed!  Click on the link below for the web version of the newsletter.  Let me know (brookes_00@yahoo.com) if you would like to feel extra special and receive a copy in the mail!

 http://www.ministryupdates.org/smalley

And just in case you want to see more photos- click on the links below!  

(you do NOT need a Facebook account to see the pictures!)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151772100740831.1073741825.529825830&type=1&l=d2a7345c72

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151398640175831.535019.529825830&type=1&l=9bd9939164

kindergarten graduation!

Daniella is third in line.

Today was a really special day for one of my kiddos.  In Haiti kindergarten graduation is one of the biggest events celebrated and today was the BIG day for my sweet Daniella!  I'm still in awe at the progress she made this school year.  She started the year struggling and ended it knowing how to both read and write.  To say that I was proud today is a complete understatement.  It was all I could do to keep myself from crying during the entire ceremony.  She spent weeks rehearsing lines, dance routines, and songs.  Daniella has literally been counting down the hours and days until graduation and her party.  Several days ago she hinted to me that there would be Coke at her party.  She just wanted to make sure that I would drink some and that I would be able to come to her party.  Her family re-mudded their home and painted the door and window frames for the big event.  She knew that this week was all about celebrating her and oh did she enjoy each and every minute of it.  I am pretty sure she didn't sleep at all the entire week!  The ceremony was beautiful and the students did an amazing job.  After the ceremony Leslee and I headed to Chambrun to celebrate with a few of our friends.  It is a huge honor to be invited to a graduation party and we were pretty excited to celebrate with both Daniella and Lourie's families!  We ate some amazing Haitian food and got to meet lots of their family members.  Oh and the Coke at Daniella's was delicious.  I'm still in shock that my little Daniella is old enough to have graduated from kindergarten.  I am so proud of this sweet and spunky little girl though, and I love that I was able to celebrate with her today!

Daniella receiving her diploma!

Oh. SO. Proud.  

Lourie looking adorable!

Lourie's graduation feast!!

Daniella looked beautiful in her graduation dress!

Davidson was pretty proud of his big sister, Daniella.
He also LOVED the graduation coke!!

One of the best parts of graduation--gifts!
I'm not sure how long this doll will last!

creativity!

I love when I get to capture moments that show just how creative some of my little friends are.  They constantly amaze me with what they create out of what most people would see as "trash." Recently I was in the village when one of the boys walked over with his "guitar."  He was so proud to show me how he put it all together.  He used everything from an old plastic bottle, string, boards, a piece of rope, and random nails he found.  It took him days to find the right pieces to make his guitar. He was determined and in the end all his hard work truly paid off.  He was pretty proud when I asked if I could take his picture with the guitar!

an outhouse

One of the the things I love most about Haiti is that you can never know just what to expect.  Initially I thought I was coming to Haiti to serve the Haitians.  What I have found out though, is that they really are more of a blessing to me.  I find that the same is true with medical teams that come to serve with NVM.  The medical teams come prepared to assess and treat patients.  They prepare by having a lot of team meetings and packing suitcase after suitcase with the needed medications and supplies.  What I love is that the team has no idea what is truly ahead of them though.  Yes, the team will give excellent medical care.  And yes, they will treat infections and love on each of the patients.  What is really fun to watch though is how the community that the team is serving actually turns around and blesses the team.  It isn't uncommon for the community to give me a basket of whatever fruit is in season to say "thank you" for coming and serving.  It isn't uncommon for the team members to leave feeling very blessed by conversations had with patients.  Recently I took a team to Fond Cheval, a small village that is tucked away up in the mountain.  Fond Cheval is one of my favorite places to take medical teams.  The community has a lot of older people and everyone tends to be more laid back.  Recently as the team was unloading the truck the Pastor told me and another NVM staff member that he had something to show us.  He led us down this little path through the field where we ended up at a small cement structure.  He lifted a sleeping bag and I instantly realized that he was showing us a new outhouse that the community built for us and any of the visiting teams to use.  I was so very humbled in that moment.  He was so very proud to tell us that the teams no longer needed to squat behind a tree but rather there was a space set aside just for them.  He even showed us that there was a side for the boys and another for the girls.  He practically giggled when I asked if I could take pictures of the new outhouse.  As the day progressed, I loved watching the faces of each person in the community beam with pride each and every time they saw a team member walk towards the outhouse.  It has been a blessing to watch as the teams and community have learned to serve each other and as relationships have started to form.

A medical team running a mobile medical camp under
the huge avocado tree in Fond Cheval!  

haitian metal art

I love when I can buy things locally that support Haitians who are working hard to support their families.  There is a community nearby that creates art from steel drums.  The nurse side of me can't even comprehend how these men are able to create something so beautiful out of these barrels.  The barrels are by no means pretty!  I love knowing that because these men are working, they are able to better provide for their families.  I enjoy going to the metal market and watching as the men create everything from bracelets to beautiful pieces to be displayed on the wall.  I thought you would like seeing the steps that are involved in creating the metal art.  (Thanks to Tina our gift shop manager who researched all of this information!)

1~ To prepare the steel drums, the top and bottom must be cut off.  

The drums are then cut from top to bottom. 

2~The drums are then stuffed with dried plantain leaves and set on fire.  Setting the 

steel drums on fire helps to remove any pain and residue, thus, cleaning the drum.

3~ After the steel drums have cooled off they are then flattened by the 

men literally pushing on the them.

4~ After a lot of hard work the steel drums are completely flattened.

5~ The metal artist then begins to make his design on the metal drum surface.  

The artists make everything from beautiful wall decorations, bowls, 

chairs, and the list is endless.

6~ Using a hammer and chisel, the design is cut and the final details 

and textures are applied.

7~ After the deign is finished, the metal artists goes over the entire piece with a 

steel brush to clean and smooth the metal art.

8~ A sealant is then applied to the metal art to protect is from rusting.

9~ Some metal artists will also pain their metal art.

10~The final product!

Below are photos of some of the metal art I've purchased.