Haiti Snapshots

After several weeks of deliberation on how to proceed with this blog post, I have come to the conclusion that at this time, I only have the emotional capacity to post a snapshot of my experience In Haiti. Truly, with only 8 days in country, I experienced only a snapshot of Haiti myself....there is so much more to know and understand about the people, culture, and landscape.  So I am going to give you some literal snapshots (mostly taken by my teammate, Mark Short) and brief descriptions. I may share more detailed thoughts in later posts.  If you want more details now, call me - we’ll have coffee or lunch and I will elaborate. 

Port-au-Price. It really is as devastated as it looks. 

 Many people in the city live in tent camps like this one:

The 66 acre Global Outreach mission compound where we stayed. Really nice facilities and grounds. Since the earthquake, Samaritan's Purse has been occupying a section of the compound for their medical personnel and supplies.

In and around Titanyen, the village we were staying near:

One of the houses we painted & some precious children who lived there or nearby:

Their kitchen

Our work truck

 A children's program up in a mountain village. Their teacher taught them the story of Jesus feeding the 5000; they sang songs like "Allelu, Allelu, Allelu, Allelua, glwa a Senye (Praise ye the Lord)"; and played games. 

This man sat under a tree and listened to the gospel on the Proclaimer that we brought, an audio Creole new testament powered by solar and hand crank. In a mostly illiterate country, these can make a huge impact.

Although no one really knows how many died in the earthquake, the mass grave is said to have approximately 230,000 buried there.

This is a school, sponsored by Global Outreach, in Titanyen:

our team

 

My beautiful grandmother has finished the race

Imogene Stewart Brock
June 5, 1925 - April 7, 2011

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing"  2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sacred June Post

My sister did a nice post about me and Jacob's band, Sacred June. Check it out here.

The Room for the Bed

My bedroom is now officially a bed room....I mean, the bed is actually taking up most of the room. So it is literally a room for the bed. But I am so happy and comfortable with my new king-sized Tempurpedic bed. For our almost 7 years of marriage, we have been sleeping on a full size bed that I used when I still lived with my parents. I have thought all this time that waking up multiple times in the night whenever Jacob moved was just a part of this thing called "sleeping in the same bed with someone else". It was all I knew....until now. Now I enjoy a bed on which apparently you can place a bottle of wine on one side and jump on the other side and the wine won't knock over. I haven't done this experiment, but I believe it's true! I have had wonderful sleep. In fact, just writing about it makes me want to go get in the bed.

A time for everything...

Do you ever wonder, "When the heck am I going to have time to....

...finish painting the wall...

...hang that picture...

...put the doors on the cabinet....

....sow up the hole in Jacob's jeans....

....make new curtains for the bedroom...

....find a place for all those shoes...

and re-pot the plant that desperately needs nourishment?"

Yeah, I wonder that sometimes too.

Celebrity Chickens

My neighbor, Ashley, works in film production. She works on all kind of projects from movies to reality television shows. Today she was working on a TV ad campaign for Tractor Supply Co. Apparently Tractor Supply is promoting their backyard chicken accessories. In order to properly recommend their range of accessories, they wanted to film urban backyard chickens. Ashly [brilliantly] suggested our chickens as urban animal candidates and she, the camera operator and the client were soon in my backyard filming.

Roberta gave them some nice shots as she piddled around in the nests, anxious to lay her egg, but feeling a bit unsettled by all the attention. Overall though, her performance, as well as the others' performances were exceptional, might I even say, inspiring. We'll see about the 2011 Oscar nominations.

Click Here to read an older blog entry about our chickens, if you're interested in learning about them.

Protect Christians in Iraq

Please take a moment to sign a petition to Secretary of State Clinton asking her to work with the Iraqi government to immediately form and implement a comprehensive plan of action to protect the dwindling community of Christians in Iraq.

The number of Christians in Iraq has decreased from an estimated 850,000 in 1991 to 330,000 today. Thousands have fled Iraq and now reside as impoverished refugees in Syria and Jordan. Of the Christians that remain in Iraq, more than half are internally displaced due to violence and constant threats against them by Islamic extremists. 

Violence against Christians in Iraq has rapidly escalated this past year including a bomb attack on three buses carrying Christian students in May 2010, the siege against Our Lady of Salvation Cathedral in Baghdad in which 58 were killed in October 2010, and also the murder of an elderly Christian couple on December 30th who were killed by a bomb left in front of their house. 

The Iraqi government clearly has not made protection of Christians in Iraq a priority. The U.S. government needs to strongly encourage and work with the Iraqi government to protect Christians and other religious minorities before they are all driven out of Iraq. History continues to demonstrate that where religious freedom flourishes, stable democracies, strong economies, and healthy societies develop. Considering the immense financial commitment the US has made in Iraq and the tragic loss of American and Iraqi lives, it is imperative that we hold both the US and Iraqi governments accountable to ensure religious freedom for all people in Iraq!

To accomplish this we are asking that you sign a petition to Secretary of State Clinton raising these concerns. Please share this petition with your friends and family. The more signatures we gather, the greater influence we will have on our current administration in prioritizing the protection of vulnerable Christians in Iraq.

Beware the Dentist

Yes, I realize that there is a stigma against dentists - usually stemming from a fear of needles going in one's mouth, one's teeth being pulled, etc. But with modern techniques (i.e. anesthetics), being afraid to go to the dentist is, for many, a thing of the past - unless you have a fear of lock jaw from keeping your mouth open too long. I'm sorry to reintroduce a concern involving dentists, but this story must be told so as to save you, my friends, from undue unrest.

About a year and a half ago, I came across an ad for $45 x-rays, exam and cleaning at a local Nashville dentists. With this incentive and since I had not been to the dentist in 5 years, I thought it was about time to go. I arrived for my appointment and everything seemed normal. The office was full of people and the hygienist was overly nice and complimentary about my set of teeth. I thought things were going splendidly and that I would soon be on my way with my pink toothbrush and mini dental floss tucked under my arm. Then the doctor came in to go over my x-rays and prick my gums. From the tone of his "hmmm" s and the fake smile on his face, I knew I was in for some bad news.

I was told that I had gums disease and that I had 4 cavities. I was truly surprised! Granted I had not been to the dentist in a while, but this was the last report that I expected. One cavity wouldn't have surprised me, but 4?! The dentist prepared a cost estimate for "deep cleaning" that they advised must be done as soon as possible for the sake of my bleeding gums and the 4 cavities. Something didn't sit well with me. Not only was it a very expensive estimate, but when I started asking questions, four people from the office (the hygienist, two doctors and the receptionist) all gathered around my chair to try to convince me that I needed to schedule this work as soon as possible or I was compromising my oral health. I was frankly so taken aback that I left the office and did not schedule another appointment with them.

Not only did I not schedule an appointment with them, I didn't do anything for a year and half....which takes us to the present. Last week I scheduled a dental appointment at a different dentist and as I had been told (a year and a half ago) that I had cavities, I expected the dentist to find cavities. Wouldn't one expect that? Well, It turns out that my gums are perfectly healthy and I have zero cavities....zero...none...nada!!!

You can really imagine my surprise and my gladness with the present dentists and my disgust with the dentist that tried to scam me. Can you imagine all of the people that have been told that they have  multiple cavities by this dentist - and had their perfectly healthy teeth drilled and filled? It's disgusting. How do I get in touch with Channel 5 News? Maybe I will do an undercover story....

Anyway, all that to say that if you discern that a dentist may not be telling you the truth, get a second opinion. It could save you lots of money and your pearly whites. The hygienist at this new dentist told me to beware of group dental practices and opt for private practices instead. She said that there is actually quite a bit of dishonest activity taking place in those offices.

Ornaments

This year, I made ornaments for various family members. Here they are in progress and then the final product. (Jacob cut them out for me)

It's no project runway...

Last week, my husband and I attended the Mercy Ministries Christmas Benefit. Fancy events are not a norm in my household, so I had to spend some time shopping for an appropriate outfit. I am beyond picky about my clothing purchases, so I started looking early - trying to prevent last year's debacle of rummaging through my closet at the last minute and "having nothing to wear." This year I found a dress (1/2 off, I might add) and being a sleeveless dress in wintertime (why can't one find any long-sleeved non-matronly dresses?) I had to find something to go with it that would keep me warm. So I trucked out to Target and found this jacket on clearance. ( I forgot to get a picture, so this one is from T's website).

Although I was thrilled to find a fancy looking jacket, I was not quite what I had in mind. So I took it home and altered it into a shrug. I am no seamstress, believe me. My sowing skills are limited to a very basic seam. But the faux fur of this jacket allowed me to get away with a lot. Here is the final version:

 

and I made the bag with material cut off of the jacket.

Overall, it was a very successful evening, for me and hopefully for Mercy Ministries.