Long time...

Hello

I don't even want to look at the date when I sent my last blog. I apologize for the long time. Things have been extremely busy and I guess my focus has been elsewhere. I promise I will try to do better next time.

Here's a little recap on the last couple months.

May: We had 3 teams in. First an electrical team that started redoing the wiring at Canaan (much needed). That is a big project and of course they couldn't do all. Then we had a team of hard workers come from Colorado. These guys started digging the big cistern for water on top of our hill behind us. That is an extremely difficult job, as you have to dig and pick at rocks. We're still having guys digging but the rain and mud in it are holding up the progress. Then a family from my church in northern BC and friends of theirs came. They're also electricians and they wired the new clinic (YEAAA!!) They worked hard and probably did the wiring in about 2-3 days, but we're in Haiti so they had to go into Port a couple times for needed items. It was awesome to have them here.

June:

The 1st, we had 3 girls come to help with Mamba and whatever - Morgan stayed a month, Chelsea 6 weeks, and Jessica 2 months. They have been a big blessing.

On the 1st we also got a team that came for a week to do VBS with the kids.

The day they left, another team came for a week. There's always lots to do here.

The day they left, the ACE group leaders came. A couple days later, 50 more people came. They are from the ACE school that we use, and they were busy working on redoing all the school desks and making large bulletin boards. I was amazed how well it worked, hosting so many extra people. They had great leadership and direction.

One thing that happened that was monumental, and not so nice for Canaan was that Marcus and Bobi left. With Bobi expecting a baby, they decided to go home. They will be missed a lot, but we pray God's continued blessing on their lives as they settle back down in the US as a married couple to raise their family. Marcus was at Canaan for one school year, and Bobi was there for about 20 months.

We also had 3 med students plus Stephanie, a friend that is now a nurse practitioner for a week. They were kept busy at the clinic. We had many sick and challenging patients that week.

Caleb continues to be very much in the center of things when I'm not at the clinic. He is loved by everyone, and growing well. He is a happy little fellow. Even when he was sick with diarrhea, he remained cheerful - only less alert and energetic.

He captivates everyone's attention - even tourists from Mexico at the resort, which we enjoyed for the day.

During the time he was sick, one day he wouldn't eat, despite being so hungry. The nurse in me found a solution - syringe feeding him. He was happy with that.

We saw some really sick patients that week. This girl is almost five and was struggling with heart failure. The medicine we gave relieved her difficulty in the next 2 days and she is able to wait till our American pediatric cardiologist comes down in August. He'll give her a good check up. He brings his cardiogram machine.

This girl is 12, but more like a small 8 yr old. She's an orphan of several years, living with a now sick aunt. A friend brought her to our clinic. We found out she is HIV positive and got her admitted to the program in St Marc. Pray for her. She will need a lot of prayer and care to get her weight and health back. Right now she has a lung infection and who knows what else.

Another VERY sick baby we got is this 2 month old, in with a high fever. I was happy to have Stephanie there. Ismaylove, this baby, really came in this white (and she's a black baby). We found out she had malaria - the youngest I've ever seen with it. She was dehydrated and very weak, and feverish - too dehydrated to get an IV in, so we just made sure she got other fluids. We were able to get one in the next day. Because the mother came from hours up the mountain, we kept them in our dorm for kids for two nights. We didn't feel comfortable the way she was doing so Stephanie and I took her to the University of Miami field hospital in Port au Prince. Her hemoglobin was 3.4 (it should be minimum 9 or 10 for that age). No wonder she was so pale!!!! They got blood from the mother and one other person and gave her a blood transfusion.

This is the next day, post the transfusion. What an amazing difference. She's still doing ok. (These picture colors are true to life!)

Remember the Kwash kids that came in one of my last blogs? At least, I think I blogged about them. Here they are. They're almost 3 years old. This is SEVERE malnutrition. The boy was already swollen all over and the girl starting, up to her knees. We got them going on the mamba program pronto....

Before and after pictures. This took only 8 weeks!!!

One unexpected blessing I received this month was that my Uncle Henry and his son Glenn came to visit me for a few days. That was special!!!!

Also Joel Busby and 2 of his friends came for a few days.

Then on July 9, I flew to Miami. It's such a contrast. I found I had to do some adjusting yet. But that's probably easier then the other way. We had a great couple days in a meeting with some of the key people working for Canaan, reviewing and strategizing, and prioritizing.

July 11 I flew home for 2 weeks. Home for me this time is in Costa Rica. I'm loving it and getting rest (and I'm wearing a sweater a lot). I hadn't realized how tired I was till I got here. Naps, not doing anything, bowling, Pizza Hut..... Time's flying. The one big negative though, is I miss my baby, but I know he's in good hands, thanks to Jessica and Naomi and all the Canaan people that love him!

OK, I better end this. I'm hoping with lots of pictures, you'll forget how long it's been since I wrote. lol

God bless you all!!

Elsie

Container

Many of you have expressed desire to help fill a container for Canaan. We appreciate this very much. Below we have compiled a list of stuff we need. There are probably things we haven’t mentioned.

We realize shipping costs a lot too, so if you prefer to donate money, we can buy it in West Palm Beach. In that case you can send the money to Chris Hlavacek, making a note what it's for. His address is on our website: www.canaanorphanage.org.

We have the warehouse till the first days in June, so please have everything there for the container by June 1^st. Jeremy is receiving the smaller items in his home and the bigger things at his church.

Address for smaller items:

Jeremy Hopple/Canaan

1714 17^th Lane

Palm Beach Gardens, FL, 33418

The address to send the big stuff to is:

Jog Road Baptist Church


855 Jog Road
West

Palm Beach, FL 33415


Plywood (2x4, 3/4, 3/8, 4x4 - all sizes)

Wood for Cupboards/shelves and supports for shelves

Unfinished wood for construction

Several corke boards and push pins

Tin

Pipes

Latrines

Water and oil based paint

Paint brushes and rollers

Electrical wires (#2, 6, 10, 12)

Outside/patio furniture (all weather)

Kitchen sink

Bathroom sinks

Microwave

Paintings (for wall decoration)

Christmas lights

Ice cream maker (electric or hand held)

Washers

Concrete mixer

Block making machine

Cutter sander router

Air compressor with accessories

Air nails and air gun

Regular and concrete nails

Ladders

Wheelbarrow

Rakes

Shovels

Pick Axe

Door locks with handles

Hand tools (hammer, levels, screwdrivers, wrenches, saw)

Electric rebar cutter

Power tools

Power tool accessories

Drills, saws, grinders

Circular saw

Cordless drills

Table saws

Windows and screens

Welder with gasoline motor

Mechanical tools (wrench, screwdriver, vice grips, pliers, etc etc)

Doors - hospital doors (we need 12, sizes 36x80 inches)

Musical instruments (trumpet, saxophone, flute, guitar, drums)

P.A. system

Chairs

Folding tables

Folding chairs

Coffee tables

Mattresses/beds

Single bedspreads

fans

furniture (couches)

nursery outfit (changing table, dresser, 2 high chairs etc)

Desks

New or good used T.V. (3-5)

Plastic

drawers (rubber maid)

Refrigerators

freezer – 2 big ones

Commercial oven

Water coolers 7-10

Baking pans (bread, cookies, muffin, cake)

Serving trays

50 gallons drums

Canned goods: vegetables (not hominy), Tomatoe paste, Meats

Wedding dresses and suits of all adult sizes

Cubic zirconium rings

(These are for us to lend to other churches (esp Eben-ezer churches) in order to encourage them to get married rather than live together. Many don’t get married simply because of the cost of a wedding)

Other things for Clinic:

Desks, chairs, fans, filing cabinets!!,

For others: (The people are starting from scratch)

household stuff like:

pots, pans, dishes, utensils/cutlery, sheets, pillows, towels, bathroom stuff

Daycare – we want to set up a daycare , so anything that would go with that.

- Please ask if you need explanation

Volunteer needs:

We have a lot of openings and needs for people who would want and be able to dedicate at least a year of service in Haiti.

-Agricultural person

-Repair and Maintenance

-Trade school teaching

-School teaching

-Medical/Midwifery

Warehouse

Tuesday

OK, this has been awhile. In a way, it felt like not so much was happening to write about but at the same time, we're always busy doing this and that.

Today was Mamba day, and I like to be at the clinic more, since we have more sick kids come in - often some really malnourished ones. One that was hard to see was a 2 month old baby, 2 days younger than Caleb. He weighs about 1 kg (2 lbs). The mom is breastfeeding but only like once a day. She doesn't eat well enough to feel good herself. She does have milk, and I spent some time encouraging and training her on feeding. The poor baby has been losing a lot of weight since birth, instead of gaining.

More and more, I see the BIG need for a women and children's hospital. We have GOT to start one. This baby should be under constant care. Any partners with me for that??? In the next month I want to go visit 3 places in Haiti. One is 1 1/2 hrs north of us. They have a training program that teaches moms how and what to cook cheaply for their families. They have also trained community midwives. Another one is a mission in Port that does pre and post Delivery care and teachig to ladies. They feed them high protein foods on their weekly visits. The other is farther away from here - half way to Cap Haitian on the other route. Talking with a doctor who has been going there for many years, he was saying the community training that they've done there has resulted in the lowest mortality rate for kids in the whole country. Worth looking at.

Last night we celebrated Gladys Mecklembourg's birthday. Gave the kids a chance to decorate and the women a chance to cook a nice meal for everyone. The kids idea of entertainment was to do parades - kind of like a runway show and dance mixed together. It was hilarious. Funny how inhibitions fly out the window when doing that.

Naomi made a beautiful (and delicious chocolate) basket cake for her. A lot of people really thought the cake was sitting in a basket, so they were a little surprised that when they touched it, it was frosting.

I've been working many hours organizing my medical storage room. Bobi helped me a few days as well.

I'd put Caleb in is basket outside, but the sun moved so fast, he got really sweaty one day, poor thing.

Or he'd help me inside.

A guy named Don built me shelves so that has helped. It's fun looking for stuff now. Of course not everything was quite in it's place and now yesterday I got another truckload full of stuff (actually 3 small truckloads) so now I need a ton of hours again. But I'm so thankful for it, I'm not complaining. Only wanting the job done!

Gladys and Henri are working on getting a certificate or something from the Cult Department (which simly means Religious) and they've had some great contacts. It's something like getting an NGO status without all the paper work and close supervision. We should be able to bring stuff in duty free (not vehicles, though) which would be a great help. So we are now collecting things in West Palm Beach to fill a container. We have a guy that's offered to take the stuff to the warehouse, so he's accepting things in his home for us. Big things though have to be shipped elsewhere. I will include his address.

Besides for Canaan, we are also collecting things to build houses for other people. Many have asked what kind of things they can send. Here are some things, though not nearly exclusive. :) Things don't have to be new, but please, in good shape.

For Canaan:

Wood, tools, fridges, freezer, furniture (couch/chairs, ), nursery outfit (changing table, swing sets, etc), windows,

For Clinic:

Desks, chairs, fans, filing cabinets!!, fold up tables and chairs, wood for cabinets/desks, fridges (staff and Lab),

For others: Wood, tin, nails, household stuff like pots, pans, utensils, sheeets, pillows, etc. The people are starting from scratch.

Friday

OK, this didn't get posted because I gave up on the above list and wanted to talk to Sister Gladys about it. However, she's been either in Port or not feeling well, so haven't had the chance. Bobi and I will try to come up with a list this weekend that should help all of you asking out. Sorry about this! I know many of you have been frustrated!!!! So have we; if you've been to Haiti, remember we're in Haiti :(

I will include the shipping address here but remember it's for smaller items that can go into Jeremy's home till he can transport it to the warehouse. Thanks so much, everyone!!!

Jeremy Hopple/Canaan

1714 17^th Lane

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33418

Phone: 561-317-3355

Kids,,

Time is going so fast - It's two weeks since Maralucia came to join our group. She has gained very well - gone from 3.5 kilos to 4.6 kg. That's about 2 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks. Her ribs aren't showing anymore, and her legs don't have loose skin hanging off. And she's only on normal formula. Amazing what enough of it can do.

Caleb is also doing excellent, gaining well, and tightening his fingers around my heart. Please, nobody think of adopting him because I don't think I'd be able to let him go.

Sat. we went to the resort and I introduced him to the ocean and pool. OK, a bit early (he needed a bath anyway) so I'll wait for the next time till he at least enjoys his baths.

Then today Caleb's aunt, who brought him here, came. I was glad to talk with her. Apparently his mom didn't die the day he was born but a week later. When I asked her why she had died, she said she died from hunger. I think I need a better history. She was happy to see Caleb so well, and also likes the name we gave him. She's a Christian, and knew the story of Caleb in the Bible. She has 20 people living in her house - refugees from Port, so we've been giving her food and stuff for them. She's not from the mountains like we thought, but outside of Montrouis.

Last Tuesday a couple came to the clinic with their twins - in July they'll be 3. I think the boy is one of the worst cases of Kwashiorkor that I've seen. He was swollen from top to bottom. Even the back of his head was cushiony, his eyes almost swollen shut, his genitals huge. His twin sister was swollen from feet to knees, and the rest of her as skinny as can be. I was worried about them, and being they're from 4 hours walking away, I arranged for them to stay at our convalescence dorm so we could keep an eye on them. The dad went home the next day and brought the other two children - a 4 and 6 year old.

This has born in me another vision. Since we're in the middle of getting a "tent village/field hospital" going, we're going to keep some tents for families that have severely malnourished kids or that are from really far away that need it desperately. Or other patients that just need to be kept in observation for a bit. We've quite often gotten kids that I really hate to send home, because who knows what will happen. Or kids that aren't doing well - we can keep them for awhile to see if they're sick, or if others eat it.

On Thursday we went up to Ivoire again. We have to get the malnourish kids there. So far we've mostly seen the sick ones. I think we easily saw 50-70 kids. We have a PA (Physician Assistent) here for almost 2 week, so there were two of us seeing patients. We're going to start going every other week.

This already feels like top of the mountain.

Today we got a visit from someone in Cross International (they're one of Canaan's biggest supporters). He told us about a pastor he knows that came to visit, went home and moved down here two years ago. He's in Gonaive - the city devastated by two hurricanes in the last 8 years or so. People that left after that and went to Port are now returning after the earthquake. (What's that - reversed refugee status?). Anyway, this guy is in the poorest of poor of Haiti. Even the Haitian with him when they went to visit was amazed that that existed in Haiti. So next week the 7th we plan to go visit - they were asking about starting the Mamba program there. It's 2 hours north of here. This pastor apparently is attending to all the needs of the village - medical, starting a school, etc, and he's doing this on his own, without a lot of support in any way. We'll be able to give a better report after having been there, but pray for them there and us to know how best to help. They said even 12 year old boys were running around naked because they don't have clothes.

This week Canaan is busy! It's the week of their 19th anniversary, and they make a 3 day celebration of it. They have a day/meal for the church people. Usually they invite a lot of people from churches. This year for one meal they're inviting the refugees in the area.

Maralucia

I tell you, the last two years of my life don't represent my life of the past at all. Who am I anyway? Sometimes I look at what is happening around me, and I just shake my head. As little as less than 3 years ago, this kind of life wasn't even in my imaginations. What God does to bring one to the place where he wants us! Why do we fight it so much? Reminds me of one of these "forwards" that get sent around. "A Piece of Cake". It was a story of a girl that was complaining of all the bad things happening to her. Her mother, making a cake, responded by saying "Do you like my cakes?" "Yes, of course." "Here, have some oil" the mother said. "Yuck!" Then have some flour". "Gross". Have some baking powder". "That's horrible". Her mom told her that's how God works with us. "Individual circumstances may not be pleasant but the whole becomes a delicious cake!

Today has been an eventful day again. (As always, didn't do what I planned, which was make walking space in my medicine storage!). It was a "baby" day today - good and bad. I went down to the clinic; since it was Mamba day, I did plan to stay longer because we often get other sick ones too, or babies that come for milk, etc. The good thing was, I saw two babies that I had been wondering what was happening to them. One started coming a year ago, weighing 2 kilos (4.4 pounds). I couldn't recall her coming back, so thought maybe she had died. But she was there today, over a year old, with excellent weight. I don't see the kids every time they come. Another baby started coming about 3 or 4 months ago, weighing 1.8 kilos (3.9 pounds). She was in today, beautiful weight, almost chubby. Thanks for all that have donated milk for babies!!! Right now I'm blessed! Don't know where all the milk comes from, but I've had a good supply the last while.

The case that was sad was Maralucia. (They say it more like Malusia). She's 5 months old, born October 11, 2009. They don't know who her dad is. A cousin, Ketia, brought her. She said her mom is "crazy" and can't take care of her. She hasn't been around since birth. Maralucia was VERY dehydrated, VERY malnourished, and VERY feverish (103 F). A sick baby! Almost right away Ketia asked if we could take her. That always kind of pulls on my heart. "Can you please take my kid?" Of course, this was the cousin, not the mother. So we started moving, and one of the guys here took them to the judge to explain the situation and he made up a paper giving Canaan the guardianship. The fever was even higher when they came back, but it finally came down in the afternoon, and is still down. THANKFULLY. I was getting a little concerned. She's a good eater - takes her milk well. In fact, in the beginning she was like a little bird - couldn't swallow fast enough and the tongue was out all the time.

So now we have another baby here at Canaan. She weighs less then Caleb right now - same as he did when he came, and is much taller, so obviously thinner. Caleb looks so nice and healthy compared to her, but I trust it won't be long and she'll be putting on some nice weight. I love watching the pounds come on. I'm going to watch her - maybe both, tonight because of her fever, but we'll now have to decide what to do. Guess we'll need to hire someone just to take care of the babies.

So please pray for Maralucia's health. I did a malaria and HIV test and both are negative.

God bless you!!

Elsie

Our two little ones - almost the same weight. Hopefully Maralucia will soon speed ahead, since she's 4 months older.

Caleb

My favourite outfit - "Born to Explore" - my kind of guy

!

Time at the beach that I wrote about last time.

Medical Team

A quick update, since this is a very busy week. We have 18 people on a medical team here, as well as friend Karen K., and Davey and Lazar (the Jewish soldier who was here last month too).

Yesterday we set up a canopy tent and had 6 doctors seeing patients, with Dr Tony rotating. He brought his Cardio machine, and used it quite a bit. It seemed this time we came across a lot of heart problem people. Good thing he's here.

Today I took a truckload of people up the mountains again - same place I went a few weeks ago. They're really an amazing people. I love their friendliness, and the leaders' hearts for the people. It is such a climb up the mountains. We were 15 people, plus our medicines. It was quite a load and quite a few times going up I had everybody get up and walk a bit because some sections of the road were so bad. It's pretty steep and I think some were a little afraid, but all enjoyed the adventure.

First person we saw was MigaRose' mother - the girl I took down to the hospital last time. She passed away the monday after. Now she there's the 2 month old baby. They want us to take him. I think as soon as we can contact the dad (who doesn't take care of him) we probably will. He is a beautiful baby.

We saw over 100 people today. There were a lot more that came. Some we ended up just quickly seeing and we gave all a worm pill. As we were ready to leave, the leaders begged us to come set up a regular clinic. I can imagine it happening but not for awhile I'm afraid. On the other hand, you never know.

We had some pretty sick people. So many people are coming down with malaria. The sickest patient was a 6 yr old boy Gibson (probably not spelled right). He was very swollen and has a strong heart murmer. We were so full we couldn't even take one more person (we're not Haitian I gues) so we told the dad we'd take the boy down since he could sit on a lap, and the dad could leave before we did, walking and meet us down. We did that. Dr Tony did an Echo on his heart right away and it doesn't look good. We took him to Pierre Payen but he needs more help than they can give him. Please pray for him. He's so cute and young.

This is the second heart patient we sent over this week. The other lady (28 yr old, mother of two) passed away on Tuesday - too late for her heart.

Those of us here last Sat took the day off and spent it at the beach, but I think I'm gonna need another day out after this week.

The good thing is we've had plenty babysitters for Caleb. The bad thing is, he's getting spoiled. But he is so adorable. Nobody can help but love him.

I was gonna post pictures again but it doesn't want to upload, so another time. It's bedtime and Caleb is hungry!

Caleb

Hi

It's not been a week since I wrote, but my life took a little path out of the norm. What a life, living the kind where you never know what will happen. Now I'm a temporary mama ! I want to introduce you to Caleb.

Caleb was born Feb 13, 2010. He never met his dad - he died in the earthquake. His mom left Port au Prince and went up into the mountains, where she had some family. After she gave birth, she too died. His aunt took care of him for almost 2 weeks, but couldn't continue, so after talking to one of my nurses from Montrouis, she came to Canaan, asking them to take the baby.

At 2 weeks he weighs 3.5 kg (about 7.5 lbs.). There was some discussion on who would take care of Caleb (who at the time didn't have a name yet- me and the other missionaries named him. The name just somehow fit). Right now we're a bit short on steady staff for a baby, and I don't like the idea of a baby being taken care of so many people. So now, Naomi and I are taking care of him. Since she is leaving next month, I'm kind of the mama for him. Naomi is able to take care of him a little better during the day, and we share the nights (I'm glad she's here). He's still waking up frequently, although last night he slept for almost 4 hours. Yea!!! During the day, he sleeps. A lot! We try to keep him up sometime so he'll sleep at night. Basically the only time he cries is from 9-12 p.m.

I realize this is going to make me even more busy. I don't see my whole way through yet, but it'll work out. You may hear from me even less.

Chris Hlavecek was Caleb's fairy godmother (or rather godfather). Since he was coming Monday, I had a day to write him and ask him for some baby stuff. He spread some of it around and they brought a lot of stuff, including the above top of the line carrier. That's a better one than I'd probably ever have bought for myself. It was like having a baby shower! Clothes (needed because we had him in girl clothes), diapers and diaper bag, wipes, good baby monitors (that reach 2000 ft), playpen/crib, bottles, etc etc.

This week we have a team of 17 here. There are three nurses in the team. Besides them, there were two nurses that came at the same time that were actually scheduled to go to the hospital, but because of flight changes and all, ended up here (though they might still work out of PP), so the last two days I've had 5 nurses helping at the clinic. Cool! Today we saw 60 patients, plus about 30 Mamba kids. BUSY! But good.

One case that was bad today was a 12 yr with STD. Forced to sleep with another young girl by a neighbor man, and him watching. You can imagine the rest. What do I do with THAT? And his 9 yr old brother had similar symptoms.

Here's a prayer request: Chris Hlavacek was contacted today by a pastor, who apparently is or has people at another orphanage in Montrouis here. They have the rig to dig wells and wondered about doing one for us. We need that SOOOO badly. Pray that things will work out.

And continue praying for me, that in my schedule I won't leave behind things I need to do. Sometimes I feel like there's always something I should be doing that I didn't. And pray that I can learn to be an instant mom :) It's not hard right now - eat, sleep, cuddle, but the teaching later on is a little different.

Think he'll turn into a computer wiz, if he sleeps beside me while I work? He sleeps anywhere....

So while I was at work, Naomi settled him on the counter in the cafeteria, while she did baking class with the kids. I hope he'll be a flexible kid!

OK, time to settle in for the night. It's my night off from babysitting so I should sleep well. I can see my life already rotating around Caleb. I'm a little concerned about getting too attached to him.

Till later!

Elsie