Busy Thursday

Casey (Licia and Lori's brother) is visiting for a week and brought a flip video with him for RHFH to use. It's awesome!!

This morning I woke up to this outside our gate... (warning: there's a shot of a woman with no shirt on because of medical purposes- all is shown). It is Thursday, so last day of clinic for the week and we must have had 200 people sleeping out side last night. This is over an hour before clinic opened... more people were arriving as I shot this.

I moved the 4 worst kids into a tent that I'm living in right next to the rest of the kids, so that they can get better rest and more isolated care. 2 of them are on IVs, and 2 are on feeding tubes. Keeping them hydrated is a full time job for everyone here. The 2 are kwash kids and not doing great, please pray for them. Darlens was really sick, but this morning seems to be getting better, and Stanley- a little boy who had been seizing gave me a high five when I rolled out of bed :)

heres a link to the Rescue Center blog for a tour of RHFH from Casey and a little video about Darlens:

http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/

A Letter to the Tectonic Plates of Haiti

Dear Plate Tectonics,

The people of Haiti have been living outside, in fear for over a month now. Please stop your party as it is causing continued disturbance upstairs and we are no longer able to sleep due to your late night after parties.... we understand it's in your nature to rock and roll but how about you retire- as you have gotten old.

Sincerely,

Haiti.

PS: I mentioned my dad is coming and he will be collecting certain supplies to bring out here which we need to move the kids into a house (YAY!) If you would like to help with these supplies, email my mom at kagstrom@surewest.net and she will let you know where they are at and their needs for that. THANKS!

PS:

My dad is coming to Haiti in one week... 7 days... counting :)

I'm excited!

He will be here with some other guys who have been to RHFH before helping move all the kids into a house down the street. Praise God! We are busily working to prepare for that as there are 5,393,981,159 things that need to be done for that to happen. Licia and Caroline left the day before yesterday and they are missed... a lot. Licia is with her boys in Seattle and Casey (their Uncle) is at Walmart stocking up on supplies for his trip out here on Monday! Pray this time is relaxing as it's a much needed break for one of the hardest working woman I know.

A way to help Haiti

Anna again!

Yesterday Lori got an email from Agape (http://www.agapeflights.com/) informing us that since they have had a constant stream of donations since the earthquake that ALL donations sent for a specific mission for relief will be flown in FREE by them. I was wanting to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to get stuff out here so RHFH can continue to bless the people of Cazale through this time…

SO. I made a wish list on Walmart’s website and set it up with our biggest needs right now. These would be:

*Pillows- for the patients we have been taking off the comfort ship.

*Vitamins- 4 different kinds, including prenatal, which we have been out of for 6 months.

*6 Purpose Flashlights- These would be given to all of RHFH’s staff. They are self-powered and have a radio, cell-phone charger, flashlight and more.

*2 scales. Every patient who comes through clinic is weighed and the kids in the RC are weighed every Saturday. The scales here are old and we need new ones.

*solar-powered flood-lights

*Cloth diapers… we are having people sew diapers also but would love to try a few of these to see if they are worth buying in bulk. So if you don’t sew but you wanted to give items, here’s your chance

If you are interested in helping in this way, I have written out step-by-step directions on how you can find our wish list and purchase the items online. It would be more efficient for shipping costs to have a haiti fundraiser at your school or church or even amongst your friends and family to raise money in the next couple weeks and then buy the items online in bulk according to your budget. I picked out specifically every item and the quantity we are shooting for. You have to buy it online for this to work and it must be sent to the address I’ve set up for Agape to send it to Haiti… we are trying to get these things here as soon as possible so the ending date for this wish list is the 10th of March. Thanks so much in advance and here is the directions…

1. Go to http://www.walmart.com/

2. Click on the “Wish List” link under the “Gift Cards & Registry” tab across the top of the page.

3. Type in “Davis” for the first name, and “Zachary” for the last name.

4. Only one wish list comes up- that’s us! Click on Davis Zachary and it will bring you to our wishlist.

5. Scroll down and you will see the things available for purchase and take your pick. Put the quantity of your purchase in the box next to the item(s) you’d like to buy.

6. Once you’ve finished shopping, press “add to cart.”

7. Your cart will come up and show you what you have selected. Press “proceed to checkout.”

8. If you already have a walmart account online, sign in and proceed to purchase If you don’t, press “continue”.

9. Enter your info and don’t forget to un-check the box which allows Walmart to send you 14,792 emails a day Press continue.

10. I set it up so the purchased items will be sent to agape flights in Venice, please don’t change that! Select “standard shipping” and “continue.”

11. Choose the way you would like to pay and press “continue.”

Now it will confirm your purchase, make sure you get confirmation that the purchase went through and then, viola! Your donation is on its way to Cazale Haiti!

today...

Today a baby died. And it was normal. Life here went on as always and once again we went back to the chaos of clinic and the military being here and the patients and the rescue center kids etc etc.

But that death should have shaken someones world. It should have made someone cry, or mourn. It should have made someone want to change their perspective and take on life and live more for God and for others than for them self... instead, it became one more dossier to add to the stack of kids that couldn't be saved and life went on...

Sometimes i wonder how many kids are out there in the world dying, with no one who cares or knows, and what will it take to get the world's attention? How many kids have to die for stupid reasons before enough people get involved so that third world countries get the education and help they need. It's not their fault they were born in a country where school was too expensive, where one meal a day was normal and that no one taught them what a balanced diet means. The earthquake brought supplies into Haiti immediately, but Genise didn't die from the earthquake, and the aid obviously didn't reach her family. The underlying problems in Haiti will not be fixed by short-term aid brought in because of an earthquake. Genise died from severe malnourishment. Genise deserved to be loved, and to smile, and to have a chance at life... but then again I guess things on this earth just aren't fair and what should be is often a pipe-dream. She's smiling now and loved more than anyone on this earth could have loved her.

If I posted about every kid that died... well I'd be a much more frequent blogger. But I feel like by being here, once and a while, I have to share the stories of the kids who didn't make it. One of those angels, after all, is a little girl who changed my life and made me who I am today. Maybe, just maybe, one of the kids I blog about will change someone else's life too.

Happy Valentines Day!

John 15:12-13

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Its all relative.

Today we admitted a 5 pound 1 yr old to the Rescue Center... here's a pic of him next to Darlens (a 12 and 1/2 pound 2 yr old.)

It's all relative...

Mark 11:23

23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Darling

Darlens has hung out with me quite a bit. Besides a constant fever hes doing great and has a small, but sufficient appetite. He gained 1 pound since he got here... well at one point he was up to 13 1/2 pounds but some diarrhea has taken over our lives in the last couple days, so we are down to 12 1/2. So some people don't think Darlens is the cutest kid in the world. They obviously don't see him through the same eyes that I do :)

Yep, he's a ham...

and a punk. He thinks its oh so funny to bite the bottle and refuse to let go...

but eventually he lets go and smiles a little ornery smile...

I'd say he's going to make it. Raise your hand if you're planning on gaining even more weight!

Read this, and get mad....

because mad is the only normal feeling to have after realizing the country that I am from (and you prob are too) treats people like this... I'm so embarrassed to be an American right now.

http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/se-lavi/

camera crazy

So Caroline, an AWESOME person, not to mention nurse, has a camera... A good one, and I have more than once stolen it and gone a little crazy taking pics of the kids I am lucky enough to live with.... here's a little taste of the faces that brighten up my life.

Sinaldo:

Rose-Berline:

Bertha:

Deny: (Jacob & Cynthia, check the wrist. That's right, they're still there :) )

Rose-Nadine: (she is actually a patient we got off the comfort ship. Her parents have since come but she is staying with us for obvious reasons until Lori removes the metal rods sticking through her bones. (I had never seen one of these before. Just bizarre.)

A pic of the current rescue center... God-willing we will be able to move the kids soon into the house down the street.

Loriamene:

Raymond:

Marie-Lange: (aka: possibly cutest/most photogenic kid ever)

Wanelson:

Bertha after getting in trouble for hitting :)

Loriamene:

Alma:

...i love my life.

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven...
(Matthew 18:2-5)

Rose-Guerline

This is Rose-Guerline. She shouldn't have died. Her legs weren't bandaged because of an injury from the earthquake. They were bandaged because they were splitting open because of how swollen they were from a lack of protein in her diet. Kwash kills. Her skin was peeling and her raw flesh made her wince in pain when she moved. She could tell us her story, she could ask us for food and water. And yet her body couldn't recover...

My 2 cents...

I read a post with ALL kinds of very legitimate questions on prayer, that I found I've asked myself... read these posts to understand what I'm talking about:

http://watchingthewaters.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/why-pray-for-haiti-or-why-pray-at-all/

http://watchingthewaters.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/more-on-prayer-from-the-original-commenter/

I don't know the answer to any of these questions but I do have thoughts on them, and I do think the questions are things everyone should consider.

I think that parents, in general, teach their kids to ask for stuff when they want it. EX: Appropriate question from a child "Mommy, can I please have a cookie?" Now the mom has two options. Give her kid a cookie, or don't give her kid a cookie. Now, the parent might have a legitimate reason not to give her kid a cookie- spoils appetite, its bedtime, the kid is in trouble, etc etc. The kid asked and whether they get the cookie or not is up to the parent- the parent who knows what is best for that child. In the same way, I think, God wants us to communicate our wants and needs to him. It's not because God doesn't know our needs but because asking is a way of submitting to Him and acknowledging to God that He provides EVERYTHING we own. If God doesn't answer a prayer, I don't believe it's because we didn't pray enough or because enough people didn't pray; I believe it is because God had a plan for our lives and He is not going to change that plan just because our human mind feels like something should be different. Sometimes we ask for selfish things. Sometimes, if not often, we see things in a warped way and don't understand a situation fully. When I pray, instead of asking for something specific, I ask for God to guide me in whatever I am praying about. Rather than asking God to save a kid, I ask him to give me strength to care for that child. Rather than asking for God to stop an injustice in the world, I pray that the victims of that injustice find God and ask for opportunities to be a part of change in the things I have a passion for.

I don't think God will change His plan just because we pray for an alternative outcome. The closer we get to God, the more we see His plan and the more our prayers are in sync with His plan; and we learn to pray for strength and endurance through what the world throws at us rather than praying for the world to stop throwing stuff at us... if that makes sense at all (it does in my mind). I often find myself asking God for guidance, and wisdom, and the right attitude. I am not affected by some stuff that others would be. Seeing dead bodies, huge burns, malnourished kids whose skin is peeing because they are so bloated with water, helping prepare a kid for burial... these things don't phase me. I don't know why. But it has made me have to be more sensitive when I talk to people about Haiti....

I have to sensor what I talk about with certain people because I want SO BAD for the world to love the Haitian people as much as I do. To learn about their culture, and understand why their kids are starving. But there's soo much more to Haiti than the pain and suffering. There's more hope here than any place I've ever been. There's such a desire to learn and love from the Haitian people. Haitians will do anything for their kids, but sometimes they just havn't been taught the proper way to care for a kid. But if I don't explain everything to people, and just tell of what I see, then people don't understand. And whose fault is that? Mine. So I pray for guidance when I share my life in Haiti. I pray that people see my love for Haitians and my heart for their needs and share it with me. I ask God to help me tell people why situations are the way they are here. When I share, for it not to be about me but to help to spread the needs of Haiti and share stories that I've been blessed enough to be a part of...

I guess my main point is that when I pray for material things or tangible items, answer not guaranteed. But when I ask for wisdom, strength, endurance, a spirit of love, or guidance in a situation- God never has failed me.

I think about this kind of stuff ALL the time and everything I could say about this topic wouldn't fit on a blog, sorry this was a little scattered... What do you think about prayer?

Darlens update.

Darlens:

I've been taking him since he came during the day and trying to feed him and get him hydrated. He ate all his peanut butter 2 days in a row... but sometimes thats not enough. We put him on an IV tonight. Please pray that it will provide the boost he needs to get better and start having an appetite.

We also got 2 kids from the comfort ship today who are completely scared to death from all the trauma they've experienced since the earthquake, a boy and a girl. We are working on uniting them with family if possible... we contacted the boys uncle who is picking him up tomorrow. He was so happy when he heard the news... still not sure if the little girl has family alive or not... pics here:

http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/