Grandparents, Part II

Well, we made it into Port on the airplane, and said goodbye to my parents.  A few minutes later, David's parents, Matt K, and Pastor Nathan drove up to pick us up.  It was great to see them again!  They dropped us off at the US Embassy and took Orrin to do some errands.  We went and turned in all of Cassia's citizenship and passport paperwork.  It went really smoothly and we got in and out in about and hour and a half.  It was a crazy feeling to have most people talking English to us!  I kept telling myself NOT to try to talk in Creole...we were in the US Embassy, by George! :)  At the end, they told us we can pick up her passport in (Lordwilling) 6 weeks.  After we get that safely in hand, we hope to buy tickets to come home in May!  Can't wait to see everybody!!

Port was crazily empty...not many were venturing out, I guess, and the public transportation was on strike, so we made good time getting through town.  We went to Dumay to spend the week with mom and dad and a work team.  Mom said that the kids had been asking about Orrin.  Was he coming??  I was really blown away by this.  They remembered his name after a whole year??  Wow.

Grandpa and Grandma with the kiddos!

Grandma and Orrin enjoying the view out the back.  Couldn't have picked a better location to build the guest house!!!

Beautiful rainbow!

We had lots of people to help entertain Orrin through the week!  Matt was showing Orrin how to make a paper airplane.  He thought that was pretty sweet!  Orrin still talks about Matt, and wonders where Jessica is, and sings "Ring Around the Rosy."  Must have good memories of the week :)  He also got to ride on the tractor with Grandpa like last year!

Another source of entertainment for Orrin (and headache for Mom) was the food cabinets.  Right there at eye and hand level, and there were soooo many snacks!  He "needed" a lot of snacks that week...or at least that's what he said!

Roslyn came out to see the kids one day.  It's really neat to still have that relationship from back when we came the first time, 6 years ago!  Roslyn's English was better this year, and so was my Creole, so we were able to communicate a little more.  We were glad to see her again and find that she's doing well.  She has one more year of school and then hopes to go on to Nursing school.  Good for her!!

One evening we sang out on the front porch with the local guys.  It was beautiful singing - they have some singing talent in Dumay!!  We sang songs in English, but they seemed to be doing good with it.  A lot of the young kids are learning English.  Some learn in school, but others just say they have a book they read and practice it with their friends.  It's amazing how much they know and how dedicated they are.  We enjoyed talking to them (in English and in Creole :) ) and spending some time together.  The neat part about coming back to Dumay year after year is meeting the same people again and again.

We also attended "Nathan's Birthday Party."  It will forever life in infamy as a capitalized occasion, as it lasted FOUR hours at the church one night :)  Orrin of course only made it through about an hour or so, and so we got to leave early.  Back at the guest house, I tried to start making supper, thinking that everyone would be back soon.  But combined with a stove that was out of gas, a 2 year old, and a baby that was crying and puked all over, I didn't get a lot accomplished.  David finally came back, and tried to get a new gas tank hooked up.  Still no one was back.  Surely it would be soon....  Around 9pm everyone finally came in.  It became quite the event to talk and laugh about as no one had expected it to last quite that long, and the whole group couldn't just slip out because we had been seated way up front :)  Ahhh, memories....and microwaved brats at 9pm...ugh.

Grandpa and Cassia

Our team...Brooke, Jessica, Heather, me and David and kids, Molly, Myron, Jared, Ryan, Josh, Dad and Mom.  Also Matt, but he left Saturday before the picture was taken...  We really had a super nice week with our group of friends and family from Forrest!  So special to see everyone!

Grandparents, Part I

We were really blessed to have my parents make their first trip to Haiti!  They spent about 2 1/2 weeks with us, and helped out a lot with the kids!  We realized how many things we have to show people to give them the Haiti experience...we kept busy that whole time!  Here are some highlights of our time together.

Orrin teaching Grandpa and Grandma how to use the tablet and play games :)

One day, we had Haiti Air Ambulance come to the hospital and talk to our staff about what to do if they needed to call a helicopter for a patient.  They're a new company in Haiti, just started last year.  So they're trying to network the hospitals to find specialties in each hospital to be able to transfer patients to where they can receive care (burn unit, ICU, NICU, etc).

We all went up the hill to watch them fly in.  The kids sat on top of the Landcruzer to be out of the way :)

They set up a landing zone at a soccer field just up the mountain...it's about the biggest flat spot in the area.  Security guards were posted around the perimeter to keep people away.  The helicopter had the pilot, two flight medics, and a flight nurse.

It was quite a draw for everyone in the area to come and see.  What a day!

As I watched the helicopter fly out of sight, I cried a little.  (Maybe just a little hormonal from just having a baby....)  But that helicopter brought back so many things.  It was a reminder of the EMS world that I'm not in right now.  It's a reminder of the dream I had of someday working on a helicopter.  And I again remembered how much I love being a medic.  

Having Grandparents here let Orrin spend a lot of time "binking"...Orrin's word for jumping on the bed :)

Randy and LaNae Meyer came up for church one Sunday and ate lunch with us.  LaNae is mom's cousin, and they're working with LSM in Haiti.  It was really nice to spend time with them, and that mom and dad could too!

One Saturday afternoon, we went to the beach.  It was a lovely day of relaxing and swimming.

We took them to Cayes where we go shopping and showed them the stores, did some shopping in the clothes market, and ate at Hot Spot.  They also watched Orrin while we went to get our Haitian Driver's Licenses.

We did a lot of walking to different places over the course of a few days.  One day, I had a lady who wanted me to come look at her house that I thought she said was falling down.  I was going to have to be gone when she came, so I told Madam Ino to let her in and ask her to wait for me.  Mom said she gave Cassia to her to hold, and she really liked that.  I asked her if I could come see her house, since I didn't want to give her money without seeing it first.  She said it was a short walk to her house.  So, I followed her through the mountain for about 20 minutes until we (finally!!) got to her house.  :)  They pulled out a chair for me and we tried to stumble through some conversation.  I think I understood that she lives in that house with her sister and brother-in-law, and her daughter-in-law and her 3 or 4 kids.  It sounded like her son had died in the earthquake in Port 5 years ago.  Anyway, the brother-in-law is the only one who has a job, and they have a plot of land she showed me where she wants to plant beans.  Soon I was walking back home, really glad that she took me back because I would have been completely lost.....

That same day, Madam Ino came to work and said they were killing a pig and wondered if I wanted any meat.  So that afternoon, we went with her "by" her house...maybe a 10 minute walk through the woods.  As we passed her son's home, I saw her daughter-in-law lying on a cot on the front porch area.  Madam Ino had told me a while back that she is pregnant and very sick.  I've talked to her some when I see her at the hospital, but I know she's missed work because of being sick.  Madam Ino told me one day that after she leaves my house, she goes home to cook for her family...because her daughter-in-law can't handle the smell of oil cooking.  I feel horrible for her, but it did make me feel a little better...at least Madam Ino didn't think I was crazy when I was the one lying on the couch all day and telling her I couldn't handle the smell of garlic!!  

I was hoping to pick up the chunks of meat, put them in my ziplock bags, and go back home.  But I felt like I had stepped back into the early 1900's in the Appalachian Mountains or somewhere when they brought us out chairs to sit in and unhurriedly worked on cutting up the pig laying at our feet.  Then pretty soon, someone came bringing an old rusty produce scale, and hung it in the tree.  They weighed our chunks of pork and we put them in our sacks, and headed back, again following someone to find our way.  I had wondered that morning how smart it was to be going off by myself, but I realized I just had to trust....

Marvin and Nancy came to the Hospital to visit, and they wanted to go see the Hydro plant.  So we dropped Orrin off at Jami's and headed down with them and my parents - and Cassia :)  We stopped at the Reservoir first, seeing the view of the mountains.  During my walks I had come to appreciate a little how much surface area was crammed onto those mountains, as opposed to the island being all flat.  It's crazy to look at mountain after mountain and think of all the people living all over them...and how far they have to walk to get anywhere!  It blows me away.

We got quite the workout on the hike...it was a lot more strenuous than I remembered.  Whew!

Proof that we made it down to the hydro building :)  We really enjoyed our time with Marvin and Nancy.  Glad they got out safely through a lot of demonstrations that were going on during that time.  It was really good to have people visit from our home church!

Mom gave blood at the hospital before they left...it was her 9th gallon!!  Too bad it won't count in Iowa :)  but it will help someone here though!  For fun, we took Orrin up to the hospital wearing doctor scrubs, and we got a lot of smiles out of it :)

We took mom and dad on a gator ride up the mountain to a beautiful lookout one evening.  So much to see and do!  We also took them to the local market one Saturday to buy our produce.  They also got in a lot of walks with Orrin and a lot of time holding Cassia in the evenings when she fussed :(

When it was time to go home, Port-au-Prince was still having major problems with demonstrations, and the embassy was sending out emails advising people to remain in place.  It was the first time since we've been here that I've gotten emails advising that.  David and I were planning on riding into Port with dad and mom, and going to the Embassy to start Cassia's paperwork and then meet up with David's parents and spend the week in Dumay with them.  But with all this going on, we just didn't know what to do.  Should we leave late afternoon and stay in a hotel in town?  Leave at 1 or 3am and try to get in before things heated up again?  Finally Monday evening, we found out about a small plane that was flying people from Port to Cayes in the morning, and they would fly us back to Port for $300.  Wow, that totally turned out to be the best possible solution!  We got up Tuesday morning and left at a reasonable time, drove an hour to the Cayes airport, and then took an hour flight to Port.  Brent and Alisha were also flying with, so we ended up paying $50 per person to fly in.  Now that we're spoiled we'll want that to work out every time so we can skip the 4 hours of driving :)

Orrin was so excited to be able to fly in an airplane!!  He was a big boy!

 Cassia, at 4 weeks old, took her first airplane ride!  What a busy life she's had :)

Thanks Dad and Mom for coming to visit and helping us out!  Hope you enjoyed your Haiti experience, and come back next year :)

A Conclusion

After a few days and a talk with David, I came to a conclusion as to what was bugging me so much. I guess some things just take time to sort themselves out :-) I told David that when we move home from Haiti, I don't want all my friends to be white Americans! I want to have friends from Haiti! But during this time I felt like some trust was broken and it made me question the sincerity of...well, most everyone. I had to step back and remind myself not to "blanket statement" everyone.  Another thing that's been hard is seeing those who claim to be Christians who seem unkind or uncaring or go along with "the crowd." I have to remember to forgive, to not judge, to remember that I have to be more loving, kind and caring too!

So I guess I'm hopefully back to more rational thinking :-) and I'm so thankful for those who I KNOW are truthful and sincere and have shown themselves our friends.  Very thankful especially for our cook, Madam Ino, and our language instructor, Falens.  Yes, we do have friends here!!

Wanderings of my Mind

There are so many things I want to write about tonight, I'm not sure even where to begin...or what I'm going to focus on, or what I should title this.  Sorry...my thoughts are really scattered tonight.  I know somehow this all is connected, I just don't know if you'll be able to follow the giant leaps my mind is making....

David and I took a walk tonight *alone* - one of the perks of having grandparents here to visit.  I decided we really need to get a nanny :)  or at least someone to watch the kids once in a while so we can have a little "date."  It's a big stress relief to be able to just leave the house and spend a little time together.  We're trying to pray for direction on how we could work this out...who would be able to come for an hour, who would we trust....???

Anyway, the walk was great.  There's something about looking up at the palm trees under the stars.  It's magnificent.  But in the background there's the beat-beat-beat of the drums, they've been going constantly for about the past 2 days and nights.  It's leading up to Mardi Gras, and there've been more drums, more "rah-rah" bands playing their music and marching up and down the roads at night.  David said, "It feels like there are evil spirits at work."  There's just so much going on right now.  Both of the hospital x-ray machines are broken down at the same time, a tree falls down in the night and cuts power and internet to several houses, there's turmoil with some of the staff over pay periods.  Several days this week there were violent demonstrations in Port-au-Prince, with people blocking roads, burning tires, throwing rocks at cars..... You start to wonder how many of these problems are "normal" and how much has to do with the fact that Satan wants us to lose.  He doesn't want the hospital.  He doesn't want people to get better, to find relief for suffering.  He doesn't want them to hear about God and salvation.  He doesn't want us to get along.  He doesn't want us to have time to spend with our families.  He doesn't want us to have time to pray about these problems.

I guess tonight I'm stressing over the staff issues at the hospital.  I don't know exactly what's going on since I'm not directly involved, but it's been a tough few months here.  There was some over-staffing in the hospital, and some people had to be laid off in December.  It was really hard emotionally on everyone.  How were people going to react?  What were they going to do in a country that doesn't have many jobs available?  Things seemed to go well, considering, but there have still been some issues that have come up that make things tough.  It seems like some of these issues indicate a lack of trust, and that's hard when you felt like you were forming real relationships.

I guess I just don't know what "they" (the staff, the community, the Haitian people in general) think of us missionaries.  Do they see that we care?  Or do they just think we're rich spoiled Americans that think we know better than them?  What am I showing?  I thought that by living here and trying to learn the language, by building relationships, and giving someone a ride up the mountain, we would show that we care.  I thought that by working side by side, by shopping in their market, we would show that we don't think them or their culture inferior.  I thought by having our baby born here, by following someone through the mountain on a 20 minute walk to their house, we would show that we trust them.  And then a situation comes along and you just wonder if it's making any difference at all.  I know it shouldn't matter so much what they think of me, but I feel that someone has to know you really care before you can have a true relationship with them.

As I got home tonight, I looked up at the stars again.  They're so beautiful tonight.  It makes things seem more in perspective.  God has the answers to our problems.  Heaven will bring the end to these problems.  Who will we meet there?  What will it be like to spend eternity with those that we know here?  What will it be like where (I assume) there is no cultural difference, no language difference, where nobody gives a hoot about skin color (or calls you a "blan")?  Where you don't have to second guess the relationships you have and wonder what someone really thinks.

We need your prayers.  The hospital needs your prayers.  These "tough situations" need your prayers.  Thank you for those prayers!

To Love a Baby

He is one of them there meek ones

One of them there slow to speak ones.

Quick to smile ones, softly singing

Happy when he can be bringing

Gladness to somebody.

Maybe bendin' down to love a baby

Or to soothe some child that's cryin'.

If there be merit in a-bein' meek

And a-goin' ones way lowly,

Never scoldin' 'bout what's bein' done,

But just shovin' 'gainst this old world and lovin'. 

If he ever does inherit

This here earth because of merit

He'll hold it a-lookin' funny

At its treasures and its money.

And give it back

To maybe love a baby

Or to soothe some child that's cryin'.

Not sure who wrote this poem to give them proper credit, but my Grandma Gerst found it in a book when she was young, and copied it down.  She always thought it reminded her of Grandpa.  I agree with her....and I think it goes pretty good for this daddy too :)

Cassia Morgan

Cassia Morgan Zimmerman

Born January 11, 2015

6:54 pm

7 lbs, 19 1/2 inches

Hospital Lumiere, Bonne Fin, Haiti

For those who like the short story, that's it :)  But if you like details, here is "the rest of the story."

A while before I was due, we started thinking of what we wanted to know about delivering in Haiti.  What would be the same?  What would be different?  What should we expect?  What should we do with Orrin??  That question was a little complicated as baby was due January 10 and several families were coming and going to and from furlough and moving back to the states, either that same day or that next week.  So to find someone who would for sure be around when the time came....I asked Kurt and Joan Plattner if they would be willing to watch him and they enthusiastically said yes :)  One problem solved.

I also asked Jami Hartzler to be my "doula"...if she was around.  (Their family was returning from furlough January 10).  She delivered their baby at the hospital two years ago, and so she knew more than us what was going on and was a great person to ask random questions to.  We also knew that the pain medication available is next to nothing down here (no narcotics, about 7 epidural kits in the storage room, but no one on staff that could administer one unless someone from a work team happened to be around).  So we faced the reality of all the Haitian women here...we were gonna do this natural :)  Things had gone well with Orrin, so I wasn't too worried, but I also thought it would be nice to have someone around to help me (and give David a break :) ).

With those details "ironed out" we just waited to see what would happen.  I really wanted to have the baby on January 11, one year from the day that we moved to Haiti.  I thought that would be really neat.  But when I had my appointment on Tuesday the 6th, Dr Mario said I was already dilated to a 4.  Hmmm...this could be anytime.  He told me to come back the next day....and I was a 5.  Thursday morning I was a 6.  (To all those who labored really long to get to a 6...or a 3....I know you're muttering under your breath right now.  But may I defend myself and say that I worked hard for my 5 with Orrin??  And my pregnancy stunk, too, don't forget :) ).  Dr Mario kept asking, "Are you sure you're not having any pain?"  No, not really....  He said he could break my water, but I told him I wanted to wait until Sunday :)

Friday morning, David came home from his weekly men's Bible study.  "Did you know Dr Mario's leaving?"  Leaving?  How leaving?  He has an appointment in Port au Prince on Saturday morning, so he would be gone from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening sometime.  Ok, so time to stress out.  When I went up again that morning, I was still at a 6.  Dr Mario told us he was going away, so he put me on "bedrest."  We hoped the baby would be obedient to mommy and wait until Sunday.  I then used a creole expression I never thought I'd need when I learned it.  "Pa mize," I told him.  Don't dally.  

So I got to experience 24 hours of bedrest, and it was kind of fun for that day :)  I was really stressing that I would go into labor that night and not have anything I wanted.  No Sunday baby.  No Jami as doula.  No Dr Mario who speaks great english.  So I sent out a post on Facebook asking for prayers so the baby would wait a little, and tried to just give it to God.  

Saturday came and went, and I breathed a little easier the later it went, and when I knew Jami was back in the area.  At least we were getting closer....

Sunday morning, it was time for a morning walk :)  As we walked up the hill, David commented on how fast I was walking.  (It's been a long time since I've walked fast....)  Let's get this thing going!  We went to church in the morning, and then right before lunch, Dr Mario called David.  We went up to the hospital and he checked me again.  A 7.  Alright, lets do this.  I said I needed to get Orrin fed and to Joan, and we would be back.  We went home and ate lunch, and called Jami.  Everyone was going to Cayes for afternoon church that day, but Jami said she would stay back.  And Kurt and Joan said they'd take Orrin :)  So around 1pm we were back up at OB, and at 1:30, he broke my water.  

We went outside to walk around, but that's not much fun when you can't leave the hospital gates :(  So I wanted to find a cool spot where we didn't have to be watched by everyone ;)  David's new office is in a small electrical building.  It has really tall ceilings and a fan and it's shaded and cool.  So we hid out in there for an hour, played Skip-Bo, and timed contractions at 10 minutes apart.  I was supposed to go back after an hour to be checked, and at that point I was an 8.  We went back out to walk, but this time it was different.  Things were getting a little more intense, and as we stopped to talk to someone, I felt lightheaded and like I was going to pass out.  I tried sitting down, but I really just wanted to lay down and rest.  This was totally unexpected.  Laying down was the last thing I wanted to do when I had Orrin.  It was pure misery to lay down.  I knew I should eat, but I felt like I would not keep it down, so we went into the delivery room and I layed down.  Things kept getting more intense from there.  They called the Dr up, but I was making poky progress.  I was fully dilated but had nothing telling me to push.  I pushed through contractions, but it did not seem to be working.  Dr Mario asked me if I wanted something to eat.  I said yes, can I?  He said no.  I did the only appropriate thing and stuck my tongue out at him.  Who makes these rules anyway??  Jami got me some gatorade, and that helped, but my, I was tired.  Why was this taking so long??  

I think Dr saw things were not working, so he gave me an IV of Dextrose, which has sugar in it.  After that I had the energy to at least stand a little, which helped things along.  Then he said if I didn't have this baby in 25 minutes, he was going to take it out.  You wouldn't dare.  Don't know if it was the sugar, or the scare tactic, but baby got down to business, and soon she was here.  

At the first look at her face, I said, "It's totally a boy!"  (Sorry honey, you'll look like a girl soon ;) ).  But no, it was a girl!  I just really didn't believe we were capable of having a girl :)  Wow, how awesome to hold that new little baby!!  So awesome.  Daddy didn't get to help deliver like he had kind of hoped, but he cut the cord and got to spend a little bonding time putting on a diaper and dressing her :)  In no time, the nurses were getting me out of bed and wheeled us into our room...filled with 5 other patients :)  We were being watched, oh yes, sticking out like the whites we are, but we really didn't notice.  We were absorbed with baby!

Jami left and she and Eric came back with some supper for us.  Fantastic!  I am starving.  This not eating business is for the birds.  The meal was delicious...turkey sandwiches, doritoes, string cheese, yoplait yogurt, and dove dark chocolate.  What a sacrifice!! :)  

There were several things the same with giving birth in Haiti as opposed to the US...a hospital, a bed, doctors and nurses, medication offered very readily, NOT BEING ABLE TO EAT.  But then there were those subtle differences...like bedding down that night with about 10 other people in the room, no room service, and bringing your own TP.

We passed a rather sleepless night, with noise from about 40 other people and babies, lights on and off, windows barred shut so it was stifling hot, Cassia eating and pooping....and me wearing off my sugar water IV :-P

The next morning, we had a lot of visitors.  Madam Ino came by before work, and she was so thrilled with the little baby girl :)  Even the whole Bonne Fin Gecko school came on a field trip, brought a present, and asked questions :)  

Kurt and Joan brought Orrin by, and it was so precious to watch him see her the first time.  He LOVES her!  He kept saying "Cassia."  (He was prepped).  And he wanted to hold her and find her toes....  So sweet!  

Sheila came and asked us if she was named after anything.  Nope, just names we like.  (Cassia was a name I've wanted for a loooong time, and it's in the Bible.  Cassia was a spice, kind of like cinnamon. )  Sheila said we'd have to research it, but Captain Henry Morgan was a pirate in this area long ago.  So maybe we did have a little Haiti influence on her name without trying...albeit maybe not someone we want to name her after :) !

Dr Mario came by and asked if we were ready to leave.  Yes!  David went and paid our bill....2200 gouds, which equals about $48.88 US.  Loved paying that delivery bill!  (Anyone else want to come to Haiti to have their baby??  Sonograms are about $8 too... :) )  Here's where I have to add a side note about Samaritan Ministries....our alternative to health insurance.  Besides this delivery bill and random stuff we have had done in Haiti, which is really too small to worry about, we have had ALL our medical bills from this pregnancy paid for!  How fantastic!  So much better than the health insurance we thought we had to have :)  I highly recommend this Christian organization to anyone looking for an alternative....  Anyway, we left the hospital before noon that morning.  Ahh...going home.  When we came in the door, Madam Ino was racing to meet us.  She scooped up Cassia in her hands and started praying.  Then abruptly she stopped, gave Cassia back, and hurried back into the kitchen.  We sniffed the air.  "She burnt the beans," David said. :)  Oh well, it was worth it.

David got to stay (mostly) at home until going back to work Thursday.  And most every day someone has taken Orrin for the morning.  Its been great to have some bonding time with Cassia.  We've also received lots of yummy meals and that has been great too!  Other than a little lack of sleep, everyone seems to be doing good so far.  Thanks everyone for your prayers for a safe arrival and healthy baby!  We felt them!  Also thankful to God for His provision and blessings, His being with us this past year, and giving us a little piece of Haiti that will make us feel more like we belong...and that will be in our hearts forever.

New Year, New Role

As we welcomed the beginning of 2015, we had another transition here in our lives.  David officially started his position of Facilities Manager here at Hospital Lumiere.  With that came the end of daily language lessons for both of us (David because of a lot of work to do, and me because baby is coming soon!).  We felt like the language lessons really helped a lot, and our teacher is hoping we will start up again sometime on at least a part-time basis.  We really do have a long ways to go yet, but it's really nice to be able to have "small victories"....a telephone call in creole, understanding what someone's asking you when they come to the door, being able to understand more in church and when reading the Creole Bible....we're thankful for the time we had with the lessons!

The past week has had its stresses....David is trying to get familiar with his new role, and trying to do a good job :)  There have already been problems (as I'm writing, the electricity is going off and on....stuff like that), but I guess that's life and we learn, right?  We ask for your prayers as he is learning his new job, that he can do the work while showing the love of Christ in all he does!

We planned some dates for construction, electrical, and plumbing teams for 2015....maybe one of those weeks would work for you to come help the hospital and visit us! :)