Healing: Saturday 1.8.11

Antoinette & Eden Feb. '10

Hello friends- 

Antoinette at Heartline Healed party Jan. 11

It is hard to believe we are already in our final week here in Haiti. Sarah O said it well in her status a few days ago...it's so hard to live with your heart in two places.

Our teen moms have been full of drama! Our friend Tara Livesay will oversee the teen mom house and has been part of several interventions already. Community is hard. But I think it's harder with teenagers and babies.  (Tara is looking for programmatic info if any of you have any ideas/suggestions, even if it's stuff that has been done in the states.) The girls are mean to each other. They are survivors and have grown up in violent, harsh places. There will be many more meetings like this I am sure. But it's also so fun and encouraging to see them growing and learning and really trying to be good moms. Just looking at how much they (and their babies) have grown is awesome!

Djenie & 4lb Kenny, March '10

Thanks to those of you who have been praying for Djennie ("Jenny"). She came and left, quite dramatically, THREE times on Thursday. But she ended up staying the night and has been here ever since.  On Thursday night she told me she was "sorry". And I said "because of your bad behavior?" and with a shy smile and lowering her eyes, she said "Wi". I thought that was a HUGE breakthrough for her to apologize for something. It was a sweet moment and I hugged her and hugged her and told her I was so proud of her...that I know community is hard and I know apologizing is hard, and that I forgave her.

Thursday night as Djennie danced and sang at our "Heartline Healed" party (for EQ survivors that were part of Heartline's makeshift clinic) I was filled with hope. For her, and for all of us who are doing the best we can with the resources and skills we have--and still come up short.

A friend of ours describes Haiti as a picture of our soul without any makeup.  "People aren't any more sinful in Haiti than in the United States.  They just don't have any way of prettying up their sin here." It is so easy to see this in our teen mamas. And I feel like our teen moms are especially vulnerable, but also especially full of potential. In all the classes Beth stresses that the women in the class are more important than anyone else in Haiti...more important than the prezidant...because they will change Haiti by raising great children. It won't always be pretty, but it's really transformative.

Rosemond March, '10

Rosemond January '11

And speaking of the "Heartline Healed" party--wow. I haven't really had time to sit and process all that I was feeling that night. Looking around at people without limbs who never thought they would walk again, and seeing them walk through the gate...looking at babies who would've died because of their mothers crush injuries toddling around and smiling...seeing Rosemond coloring with his 'broken' hand and running and jumping after Mangos, well it was just lovely and beautiful...and miraculous! Seeing Antoinette (who was so painful and broken after the EQ, carry a load of charcoal on her head like it was nothing...walking on her fake leg as if it were real and her little guy Eden crawling after her and drooling all over the place, well, I lack the words, other than just to say, it's miraculous and it fills me with hope. And I am so SO blessed and privileged to be a small part of it all. (I've attached some 'before' and 'after' pictures for you here)!

Our friend Jonna, who has been so kind to let us stay in her apartment at the maternity center arrives home today. We will probably stay here with her but our little 'oasis' is no longer ours. It hasn't really been--we've been sharing it with Lizards and cockroaches and trantulas, but now we will share it with another human being! (Though you would be quite proud of Sarah O's lizard trap last night. For some reason she didn't want a lizard scurrying around the bedroom while she slept--crazy girl).

Friends of ours from CA, considering a potential partnership with Heartline arrive tomorrow. You can pray for them in their discernment process. Tomorrow we also take Rosemond home to his new house. He starts school on Monday, along with all my Kids Hope kiddos. I know the time will fly by.

Lastly, a friend of mine sent me a great quote and reminder about the 'ministry of presence'. It was so great I wanted to share it with you...by one of my favorite authors!

I'll sign off for now. Thanks for continuing to read and for your wonderful, heartfelt responses! We are so blessed!

Sarah D


“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems.

My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.”
– Henri Nouwen

Rosemond gained 50 lbs this year!