Sunday, October 14, 2012

Visitors

 


The Angels for Haiti team came to Haiti on October 2nd and stayed until October 8th. It was a great visit and they helped out a lot. From left to right are Marlene, Sandra, Holly, my sister Tanya and Teresa.


Holly and Tanya came in on a morning flight....


.... and Sandra, Marlene and Teresa came in on the late afternoon flight.


Life here at Coram Deo is fast paced and the visitors got to work unpacking what they brought :)


That same evening we had 2 families from St. Marc stay here for an early morning appointment at Adventist Hospital in Carrefour. This 2-year-old has clubbed feet. Ladies from a seniors citizen group had given the team a bag of hand-made Izzy dolls. Here Marlene is seen giving this child the cloth toy.


Hand-made diapers were also created by the senior citizens group. To all who took the time to make these diapers and Izzy dolls a big thank you!


The baby that Sandra is holding was born clubbed "hip". That is the term I give it. The left leg is casted each week to bring the leg into a normal position. A few weeks previously I posted a photo of this baby with its leg rotated 180 degrees in the other direction. One of the dorm rooms is for parents who come in from the province for medical care.


Here Holly is pictured with 2 of the fathers who came in with their babies from St. Marc.


The visitors got a quick introduction to life in Haiti. Holly works in a respite care home for children with special needs. She helps to look after my nephew John :)


Teresa is holding one of the babies. We give the Lord thanks for those who come and help out here at Coram Deo. Together we strive to help the handicapped here in Haiti.


The first night was a busy night, but a fun night too :)


They slept in the Hotel des Milles Etoiles (1,000 Star Hotel) up on the roof of our house in between the solar panels, generator and water reservoir. It is much cooler on the roof :)


Poor Holly, she reacted badly to her mosquito bites. Tanya's home remedy of tea bag baths helped.


We have deluxe accommodations here at Coram Deo :) The specialty for breakfast is Haitian bananas! They are delicious.


It was sort of an adventurous night up on the roof that first night. Rats were seen scurrying to and fro and we brought out our army cots the next day so that rats won't scurry across the visitors while they slept.


We have fowl in the yard and the roosters make sure to wake up everyone bright and early :) Here is Marlene chasing after one of Marie's roosters with a rolling pin!


Other pests to worry about while sleeping at the Hotel des Milles Etoiles are Haitian cockroaches! They are ugly pests.


Benson is shown here helping to inspect the roof before the visitors went to bed at night. He was searching for lurking cockroaches and rats.


We cook our meals Haitian style on a "rechaud", fueled by charcoal. This is our small rechaud which is used for small pots. Yes, we are contributing to deforestation. Angels to Haiti did some fundraising so that we could become more environmentally friendly.


This is our large rechaud which is used to cook our large pots. With the large rechaud we can cook meals for 100 people!


We excitedly went to Valerio Canez to slelect a gas rechaud. We bought the super deluxe model with 3 large burners!


The only trouble was getting it home. Here are 4 of our strongest guys carrying the new stove across the yard to the outside kitchen.


With the screened gates we can contol access to the propane gas.


The steel rechaud is handmade here in Haiti. Our gatekeeper Yonel checked it out first...


... but the biggest test would be if our cook would approve of this purchase!


Yes! Marie is happy and the next step is to install the rechaud. We called in our Haitian handyman Loutese and he had it connected quickly.


First meal was a giant pot of macaroni and cheese! As you can see the large pot fits onto the burner well.


The next problem we will have to deal with is installing lighting into the outside kitchen. Until then flashlights are used.


Marie loves this stove. Food cooks quickly! Thank you Angels to Haiti for all your efforts!


It sure was great to see my sister Tanya again. So much happened in the week they were here. Never a dull moment! I will tell more in the next post :)
 

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