Welcome to Haiti

Port-Au-Prince to Petionville

This sweet boy loves to cuddle

Learning to blow bubbles

He is a bundle of joy!

My view from the balcony 

 This little dude has so much love to give

All smiles! 

Bonjour from Haiti! I arrived safely in Port-Au-Prince on Monday afternoon. Navigating the airport and customs wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. The first picture up above is me in our "taxi" that picked us up from the airport. It's about an hour drive up the mountains from Port-Au-Prince to Petionville. I loved observing the beautiful people and their culture. A lot of people hangout on the side of the road. If they're not selling goods, they're usually just chilling. There is definitely a lot of poverty here, but there is so much of God's beauty that shines through.

We have a pretty structured schedule everyday. From 8-9am we go to the toddler house where kids 2 1/2 years and older live. These kids LOVE to be held. I usually have a child in my arms within the first minute of arriving, and another one on my leg also wanting to be held. If you try and put them down, they cling to your waist. The last two photos are just two of my precious buddies from the toddler house. Aren't they beautiful?!  

After 9am we walk down to the main house, where all the babies live. Most of the kids here are younger than 2 1/2. There are three nurseries: the NICU, the middle, and the main. Babies who are born premature, need special attention, or are not ready to go into the middle nursery stay in the NICU. In the middle nursery, babies are usually crawling and learning to walk. The main nursery is the biggest out of the three, and majority of the kids in this nursery can walk.

On Tuesday, I was assigned six wonderful babies. I call them my 'sweet six' :). Every hour I switch babies, which makes the day fly by. I have two from the NICU, three from the middle nursery, and one from the main nursery. My youngest is 5 months and my oldest is 4 1/2 years old. The middle three photos up above are a few of the smiles I get to see everyday. I can't wait to watch them develop over the next three months! A few of my children are behind developmentally, so I ask that you keep them in your prayers, and that over the next few months they would thrive! I'm so thankful to be pouring God's unconditional love into these little children. 

Overall, I am adjusting well! There's a few things that are going to require some repetition to break my habits from home, such as brushing my teeth with a water bottle, "navy style" showers, and of course not flushing the toilet every time. Oh, and the casual cockroach in the bathroom. Besides that, I'm adjusting better than I thought I would. 

If you have any questions, please ask! Thank you everyone for your amazing encouragement and support! Sending love from Haiti!

|All Glory to God|