Ripe Mango Chronicles

Yesterday I spent a large part of the day at the airport. It’s kind of hard to tell where the airport begins and ends these days since it’s also serving as home to many aid organizations, media groups and army bases. As we drove through the maze of tents and across the runway we stumbled upon a sad scene; three metal caskets placed side by side each carefully covered with a Canadian flag. You might think that after being surrounded by death and destruction for 18 days a few caskets wouldn’t bother me, but you would be wrong. It was like a slap in the face. Just a few feet away lay the remains of my brothers and sisters; fellow Canadians who were most likely in Haiti to help those in need, to serve their fellow man, to try and make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. In those caskets lay the remains of people like me. I knew that I could have died in the earthquake, we all could have, but seeing those caskets made it real. I am beginning to understand now that it is by th

Once again I’m not sure where to begin. It’s been a while since I’ve written and so much has happened: Our day clinic has been transformed into a Hospital with a 24 hour operating room. Our high school building has been transformed into a post-op care facility. This afternoon we had a number of helicopters land in the field next to the clinic transporting patients from the General Hospital who are in desperate need of surgery. The Hope House Orphanage kids and I are still sleeping in tents. I’m working on getting some large army tents for the boys since their wing is badly damaged (we’ll eventually move the girls back in). Rose Milaine has been registered as a displaced person with Unicef, but so far we have not heard anything. She has made lots of friends and is fitting in well at the Hope House. We have been doing food and water distributions everyday, well over a million meals have been distributed in the past 2 and a half weeks. Our guest house is being referred to as “Woodstock” a

So many of you have been writing, wondering what you can do to get involved in the work going on here in Haiti. I thought it would be a good idea to send out an note for everyone with a few different ways you can get involved. As a missionary with Mission of Hope I am responsible to raise all my own support. I depend on monthly donors and special contributions to be able to continue my work with the children of Haiti. I am still over $6000 behind in my budget this year. Please consider becoming a part of my support team. To donate please send your (tax deductible) donation to: Rachel Montgomery c/o Falls View BIC 7189 Drummond Rd Niagara Falls, ON L2H 4P7 Canada Checks should be written to: ‘Falls View BIC’ and please write ‘Rachel-Haiti’ on the memo line. Mission of Hope is doing amazing things in Haiti, year round, but especially in the aftermath of the earthquake. Please visit our website at www.mohhaiti.org to donate online. Email me any questions you have about getting involved! I

I was sleeping so soundly when the bed started shaking. I threw the sheets off and sat up in bed, waiting to see if I needed to run. The shaking didn't stop, instead it got stronger. I ran to Rose Milaine's bedside and shook her awake as gently and calmly as I could. All I said was, "We need to get out." and she was up. Hand in hand we ran out of the house and down the stairs. The house was still shaking when we got down to the patio. I wish the aftershocks could be done with. We need to be moving on, moving away from fear, moving away from being on edge and the verge on panic at all times. We need the earth to stand still again. We're all ok, our houses are still standing but our nerves are wearing thin. Please pray that the earth would stop shaking! Rachel

Rose Milaine has been through the unimaginable. She’s a quiet 13 year old with scared eyes and shrugged shoulders, she looks defeated and for good reason. A week ago Rose Milaine was sitting in her classroom, located on the second floor of a six story building when the earth quake hit. The building came crashing down on top of her and her classmates; they were trapped. For the next 13 hours Rose Milaine waited, sometimes screaming, sometimes crying and sometimes calling out to her friends in other classes. The building’s remains shook violently throughout the night from many aftershocks. Wednesday morning someone was able to smash through a piece of the concrete., creating an opening large enough for the children to crawl through. Rose Milaine and some of her classmates were able to squeeze through the hole, and find freedom from their concrete prison. She escaped with a large gash on her chin and a badly banged face and head. Her family was not waiting for her when she was rescued. Sh

I wonder if the ground really is shaking right now. I definitely feel it shaking, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that is it. I’ve been sitting here for almost an hour trying over and over to find the right words, to find a way to express what I’m feeling. The words don’t come. I’m numb. I don’t know what to feel right now. Driving through the streets of my beloved Haiti broke me, crushed me. This country I love so much is destroyed. The people I would give my life for are hurting, are crying out for help, are laying in front of the broken hospitals dying, their broken bodies dumped on the side of the road along with the rubble. Each body is someone’s someone, we can’t forget that. The need is so great and each day that passes more will die. Infection is setting in the wounds of those who lived. A sea of green infected bandages flows in front of the hospital gates. The mass graves will soon be overflowing. Somehow, in all of this there is HOPE. Each person who lived has a real under

I found out today at my grocery store crush died. I didn’t know him, really. I’ve just had a crush on him since my first trip to the Caribbean grocery store three and a half years ago. He was beautiful; tall, dark and handsome as they say. He gave me discounts sometimes, but now he’s gone. It’s silly I know. I didn’t know him, but he was a part of my life. He was a part of my trips in to town. That store was a part of my life. The ladies at the money counter, the bag boys and meat counter guys, they were all a part of my life. But everything has changed now. The Haiti I once knew is no more. Today is going to be a very hard day. I have not left the mission grounds since the earthquake hit on Tuesday. I have not seen the extent of what has happened. I know it’s bad, real bad, but I have yet to see it with my own eyes. Today that is going to change as we are heading into the city to do our first of many medical clinic and food distributions. I am so glad I am able to be a part of this, I

I have some great news to share. I heard this morning that Bildad’s sister (who I mentioned in last night’s email) was found and she is ALIVE! Praise the Lord! I don’t know all the details since I have not seen Bildad yet today, but word on the street is she somehow made it out of the school and they found her in a hospital. I’ll know more when I see him, but I wanted to share the good news with you right away! Other great news – I have a tent city almost finished for the Hope House kids to move into tonight. There are 8 tents set up and pegged in! I just have to put the rain covers on and maybe see if I can find another tent or two. It’s been a long and exhausting morning, but after seeing the children shivering so bad last night I had to figure something out and the kids are way too scared to move inside any building. They said they would rather sleep outside again. I thought it would be a good idea to put the tents up in the shade, but they kids wanted the tents far away from everyt

The ground beneath my feet is the base of everything. I find shelter on it, I eat food grown in it, I use fuel found deep inside it. I build my life on it. I see my future on it. I dream from my bed, in my home, built on top of it. So what happens then when the ground beneath my feet suddenly becomes my enemy? What happens when this thing I’ve always trusted, always counted on turns against me? I wish the ground beneath me would stop shaking. I wish I could trust the ground I’m sitting on right now. I wish I could, but I can’t, and I don’t and I am starting to wonder if I ever will again. Never in all my life have I felt more terrified. Never have I felt so powerless and helpless. There is nothing I could do to stop the earth from shaking. Nothing. It came without notice, it lasted as long as it wanted and continues to remind us of its dangerous threat through continued tremors. Praise the Lord we just have cracked walls and broken things. It is a miracle. The Lord, once again has prot

I hope to one-day live in a world where every child is loved as a child should be loved; unconditionally and whole-heartedly. A world where every child is protected and can live without fear or harm. I hope to one-day live in a world where there is no hunger or strife, a world where we each have enough to fill our bellies without waste or greed. I hope to one-day live in a peaceful world, where innocent children’s lives are never lost, a world without bombs, guns and child soldiers. I hope to one-day live in a world that lives in harmony with nature. Instead of destroying everything around us we all work together to make the world a better place, a greener place, a safer place. I hope to one-day live in a world where we are all treated as equals regardless of nationality, colour, creed, age or sex, a world where we are all treated with love and respect. I know the world I hope for is a wild dream, a delusion if you will. The only person I can change is myself. A wise man once said, “be

5:15am – I have been at the Toronto airport since 3:15am. I just got through my second security check and am sitting in front of my gate finally. As I was standing in line I was wondering which would be better, to be scanned by one of those new and improved x-rated scanners which basically removes your clothing and takes a picture of you in the buff OR having someone actually touching you all over. I have not decided which I think is worse yet, but I can tell you that my “pat down” was surprisingly personal, for lack of a better term. At least my coffee is good, really good actually. 5:21am – I forgot to mention that I have not slept at all yet. We had to leave the house at 1:30 so there really wasn’t a point. 5:25am – There is totally a famous person sitting across from me. I can’t figure out who she is though, so she can’t be that famous. She’s older I think she played a teacher or a mother or something on a show I used to watch. I’m going to keep right on staring to see if I can fig

This is the reason I'll probably stay in Haiti for Christmas next year. Have a great day! Rachel

Gone with the old and in with the new. There is something so freeing about a New Year. We can forget about the heartbreaks, the struggles, disappointments and grief of the past year and look forward to the future. It’s a clean slate, a new beginning. Who knows what will happen in 2010. Will it be the year of adventure and romance of laughter and friendship of health and happiness? The year I look back on and say with a smile, “2010 was the best year of my life.” I hope so! Here’s to a new beginning, a fresh start, a year of possibilities. I pray this year will be a year of blessing, of learning, of growth, of love and happiness for us all. Peace, love & a new year, Rachel

“…and the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” The only things I wanted this Christmas were to sing Silent Night by candlelight on Christmas Eve, to share “most memorable Christmas” stories around the dinner table at Auntie Helen and Uncle Kwai’s, to get a 5 minute long hug from my favourite Pastor and his beautiful wife, to sit and laugh the night away with my cousins, to get a tour of my sister and brother-in-law’s new house, to sit around the kitchen table trying to figure out Dad’s new flying moth toy, and to help bake the last of the Christmas cookies. I didn’t need gifts, wrappers or bows. Being able to share thes

Since I arrived in Haiti 3 years, 4 months ago the orphanage has been full. There has never been a moment in time when we thought "we have some free beds, let's fill them!" Or even a day when I thought to myself, if we just did some rearranging we could fit a few more kids in. We have been FULL from day one. But somehow, someway there always seems to be room for one more. First came Christopher, we couldn't turn him away with his cornrows and sweet smile! Then Jean Marc, living in "friends" houses working for his keep after his mother passed away. He has brought a light that shines so bright into our lives! Then Michelove and Mackenlove, our very own Cinderella story; the poor things were suffering at the hands of their evil stepmother. Those two are always looking out for each other and just as spunky as the day we first met! Then came the "New Jerusalem" clan. Fifteen kids all at once. We weren't sure how we were going to make that work, but