Ripe Mango Chronicles

Epidemic. Is not the kind of word you want to hear; especially in a nation that is barely keeping it’s head above water as it is. Unfortunately the word epidemic has been ringing in our ears for the past few days. I know more about cholera now than I ever care to know. Thankfully this time we at least have some time to prepare. The hurricanes, the earthquakes, the car accidents, the sudden deaths; those come all of a sudden and all you can do is scramble to pick up the pieces. This time it’s different, this time we can actually be ready when disaster strikes and, we are ready, we are prepared. The beds are lined up, the buckets ready, the IV fluids and anti-biotics wait in anticipation. We sit quietly waiting for the chaos to break through the gate. Cholera we are ready for you! Not only are we prepared but we are also being proactive. The medical staff has been busy educating our students, our staff and our church. The kids are doing pretty well. They have been asking a lot of questi...

Life is so confusing sometimes. Overwhelming even. And then something amazing happens that reminds you to enjoy it, and just take it one day at a time. This past Sunday was Nehemie’s baby dedication. It was an amazing day and I am so excited to be her Godmother! It was especially exciting because Patris, being the new pastor at Mission of Hope’s church, was able to do the dedication service himself. We then headed to the beach in Simonette to celebrate. Good things are happening all the time! I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams. My life doesn’t reflect the life I had imagined for myself, not even a little. It’s more stressful, chaotic and traumatic. But it’s also more fulfilling, joyful, exciting, adventurous and meaningful. I have the most amazing family, the best friends in the world, the most fulfilling job in existence, a beautiful Goddaughter, a niece or nephew on the way (SO EXCITED!!), two amazing church families, a whole wack of amazing children to love, so many place...

Change. Change is hard and there is a lot of change going on right now. I am having a hard time adjusting. I keep waiting for things to go back to “normal” but what is normal? Parents begging me to take their children? People starving? Babies dying? Barefoot children wearing rags? That was my normal before the earthquake. Normal now is watching peoples homes blow away in the wind as they stand outside in the rain. Normal now is mile after mile of broken down tent cities. Normal now is hunger. Normal now is thirst. Normal now is sickness. Normal now is suffering. How can this be normal? I don’t understand how we can allow this to continue. How can some of us throw food away while others are starving? How can some of us drop out of school while other would give anything to have the chance to go? How can we worry about what colour to paint our shutters when millions of people are homeless? I don’t know about you but I can’t sit back and do nothing. I can’t. Yes, I am having a hard time a...

Power is always an issue in Haiti. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. Since I got back our inverter has been out of commission, which means we only have power when the generator is running. And so our power goes off each morning between 5:30 and 6:00. Knowing we deal with incurable power issues, I was sure to keep that in mind when shopping for a new alarm clock a few weeks ago. I looked at a few different places and finally found one that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for but was pretty close, plus in bold red font on the box it said, “No power, no problem.” This morning I set my alarm for 7:30. The power was already off but thankfully the alarm still went off at the right time. However, there seems to be one small detail the manufacturers overlooked. The alarm starts buzzing at the right time, but with no power it’s impossible to turn it off, I couldn’t even unplug it! So the soundtrack of me getting ready this morning was the non-stop, annoying buzzer sound of my wonder...

This morning bright and early I stumbled into the washroom, completely unaware of the unfortunate events about to unfold, I flicked on the light and wandered in, oblivious to the fact that I was mere seconds away from being brutally attacked by a giant cockroach. You see, cockroaches like dark places, so my bright disturbance was met with hostility. In the chaos of my intrusion the crazy cockroach ran directly at me, I was at a disadvantage seeing as my pj bottoms were already half way down before I saw him. The beast was half way up my calf before I could react. I ripped my pants off and jumped around squealing as quietly as possible seeing as it wasn’t yet 5:00am. Not a good way to start the day! A few hours later I’m down at the orphanage attending the ‘end of summer camp’ talent show, where the kids recite the poems they learned, do short skits, sing songs and have dance contests. The show was pretty extensive; I’m talking hours and hours. The last song of the show was my favouri...

Greetings friends, I have arrived safe and sound. I had a bit of a crazy night in Florida, but today was a smooth day. It is so great to be back, however, I am sweating my face off. Literally. I am seriously worried that the sweat is going to wash away my skin, like some sort of dermal erosion. It amazes me that I have been gone for almost 5 months. It took about 3 minutes in the airport to feel back at home. If it wasn't for all the squeaky boys (who apparently hit puberty while I was gone), the fact that all the babies are walking and my jungle of a garden (that is AWESOME!) I could have sworn I hadn't been gone more than a day. The kids and mommies had a 'Welcome Home' party for me, with speeches, songs and my favourite foods! It was so much fun. I am going to a juice party at Diana's now with all the other North American staff and then dropping into bed, with my fan turned up as high as it will go. I am EXHAUSTED but so excited to finally be home. I love those ...