Ripe Mango Chronicles

So there is this mosquito borne illness going around Haiti. It has been given many names, mainly by people who can't remember what it's actually called. A few examples, Mumbo-jumbo, Chickengumbo, chicken-coonya, that chicken thing, to name just a few. The official name of this awful illness is Chikungunya, but in Haiti it is known as kase les zo which roughly translates as bone breaking. In my opinion this is a very appropriate name for this illness, as it truly feels like your bones are breaking! I had a quick trip to Canada planned at the end of May to meet my cousin's new baby, have some family time and visit with my church family as it had been nine months since I had been outside of Haiti. I arrived just before midnight on Tuesday May 27th, so excited to be back in Canada. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were spent hanging out with family, discovering the elaborate vocabulary my niece and nephew have acquired in the 9 months since I had last seen them, ...

There was a time when Haiti was known as the Pearl of the Antilles. It’s a good name for Haiti, for a number of reasons. Haiti is filled with “secret beauty”, much like the oyster’s secret beauty.   The pearl lays within, and when discovered we are awed by the beauty we were hoping for, but not expecting. Haiti has a soiled history of brokenness and suffering. People are not necessarily expecting to discover the secret beauty within this country. When they arrive they are often amazed to discover the beauty hidden within; the people, the mountains, the beaches, the waterfalls, the rice fields, the fresh water pools literally take your breath away.  The Pearl of the Antilles is the perfect name for this place. If you haven't seen it first hand, it might be time to experience it for yourself. If you've already seen some of this country's beauty it might be time to come back and see what else there is to discover! Peace, love & beauty,...

There is this woman I have known for many years. She is the kind of woman you know has a hard life, by looking at her. The sight of her heavy eyes and sunken in cheeks bring out a motherly instinct to hold her. She never set foot in a school building as a student, not for one day. Yet she carries her Bible everywhere she goes. She has raised two adult children and has 3 more at home. Her husband died many years ago and so she bears life’s burdens alone, every single day. She is proud to tell you her children are all being educated, but you know the price for their education is a high one for her to pay. Her pace is slow, her posture defeated. She is the most generous person I know. She showers me with gifts I do not deserve, and with each one I fight back tears knowing that gift meant sacrifice.  She is a kind woman, whom I deeply admire. Recently this gentle woman had a break down of sorts. I don’t know what the trigger was, although, I imagine there were many.  It se...

I got some pretty sad news last week that has been so heavy on my heart. A young man, who was once mine, was arrested. The rest of the day I processed this information, and then a gnawing feeling crept into my heart. Did I do all I could have to help him? Was there something else I could have said to him? Was there something else I could have done for him? The questions were churning in my mind, and then an even greater and more convicting thought came. One day I will stand before the Lord to give an account for what I did or didn't do with the responsibilities I was entrusted with. (Romans 14:12, 2 Corinthians 4:10) Including this young man. When I stand before God, will He see that I did all I could? That I seized every opportunity I was given to lead this young man down the right path? I don't know. I lay in bed that night unable to sleep, thinking about this young man and the weight of the responsibility I have been given laying heavy on my heart and mind. I have a r...

I have found myself saying over and over, “Life is just so crazy right now, when it get’s back to normal…” A dear friend gently whispered, “Rachel, I think you need to accept that crazy is your normal.” Ah…the not so gentle slap in the face of truth. I live a crazy life. It will always be crazy. There is no calm, simple, quiet life on the horizon. Sigh. Accept this fact. Take a deep breath. Think about why my life is so crazy, think about each precious face I have the privilege of loving. Smile. Start dreaming of ways to be successful and joyful in the midst of crazy.

A great man once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” and I wholeheartedly agree. I have slowly been working on translating some training materials for our live in caregivers. I have really been looking forward to teaching our staff, but it is taking much longer than I originally anticipated to get everything complete. Apparently I don't have as much spare time as I thought!  I really wanted to get our training started, even though the materials are not finished, so decided we would do a separate, one day training session using a video I was given this summer. The video is called The Period of PURPLE Crying, and talks about dealing with inconsolable babies with a focus on shaken baby syndrome. Our staff are wonderful, and are hungry to learn. They eagerly participated in discussions, shared thoughts and ideas and asked for notepaper and pencils to take notes of everything I wrote on the board. They even asked to watc...

This morning an older women with the saddest eyes came to greet me. I know her well, she greets me every Sunday, but her eyes don't normally hold so much pain. I smiled at the baby in her arms and began the usual exchange of greetings. A smile. A kiss on the cheek. How are you? How is your family? This morning the answers were not what I expected. Her eyes welled up as she shared that her grandson passed away this week. A young boy I have met on numerous occasions. I was shocked as he has always looked so healthy. She doesn't have much, but I know she loves her grandchildren dearly and takes care of them as best she can. "What happened?" I asked. With her head lowered and eyes down she whispered, "He had a fever, and then he died. I tried to help him, we tried to take him to a hospital, but he died." I cannot begin to even imagine what life is like for this dear woman. Her husband shines shoes for a living, while she cares for a number of grandchildren...