Christmas Eve…..wow! We have been busy baking the last couple days. It takes a lot longer here because you need to track down the ingredients and when it’s not your own kitchen and you need to look for things and then you find there’s only 1 tsp of baking powder or 1/3 cup of cocoa…..well…you know what I mean! So we have cookies galore, cakes and more! We are doing the big Christmas celebration tonight. We will have dinner and a program (organized and directed by MelissaJ). A Christmas party is after that and the kids here get to stay up until midnight and then open their present! This works better, apparently, because the little kids are so excited that they can’t sleep properly and then are too tired the next day. So, Christmas day is, in fact when they sleep in and then we will make them corn chowder and buns for dinner! Sheldon and I made it the other night for Pastor Henri and sister Gladys and they LOVED it! I think they want to serve it on rice though, to make it go farther as there are about 150 mouths to feed (including the staff and guests).

As a family, we are planning to be a part of the fun! I am playing piano for the play and there are special numbers ( never a shortage….the girls love to sing and will jump at a chance on the mic!) Melissa and I are each doing an English song with our adult English classes too! Hers “Rejoice” and mine “This is my desire” (their favorite!) I want to enjoy Christmas day so our kids will come back to our little place here and get to open 1 present! Then we will put them to bed at a decent time so we can get up and enjoy Christmas morning! We plan to head to the ocean! Here at Canaan everyone will be sleeping so we will go take a break and enjoy the beach. We will come home in the afternoon to make dinner. And then….can you believe it, the hussle and bustle is all over for another year.

Sheldon and I went to the clinic again today. We missed that when we were in Jacmel. It is so fascinating and I feel like I’m doing something important in helping people. It’s kind of scary to think that the nurses are on their own sometimes! I am by no means docter or nurse but what we learned in or course has proven to be so valuable! With diagnosing the problem instead of just treating the symptoms we have been more effective by far. We need to help the nurses think things through and not just give everyone acetominophen for the pain! The books we brought from our course, “Village Medical Manual”, have been invaluable and I aim to teach Irve, the young guy who wants to go study in the states and come back to be the docter here, how to use them. I am sure glad that Sheldon and I both got a set because I should leave mine here for them. I will definitely miss all the margine notes though!

Better let you go. Enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. That is something to never take for granted. The time we can spend together is so precious. We love you guys and miss you. Merry Christmas to you and yours as you celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world! May you take time to reflect on the one who ‘stepped down into darkness…’ because of his great love for you. Blessings,

Kim and Sheldon,
Dawson, Jordan, Lauren, Kira and Melainey.

Castles in the sand...Spencer, Jozaffa and Dawson
Lauren Cassandra enjoying the beach... Melainey Rosalinda in her funky swimsuit!
These two love to ham it up!

the YWAM house... we are looking at renting the bottom floor... Michelle and I holding...believe it or not....avacados!

The fam...

Pete, Michelle, Jinette and Jozaffa

juice boxes and baby powder!

sleeping beauties...

Here we are….only 5 days until Christmas! It’s hard to believe because things have been so busy and this is a far cry from the white Christmases we are used to! We are back at Canaan after a week in Jacmel with our girls and our family from BC. We had a wonderful week and thought we might get a little bored just hanging out but felt quite busy the whole time. It was just right! I guess 5 kids is a pretty full time job on its own! The kids spent a lot of time swimming in the ocean and the pool. Mom spent a lot of time trying to wash the sand out of every nook and cranny!

Lauren was happy to be with us right off the bat. Melainey took a couple days to warm up to us but after she did we spent a lot of time laughing at her very sweet personality. She is a little character! She scrunches up her nose and grins and then hides behind her hands! She likes to laugh and be silly. She wanted to be held most of the time and towards the end of the week we made a point to put her down and encourage her to explore her surroundings. Pete and Michelle and the kids had a good time I think. We were so happy to see some familiar faces! We picked them up at the airport Tues. afternoon, gave everyone gravol for the ride and headed out on the 3 hour trip through the windy mountain road. We ran into a broken down semi on the way and has to wait a while for that to clear but otherwise arrived without incident.

We went to see ‘Faith and Love’s compound and said Hi to everyone and saw where our kids stayed. Henri took Sheldon and I to town on motorcycle taxis! We had to flag three down and all hop on one because I needed to make a diaper run (two babies go thought em fast!) and get Advil for Dawson. He had quite a headache for a few days. He was determined not to let that slow him down though. Too much fun to be had with the cousins!! I wonder if her didn’t have a bit of what Melissa had. Lauren was sick the last two nights too. In fact, we took her to a clinic that sent us to a lab to test her for Malaria. That was not pleasant, as they had to take some blood from her finger. She cried! She was so feverish at night and would wake up screaming and holding her head but was not coherent until morning. During the day you could tell she wasn’t quite as chipper as normal too. She told us her stomach hurt. Anyway, malaria came back negative but they gave me 5 different medications for her (including malaria meds???) and we gave her the first dosages and made sure Henri would make sure she got the rest. All the kids had a bit of a cold.

We went to church at the home as well on Sunday and that was neat. We saw the little ones who sit at the front on their little chairs. We had a good laugh at Fania who, after a little ‘disagreement’ over the little one next to her being in her personal space, started nodding off! It was the cutest thing and she kept falling and catching herself and I just wanted to scoop her up and let her sleep but couldn’t have without disrupting the whole service. Jesse also was wondering around and came to say hi. He looked a little lost and he laid down on the floor to take a break! By the time I passed off the two babies I was holding to give him some cuddles, another girl had grabbed him and taken him out. I did get some good pictures and will try post more yet.

Monday night Henri came and got the kids because we had to leave early Tuesday. It was so hard to say goodbye! Our friend, Pastor Henri, from Montrouis, sat down with us and explained to the girls (not that the baby understood) that we were leaving but would be back soon and what did they want us to bring them? Lauren was sad but said she would like a dolly. She was happy too, that we put a box of corn flakes in her backpack along with some powdered milk.

We have found a house in Jacmel!! We are planning to go back in January and live with our girls until we can bring them home in April. Keep praying about this with us. Our lawyer is sounding very positive that that will work out. He figures in two more weeks he will pick up our dossiers from IBESR and then do passports and stuff. I told him that we didn’t know for sure if we would live with them for three months if we had to leave them because we are worried about the damage it would do to Lauren. He said again it shouldn’t be a problem. So we are seeking the Lords guidance and to this point are feeling pretty positive about going. We had given up on living there but suddenly this opportunity comes out of the blue and it seems to be a God thing. I am trying to find the balance between being optimistic and believing in faith they will come home with us and being realistic ( “yeah…I’ll believe that when I see it”). God knows. Why would he open this door to go to Jacmel? Even if things don’t work how we hope, we will trust that he will meet the need our girls have when we can’t.

So, it looks as thought the new year will hold a lot of new adjustments once again. We are surprised at how sad we are to leave Canaan as we have developed heart strings to the people and even the place. Just when you start to settle in! Here goes the comfort zone again! Oh well… keeps life interesting! At this point it looks like Melissa and Jaimee want to stay in Canaan and continue in the ministries they have been doing. Carl and Stephanie are thinking they will come with us. We will rent the bottom floor of the YWAM base. We met the guy heading it up. His name is Lubens and he has a 2 year old and an 8 month old. His family will live upstairs along with Bonnie, a lady form Canada who has been teaching at Faith and Love. He said they may even had a vehicle for us that we only need to put gas in! Priase God! Our rent will include the food (prepared even!) and we’ll pay a little extra for a lady to wash our clothes along with theirs.
OK….think I’m boring you by now! I’ll post this and write again soon. I’ll try put a bunch more pictures. Have a great evening and thanks for your prayers! Love in Christ, Sheldon, Kim and crew.

Jordan and Lauren

Melainey

Dec. 9th...

Hi there! Just want to update you before we leave tomorrow for a week! We'd love your prayers as a few people have been sick lately. Melissa had a rough night last night and I stayed with her today listening to the worship floating through the air on the warm breeze. Seems weird missing church....like I don't know what day it is anymore. Poor Melissa has had a migraine for a couple days. She couldn't sleep last night and crawled through our door about 6 am this morning. I have been trying to keep the liquids going in. Gave her Tylenol for the pain which didn't come close to helping so she took a shot IM and actually had a bit of relief for a short while. Her fever is going back up a bit tonight.... it could just be a virus but we are keeping close eye and time will tell if we are dealing with more (Malaria or Typhoid fever?) Regardless, it's never fun when your in the middle of it. She was thinking she was dying and was wondering what the possibilities of air evac were. We chuckled a bit over that this afternoon but that's how it felt at the time. We are praying for her lots and hope she wakes up feeling GREAT!

Wayne Shenk and Gloria Daley arrived today! So cool to see faces from home! The good news is that they are safe and sound. The bad news is that their luggage (including our prescriptions from home for impetigo) didn't! They are supposed to get the suitcases tomorrow.....hmmm should I let them hope or tell them that what I thought too....for 10 DAYS!! hehe...


We are heading to PAP tomorrow and will stay overnight at Gladys' moms house. From there we will pick up a rental van, pick up Michelle, Pete and kids and Tamara from the airport and head OUT!!! Jacmel with all the kids for a week sounds good! I admit I am a little nervous about the first day or two with our baby. That's always just a little hard when you want to love em so much but you scare them to death cause they are like "who ARE you?!?!" I look forward to latter part of the week when she knows us and starts letting us see who she really is and what she is like. Lauren Cassandra will be fine. She had a hoot last time and was sad to see us go. I know that will be hard too. For now I won't think about it. The kids are excited to spend time with the siblings and cousins, Auntie and Uncle. I will get some picts to post when we get home. Love and thanks to you all who are remembering us in your prayers. Thank you so much! We continue to press onward...
Talk to you when we return! Sheldon, Kim, Dawson, Jordy and soon Lauren and Melainey with us. Blessings!

Dec.5th

We are getting a little crazy here in Canaan. I had the idea last week of going all out and buying a BOX if snickers bars because between all the Americans and Canadians I figured I’d sell em all in no time and maybe even make a buck! From there, sister Gladys got going on the idea of a store and we have been building on it! We have come from a box of snickers all the way to an assortement of chocolate bars, pop, juice, bottled water, oreo cookies, Pringles snack packs, Haitian vanilla and almond extract and coffee beans/grinds! The idea is to do a little gift shop for the people coming through for their convenience and for Cannan to make a bit of profit at the same time. Off to PAPA we went to run some errands and buy stuff for the store. What we didn’t think about is the fact that the kids would be sooooo excited about a little store here in Canaan! We have seen a steady stream of children ALL DAY LONG (today is the first unorganized day)! They are all eyes and wondering what they buy with their 1 goude! The truth is ….nothing! It takes 35 goudes to make 1 Cdn dollar and we weren’t really expecting be selling to the kids. So we grabbed a bunch of little candies we had tucked away and have been humoring the children. Who knew they had some goudes squirreled away for a rainy day!! So cute! We are going to walk to Mont Rouis (20 minute walk) and get some more little things that they can afford to buy.

What has surprised me is to see the children buying candy and then giving it away!! I feel badly when they share with my kids because they have nothing and my kids, in comparison, have so much! A good lesson for those who hold too tightly to things that matter very little.

Sheldon and I are very excited about heading up the clinic when one of the gals heads home on the 17th. We are looking forward to being able to use what we learned in our “MMI” course! We are supposed to teach the local nurses here. When I asked what exactly, I was told ‘manners and how to think’ hehe…ok…..how do we do THAT?!?! J I guess we will need to go over sutering and shots but also just to be practical and use common sense. For example, Janis was telling me that they will take someones temp. and write down 33degrees. This is quiet abnormal and maybe you should check to make sure your patient is still alive! Or they will weigh someone and write that they are 25 lbs. Not likey….not when you’re an adult. So, just to stop and think and make sure that things add up. Also we will be trying to organize a filing system so we can keep accuate records of patients. This way we will know more history, making diagnosis and treatments more accurate. Like if a patient came in with a fever and headache every month maybe they are dealing with malaria etc….

So, things are going well and we are soon not going to be able to take on more things as time in the day will not permit. It is a good feeling though, to be busy and feel like your making a difference.

Steph is making progress with figuring out what to teach her special ed class. Melissa is enjoying the mix of helping with the little guys during the day and the adult English classes at night. She is now doing Tues, Thurs, and Sats for the outside community of Mont Rouis as well! That books every night up for her! Jaimee is still carrying around candy and her ‘tiloulou’…a bitter-sweet combination! I admire her perseverance with those little guys! Carl has been helping out the Indiana team pour concrete. They do it a little different here. They have to break the rocks, then mix the water with the cement and rocks nd before they pour they need to level the floor by adding more rocks! Wow….! They have great attitudes and are a good bunch!

Some picts of life here in Canaan. Carter is the littlest guy here. 3 years old, I think, and gives a good hard 'five'! Then the chapel here in Canaan. Kira reading on Jordy's bed and Sheldon with our litttle friends, Charma and Yulneed.

Dec. 3!

Hi there! The kids are doing their school work so I am going to take a quick moment in between helping them to update you quickly. I actually really enjoy doing school with the kids, unless they are in a bad mood and don’t feel like trying. Then it is frustrating! I have been doing lots now that Melissa is working with the other kids more. She loves teaching and is having fun with the English classes, as are Sheldon and I. We have been doing questions like “If I were the president of Haiti I would…” with the kids and it has been great practicing English with them and getting to know them this way. My favorite classes are with the adults in the evenings. I know it’s a stereotype but these guys all really like music so we have been doing songs with them and we all love it! We started with “I Can Only Imagine” and then “My Savior, My God”. Tonight they have requested “Above All” and wed. “This is My Desire”. We listen to the song then we write it out sentence by sentence and talk about the meanings, different words, tenses, comprehension etc….then they want to sing it! It’s great! They are so pumped that we told them we would make them a CD at the end with all the songs we have done.

The impetigo is gone!! We are so happy and thanking God for healing! The kids look a little funny cause they have white spots all over them where the sores were that never got suntanned like the rest of them. I had pink eye for a day last week…(when it rains..) but am glad to be done with that and VERY happy that no one else got it from me cause I got it from a bunch of other people that had it.

The kids make me laugh. They say they are having a great time and that they want to go home in the same sentence! Grass is always greener huh? We look forward to seeing our girls when Pete and Michelle come next Tues! It will be great to hang out with family for a week! We are hoping that Canaan will have the 12 passenger van licensed because they have offered to let us use it and that would be such a blessing. To this point they are having problems with the paperwork and we are supposed to hear something today (that’s what they said every day last week). We will see. Please pray about that!

I’m afraid Kira is getting a little spoiled. She wakes up in the night and wants to cuddle so I have been taking her bed and then we don’t sleep well with her kicking us. Because we are in tight quarters I thought that was better so we didn’t all have to listen to her cry for a bit and wake everyone up. Now (sitting here so tired) I’m thinking I need to rethink that! Hehe…

We killed 3 rats so far and caught two that got away. I hope they ran off and died! The bugs here are big. They creep me out! I hate it when they fly to the light at night and then crash and burn on you cause they got too close! We’ve had some interesting ones for sure. A Praying mantas, and some other ones I don’t know the names of but saw on ‘Timon and Pumba’ J.

That’s all for now, the kids have been having fun with their blogs. I started that as part of their school work. If their friends want to check em out: Dawsondyck.blogspot.com and Jordandyck.blogspot.com. You can leave comments we can get back to and see the pictures.