Finally on Sunday the sun returned and started a week of Cap-Haitien digging out, cleaning up and trying to return to life before the approx. 18 inches of rain that fell in 24 hrs and two additional days of soaking rain.
The torrent down the mountain causing flooding, houses to collapse and wash away many people.
Monday I spent the day with Les Babcock and Ernie Peters out at the new Empower Global compound staring to drill a new well. The ground was so wet that we had water at 12". It sounds good but really slowed the process the first day.
Tuesday was off to the airport for MFI, while unloading the plane I received a phone call from Jane that she had taken two of the girls from the orphanage next door to the Clinic for check-ups because of their obvious signs of malnutrition. While at the clinic Catlee a friend of ours asked Jane if she could help with the care of a baby boy that was was being seen at the clinic and was nutritionally in very bad shape. Jane accepted along with the help of the orphanage and asked that I pick up some formula on my way home from the airport. Well when I got home we received "Sammy" supposedly 1 yr old weighing 8 lbs. "Blondie", supposedly 6 yrs old weighing 23 lbs and her older sister "Judelene" 8 yrs old weighing 46 lbs.
Blondie is a direct copy of the photos of children from Bangladesh, thin legs & arms and the large belly.
Her little body is being ravaged by intestinal parasites consuming 70% of what she eats.
Her older sister is thin but in much better shape. She is very good at taking her medication whereas Blondie won't take anything. We continue to try to mix meds in with her food but she has a keen nose and tongue and has caught us a few times.
Sammy has finally learned to accept formula from a syringe but still won't have anything to do with a bottle.
He is getting started much the same as a new born wanting to be fed and held constantly, we are trying to get him on a schedule of every three hours and sitting by himself. We are trying to get him up to 2oz of formula and Wed. evening we celebrated a dirty diaper knowing that his little system is finally passing food as it should.
Wed. Jane & I spent the morning gathering information and needed baby items from fellow missionaries.
Thursday Jane once again spent all day at the clinic with Blondie & Sammy along with four other children from the orphanage for health work-ups. Judelene returned to the orphanage for the day while I worked at the airport.
Friday, I spent the day baby sitting the girls and washing children's laundry while Jane took baby Sammy to English classes in "Cap" all day.
Today the gang is "up" & going, after breakfast I watched the kids while Jane started the first neighborhood Bible study. Sammy is getting a hair trim. Blondie is camped out with me in the recliner helping me with a few unwanted key strokes. Judelene is all dressed up and ready to go. She is a great helper and helps translate what her little sister is trying to say. All of this has been stretching my limited Creole. Everyone says if you want to learn, talk with kids. We are also learning once again how to function without sleep with a "newborn".
Hopefully by Monday things will settle, God continues to stretch us each day as we strive to be His hands & feet to everyone He puts in our path.
Bud
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