Success in the DR - Loudjenka's follow up story

The following e-mail is the e-mail I received from Amy, the nurse working with Children of the Promise that provided initial care for Loudjenka, and accompanied the family to Santiago:

I am back in Cap Haitian and am writing this email with a heart full of thanks and praise! 

I'll try to keep this brief. Here is a summary of our trip to the DR.

• We got across both borders without any difficulty. It felt like God softened the hearts of each person that stopped us before letting us pass. 
• Chance and Renee were waiting for us on the Dominican side.
• The paperwork with the authorization was waiting in the office on the Dominican side. We were stopped at many check points on the road to Santiago. Each time we showed the authorized papers we were waved ahead.
• When we arrived at the hospital I stumbled into a group of what seemed to be American Rotary club members in the hospital lobby listening to a presentation from some ICHF people. It was perfect! Dr. Ramirez was even standing in the group answering questions. 
• I approached them after their presentation. They'd been waiting for Loudjenca and ushered us upstairs where they were just finishing an echo on another child. One of the cardiologists immediately started her echo. 
• We were told that the hole in Loudjenca's heart had begun to close on its own. She did not need surgery. I heard the news first in English, then in Spanish, then in Creole. It was a great moment. 
• Loudjenca's parents were ecstatic. Loudjenca's mom shared that her exact prayer had been "Jesus, when we get to the hospital let us hear that surgery is not necessary." ....an answered prayer. 
• Loudjenca's parents were able to voice their other concerns to Dr. Ramirez regarding Loudjenca's breathing. He ordered a chest xray and blood work. 
• These tests were completed immediately. Loudjenca's lungs were clear. Everything looked good in her labs.
• All the nurses, doctors, med students, etc were incredibly caring and helpful.
• We were told to have Loudjenca return for a follow-up echo at one year of age. (She will have a passport by then!)
• We all stayed at a hotel near the bus station. Loudjenca and family left for Haiti Saturday morning and arrived in Cap without any problems.
• Jenn and I stayed an extra night in Santiago and took the express bus to the border. We arrived at COTP via bus and moto this afternoon. We had a great day as well. 
• Jenn and I couldn't help feeling extremely blessed by this whole experience. God worked out all the little details for our arrival at the Children's Hospital knowing all along that we would be met with the most wonderful news. Praise Him for his mercy. 

Thank you for all of your efforts. 

Amy

Loudjenka's parents now have the peace that their daughter's condition is not life-threatening, a confirmation they could not have received with the limited capabilites in Haiti.  Their faith in God is strengthened and they know they have an extended family supporting them.  

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Hanley Family

Visiting the mountain communities

I made a trip up to visit three communities in the mountains near Jimani to do some prep work for an upcoming short term trip. Unbelievable views. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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Redondo, Yveson, and Cleiford

I want to share a bit of what I know of these three boys.  Basically, we have seen them around town for the past month or so, and we have given them water and food a few times, but we didn't realize initially that they were living on the street.  We thought that they, like many children in Jimani, were just left to their own a majority of the time.  About three weeks ago, we ran into them again at our regular grocery store, and with six weeks of Creole lessons under my belt tried to have a conversation with them, and from that conversation understood that they were living on the street.  We started to try to verify their story and the store owner said they were just always on the street.  I began praying for wisdom and guidance.  Well, we didn't see them again for the next two weeks or so, until last Friday when we were on our way to Port au Prince for the weekend.  We ran into them as I made a last stop to buy water to hand out to the border guards.  I decided to postpone our departure and took them to the facility to speak with Hostey, one of the facility staff that speaks English and Creole.  

We gave them money for food for the weekend and asked them to meet us on Monday after we returned from Port au Prince.  Well, yesterday they showed up with the clothes on their back, and an extra garment or two a piece.  We got more of their story, and their mom's died in the earthquake.  Two of them are cousins.  They worked for a bus-driver for a short time after the earthquake finding people to ride on his bus, and when they earned enough for their own fare, they managed to get across the border into Jimaní.

We don't yet have legal permission in place to take in children.  My biggest concern about taking them in without any permission is the potential impact to the future ministry, which led me to the meeting with CONANI, the Dominican Republic's government office for the protection of children and adolescents.  I met with a Reuben, a man specifically in charge of dealing with the increased number of street kids as a result of the earthquake.  He was very open to our working with these children and gave us temporary permission to house them, and scheduled a meeting with a coalition of organizations in Jimaní that oversees services for the area's children and adolescents.  At this meeting Melissa and I will be presenting plans for use of the facilities as a Children's Home.

We always knew that God would be the one to make this happen, and He seems to be putting the pieces together.

We appreciate your prayers as we prepare for the meeting and your prayers for these boys.

Posted via email from Hanley Family

Morning Assembly at Batey 41

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assembly.mp4 (4177 KB)

Melissa and I were at Batey 41 this morning, and once again we were confused on the time change.  While it take us 20 minutes to get there it because of the road conditions and not the distance, and since we don't cross an official border crossing, I always forget that they follow the time zone for Haiti which is one hour behind the DR.  However, it was nice to be there before school started to see all the kids on their way to school, and excited to be going.  It was also nice to catch the morning assembly as the kids line up, sing, and pray before starting their morning.

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Kate's Goat

This is Kate's as of yet unnamed Goat. You can send us any name suggestions.

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A Unique Clothes Dryer

We have a clothes line that we have hanging in our living room so we can dry our clothes without worrying if it is going to rain or not.  However, to take full advantage of the sun, we also have one that is hanging over a planter outside our back windows.  In order to hang or retrieve clothes Melissa has to climb out the window into the planter.  The planter connects to the room next the living room, which is what we use a TV room.  Tonight, she startled Michael and his friends, who were in there playing video games, when she decided to climb into that room from the windows instead of back-tracking to the living room!  It's not just laundry, it's a sport!

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A Fun Week

We have a group of nurses down this week, mostly from the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  They have seen all of our school students in the four programs in Sosúa.  This picture is a group of kids showing of their fingers that just got stuck for a blood test to check the iron levels in their blood which can be used as  part of a nutrition assessment.  Check out their blog http://projectassessment2010.wordpress.com/

Posted via email from John's posterous