Our July Update
Hello from Haiti!
After some wonderful time spent in Mississippi with our families, we are back at home in Mare Rouge! We were originally scheduled to fly back in Port au Prince on July 15th but due to the civil unrest that occurred in the capital city of Haiti, we delayed our return flight until July 22nd. Thankfully, all had calmed down in Port au Prince by that time, and we were able to spend a few days there gathering all the supplies needed for Potter & Clay's Malnutrition Center.
We want to thank everyone that supported us through out our time spent in America. It's always fun to be able to visit different churches, Sunday school classes, and mission groups to be able to share about the various aspects of life and ministry here, as well as the triumphs and struggles in the fight against malnutrition in Northwest Haiti. Whether its through prayer, financial support, or generous donations, we could never thank each of you enough for allowing us to come, share, and be encouraged by you.
When we finally arrived back to the malnutrition center, we found a full house of mothers, babies, and toddlers fighting malnutrition. It gives us so much peace when we arrive after being away for a while and find that our staff has been working hard to maintain our various programs, even in our absence.
One of our more severe cases was sweet Dieuphnica, whom we call "Nica." At 14 months old, she weighed just 11.6 pounds and was too weak to put any weight on her legs without collapsing. Although she had no appetite initially, our staff demonstrated extreme patience by constantly offering her small bites of nutritious food. Slowly Nica began to eat more willingly, and eventually became excited each time she saw our nannies bringing her therapeutic food, an enriched peanut butter called Medika Mamba. She has brought so much life to the center now that she is crawling, clapping her hands, and trying to talk to everybody (even though we aren't sure exactly what she is saying, it sure is cute). Stay tuned for next month's update to see Nica's full transformation!
Escalindy was found by one of our health agents in a community outside of Krev, which is over an hour away from us by motorcycle. Sadly, Escalindy's mom passed away shortly after he was born, leaving his dad to care for him. Escalindy's father has done whatever he can to help Escalindy grow, but without the means to purchase formula - Escalindy's nutrition and development has suffered. His father was so thankful for the opportunity to see him get the nutrition he needs and begin to thrive. When Escalindy first came to the center, he could not sit up and had very little strength to do anything a seven month old baby should be doing. Now, he is doing tummy time every day, sitting up, playing with other children, and gaining weight!
Our newest addition into our formula program is pictured above in the white and yellow outfit. This sweet babe's mother was put on medication by a local doctor and then told that she could not breastfeed. Unfortunately this happens often here, even if the medication is safe for breastfeeding. To make the problem worse, mothers are not given any information on how to maintain their supply of breastmilk for when they are off of the medication. Education on this topic is so important to the success of breastfeeding mothers.
In the blue and green outfit is baby Djouse, whose mother was referred to us after delivering her new baby girl. The nurse who delivered Djouse noticed she was having difficulties breastfeeding. Because their house is very close to us in Mare Rouge, we were able to take a short motorcycle ride to their house each day to check on mom and baby's progress. We were also able to give her a breast pump to ensure that baby Djouse still received excellent nutrition thanks to Jessica, Madeline, Olivia, and Nick who visited us in May. We are still making periodic visits to see Baby Djouse and her mom and cannot wait to see how she grows and thrives!
Above is a glimpse from our everyday life. The road to the right goes down the mountain to the town of Jean Rabel. The short hill on the left leads to our favorite carwash (also known as a barrel of water and a pressure washer) where we take our truck to get cleaned up each time we return from Port au Prince. From the carwash, you can see part of the northern coast of Haiti - the views are breathtaking.
Prayer Requests
1. Pray for our staff - we could NOT do this work without them.
2. Pray for our programs - that they will reach the families who need them the most.
Praise Reports
We are so very thankful for everything that our staff did to ensure the center ran smoothly while we were in the States. Our programs were able to continue as if we were here ourselves. Praise the Lord for them!
Amazon Wishlist
Our current Amazon Wishlist can be found here. Please select "Gift Registry Address" at checkout to get the items sent directly to us! Thank you in advance for supporting our families in such a tangible way.
We pray that as you read the stories above, you feel as if you are a part of them yourself. Without your prayers, encouragement, and support we would not be able to do this work. We thank each of you for following
along on this crazy journey in Mare Rouge, Haiti.
In His Love,
Jordan and Rebecca