But I am not worried. Because by now I’ve seen this enough times to know what’s going to happen to Michnaika. She’s going to become Michnaika. By that I mean, she is going to thrive and grow and become the small person circumstance hasn’t allowed her to be. Her future is bright, sparking with possibilities.

She will eat everyday. Sleep in a soft, fleecy sleeper on a mattress every night. Soon she will be paired with a volunteer, and slowly she will come to trust that person, she will learn to laugh and smile, and learn to play.  And begin to trust and love others.

Someday soon she will be  like any other child that you probably know, carefree.

And along the way I get to catch glimpses of Michnaika’s journey. Until the time comes she will begin the next. I hope to be there that day, to tickle her belly, tell her we’ll miss her, and wave her off as she and her family pull out of GLA’s gates, to wherever home may be.

On a visit to the NICU this morning Susan asked me to inquire of the volunteers if anyone was an O negative blood type, which can be universally donated, for one of our more critical babies. She told me “It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.”

According to the American Red Cross “Only about 7% of all people have Type O negative blood. Type O negative blood is the preferred type for accident victims and babies needing exchange transfusions. There is always a need for Type O donors because their blood my be transfused to a person of any blood type in an emergency.” 7%, that did sound like a bit of a long shot.

As it turns out, Rachel, one of our volunteers who has been at GLA for a couple of months now, has type O Negative blood. When I asked her if she would be willing to give some blood, she was excited to be able to help in a unique way. Susan drew her blood, and in the afternoon transferred it to a very small baby. He responded beautifully to the transfusion.

So as we prepared to set the table and defrost the turkeys this Thanksgiving Thursday, it’s unbelievable the amount we at GLA have to be thankful for. Thankful that God is faithful to provide in every circumstance, that He knows exactly who He has placed in our paths, and just how they will be used. I am thankful to have shared Thanksgiving with these amazing people. I hope that you too have an abundant amount to be thankful for!

We’ve been blessed with the swiftness these kids adjust to being here. Like little Danyari. She’s the quietest little thing with warm eyes and chubby bunny cheeks, but holds out with her beautiful smile. The first couple days she came she was uncertain of all these white people around (and may or may not have cried when I attempted to be her new friend). Today she’s playing on the balcony without a care in the world.

We are also in a rich season of volunteers right now. They have been working hard with their children to reach new developmental goals. They are supportive to the all of the GLA staff, foreign and national. Each afternoon and evening you can expect to see a couple of them pitching in with dishes in the kitchen, hauling water bottles upstairs, or helping out wherever there’s a job to be done. I’m overwhelmed by the amount of willing hands God provides us and so thankful for a balcony full of great people!

In addition we just came off of a stint of 40 solid days of teams. I was admittedly nervous with so many people to direct, but it all came together, and a lot of projects were accomplished! Not only all of the building on the toddler area at Ft. Jacques, but also the food depo that was cleaned out and completely reorganized, the new shelves built to replace the rotten ones on the balcony, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning were just a few of the projects that went on at the main house.

I know Thanksgiving is still a couple weeks away, but I am bursting with thankfulness for so many blessings.

Having them at Ft. Jacques has eliminated transportation issues back and forth, they can jump in and get started on projects first thing in the morning. And from a personal standpoint, it’s been so much fun hosting them! Ft. Jacques will feel lonely when they leave!

Sunday we get a great big team of 14 people! They will stay at the guesthouse as there isn’t enough room for big team at Ft. Jacques, and they’ll be moving the two mountains of rocks cleared in the toddler area. Fingers are crosses that they will begin pouring the first foundation for the toddler houses! As always we are so grateful for awesome volunteers who give us all their time and energy! We are so blessed!

The plan this month is to start pouring foundation for the toddler houses! And the next team we get in will be a small team of 4 men who will be the first team staying in the bunk house at Ft. Jacques so we can cut out the transportation back and forth, therefore they can start working in the morning right away without having to wait for a driver! Ft. J will be relatively crowded next week!

Overall the feeling that Ft. Jacques is progressing steadily is encouraging! Every time I walk around the property it blows my mind to think about everyone being in one place! Its such a beautiful piece of land, I can’t wait to see what its going to be like. And our teams are playing such a big role in it all!

Teams bless us so many other ways as well. A month or so ago we had a team come with one member who paints murals as a hobby. She brought all of her supplies and offered to paint anything we’d like. She left us with two beautiful murals! One on the balcony and one in our office. A few weeks ago one of our favorite returning teams had two members who ran a pie shop and baked us dozens of delicious pies one evening for dessert! 

So here is a huge thanks to our teams! You are AWESOME!

The main house is kinetic all day long. But if you happen to be at the main house late into the evening, after everyone has eaten supper and gone to their respective houses, the kitchen and house staff are the last to go to bed. Every night they clean up after the 30, 40 sometimes 50 dinner guests. And if you were especially lucky to be downstairs while Exilia was cleaning the kitchen, you might have heard her sing.

Exilia had a sweet, soft falsetto voice that floated through the dinning room at night like a lullaby. The first time I heard her sing I was in Haiti for a visit, tucked into a corner of the office using a computer about 9 o’clock at night. It lulled my soul and distinctly became one of my favorite first Haiti memories.

I couldn’t keep the tears from my eyes when Dixie described Exilia being sung into Glory, for she has blessed at least me with her own songs. It seemed so fitting. Tonight I think Exilia must be singing with Angels.

Two weeks ago a family of volunteers staying at GLA put together gift bags full of odds and ends! Jewelry, nail polish, soaps, perfumes, candles, lotion, combs, and a collection of other little treasures. This week when payroll was handed out in the office each nanny received her bag of goodies! There were even bags for the guys (with guys stuff, don’t worry!). So if you’ve brought/sent a gift for staff in the last few months, thank you! You made somebodies day this week! : )

Monday afternoon everybody went up to Ft. Jacques for a cookout, bon fire and fireworks. And some good old American kickball on the soccer field next door. Fortunately the rain that swept through earlier didn’t stick around, unfortunately the soccer field didn’t have enough time to dry. So everyone played kickball in the mud!

Oh Canada/Say Can You See? VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This may not strike anyone as particularly impressive,  except when you stop to think that Kimberlie has most likely never played with toys before. They are a foreign concept to a child as small as Kimberlie who has not been introduced to them before.

Toys are a luxury here. Older children make their own toys, or might be lucky to receive a donated toy from various organizations (GLA gave out a number of  toys from earthquake donations). Some cheap and second hand toys are sold on the street, but many families cannot afford them for their children. You see these little makeshift cars everywhere.

Other common makeshift toys are good old fashioned hoop & sticks and paper kites.

Once children reach an age of resourcefulness they are able to construct their entertainment.

But young children such as Kimberlie are not exposed to these items created for the purpose of play. Thus we see many Haitian children with developmental delays. I’ve never stopped to ponder the importance of toys before. They are not only for the purpose of play, they can teach children to build, communicate, problem solve. Toys stimulate and feed the imagination.

Everyone can think back to their favorite toys.

Now little Kimberlie has a balcony full of toys to explore. Let the learning and fun begin!