Yes, again. Seriously, you can’t keep me away from there 🙂 I went for my third time a month ago and regret nothing (meaning one of my classes suffered because of it). I have been eager to return to Haiti since my two trips in 2015, but midwifery school has prevented that. Due to other circumstances, I took the summer off from school and decided to take this opportunity to go back to Haiti!
I flew out of Indy with Whitney, one of our 10 team members. We were all scheduled to fly out of Atlanta together to Port Au Prince. I had been up since 3 that morning for us to catch our flight and when we were all boarded and ready to go, they announced that there would be a delay due to mechanical issues which was a button that was “required to work to fly the plane” wasn’t working so they glued it but then informed us that wasn’t FAA approved so they had to fly a part in from Atlanta. Super glue, people! They told us they used super glue. *gulp*
Our flight ended up being two hours late which caused us to miss our connecting flight. To say I was freaking out would be an understatement! 3 hours of sleep + miss a connecting flight = disaster 🙂
But, it turned out to be okay (imagine that?!). The day turned out to be a fun adventurous day! We met two guys who were also flying to Haiti and ended up spending the rest of the day in Atlanta, GA with them exploring, eating, and just having fun! Our flight out of Atlanta was the next day and we met the rest of our team in Port Au Prince and the week went on as scheduled. I was bummed that we missed going to church on Sunday in Haiti since that turned out to be the day we did most of our traveling, but I’m glad we had that “cushion” day do we didn’t miss any of the week’s activities.
{exploring downtown Atlanta, GA}
{Whitney, Bobby, Jeff (aka “Dad”… he introduced himself as dad because he was basically babysitting us 😀 ), and me}
So once we finally arrived in Port Au Prince and survived getting through the airport (which is no picnic!), we boarded the bus…
…and finally got to meet the rest of the team that we would be spending the week with!
The bus broke down which caused us to arrive at our final destination really late that night. (I think it is time to start scheduling in time to allow the bus to break down, cause it seems to happen every time 😀 )
Monday was our first full day in Haiti which was VBS day 1 for the kids!
It was awesome having so many eager helpers to carry all our heavy bags!
We had two days of VBS for the kids that consisted of coloring, snacks, bubbles, outdoor games, and a Bible lesson and craft.
On the first VBS day I was on coloring duty. And on day 2, Whitney and I were on lesson and craft duty 🙂
We took turns giving the lesson, teaching through a translator, talking to them about the Fruits of the Spirit.
{showing off her bracelet that she made during craft time}
They thought it was great fun to have me read all their name badges. I imagine it was great entertainment hearing me try to pronounce their names 😀
Monday evening was a graduation for the moms in the in level 1 literacy class:
Wednesday (day 4) was a topsy turvy day that didn’t go as planned. It was supposed to be a vaccine clinic day, but we weren’t brought the right amounts and kinds of vaccines. So it turned into a mini clinic/check out the moms and babies kind of day.
That afternoon we took a motorcycle ride and got to enjoy some beautiful views of the mountains!
My motorcycle ride partner, Emmalee 🙂
Thursday (day 5) was teaching classes to two groups of women. Morning classes were for the moms of newborns/infants/toddlers, and the afternoon classes were for the currently pregnant moms (I taught some of the morning classes):
{teaching them how to care for their new cloth diapers}
We had a little bit of an obsession with climbing up on the roof 😀
Several of us were afraid of this ladder, but climbed up anyways 🙂
The view from the roof was stunning!! 
{the cooks “kitchen” in the background}
{our bathroom which is basically a cement hole 🙂 }
{the house we stayed at to the left}
The view of the back of the church. This building has come a long way since I was last here when it was just a roof on poles!!
Common view of transportation…
This was our shower, which is quite the upgrade from last time I was in Haiti! This shower was INSIDE (vs. last time it was outside in the same little “building” as the “toilet”)! But we still had to dip water out of the bucket…
How adorable is this baby?
SERIOUSLY?!?! <3 <3
{LOVE ’em babies!!!}
This guy was just outside my bedroom. We also had one in the shower, and another by the head of my bed. Yikes! We also had cockroaches in the house, but I’ve dealt with those before. But scorpions? This was a first.
{the walk back to the house from the church}
{the walk to the church}
{one of our 3 translators…church bathroom in the back 😀 }
{the front porch}
{during down time I loved sitting on the porch with the Haitians just talking and getting to know them, or attempting to talk because there wasn’t always a translator there!}
{I’d often catch the kids feeling my skin 🙂 }
{food!!}
{I loved all of the food!}
{my boys}
{we had an AWESOME team!! I love every one of these girls!}
We spent a night at a resort on the way back to Port Au Prince…that was a refreshing time for reflecting on the week!
And that, my friends, concludes my Haiti story. If you would like to learn more about the organization I went with, you can check them out here: Breath of Life Haiti. They also have a Facebook page, Breath of Life Haiti where you can check out the new design of the birthing center that they are fundraising to build down in Haiti!!
I will no doubt jump at the next opportunity to return! I love this country and these people!! <3
(Congratulations! You just read the Seven Sister’s first post in 6 months! But this is to say that I promise that you didn’t die and go to heaven, you are very much still on earth wishing for more fabulous content. Comment what specifically you’d like us to post about and I’ll try to bribe the sisters to write a little something…) 😀
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Thanks for your post, Susannah! I enjoyed reading it 🙂 and miss having regular blog posts from you ladies to read (I’ve been following your blog for years 😀)
Some things I think would be interesting for you to post…
A ‘day in the life of’ post for each of you (some other bloggers do this and it’s always fun to read/see!)
An update from Cassia on her EMS-learning journey
A flying adventures update from Jessica
An update from you on your midwifery journey
An update from Anna on her long Guatemala trip
Just a general update on your family’s summer
Something about what Rebekah plans to do in the future. Is she 18 now?
How your brothers are
How you celebrated birthdays/other significant family events this year so far
Lol sorry for all the suggestions…think I got a little carried away! Feel free to ignore any or all!
Best wishes,
Kate
LOL! We’ll see what we can do (and what I can get the others to do) 🙂
-Susannah
I just thought of something else…the 4Hers among you could do a post about how they did this year. And I’d be interested to hear about any canning you guys have done so far (I love making preserves etc with fruit I’ve picked wild or got from my Mum’s garden) 😀
What an awesome adventure. Would love to read updates on everyone. Maybe any of the other trips the family has taken. Very inspiring!!
Hey,
I read your blog quite often because my family is very close knit too!!! Something I’ve wondered about is how the older girls feel about not dating much snd not being married. I’m older and not married…it’s hard to accept that it just might not be in the cards. I just wondered how you feel. It might be too personal to write about.
It is a struggle and we all want to be married (unless one of my siblings changed their minds and haven’t told me 🙂 ), but we go through phases as anyone would from REALLY wanting to be married or in a relationship to being perfectly happy being single. As we get older we recognize the realities of marriage and that it isn’t all fun and love. It is a relationship that will take a lot of work (which will be worth it, but just realizing that it isn’t all about fun). It is also important to not think that your life is on hold until you get married. Some of us have found a niche or thing (whatever you want to call it) that we love and am pursuing that for now. If you are doing what God has called you to do (be it at home taking care of siblings, going to college, or moving to Africa), then it helps with contentment (I kinda hate that word 😀 ). But I agree, it’s hard to accept that it might not “be in the cards”, but that is worrying about the future. How can we further the kingdom of God today?
Susannah
+JMJ+
Yeah!! I’m so glad the Seven Sisters are back. I’ve been a loyal reader for a couple of years now and I quite missed your blog posts. I, myself, would love to hear about the following:
*day-in-the-life-of……
*life happenings
*dreams for the future
*life lessons you’ve learned
I’ve missed your cheerful posts! God bless!
We are so glad for your post,we miis you all!
Yay! Thank you for posting and sharing!
Ashley
I am a new reader and am enjoying discovering your posts – would like to ready anything more!
I loved reading your newest post about Haiti! You are really making a difference by going there and being God’s Hands and Feet! What school are you doing your Midwifery Training at? My oldest daughter will graduate High School this year and she is planning on becoming Nurse Midwife!
Thank you! I am training through Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (SWTC). That is awesome that your daughter is planning on becoming a midwife!!
I just found your blog tonight while looking for a head covering pattern, and have been up reading your posts for hours. Thank you for sharing your wonderful lives!
Thank you or posting about your trip. I’ve missed reading your all’s blog posts 🙂
I didn’t know you were becoming a midwife. Do you have to get a bachelors and masters degree in nursing to become certified? And are you just taking online courses? I want to become a midwife too, but in my state, I have to become a doula first. Do you have to become doula certified before you get midwifery certification?
Love
Ashley
Hey Ashley! I don’t have to get a bachelors or masters degree. It all depends on each state. My state requires at least an associates at a MEAC accredited school so that is what I am doing. I didn’t have to become a doula, but I did have to attend a doula workshop. I highly recommend working as a doula first because that will get you more familiar and comfortable with birth and how to help the women before going on to get a midwifery degree.
-Susannah
You guys are so encouraging. I read every new thing you post. God bless you as you walk in faith.
I’m so happy to see an update as I have loved your blog for a long time, and also your YouTube videos. Do you plan on moving back closer to your family when you’re done with your training? Do you still get to see them frequently? I am 34 and was homeschooled, and still living at home because my mom is disabled. Your closeness with your siblings reminds me so much of me and my siblings, who are still best friends in our 30s! 🙂
I originally planned on moving back but have discovered that I really like this area. So honestly, I don’t know. I’ve literally had to stop planning my life because all my plans kept getting messed up (imagine that…). 🙂
I do get to see them, sometimes more frequently than others. Over the holidays I was home quite a bit. Right now it is about once a month.