July Photos and Update from GLA

Hello Angie & Philip,

It’s time for photos again!

I hope you have had a fabulous July so far. Things are going well here at the GLA Toddler House. Three kids graduated from the Main House and have now been added to our group, as well as two new little ones coming in to GLA for the first time. They all seem to have adjusted well, and the kids have welcomed them with open arms.

A few months ago a church in the U.S. got together a container of donations for GLA. They packed it and shipped it out to Haiti , where is had been sitting at the wharf, until earlier in the month when customs released it to us with very little hassle and a minimum fee! We are VERY THANKFUL!!! The container was driven up to GLA on the back of a semi. Being such a large vehicle it was difficult for the driver to make it up the narrow curving roads to the orphanage, but he did and we unloaded everything with excitement. On the driver’s way back to the wharf, he had many problems including sliding off the road and running into a neighboring house. Thankfully no one was hurt and the vehicle was at last towed down the mountain for repairs. None the less it for a very interesting event, and it was an unforgettable way to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood. Now we have begun sorting and looking through the boxes of donations… clothing, toys, many school lessons and activities, medical equipment, soap, lotion, baby wash, toothpaste, blankets, shoes, etc. So much stuff! We are blessed to have it and will be stocked up on many things for months to come! What a huge Praise!!!

Ronaldo is healthy and doing well! He hasn’t had any illnesses this last month, despite the strep throat that seems to be traveling around Haïti right now. His measurements are as follow:
Height: 116 cm /46 inches
Weight: 46 lbs

Ronaldo’s English teacher has been very pleased with Ronaldo’s progress and enthusiasm. Ronaldo has been the quickest she says in learning new words and how to use them. The other day his friend scored a yard game of soccer, and Ronaldo congradulated him with an “Excellent! Good Job!” He learns more from hearing it used over and over than he does from having it explained to him and working on it in the classroom. “Excellent” was never a part of their learned vocabulary, but he had heard it enough to know what it meant and when to use it.

Have a great evening!

God bless you!
Molly

More about R.J. from GLA volunteer

Hello again, Kristin!

I thought of something I was wondering about Ronaldo. How is his English coming along? R.J. just came to the orphanage February 27, 2006, and Molly confirmed for me that he had no formal schooling before being at GLA. However, from the updates we're getting, it sounds as though he is a very fast learner, so I'm just curious how his learning of English is coming along. (Is Joyce the English teacher you spoke of?)

Also, for their formal schooling -- other than the English they learn from the GLA teacher -- do they go off campus (away from GLA) for school each day? How far is that? I presume the kids walk. How many hours of school a day does Ronaldo attend? (I completely understand if you don't know, in which case I can ask Molly.)

Finally (for now), if you were to suggest some more gifts and/or toys for us to send to Ronaldo, what do you think he would enjoy the most?

That's all I can think of right now.
Thanks again,
Angie



Hi Angie!

I can definitely tell that Ronaldo is a fast learner. I think he’s at the stage where he understands a lot of English, but doesn’t speak a lot of it yet. I would ask him questions in English, and he would respond in creole. I’m sure that he will be doing very good by the time he comes home. He also hangs around with Georgy a lot, and Georgy is very fluent, so I’m sure he will pick it up. Joyce (the English teacher at GLA) teaches like 5-6 classes in the mornings, about 30 min. each.

GLA has a teacher come in to teach for their formal schooling. I don’t know how long he’s there, because they were off for the summer, but I know that in their new houses, they actually have a specific “classroom” to meet in which is pretty cool.

I think Ronaldo would love more little matchbox cars, those were the thing that he chose to take down with him. When kids get gifts from their parents, Molly lets them take one toy down to play with, and then they can get another one in a week. It makes them last, and it’s hard to guard all of your stuff against the other kids when you can’t hang on to it. He would also love a basketball. When we would go on walks, we would pass a house that had a basketball hoop. Ronaldo would always have to point that out to me “Gade, (look), basketball!” and then he would make these dribbling motions and pretend to do a slam dunk, everytime, without fail. It was pretty cute. A deflated one with a pump might send pretty easy. I think he would also love more pictures. I think he’s at the age where he really understands that this will be his new family, and he loved seeing the pictures of you guys.

Talk to you later, and let me know if you have any other questions I can answer.
Kristin

More Photos from GLA volunteer

Hi Angie!

Here’s a few more pictures, different ones this time! He loved the gifts in the backpack, and seeing the pictures. The glow on his face was too cool as he was realizing that this was his family. We were helping him going thru it, after a while, we would ask, “who’s this?” and he’d reply, “Papa ronaldo, momma ronaldo, Charlie,”…etc. It was really cute! He also thought your picture was Dixie at first because you guys have the same haircut and glasses.

Let me know if you have any questions about Ronaldo that I could answer for you…He is such a great kid, and I miss him a lot…He’s a sweetheart.

Talk to you later!
Kristin

You can see the complete collection of photos we've received from Kristin and various others who have traveled to GLA on our family photo album site at Webshots.

Photo from a GLA volunteer

We got news that a young lady named Kristin -- whose family we are acquainted with through our Haitian-adoption online discussion group -- was going to be spending 4 weeks volunteering at R.J.'s orphanage. We sent a small backpack full of gifts and photos for R.J. that she took with her to Haiti. After she got back from Haiti, she sent us photos and answered some questions we had.




Hi Angie!
I finally made it back from Haiti! I had a really great time, and didn’t want to leave.

Ronaldo is such a great kid! He is a sweetheart. I have a ton of pictures of him, just because he’s so cute and photogenic. I’ll attach a few to start out with. Here’s one of him eagerly waiting to open his backpack, which he loved everything in there. I have a lot more to come yet… :)

Have a great day!
Kristin

June Photos and Update from GLA

Dear Angie & Philip,

I hope you have had a great month!

Things have been quite busy here, but all in very good ways that advance us in improvements in the orphanage and care of the children. As you know we vacated our Toddler house and moved into a new compound consisting of not one but TWO smaller buildings and a massive FLAT yard for the kids play in! It has definitely been a God send. It seems we searched for months for a larger home for all the toddlers. We needed something in our area, but large enough to house all 60 kids, up to 12 volunteers, and 13 child care workers. We visited one place after another, nothing fitting, it was getting quite discouraging… and then one morning a very non-excited bunch of us jumped into the car to see “another place”. That was it! It couldn’t have been more perfect if we had designed it ourselves. I can just see God chuckling up there, as we walked around in amazement at how perfect it was in every sense; size, layout, location, lease, landlord, etc. Of course it’s perfect, because He knew that at just this time we would need somewhere to live and He had it build long ago just for us! No one has even lived in it before! He knows our needs before we ever ask, and is provider for them all, each and every one! As the kids say, “Our God is a Great BIG God!”

Moving went smoothly. Many hands make light work. We are thankful for all those whom pitched in to get the job done. It was precious to see the kids’ faces when they arrived last of ALL. We had unpacked all their stuff and had cooked dinner, so when they arrived all was in place for them. The energy in the cars on the way over was immeasurable! They were so excited. When we arrived no one could get out of the car fast enough! The idea was to get them right in for dinner, but a few escaped the herding and ran the length of the yard just laughing at how big it was! The next amazement then for them was of course, “this room is so big we can all eat in it together at ONE TIME!” something that hasn’t happened in over a year’s timeJ.

Ronaldo got a brand new metal frame bed, and new pajamas in the “big boys” room. Also known as Chanm 5. The medium and older boys live in the smaller house, sharing with the volunteers and the school rooms. The girls and small toddlers all sleep in the other building.

Ronaldo’s current measurements are as follow:

Height: 114 cm / 45 inches
Weight: 45 lbs

I am sorry this cannot be more personal and more informative about Ronaldo. There is so much I’d like to write, but alas… where can I pull the time from? I hope you will understand as we have had such a busy month and I am just now getting started on sending out photos. Next month things should be more settled.

God bless you,

Have a wonderful week!
Molly

A new building for the older kids at GLA

Hello All!

Our Toddler House has become too small and we have been searching for 6 months for another house that is bigger. Nothing seemed to fit. We found very fancy homes that were impractical or houses that were falling down but nothing that reached out and said...."THIS IS THE ONE!"

Then our landlord sent us a letter saying that when our rent was up in August, that he wanted us to move. We had been having trouble with sewer back up and water problems for months. He said the kids made too much noise since he lives next door to the orphanage. So both of us would be happy if we found a bigger house for the kids!

Then 2 weeks ago, someone came and told me about a house on the road where we live that was for rent. When we went and looked at the property, it turned out to be 2 houses on the same property. The houses have never been lived in. One house has 5 bedrooms, a place for 2 classrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a kitchen and living room. The second house has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a huge dining area where all of the kids can eat at one time instead of in shifts, a nice storage room that was a small bedroom, and an indoor kitchen and an outdoor kitchen!

I knew as soon as I stepped inside the house that it was perfect for the kids! It also has play area that is about 3 times the size of the present Toddler House! Another nice thing about the houses are that when it rains the rooms are big enough and there are big balconies on both houses that will allow the kids to be able to play inside the house!

I've attached some photos to this email so you can see us on the first day of moving. We will be busy again today and Saturday getting everything from one house to the other. Today, we hope to move the children. We will move the kitchen after breakfast and hopefully, it will be set up in the new house in time to fix the evening meal for the children.

Please pray that all will go well today and the transition will go smoothly! We will not be answering any emails until Monday probably. I could hardly crawl into bed last night because my back hurt so much! Thankfully after lots of pain medication I was able to sleep for 4 hours and do not feel so bad this morning.

Please also say a little pray for all of us doing the moving!

And life in Haiti goes on....

Dixie Bickel, RN
Orphanage Director
God's Littlest Angels