HAITI DAYS 2006

I promised a post of our 1st annual Haiti Days Celebration, so here it is! My wonderful friend Michelle headed up the whole thing and together, I must say, we pulled off a pretty good bash. I enlisted the help of Mark's wonderful photography skills and this is just a few of the pics he produced from the bash. We had about 100 people there, not bad for our first reunion. We had five of our families there with the children they had adopted from Haiti. It was a good time!

This is John. John was actually the first orphan adopted from our orphanage. After wandering the village alone for days, villagers brought him to our director as a two year old and said he had no home, no parents, and no one knew who he was. He had been eating dirt to stay alive. He and another orphan were adopted together as brothers and now live in California with their forever family.

This is Jyms. Jyms and his sister Sylverta were adopted by a family from Idaho and came home just a few months ago. They were the youngest of 9 children and their parents brought them to the orphanage to be placed for adoption because they couldn't feed them. He is a happy little boy!

This is Andrew and Maillie. They were adopted by a family in American Fork and brought home just a few months ago. Their parents say they are picking up the language well and adjusting to life in Utah. I must say, these two had us all wrapped around them at the picnic! What a fun sibling group! Me & Maillie

The Volunteers

Michelle (middle) broght along the girls from the store to help out with the kids carnival games! They loved it and I am pretty sure the girls were smitten with the Haitian kids! (Can you spot the pregnant volunteer?)

My favorite volunteer...getting his payoff.Ryan stayed up the night before cutting onions and slicing 35 tomatoes from out garden. Then Saturday he hauled coolers, ice, catering & he even helped man the Tony-the-Tiger bean bag toss! He's Grrreat!

All in all, it was a great time for everyone! The kids won treats, had ice cream and had their faces painted while the families all cought up on how their children were doing and adjusting.

What a priviledge it is to be a part of such a wonderful thing and a part of A Child's Hope Foundation. Haiti is the 2nd poorest country in the world, and the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. When I look at this picture of Andrew, I think of how different his life would be had he not been adopted. Truely, we are blessed.