friday faves :: haiti edition

we are back in the states...and not without an exciting departure story.  
we hit a mega traffic jam in port-au-prince on our way to catch our flight yesterday.  we were cutting it so close that we decided to grab our bags and hop out of the reliable old land cruiser about a half mile from the airport.  if you've been to haiti you know that it can be a bit risky maneuvering around crazy and unpredictable assertive haitian drivers {atari fans - think 'frogger'}...not to mention all the crowds of people asking for money.  fortunately i had a rolling 25 pound weapon {a.k.a. my carry-on} i could have used to hurl at someone if things got dicey.  the truth is - i really wasn't nervous at all...we have never found haiti to be a dangerous place, and...we had 'boss man' {as all the airport attendants called him} with us.  he led the way through the crowds and right to the front of the business class line {the same rules of american airports don't apply in haiti}.

otis 'boss man' garrison - vice president of MOH
{as photographed by jerry - an 11 year old haitian boy who loves the boss man}

so...after making it onto our flight out of PAP without any time to spare we got to miami where our lay-over turned out to be 7 hours instead of 4.  {i know...delays in miami?  shocking!}  we finally laid our heads down for 4 hours of sleep at 3:30 this morning.


i'm tired.
i'm glad to see my kids.
my mind and heart of full.


i'm also ready to go back.
and i want to take the kids with me next time.
and as soon as i get a decent night's rest and enjoy easter weekend i will start the process of pouring out the stories for you.


in the meantime here are a couple of my faves that i wanted to share.  first...my favorite place to shop in haiti...

in 2010 when a handful of haitian women amputees at MOH discovered sewing as a hobby, they had no idea of  the business endeavor they were embarking on.  

3 cords has now earned enough money for two buildings on the MOH campus and the haitian women who work there are having a hard time keeping up with all the orders they are receiving.  the last time i was in haiti i bought some super-cute headbands for me and lucy.  this time i got a precious little flower clip for lucy 

and the amazing bag that i am affectionately calling my 'chicken bag' {every farm girl needs one!}.  

this is rosenie...

...she made my chicken bag.


you would not believe the craftsmanship of these things.  definitely check out their website and consider purchasing something for yourself or as a gift {my birthday is coming up in may...hint hint}.  i love this little clutch...

...just sayin'.


and now i'd like to leave you with one of my all-time favorite 'laugh your butt off' videos.  the star is a little guy named 'stevenson' that we met on our first trip to haiti in 2010. 


the cool things is...all 'actors' you see in here are real-life amazing kids living in haiti {some of whom i will share stories about in the coming weeks}.  most of them are orphans we have met during our time at hope house.


it's all about the stevensons...enjoy...

{happy resurrection weekend!!}