An Introduction to God’s Littlest Angels

How different my life is now!

– Instead of sweating all day, I freeze.
– Instead of cooking and baking, I feed babies.
– Instead of washing dishes, I change diapers.
– Instead of washing and folding laundry, I organize medical supplies.
– Instead of hosting teams, I hold babies and research developmental milestones.
– Instead of suturing, I retrieve beads from noses.

Thankfully, not everything has changed….. I still get to practice Creole, I’m still surrounded by gorgeous mountains, and I still get to eat Haitian food!

Let me start by explaining just briefly about God’s Littlest Angels, the organization for which I’m working. We have 3 locations – the toddler house in Fort Jacques (houses 41 children, approximately 2.5 – 13 years old), the main house in Thomassin 32 (houses 31 children ages newborn – 2.5yrs), and the guest house (about a mile away from the main house.) Today I’m just going to talk about the main house, where I live. I have my own room and half bathroom, and share a shower with several other Americans living here. The other Americans also living on this compound are the directors, John and Dixie Bickel (they started the organization over 20 years ago), their son Steeve, his fiance’ Chelsie (who is in charge of the sponsorship program,) and Miss Vickie (who is the personal caregiver for one of our children.)

We have the NICU/Intensif where the babies live, the nursery/Urgence A where the crawlers live, and the toddler room, where the walkers live. We have approximately 80 Haitian staff, including nannies, nurses, cooks, an accountant, cleaners, drivers, people who do the market shopping, etc. During the day, we have several other Americans who come to work from our other locations.
My official title is NICU nurse…..I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that means. 🙂 When we don’t have critical babies (like now), I fill in wherever I’m needed. Right now, I’m trying to get to know all of the kids, nannies, and nurses, and learn their names. Just a few of my responsibilities these past 3 weeks, in addition to that, included:

– Learning how to give TB tests and working with 2 of our Haitian nurses to give approximately 25 to our babies. They all came back negative, by the way! Praise God!
– Retrieving a bead that was stuck in a nose
– Researching the best way to de-worm babies
– Researching developmental milestones and making notes on what each of our babies should be working on, so our volunteers can help out
– And lots of changing diapers, changing clothes, feeding, holding, rocking, comforting, playing, clipping fingernails, and taking walks.

I’ve been here 3 weeks, now, and I’ve had quite an adjustment. But finally, God’s peace has taken over once again. I’m feeling hopeful and looking forward to the future. I’m starting to get excited when I think about coming back to my babies after my brother’s wedding. I feel like just maybe, I’ll be able to call somewhere “home” again. I still really miss my friends in LaDigue, and I miss going to the market and knowing what to expect each day, but God is good!
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

This was one of the verses in church a couple of weeks ago, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. It spoke into the chaos that consumed my life, just 3.5 days after moving. How beautiful! God reminded me that I’m here for Him. This is His plan, His mission, and His job. I’m simply the vessel; His hands and feet. Thank goodness.

As I learn more about this mission and my job, I’ll continue to update you. Thank you for following my journey, Friends!
P.S. I just found out I can receive mail here!!!!! It does cost $1.50 a pound, after your shipping costs, so just keep that in mind if you choose to send something. 🙂 It can be sent to

Emily Smith
3170 Airmans Drive
Unit 2081-GLA
Fort Pierce, FL 34946

It can be addressed the same way if it’s shipped directly from a company. (Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.) 

The Adventure Continues

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As many of you know, when I return to Haiti in 2 weeks, I will not be returning to stay at Children’s Lifeline, where I spent my summer. I had an incredible experience and learned so many new things. I picked up more Creole; I did my first (and 6th) sets of sutures; I made some awesome friends; I learned to ride a moto and how to buy things at the market; I learned how to live on my own; I learned (or, depending on who you ask, maybe not so much…..) how to cook for 1 person instead of 8; I acquired several new “sisters;” I renewed my relationship with my sister, which has struggled over the past few years; and so many other things.

However, as my internship drew to a close and I considered my future, I spent a lot of time praying and seeking wise council, and I decided God has called me to an orphanage up in the mountains. God’s Littlest Angels is an orphanage that does adoptions, but my main role will be NICU nurse. Families bring their very sick, malnourished, dehydrated, premature, high-risk babies to us to nurse back to health, and it will be my job to care for them.

I have such mixed emotions going into this! I’m sad to leave my friends and the familiarity of Children’s Lifeline. I know how life works there and though you can’t ever expect what’s coming in Haiti, I’m comfortable in the sense that I feel I can handle whatever does come. Which is a huge part of the reason I think God is calling me on to other things – He doesn’t allow me to get comfortable. When I get comfortable, I stop relying on Him and start relying on myself, instead.

I’m nervous because I’ve always struggled with making friends. I’ve never been part of the popular crowd and I’m so quiet and shy, I’ve just had very few friends over the years. I hope and pray I’ll make friends quickly because I start to feel lonely. But I keep reminding myself that God has always been faithful to provide exactly what I need in His perfect timing, and He won’t stop now!

I feel so inadequate. I’m worried I don’t have enough training to be these kids’ best chance at life. And then I have to stop and remind myself that I didn’t choose this. I constantly give God back the gifts He’s given me, and ask Him to use me. Therefore, it’s not me who’s caring for the babies – I’m simply His hands and feet. I so appreciate all of the encouraging comments I’ve received over the past few months. However, if you’re tempted to say something along the lines of, “you’ll be great at this,” or, “you’re an angel,” or, “I could never do something like that,” (all things that have been said to me,) give God the glory for giving me the strength to make it through each day, because it’s not me. It is all Him.

One of my favorite songs, right now, is a Creole song called Pale Pou Mwen.

The chorus says,
“Pale pou mwen, Segne, pale pou mwen.
Aji pou mwen, Segne, aji pou mwen.
Kanpe pou mwen, Segne, kanpe pou mwen.
Ou se tout sa’m bezwen.”

“Speak for me, Lord, speak for me.
Act for me, Lord, act for me.
Stand for me, Lord, stand for me.
You are all I need.”

“Lord, may it be you everyone sees when they look at me. May it be you they hear when I speak. May it be you they feel when I touch them.” – This is my prayer!

I would really appreciate all of your prayers as I continue on this journey. I’m so excited to see what my future holds!! Being at the center of God’s will is the best thing you can imagine – there is peace despite the chaos and hope despite the seemingly hopeless situations. So here’s to the next leg of this adventure!

A Change in Plans

Every time I sit down to write, I think about how long it’s been, get overwhelmed, and push it off again….

Long story short – With lots of prayers, I decided to try Emergency Room nursing instead of Labor and Delivery for now. I went through 12 weeks of orientation and I just started on my own.  I love it!!! 🙂 Below are a few truths I’ve found so far.

  

  

I love the variety in the ER. I’m also really enjoying watching God use this experience to stretch me even further, and turn me into the person He wants me to be. He’s certainly teaching me compassion and patience. I’m normally a very practical, black-and-white person, and could definitely do without drama, but I’m learning to step outside of myself in situations like these. I’m also learning lots of practical skills. I think I’ve learned as much, or more, in the last 3 months, as I did in 3 years of nursing school. I’m certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (adults), and will be certified as a trauma nurse in August.

I still don’t know how all of this fits in with Haiti, but I trust God to lead me where He wants me to be. I’m often tempted to start worrying and trying to figure everything out in my own mind. I have to stop and remind myself that I’m right where He wants me and He’ll tell me when He has another assignment for me.

The above was written about 3 weeks ago.  Below is an update:

I still love my job!!  I can’t believe I’m an ER nurse!  It kind of freaks me out. 🙂

God has opened the doors for me to go to Haiti again!  I heard about a group going March 6-14 and contacted the leader, who said I was welcome to go along.  God has also opened the doors for my sister, Sarah, to go with me this time.  This will be her first missions trip, her first time flying (since she was a baby), her first time to Haiti, and her first time out of the country, period.  I’m sure she would welcome your prayers, as would I. 🙂  I’ll keep you updated as we continue preparing!!