Welcome Home, Vaughn Didley Haglund

Many of you will remember reading about my darling little Tuesday Boy - an intro to him and a goodbye letter to him.

Last night at around 10:30 EST, Vaughn Didley Haglund came home. Although I wasn't there in person to welcome him, my mom and sister were a part of the welcoming home committee at the Detroit Metro Airport. He was also greeted by his daddy and his big brother Anri, who was also adopted from GLA. I have great confidence that little Anri will make the best of big brothers. I just love this picture of my little man, nestled up against his mommy.

These past few days as I was following the journey of Didley's mommy - Cathleen - down to Haiti to pick him up, it was as if I were back there in Haiti. As she wrote about the chaos of the nurseries, the food that he was eating, staying at the Guest House, singing on the balcony with the GLA staff, the joy of bringing him home even with the heart break of leaving, I lived there vicariously with her. I can feel right now his little arms around me, clinging and holding on so tight. I can hear right now his infectious laugh burbling up and spreading joy everywhere. I can see his little face bursting with joy as I walk into the nursery.

If I ever go back to GLA, something very profound will be missing in it. But when I go back to Michigan, someone who is very special to me who was not there before will now be there.

One day in Haiti, I spent a long time telling Didley all about what to be excited about in the great state of Michigan. I told him all about the seasons, something he will now experience for the first time. I told him about sledding and snow forts, about snow days and snow ball fights and white Christmases. I told him about the Great Lakes, the beautiful beaches meeting with endless water, the cherry trees and the berry bushes, the freshness of spring and the heat of summer. I told him about cider mills and corn mazes, apple trees and fried donuts, green leaves turned blazing gold and rich red. His childhood is about to begin, and I get to watch at least a part of it unfolding in all its glory. An honor such as this I have never been given.

His family is very dedicated to healing his little heart, to giving him a beautiful childhood, to showing him a new and wonderful life outside of the confines of the GLA Main House. I can't wait to watch him grow and thrive and blossom.

Geraldson is home. Another little boy who I loved very much goes home next week. And now Didley is home. There's a lot of victory ringing in the air today. Welcome home, Didley. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I love you so so so so so much.

Tales of Gory Woe: France Style

Many of you I'm sure will remember the gruesome Tales of Gory Woe recounted from Haiti. Malheureusement, I am here to report that exactly a week before my departure, I have been struck down, more or less for the first time since being here, with a rather vicious sort of a cold. Heureusement, it hasn't been even close to the tribulation that it certainly was in Haiti. Many who witnessed my weekend activities have been attributing my malady to be directly correlated with three specific events -

1. Being submerged in the recently-melted snow of the river
2. Sleeping outside on the terrace on Saturday night (not the warmest experience, perhaps, but 100% worth every single cold and windy second) and
3. Hiking up the waterfall (twice, once on Saturday, once on Sunday). Plus on Sunday, the cascading coldness was just too tantalizing, and so underneath it went I, once or twice, or perhaps thrice.

Ironically enough, on the way back home from the waterfall yesterday I seem to remember having a conversation with a doctor about the plethora of health benefits of being in cold water. While some may contend that my current condition clearly proves otherwise, I refuse to succumb to popular belief that coldness and wetness can cause sickness. Germs caused my sickness. C'est tout.

It is, to be sure, somewhat disheartening to have to be sick on the last full Monday. I was rather heartbroken to have to miss class and felt more or less as if I wasted a beautiful afternoon away in my bedridden state. Thankfully, however, I had a wonderful caretaker named Sarah who attended to my every need, made sure I stayed hydrated, gave me her beverages and her crackers, and even went to the grocery store to get ice cream to make me a smoothie. Much to our amused consternation, the only kind of ice cream at the store was actually sorbet, and there was only one kind of it, and it was basil flavored. Basil flavored sorbet in a peanut butter cup smoothie? Peanut butter cups are far too precious to waste in such a manner.

On the positive side of life, I had lots of good reading time in between naps, and tonight I'll finish Anne book #5. A kindred spirit such as Anne does much to soothe the afflicted such as myself. My day was also brightened by a visit from a lovely and oh-so-cute Fader girl with her mommy.

Soon I shall go to bed, and after a day of sleep, soup, sun, saltines, sodas, and gummy vitamins, I fully anticipate waking up on the morrow 100% rejuvenated and ready for one more week in Albertville.

Happenings in Albertville

I am most overjoyed to report that the weather today was sublime with a great many joyous activities, not unlike Wednesday's happy day. Here I have for you a short recap with a few highlights, mostly from today, a few from this past week.

Earlier this week, after bidding each other goodnight with lovely plans to go to bed early and get caught up on some sleep, Mercy and I had a grand time pretending we were immature college freshmen in a dorm (which we kind of are, I reckon). I now truly feel as if I've had the dorm experience, and henceforth do not feel it particularly necessary to live in one next year... The result of our exploits? Dr. Seuss hair which we proudly paraded and modeled to our neighbors.

Anna and I went out for kebabs this afternoon. I was quite amazed at how she slowly but surely ate that monster until it was diminished to naught but three bites. Incredible.

With it being such a gorgeously idyllic spring day, I had within me an irresistible desire to be submerged in water. And so after studying in the hot sun, Sarah obligingly went with me to the madly rushing river overflowing with melted snows from the mountains, and I went all the way under, much to the amusement of the French who were watching on the sidelines.

It was cold, to be sure. Tingly feet for the first few seconds, numb for the rest of it. But thankfully, I've been brought up well and the Great Lakes have made me immune to shockingly cold natural bodies of water. And being utterly submerged in the freezing cold, crystal clear waters of the melted snow on the peaks of the Alps - basically my definition of awesomeness to the max epitomized.

The fun on the run in the sun was, thankfully, not to end there. For after a bit of reading on the terrace, playing with the kids, and eating pizza with friends, it was off on another adventure, this time with Mercy. I've heard tell time and time again stories of a waterfall behind Conflans (the medieval city of Albertville) but I myself have never located this elusive waterfall, due in large part to my sense of direction which is rather lacking. And so Mercy kindly agreed to bring me there before I leave. 

It was a day like no other. The skies were a blue so blue your heart just wanted to burst with the blueness of it. And it had snowed up on the mountain tops the night before, which meant that the peaks were a white so bright, so brilliant, that it really did have the same effect on your heart as that bluest blue, and the combination of the whitest white with the bluest blue. Looked like so: (as far as it can be captured in a photograph anyway, which it really cannot)

Then we walked up to the waterfall. It was TOTALLY AWESOME. I also walked UP the actual waterfall. I found a good walking stick. I would like to write more about it, but maybe some other time, because at the moment, I am off to sleep on the terrace in the great outdoors avec mon amie Sarah!

A dead heroine, about to drop to her watery grave.

Just a Happy Day

"After all, I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one after another softly, like pearls slipping off a string." - Anne Shirley

When I woke up this morning, the skies were blue and the sun was rising over the mountains. After seemingly never ending days of cloudy skies, this change was a welcome one indeed, and the day stayed lovely, a glistening spring day of sunshine on blooming trees and happy dandelions.

For about an hour, I worked on making posters for the baby shower this afternoon - a baby shower for four women!

I had the pleasure of spending much of my day with children, starting with Selma and Cyril. These two are magnificent. Selma is quite likely the most precocious three year-old who has ever graced my presence, and quite decidedly understands and speaks French and English. Even though Cyril's a bit younger, he still understands and speaks both French and English, though with a rather heavy, and extremely endearing, baby accent. Something I adore about these two is how easily they laugh. You'd have to be trying hard to not make them laugh, and you'd have to be trying even harder to not laugh at the sound of their laugh. We made a poster together, we played in the sunshine, we played some games, we read some books, we sang the Sound of Music, altogether fantastic.

After that, I worked a bit more on the posters - an activity I thoroughly enjoy - and then went outside to pick some flowers, also for the baby shower. I was happily joined by a cohort of little girls who picked flowers with me in the sunshine. A merry group of little ladies, frolicking in the sun and filling vases with dandelions and violets and forsythia and other dainty little French spring flowers.

We also blew up a lot of balloons together, and went through several traumatic popping experiences as well.

I ate downright yummy pizza-like things with Mercy and a friend of hers who was over.

With some time to kill before the baby shower, I went outside into the marvelous sunlight and walked up to the cemetery where sat on gravestones, reading some L.M. Montgomery (hence the quote at the beginning of this post) and discovering a plethora of new features on my camera.

The baby shower was nice, with heaps of scrumptious and delectable delicacies. We sat in a circle together, and I was struck by the strength and beauty of this group of women who have sacrificed much for something far more worth anything they could ever sacrifice in this world.

After the shower, Anna Fader and I had a piano lesson, and she successfully completed her Lesson Book that we've been working on since I got here! Such an accomplishment. She has learned so much and come very far in just 3.5 months, and I am so proud of her.

I also had lessons with Ally and Abby - identical twins here at the Centre whose family is going to Togo. We haven't had very many lessons at all, and sadly won't be able to since my departure is looming in the ever nearer future, but they are absolutely delightful young ladies and I am thankful for the time I do get with the two of them.

As soon as we finished, I was off on a little walk to chez Kim (the Kim's house). Dan and Julie Kim are a couple in my class; their family is heading to Mali. I encourage you to read more about them and their mission here. On Sunday, if you'll remember, I had a lengthy discussion with Judson about what it might look like to make Clue a game with real people in a real life setting. Well this afternoon I went to their house to make at least a small fraction of our wild imaginings into a reality, and it was a blast. The Kims have three children, all very sweet, energetic, imaginative, talented little people. We played three different versions of "real life" Clue, plus one round of the board game clue, plus the tickle monster game, plus a haunted house game, and Uno as well.

I had dinner with their family, which was lovely, and Julie is a superb cook, though I must was comfortably full when we started eating from all the baby shower food. It was only my second time at their house, but each time I have felt so welcomed, and with all the mayhem and energy of the three kiddos, it always feels very familiar and home-like to me. I just love their children, and being with them is more refreshing than it is tiring despite the insanity of the games we endeavor to play.

And so I just got back home to my little room, and now I'm listening to the Piano Guys and working on my new favorite verb tense (before it was the Imparfait, but now it is definitely the Conditionnel Passé) and in a bit I'll snuggle up in bed and read some more Anne.

Just a happy day. One more Wednesday left in Albertville.

Clayton Justice Geraldson Cherney: Wednesday's Boy.

Today, Clayton Justice Geraldson Cherney shall be carried safely home in the arms of his loving mommy and daddy. It is almost a relief to pen his name here since previously I could not do so, but now I can... Read more about "Wednesday's boy" specifically in these two posts: Introduction to my Wednesday Boy, and Goodbye letter to Geraldson I saw this picture on facebook this morning, and it nearly brought me to tears, and very likely would have if I didn't have to rush off to class.

The journey of this family has been a long one, to be sure. The received the referral for their son over two years ago in February of 2011. Two years is an excruciatingly long time to wait to bring your son home. But they waited, and I don't doubt for a second that they would tell you now with resounding assurance that it was worth every arduous second of waiting and waiting and waiting.

Geraldson - for he was Geraldson to me at the orphanage - was a serious little man for most of my time there. Smiles did not come easily to him. Until the last night that I was at GLA, and then at last, I heard him laugh and laugh and LAUGH until I felt as if he could laugh no more. It was a beautiful way to say goodbye to him; it was a heartwrenching way to say goodbye to him.

Some of you may also remember me blogging about Marguerite. Geraldson was absolutely Marguerite's most favorite child in all of the orphanage. She adored him. She goes to GLA for large chunks of time - some three months. Then she returns home for a bit and goes back to GLA. Well she was there with Geraldson these past few months, and she was there when Geraldson's parents came to bring him home forever. She always told me that it was her dream to met the momma of her little boy. There is, I'm sure, a great joy in her heart today as her dream has been made real, but I'm also sure that there is also an ache in heart as she says goodbye to him.

This family is wonderful. Clayton's mommy worked with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (just about my favorite organization ever) for years and years, and she has been to Cedar Campus!!! Cause for great rejoicing, to be sure. He is going home to a good, good family who loves him very deeply.

The Lord has done great things in the life of Clayton, and I look forward with great anticipation as I watch his new life unfolding. Pray for him in the transition, for his family, for his big sister, even while praising God for the victory here at the end of this long, long road and for the joy in this new journey that has only just begun. And today pray also for the family of Thursday's girl as her parents travel to Haiti TODAY for their first visit. I have a great amount of respect and admiration for these two sets of parents, and hope to one day be like them.

Geraldson is going home, to his forever home with his forever family, and I will rest well in that beautiful truth tonight.

Another First

Never thought I'd come to France and end up giving someone their rabies vaccination. Even last night around the dinner table when the suggestion that I administer Heather's rabies vaccination was proposed, I still never would've thought that I'd actually go through with it and do it. Even after I had the shot in my hands with the cap off and the needle, sharp and glistening and SHARP in my hands, I still never thought I'd actually be able to do it without severely wounded my poor patient. She's got some tough skin, in more ways than one, but also literally, and my first attempt was in vain. Puncture the skin I could not, and I withdrew the shot, appalled at my evident failure. She insisted that she was not hurt, at least not yet anyways. There she sat, stalwart and unwavering, while I shook and trembled and sweat and went in for a second try. I watched it go through her skin, into her flesh. Having just experienced a rather traumatic episode involving sharp metal objects puncturing skin, I was extra distraught at the idea of inflicting similar pain on such a friend as she, but she magnanimously informed me that it hurt naught. And so now I can say with at least a certain level of confidence that I am capable of poking people with needles and injecting protective fluid into their bodies.

In other news, this weekend has passed by all too quickly, and I cannot quite fathom that in just two weeks from tomorrow, I'll be saying my goodbyes and heading to Scotland and then just a week later, heading back to the US of A. Mixed sentiments, to be sure.

Friday night, we had a grand time with seven out of eight McCropder children (read about the exciting new addition to the McCropder crew here). We ate pizza and "watched" The Swiss Family Robinson together, stopping halfway through to run around outside and dispense of some of that insane energy.

This morning, there was a special service with many different congregations to celebrate the baptism of two new believers. They shared their testimonies, and it was wonderful to listen to them tell their stories and furthermore understand their stories! We stayed afterwards for a potluck. Not exactly the kind of church potluck I'm accustomed to, to be sure. For instance, at Knox Pres, we don't have a special cheese course after the main course has been consumed. I thoroughly enjoyed a very long and engaged discussion with one of the MK's - Mr. Judson Kim - regarding a simply fascinating game that we devised. The board game Clue in real life, with many twists, including a Bible smuggling twist, and a number of other fascinating additions.

Anna and I got hopelessly lost (sort of) on the way home from church after wandering away from the rest of the family as we discussed the land of Narnia. Thankfully, we eventually made it back home again. Having mountains of different shapes and sizes surrounding you does make for a better sense of direction. Sometimes anyway.

This afternoon after we finally found home again, I enjoyed a nap on the terrace in the spring breeze and warm sun followed by an enjoyable time in the kitchen with Sarah where I sampled (to a great extent) her delicious experiment.

And so all in all, it was a good weekend, and I am glad to be here with these people in this place and I am oh so excited to embark on another week of learning French.

Slovakia: Love, Joy, and Fresh Air

I realize that it's been quite a bit of time now since I was in Slovakia, but thus far, I'll have done is to recount the stories from travel, of which there were many. Better late than never, I suppose. It might've come earlier, but to my consternation, I discovered that the post I had been working on had not been saved appropriately and I was henceforth compelled to recommence... And so without further ado - my three days in Slovakia.

Slovakia was beautiful. My friends live in a National Park. They are surrounded by mountains. Their village is small, with less people living there than went to my high school, but the life in the village is wonderful. Simple, but wonderful. There is an orchard in that everyone eats from. There is a ski slope just in their backyard that everyone skis down. Everything - the church, the little yellow post office, the one-room library, the school, the mini grocery store are a 2-5 minute walk from any given point in the village. I loved the house that I stayed in - the house where Kate grew up. It was very special to be there with her. This family is very important to me, they have played a big role in my life, and I can barely remember a day without Katarina in it. There are few children who are quite so dear to me as Sam, and though I've scarcely had enough time with him, I can recount to you with great detail every single beautiful moment we've been with each other. And so though the three days were fleeting at best, each waking second was a treasure. I loved learning more about his little personality and who he is. I loved the fact that although he didn't speak much English, he understood it perfectly. He usually responded to me in Slovak, but if I'd stayed for just a few more days, I'm confident he would've been jabbering away in English with no problems. This child is quite advanced, I must say. He watches with evident fascination all sorts of films about bacteria and why it's important to brush your teeth and about what our bodies do with toxins. As a result of this education, he is very adamant about things like brushing his teeth so that he can kill those evil bacterias. One thing about him certainly has not changed - he continues to be a perpetually ball of never-stopping, always-going, even-higher-than-your-average-kid, ENERGY. It's unreal how much energy that child has.

Kate's father was a skilled carpenter, and each room has an array of richly beautiful inlaid wooden floors, intricately fashioned wood ceilings, painstakingly carved chairs with flourishing designs... A true pleasure just to be in a place like that. The first night, I couldn't have been more content to snuggle down in what was honestly the most comfortable bed with the most comfortable pillow and the most deliciously poofy comforter that I have ever in all of my eighteen years slept in/with/under.

The first day was golden. Kate and her mom prepared a sumptuous breakfast of freshly baked jelly rolls - flaky warm and filled with homemade strawberry jam. Meeting Esther was a special moment; she is the most beautiful and sweetest little thing that I ever did meet and I've been dying to meet her ever since she was born. The four of us got bundled up and strolled down the street to Sam's school - the same place where Kate went to school as a girl. That afternoon, Sam, Kate and I went skiing.

How awesome is it to have a ski slope practically in your backyard? Incredibly awesome. I was so impressed with Sam's skills, and his perseverance, and the way he improved in just a few short hours. Amazing kid let me tell you. Just three years-old and skiing like a pro. He made it all the way down that mountain several times without falling...

...albeit the successful times down the mountain, there were indubitably a few falls in there as well...

Meeting the beautiful Esther! Gorgeous, gorgeous child with a laugh that would melt the hardest of hard hearts in seconds.

The next day, Katarina blessed me greatly with a trip up further into the mountains. A friend of hers named Lenka came along for the ride. Lenka and I had emailed a bit before, having been introduced by Kate and she was a blessing. A huge blessing of great proportions!!! She's about my age, and was undeniably a kindred spirit with a smile that could light up the darkest of places. She attends a bilingual high school (English and Slovak) and her English was flawless. She's the kind of person who I know I would be the best of friends with if we didn't live an ocean and the better part of a continent away from each other. She comes from what sounds like an awesome, God-pursuing, super-loving, totally-incredible family of six children of which she claims the title of oldest. She shares a love of all little people, and the five of us made a very happy group hiking in the mountains of Slovakia. The day couldn't have been more pristine, the sky couldn't have been a more unadulterated bluer blue, the sun couldn't have been any more glorious in all its scintillating luminosity (...perhaps I have been re-reading Anne of Green Gables recently...if unseemly, excessive, and slightly unnecessary amounts of flowery modifiers get on your nerves, just try your best to overlook it...) But to be outside that day with that crisp, pure air, with mountains and friends on every side.

I was impressed with the distance that Sam hiked all by himself, but there were certainly a few times that found him being pulled in the sled...

Utterly breathtaking mountain views. The day was so clear, you could see radio towers on the mountains far, far away.


We ended the day with a trip to a mineral water spring. Slovakia is known worldwide for its mineral waters which are full of all sorts of interesting things like sulfur and calcium and such. They were warm despite the cold outside. Anyone and everyone can bring bottles and fill them up with the carbonated, slightly-bitter tasting waters. Pretty neat stuff. And so we traipsed down the road, pants and shoes wet through from the day, mud splattered, pretty tired, drinking our mineral water that had just come up from out of the ground, with the golden glow of the late-afternoon sunshine bathing us in its light. I was altogether thoroughly content with life. We came home to a phenomenal meal, warm and filling, prepared by Kate's mom, eaten with good fellowship over the dinner table. Lenka and I did the dishes together afterwards, chatting in the kitchen while Kate put the kids down. She is a gem, a rare find, and I am so happy that we were able to spend a day together. May we meet again one day soon!

At the mineral waters...

The last day, we stayed in the village, visiting the church where Kate came to know the Lord, walking to the post office, playing in the snow outside (Samuel had at least three snow forts in the makings), riding bikes down the road, stopping by the grocery store, checking out books from the library. Each minute was special, and each minute made me long to stay there more and more and more minutes.

Reading about sharks together.

The village!

See the little biker?? That's my Sam!

My room with the most incredible bed and the most incredible welcome poster.

Last treasured evening with Sam - lots of one-on-one time with just the two of us.

When I woke up the next morning at around 5:15 to leave, he had woken up as well.... I can't recall if I told the tales of travel from there back to here. Don't think I did. They were similarly harrowing involving a late taxi driver (arrived about 20 minutes after he was supposed to and got us to the train station about 2-3 minutes after my train was supposed to leave), booking it down a windy Slovak road dusted with a new coat of slippery snow at a lot of kilometers an hour, and running, literally running to catch a train in the nick of time. Thanks to Katarina for risking the well-being of her arm by thrusting it forcibly into the door of the train as it was shutting.

Slovak trains are much cheaper than they are here in France. Cost me about 7 euros for about a 3.5 hour train ride. In France, a 3.5 hour train ride might be something more like 30-40 euros... It was lovely to sit in a compartment with a great many old, Slovak ladies who spoke not a word of English (or French) and listen to the rhythms of their language as they bantered back and forth while the Slovak countryside whizzed past us.

And then at the end of the taxi, the train, the buses, and the planes, I was thankful, oh so thankful, to see little Abi bouncing up and down, and Heather's purple coat and Sarah's bright red one - the Faders and Sarah waiting there for me at the Geneva airport. My flight got in a bit early, so I killed some time riding up and down the escalators, but soon enough there they were, beautifully familiar faces after a day of tens of thousands of strange ones, and it truly actually felt as if I was coming home. And it continued to feel like going home as we piled into the car, listening over and over again to the same familiar kid tunes, holding our breath under the tunnels, and eventually all dozing off together in a heap of coats.

The next morning, I was up at 6:30 making last minute preparations for Morgan's visit and a few hours later, I was on a train heading to Lyon to pick her up and a new adventure had begun.