Happiness is a Warm Furry Blanket

Yesterday morning the sun shone brightly and up here in North County, we didn't see a flake of snow overnight from the Big Southern Storm as it passed by. It mostly stayed "south of Forty" or as the feds call it, I-64. We picked up Ava before breakfast and she settled right in. About 10 Barb called while changing planes in Philadelphia, to see if Ava was OK. (Nothing like a guilty mom on the road again...:) I assured her all was well and when I hung up and went into the living room, there was Norm, Ava on his lap, thinking about a nap I'm sure. I managed to get the camera and take a few pictures before Ava jumped down to see what I was doing. Last night we went to Mike and Sandy's house for dinner, and Ava, who had been invited, went along. She is still working on being a good guest (as in not dashing into someone's house at 40 mph and heading straight for the kitchen) but settled down really fast and gave our friends some of the doggie lap time they had been wishing for. It is finally warming up here and except for some snow flurries tomorrow (why does it always snow when it warms up?) we are supposed to have a pretty normal January week. Oh wait, it will be February. Well, at least it will get into the 40s which almost felt balmy today.

It's Official: Bentrotts Land in Denver

New post by Kim from Denver on their blog, Adventures in Life.

May they rest and be restored after all they have been through. I'm rejoicing that they and many others serving in Haiti have survived and grieving with and for those who have lost so much.

The Bentrotts arrive in US from Haiti

Kim and Patrick haven't posted anything on their blog yet, but the Save Solomon site put up by friends of theirs in Denver is posting that they arrived in Florida on Saturday on a flight arranged for Solomon's orphanage by the group For His Glory. The link to Save Solomon is here: http://www.savesolomon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1
In an earlier post from Haiti, the Bentrotts noted they had considered expanding their family and included a photo of a little girl, Valancia. She has come with them so now there are four Bentrotts.

Waiting for News from Haiti

Like 22 of the 32 people who visited this blog on Sunday, I'm also waiting to hear more from Patrick and Kim Bentrott. You can bookmark their blog Adventures in Life and check it frequently, as I do. Meanwhile, I have been following tweets and blogs from the Bentrott's friends Tara and Troy Livesay, who noted while Troy was at the PAP airport helping another small charity unload supplies from a plane, that the "media row" on the tarmac is gone. That should help unblock some of the arriving supplies. Or it may mean that the wall to wall coverage of the dire situation is winding down. Troy also noted that a UN truck finally brought some supplies to their Heartline Ministries medical clinic that is serving as a makeshift hospital. I've found their posts another valuable glimpse into the ongoing life in Haiti as opposed to the quick hits on the 6 o'clock news. The Livesay blog is here: http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/

So I wish to all a good night and we will keep looking for hopeful news.

Winter Robins: Sign of Spring or Snow?

Today our block had a visit from a flock of at least 100 robins and their fellow travelers, some starlings. A much loved sign of spring, except that it isn't spring: snow is in this week's forecast. so what is up with this guy perched on a redbud branch, and his friends?

Contrary to popular belief, although robins do migrate from their summer breeding grounds, a few usually stay around to feed primarily on fruit, since cold weather eliminates most of their insect food. And they gather in large flocks to travel around, staying just ahead of the worst weather. One site I consulted said that robins have survived snow and ice, and even temperatures of -30F. They run a hot metabolism at a body temperature of 104F, fueled by all that fruit. In our neighborhood, the attraction seemed to be the holly bushes in my neighbors' yards. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see a robin flying toward the lamp at the right of the picture.

Meanwhile, close up in the holly bush, robins were making quick work of the berries. I've seen them descend like this in winter before; often at the university, where a lone mockingbird would try in vain to defend its winter food store (some fruiting ornamental bush) from this marauding gang. I can see 4 birds in this photo--which is only a small detail from a larger one. How many can you see?

In a scene worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, the robins would roost briefly in our trees (here, the oak out front) before taking another dive at the berries. Later, they tried out the lawn to see if any worms were stirring. (Although it got to 54F here yesterday after our long deep freeze, I think they mostly came up empty.) Last, they stopped at our bird spa for a drink and many took a bath in the balmy 44 degree afternoon. If this visit is typical, they will be gone tomorrow, raiding some other street's lode of berries. One source I read noted that birds that eat berries will often wait until the bitter fruits become softened up and sweeter tasting after several bouts of freezing weather, which helps explain why they were here at this point and not earlier. We might have missed them altogether except that the flock was arriving in the neighborhood's tall trees just as we pulled in the drive from church. As I got out of the car I could hear a distinctive robin song--the kind that males sing before sunrise in April to mark their territory. Then I heard the familiar clucking of a lot of robins. I looked up, and there they were. Hungry. Later, an inspection of the sidewalks revealed that we will have some cleaning to do before our neighbor's dog comes over this weekend. She has an unholy appetite for what the birds naturally leave behind! Meanwhile, at least one mockingbird is looking at a diminished larder.

Haiti: Why guns and not water or medicine?

Patrick Bentrott, a Global Ministries missionary in Haiti who has ties to communities in St. Louis, Denver, Kansas City and Iowa (to name a few) posts on this blog this morning some thoughts about how the earthquake and its aftermath have been portrayed in media and contrasts that view with his own experience the past 14 months living in Haiti. Here is the link if you would like to go right to it: Patrick's Musings.

After a short synopsis of Haitian history and occupation by various European and North American powers, I think he rightly calls out the undercurrent of racism that still exists when we look at these dark skinned people as being needy, but having no culture of their own and nothing to offer to us in return for our aid. In his own words:

If forced to stereotype the Haitian people I would use three adjectives to describe them: strong, generous, and compassionate. They are a people whose horrific history would have undoubtedly broken many others, but they have endured hardships and abuse with a dignity that is simply remarkable from my perspective. Most of the Haitians I know live on very little, have no access to healthcare or education, and find it nearly impossible to provide for their families. Yet they go through life with a faith and determination that I find both inspiring and humbling.

Since the earthquake 10 days ago, I have not seen one instance of looting or violence. This is not to say that neither of these things has not taken place, but only that they are the exception and not the norm. What Kim and I have witnessed are people reaching out to help their neighbors in need. Carrying the injured and bleeding through the streets to hospitals, trying to unbury those trapped beneath the wreckage, and sharing whatever few material things they may have with others. This is the Haiti I am seeing. When Kim, Solomon, and I have been reunited with friends here they have all expressed their great joy at our survival and given thanks for our safety. These sentiments have always been expressed before any rendering of their own difficult situation or experiences of destruction. One friend who works at Solomon’s orphanage told me how happy she was that we were ok. She asked about our friends, neighbors, and even our house. It was only afterwards that she told me that both of her parents and all of her siblings had died in the earthquake.

There have also been a few times when Kim and I have found medicine and water to distribute to people. Although nearly everyone is in need we are always lead to those who are most desperate. No one has ever attempted to steal the medicines or the water. We have also been fortunate to give money a few times to friends. They have always used it to help not just their immediate families, but also their neighbors in need as well. This type of generosity and compassion is what we see on the ground here everyday.

If there is something to be learned about the Haitian people in the aftermath of the earthquake, it is that they have shown the rest of the world how to live with courage, strength, and love. All of us, no matter where we reside, have an opportunity to enter into a new relationship with the people of Haiti at this moment in history. Without trying to be insensitive to the immense death and suffering that has occurred in Haiti, I believe that this may indeed be a “kairos” moment where the people of the world are being offered a chance to begin a new relationship with a truly remarkable group of human beings. Let us hope that we seize this opportunity and explore ways to be in solidarity with a country that not only needs our assistance, but also has a lot to offer and teach us as well.

Haiti: Patience is the Key

Kim Bentrott writes tonight about their day: the trip to the embassy with all of the orphanage children turned out not to be necessary, after a different official got on the case. But the paper work is still in process. They still don't know when they will be evacuated, and they are still in Haiti tonight.

They turned the day to good use picking up some water that hadn't been claimed by any relief agency, registering CONASPEH with the UN so it could become a distributor of relief supplies, and beginning to look for a new permanent home for when they return to Haiti, as they plan to do. There is more here: http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/patience.html

Over and over in the Bentrott's blogs as well as in others I'm reading by other religious folks working in Haiti, it is the smaller groups who are being the most effective at distributing aid, because they know where the people are and have a network for finding out what they need. Case in point: The Bentrotts put the donated water bottles in their truck, drove to a few locations where they knew CONASPEH pastors were camped out and had received nothing yet, and gave them the water to distribute to their people. No mobs, no drama. Unlike the melee that erupts every time a big truck lumbers out of the airport or a helicopter drops a pallet of food. Another case in point: Some folks who have a small clinic that has burgeoned into a hospital loaded their most critical patients into a vehicle and set out to find a way to get them to the hospital ship Comfort. By asking around, they found a camp that some soldiers were just setting up. The soldiers radioed for a helicopter, which landed and took the patients away to the ship. All in less than an hour. The enormity of the tragedy continues to confound the governments and huge aid organizations, while the smaller networked ones are managing to get through to help their people. This is not a criticism of the large charities or of the governments....it's just that they aren't equipped to deal with the Haitian culture like those who have been doing mission in the country for decades are able to do, by using the bonds of trust they have built up with the people.

Bentrotts May be on the Way Home

This post from Kim on their blog this morning:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-move.html

Fogbound in St. Louie

It has been foggy here for so long, I have kind of lost track; I think it started Friday night, maybe. Anyway, it feels like a week! I understand news of our fog has spread as far as sunny Florida, so I thought I'd share a few views that I photographed about 5:30 p.m. CST today.
Above is the view from our back porch, over the roof of our garage toward the east.

At left is the view looking up the street to the North from our house. We are fairly near the airport, and the visibility at Lambert Intl. was officially 1/8 of a mile all day. Several times, like when we drove to campus this morning for our Silver Moves exercise class, it felt like it was about 1/10 of a mile. I don't see how planes are managing to land with just about 0 ceiling. Come to think of it, haven't heard as many as usual.

We have heard that rain is coming tomorrow-- oh great, just in time for my birthday. At least it may disperse some of the fog. Meanwhile, ghostly trees like this one south of our neighbor Barb's house inhabit our landscape on every side. Tomorrow morning we have meetings but hope to get a late lunch out before my quilt guild in the evening. On Friday, we hope to drive up river to see what the eagles are doing, and maybe get some bird pictures. If these "little cat feet" will just move on, that is.

Bentrott News from Haiti: CONASPEH meeting; Kim gets to be a doctor; update on orphan evacuations

Tonight there is a big chunk of news on the Bentrott's blog covering events of Tuesday as well as today.

First, Patrick reports on the CONASPEH meeting held Tuesday:

http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/conaspeh-meeting.html

Money quote from Francois Villier,

The meeting ended with a reminder from Francois Villier that CONASPEH was not buried under rubble, it did not die with loss of life. CONASPEH is not a building or a physical space. Instead it is an organization that is constructed and ever stands through those committed to the strengthening liberation of the Haitian people. CONASPEH is a philosophy, a vision made tangible working to empower Haitians and change lives from the ground up through education, health care, skills training and the sharing of a liberating vision for Haiti centering on equality and justice. “When we fall, we must get up again. This is our job; this is what makes us strong. We must never stop working for our vision. We will rebuild. It will take a lot of work, but we will move forward because that is our service to each other and to God."

And there is more. Kim gives an update on how to send financial support for their mission in Haiti:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/support.html

On Tuesday afternoon, Kim and Patrick made their rounds of various agencies and missions they have written about before, and Kim found great satisfaction in being able to treat some people in a small community of Haitians taking care of Haitians. It is kind of a long post, but uplifting to read and it shows the deep understanding of the culture that she brings as a gift to her healing. Access it here: http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/week-gone-by.html

The most recent post details their visit to the American Embassy on Wednesday (today) to see about getting a humanitarian visa for Solomon so they can come to the states for a while to regroup and rest--although they plan to return to work with CONASPEH soon. Their case is still in limbo because---their files didn't have PICTURES! Amazing. Anyway, her update is here:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/orphan-evacuation-update.html

I was glad to see these four new posts tonight after the worry of this morning's aftershocks.

Haiti: Bentrotts Receive supplies for Orphanage

Hopeful news this morning as Kim Bentrott has two new postings on her blog. The first one describes their journey yesterday to meet a private plane that had brought supplies from Colorado to the orphanage where they adopted their son, Solomon. They also have learned that Solomon is on a list of children from that orphanage waiting for visas to be matched with their prospective parents...the link to "Supplies Arrive" is here: http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/supplies-arrive.html

And then there is more good news: this morning Kim received a call from one of the nurses in the class she was teaching last Tuesday right before the earthquake. Given the destruction of the CONASPEH building, Kim believed all of them had died. But at least one has survived and is ready to help with the medical outreach efforts that CONASPEH is trying to re-establish. "Words Delivering Joy" can be found here:http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/words-delivering-joy.html

As I read these posts, I am struck by how much help the Haitians are giving Kim and Patrick--as Kim says, they could do nothing without them. But the Bentrotts are also providing that "on the ground" kind of help that only they can give. They gained entry to the airport to meet their plane easily--because they speak English! Yet they are able to ascertain the needs of the people they have served because they speak Creole. Their friend Veniel, who managed the well-known guest house before it collapsed, loaned them a large truck to transport the supplies. They had no problem navigating the streets--no bandits, no riots like we keep seeing on TV. Veniel has set up an office in his parking lot, is gathering tents and figuring out food sources, has plans to rebuild his ruined wall and soon the "guest house" will be up and running with security so that teams who want to come to help rebuild or continue the aid missions will have a place to stay. Today the staff of CONASPEH, the mission that Kim and Patrick serve, will be meeting to see how it can regroup. As their president said, CONASPEH is a concept of churches working together, it isn't a building. The Bentrotts will be there at the meeting. However, they are running low on cash and gasoline, so our prayer is that the supplies and funds that are being collected here in the US for them will reach them soon. It's another day, and the relief effort goes on.

Winter Walk: Blizzard of Sycamore Fluff

This afternoon Norm and I decided to stretch our flabby legs and walk around the neighbor- hood. It was a cloudy slightly foggy day, cool with a light wind, but after our snow and bitter cold, it was still a good day to get out. We had just started up the street when we realized it was snowing sycamore seeds from the giant tree across the street. For four or five lots scattered up and down the street in both directions, the golden fluff was piling up in drifts, covering car hoods and trunks, and floating past our noses.

This is a normal phenom- enon since sycamores flower in May and have their fruits ripe by October. They stay on the tree, small bronze balls, until late winter or early spring. I could get excited and think maybe this is the first sign of spring! We have noticed these fluff drifts before, but they seem heavier this year. I also don't think I've ever been out in a sycamore storm before! One source I checked said sycamore seeds were eaten by the now extinct Carolina parakeet. Another source said that purple finches like them. We usually have a lot of purple finches at our feeders, but they have been scarce this year.

We had a lovely walk and saw lots of starlings feeding on a zoysia lawn, hopefully they were ridding it of some kind of pest. We also saw a mocking bird claiming its high post on someone's chimney. And we saw one of the wild cats that roam the neighborhood and keep adding to the feral kitten population. It felt good to exercise and none too soon, since our Water Exercise Class starts again tomorrow after a month-long winter break. We expect soreness the rest of the week.


As we arrived home I was bemused by how the flat top of our new wall out front seems to have become a banquet table for the squirrels. They have been busy digging acorns (from our big oak tree) out of the nooks and crannies of the lawn and flower beds. The entire length of the wall is littered with the results of their snacking. The other day, Norm was startled to confront a squirrel that had attached itself to our back storm door and was staring inside. All we can figure is that he or she was thinking that the wreath of red berries on the back door was edible. Sorry guys, I'm afraid not. There is at least one acorn they won't get, either. A little oak tree is coming up in the same pot that holds the spider plant upstairs. Some squirrel probably hid the acorn there last fall before I brought the plants inside.

From the Bentrotts: Hope Amidst Disaster

Kimberly Bentrott has just uploaded a new blog post that details their attendance at a church service on Sunday, followed by a trip to successfully scavenge some medical supplies to help the children at Solomon's orphanage. A short quote:

We take hope amidst the disaster. Every opportunity will be explored and utilized. By everyone. Haitians helping haitians, friends from across the globe helping in the efforts as well. The unified effort to get through each difficult day makes us all stronger, a chain of many hands.

The link to her complete blog post is here:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/hope-in-hands-of-community.html

Patrick and Kim Bentrott Post More News

As the images on TV News seem to concentrate on the lines, the scuffles, the complaints and the soldiers in the streets, other news, blog posts from missionaries and aid workers already living in Haiti tell a story of individuals doing what they can, of small miracles, even of joy. Farmers in the mountains have crops that some aid workers have purchased and started to deliver locally. People with gas in their vehicles are transporting others to the embassy, the airport, back to neighborhoods to search the rubble. In tent camps all over the city, people are caring for each other the best they can, in the Haitian way. Here are some links to new posts on the Bentrott's blog, and they are easier to read than earlier ones; here and there are glimmers of good news even though Patrick and Kim are still trying to find out what they can do since the ministry building where they worked is now gone, and their ability to leave the country depends on getting a visa or a passport for a little boy whose adoption is not yet complete. Prayers, and support of the organizations they serve (Global Ministries, Week of Compassion, One Great Hour of Sharing) are all most of us can do right now. That, and leave a comment on their blog posts to let them know we hear what they are saying.

Patrick's Musings on his journey through Port au Prince on Friday the 15th:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/patricks-musings.html

Kim's reflections on the day she spent in the mountains on Friday with Solomon on the farm that belongs with their friend who owns the guest house where they once stayed--a welcome relief to know that she at least has had a place of healing respite from the horror of the city:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/removed.html

Kim's most recent post, detailing the trip through the city that she, Patrick and Solomon made on Saturday the 16th, with good news of friends who were found to be safe:
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/good-news-day.html

One reason I continue to post these on my blog has to do with the searches I observe when I look at SiteMeter. People all over the US are running searches for "kim bentrott" "patrick bentrott" and '"bentrotts haiti" and similar terms. Every time I see that someone using Google has turned up this blog and has then exited to Adventures in Life, I feel like I've done a tiny bit to help out at this time. One more thought: I have started looking at the blogs Kim links to on Adventures in Life. Most of them are from other missionary and aid workers they know in Haiti--many are with the Mennonite Central Committee, but there are others. This weekend I have had time to read some of their accounts as well. They all tell the same story of hope, courage, and faith against unimaginably daunting odds. When you get tired of the network and cable news coverage, of the conflicts and the wrangling, you can drop in on some of these sites and get an on-the-ground, human face account of how people are responding to this great tragedy with a strength that can only come from a spiritual source outside themselves.

Book Club Discusses 'Infidel'

Our book club met Saturday morning at the 6 North Coffee House to discuss 'Infidel' by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a woman of Somali heritage who became a Dutch citizen, but whose criticism of Islam has earned her a death threat. Not a cheerful read in the midst of a week that saw devastation in Haiti, but we all agreed that the reading had helped us understand events in Africa, such as the civil war in Somalia and the rise of Islamic extremism, a little better. Next month we plan to observe Black Heritage month by bringing poems by our favorite African-American poets to read. We are still deciding on our books for March and April.

As one of our members noted in a post on Facebook this afternoon: the coffee and the breakfast croissants are great, and sometimes some of us have even finished the book!

This evening Norm and I went out to dinner with our friends Mike and Sandy and caught up on the news in our respective families. We went to Oscar's Cafe, and had a delicious meal. In an odd set of coincidences, this was the third time this week I've been to Oscar's, which is just down the street from where we live. Tuesday night I went there with my circle I have belonged to for over 30 years. Friday noon I had lunch there with the new faculty adviser to the student newspaper; we get together a couple of times a semester so that she can ask questions and I can pass on tips and warnings...she is doing a GREAT job and I am so relieved to have someone as good as she is to advise the college journalists that I nurtured for many years. Makes retirement more fun! Tomorrow we will have a carry in dinner after church and I have my poppy seed chicken casserole (thank you, Maxine!) assembled and in the fridge waiting to pop into the oven in the morning. We are in the midst of dense fog--really thick this morning; lifted this afternoon; supposed to be back in the morning. But at least it is above freezing. We'll take it.

A note on the picture; it's the first time I've used the camera feature on my new Nokia phone that I got when we switched our plan from Sprint to Consumer Cellular. I'm still learning how to use its features, but the service is so much better and so much less expensive. If you belong to AAA or to AARP, Consumer Cellular has some great plans. You can click the link I embedded in this text for more information. (And NO, full disclosure, I did NOT receive any benefits or compensation from Consumer Cellular for this testimonial. I didn't get any special treatment at Oscar's Cafe, either!)

Haiti: Kim Bentrott describes the last two days

The Bentrotts have established internet access and Kim has a long post up tonight (Thursday) along with some photos. She describes their day before the earthquake, how it felt as their apartment settled, the sights and sounds and many trips they have made to pick people up, try to get them to hospital, get visitors to the embassy, etc. She also describes the destruction of the 6-story building that had held their offices, school, and college of nursing, and what it was like to watch men trying frantically to rescue those trapped in the rubble. It is too long for me to copy and paste here, but you can read it by clicking on this link to her post, Processing.

Although Kim is a doctor and not a journalist, if I could nominate this for a Pulitzer, I would.

E-Mail from Kim Bentrott

Just a few minutes ago, Global Ministries posted this e-mail received from Kim Bentrott, medical missionary in Haiti sponsored by Week of Compassion. Although she and Patrick are safe, the news about some parts of the CONASPEH mission there is grim:

LATEST NEWS: January 14, 2010 at 9:44am - E-mail message from Kim Bentrott

Dear India and Felix,

I've been trying since the earthquake to call, but our phone networks are down. Yesterday Patrick and I snuck into our apartment--that miraculously didn't crumble when our apartment building went from three stories to two in one big crunch of the first story. The landlord got out--not sure how... but no one in our apartment complex was seriously injured or killed.

I'm sure you know by now that Patrick, Solomon and I are safe. Patrick and Francoise Villier are safe. The entire Tennessee group miraculously is safe. Had they been on time for dinner, it would have been another story.

CONASPEH building is flattened with all nursing students inside. It is in complete ruin. Francoise and Patrick lost one of their foster care kids inside. Pray for them.

Patrick and I got the Tennessee group to the American embassy yesterday. The embassy was planning on shuttling people 100 at a time to Santa Domingo, and from there AA would take them back to the states. So they all had a plan on getting out.

Veniel--the manager of the Walls guest house, has taken Patrick and I under his wing and took us up the mountain to Kenskoff last night to find a hotel to stay in. We'll be here for two nights and try to figure out where to go next.

We spent most of the day at CONASPEH helping remove bodies and rescue the last few voices inside the rubble. We haven't been able to contact the Villiers since yesterday morning. The phone system continues to either be completely down or jammed.

We'll stay in contact. We hope to head to Port au Prince today or tomorrow to find the Villier's and see what we can do to help.

Pray for us. Pray for Haiti. The horror and tragedy here is beyond description. Such huge loss of life. Such devastation.

Kim

Kim also has just uploaded a post titled "Safe" to her blog, Adventures in Life. You can read that post and access the blog by clicking here or by going to my blogroll on the right of my page. It's worth the time to read some of her earlier posts and get a sense of what their life was like before this tragedy, and what she found to be so wonderful about the people they have met and have worked with.

Haiti News spreads via Blogs, Tweets & FB

I just opened my sitemeter stats, because it looked like the counter had been jump started. It was humbling to see that Home Stories had 34 visits yesterday, a huge increase. And fully half of them were from people who were doing a search for the Bentrotts in Haiti. People in Denver, Washington State, Nebraska--and one of the first hits they got was my post I threw together yesterday morning. Some came in from my link on FaceBook as well. It's just a small chip off the huge block of information sharing that is going on in this disaster. One of the most interesting feeds I found yesterday is the New York Times Lede blog, which has been turned over to Haiti coverage and it will also be constantly updated on Thursday. . You can find it here: The Lede. I've seen things there I haven't seen elsewhere, like the first link of the day to Pat Robertson's assertion on the 700 Club that a "pact with the devil" supposedly made 200 years ago to secure Haiti's independence from France is responsible for this tragedy. I will withhold my comment because it would violate Blogger's standards for decency.

Anyway, thoughts and prayers continue for everyone who is now trying to find a way to help the victims in this tragedy when there is so little infrastructure and civil organization to work with. If I see more news about the various mission partners, I'll post it as well.

Update on Haiti: Bentrotts OK

This received this morning--thank goodness Kim, Patrick and Solomon are OK. So is a group of Tennessee Christian Church volunteers who arrived on Sunday. More news will come during the day. Here is the info from Global Ministries web site:

"Global Ministries has received a call from the family of Kim and Patrick Bentrott indicating that they and their son are fine. We also received news from the Disciples Tennessee Region group letting us know that they are fine. "

Link for news updates: http://globalministries.org/news/lac/haiti-earthquake-what-we.html

Kim and Patrick work with some 6000 small grass roots churches that are part of a religious council known as CONASPEH. They are located in the poorest sections of the country. They will be needing everything.

Some ways to help:

Gifts for emergency relief can be made through One Great Hour of Sharing, Week of Compassion or directly through Global Ministries with the designation "Haiti Emergency". You can follow the links below:

OGHS: http://www.ucc.org/disaster/major-earthquake-strikes.html

WOC: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=6566

Global Ministries: http://globalministries.org/give/

Prayers for Haiti

The devastating news from Haiti of calamitous damage from a 7.0 earthquake hits especially hard because Norm and I have been following the adventures of two young Americans who are missionaries there, supported in part by Disciples and UCC Churches in the St. Louis area through Global Ministries. We met them in the fall of 2008 shortly before they departed for their new ministry. Just yesterday I was reading their blog, as Kim rejoiced in returning "home" to her husband and son after a restful visit with her relatives in the U.S. Kim is a doctor; Patrick teaches in the seminary there. They have adopted a Haitian boy who is 14 months old. At this early point, no one knows if their 2nd story apartment is rubble, if they are injured or not, if they have survived. If they are OK, then Kim faces huge obstacles as a physician trying to help the people she has been serving, and Patrick will be trying to help students and colleagues at the school, and someone will be trying to care for Solomon while his parents work. The suffering in this small country--the poorest in the Western Hemisphere-- was enormous before; now it is unimaginable. Help is on the way from many countries that are sending medical aid, rescue teams, etc. Both the Week of Compassion (which supports Kim's medical clinic) and Church World Service are accepting donations at their web sites for aid. Many other worthwhile charities are as well. We pray for everyone who struggles with the aftermath of this disaster, for those injured and homeless, for those who did not survive and the families that grieve for them. And we pray for practical ways to help. Here is a link to the blog I mentioned above; it is also listed on my blogroll.
http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/

Norm and Ava in the Snow

When Ava came to visit yesterday she had a bright new red sweater in her travel bag. Must have been a gift from Santa. Anyway, it came in handy this afternoon with our below zero wind chill index. In this picture, Norm is wearing 2 to 4 layers (depending on the article of clothing.) He topped off his gray hat with the red one so I thought this outing would make a good picture.

Not a lot to add. It's cold. Get used to it. At least until next week. The thaw apparently starts Monday, when it warms up enough to snow (showers) again. But by Wednesday they are promising 40! I hardly dare hope.

Today I put on some of my Damart long johns that I first ordered 35 years ago when one of our first years in St. Louis provided us with more bone chilling cold than we had ever had living in Denver. And then I put on sweat pants. And a t-shirt, a turtleneck, and a hoodie. Two pairs of socks. And I wasn't even planning to go outside with the dog. A decade of milder winters sort of ruined us for this kind of extended cold, but thank goodness I never gave away the long johns!

Snow Day in Bel Nor

Sometimes the weather forecast is so accurate! Last night it started snowing about the time it got dark. We had a Winter Storm warning for 4-6 inches, followed by high winds, blowing and drifting snow, and dangerous wind chills starting tonight and lasting into Saturday. We got only about 3-4 inches here, but so far the wind and the chill are right on target!

About 9 a.m. after the main storm had passed, we had a brief, heavy snow shower and the wind blew it almost sideways. The bird feeders in the back yard were busy all day. I really wanted to capture the effect of the big, blowing snowflakes, even though the shower didn't last very long. The view from the front door toward a house across the street looks similarly frosty. Not long after I took this photo, Raymond and his friend Junior arrived, driving Vanna, our old minivan, to shovel our sidewalks and driveway. Our neighbor Barb had left earier this morning for the airport and called us later, saying, "don't go anywhere out of Bel Nor. It's too crazy out there." We decided to follow her advice. But at least now we can get out of the garage if we have to.

Inside, we have a riot of blooms right now--three poinsettias (two white, one red) and four amaryllis stalks each bearing three blooms. It has been so cold that we are keeping most of the curtains and blinds drawn day and night to stop heat escaping through our generous number of (supposedly thermal) windows...but I have to open the drapes each morning for the plants in the dining room to get some light. All of this living in the dark is beginning to give us cabin fever! Norm has taken up weaving on his lap loom again, after a hiatus of a few years. I have been working on knitting a prayer shawl. And of course we have Ava to play with and keep us warm until Sunday night when Barb returns from Atlanta. Not long after the snow shower, the sun came out and brightened the day for quite a while. Now it's cloudy again, the low tonight is supposed to be somewhere between 0 and 5 above with wind chills of 15 -20 below. (On my FaceBook page, friends are discussing the color of their thermal underwear! ) Tomorrow might be even worse: high of 13 and low around 0 again. I think I know where my long johns are--haven't had a winter this cold since 1999 but they are still in the bottom drawer of the dresser. At least we can look forward to a week from now: it will be close to 40 degrees! Now that's a forecast I fervently hope WILL be extremely accurate!

2010: New Year, New Hopes, New Blooms!

Happy New Year, everyone! As you can see, we are joined in this greeting by The Amaryllis, which chose yesterday to unfold for this holiday season. Mom Linville's legacy lives on in many ways, but this plant, and its offspring, are one of the more delightful, tangible reminders of her. I imagine many of you who have some of these bulbs have had similar miracles in bloom recently.

Norm and I rang in the New Year at 12:03 this morning on our porch, clanging a cowbell that came with the house, attached to one of the porch lights. We had sipped some sparkling grape and snacked on Scottish shortbread that smelled SO GOOD while it was baking in the oven. Our New Year's Eve Scrabble tournament took place as well. Norm won this year by 2 points: 224 to 222, and that was with getting caught with the Z, so good for him! We have been writing down the scores from each year on a now yellowed piece of paper since 1969, the year my parents gave us the game for Christmas! (They thought a couple of English majors deserved a spelling game!)

As we were doing some correspondence this week, we also took time to rearrange the picture board and update it to reflect many of the events of 2009, as well as showcase some of the pictures that came in Christmas cards. Some of the photos are older because we still like them, or they are the best we have of someone. Those of you who have been to our house know that we have this board on the wall above our kitchen table. We began the tradition in our Ferguson house, back in the 1970s, when it had a small bulletin board on the kitchen wall. We like having the images of places and people we love in a location where we are reminded of them and can think of them each day. Our fervent wish, on this bright, blue, cold (16 degrees!) morning is for health and happiness for everyone we know, for healing for those who have been battling illness, for recovery for those who have lost jobs or confidence, and for progress toward peace and understanding even when the way seems lost. As people in our congregation say to each other every Sunday, may the Peace of Christ be with you! Have a Blessed New Year!