Dokte Sarah

Yesterday was my Goddaughter Sabina's baptism. Her mother stopped over a couple of days ago and said that it was my job to dress her so they would be stopping by and then we would go to the ceremony together. I really had no idea what to expect but when I saw her, she was dressed up like a cupcake.

Sabina (didn't get a good shot of her face), her godfather and I.

When we walked in to the ceremony, I discovered that a wedding was going on at the same time. Not just a wedding but a mass wedding for 27 couples! Apparently an American pastor pays for a wedding once/year for couples in Haiti who can't afford a wedding of their own. He pays for everything from suits, to dresses, to bouquets, to veils, to gloves! It was really a beautiful thing to witness though i can't imagine getting married with so many other people around. Somewhere in the middle of the ceremony they had three babies come up front (including Sabina), held them up and spoke words of blessing over them. Apparently it wasn't an actual baptism but a dedication.

The couples sat in chairs directly across from each other and the wedding guests sat or stood wherever they could.

I love the 80's wedding dresses. :)

After the ceremony, Sabina's parents invited myself and Santo (who had accompanied me to translate) to a celebration. They fed us maccaroni salad, chicken and soda. Unfortunatley we couldn't stay long because it was getting dark and there aren't street lights or anything where we live so when it's dark it's pitch black. After we got home, Sabina's mom came by to give me my godmother's gifts: two slices of pizza (I have no clue where they found pizza in Haiti), two huge pieces of cake, and two bottles of soda. It was a very sweet day and I felt so honored to be included.

Sabina's parents.

Parents and godparents with the special little lady. Doesn't she look sweet? Her dress was really hot though, poor thing.

Today Zeenia and I ventured into Cap by ourselves for the first time. We were so proud of ourselves for getting onto a tap-tap, finding our way to the Justinian hospital, finding our meeting location and then finding a copy shop to pick up some documents we had dropped off on Wednesday. We met with Eyleen from Meds and Food for Kids who showed us around the Medika Mamba program in the Pediatric ward of the Justinian. We got to observe how kids are weighed, measured and she walked us through the forms we'll need to use in order to have a program at our clinic. While we were sitting outside two mangos fell from a tree so Zeenia and Eyleen got to eat them. Nothing like fresh mangos! After the tour, we hitched a ride with two of Eyleen's co-workers and got a tour of the MFK factory! It's really cool to see how they turn Haitian peanuts into medicine for Haitian babies. :) After the tour she gave us all the materials we'll need to get started with our own Medika Mamba program. Thanks so much to those of you who donated towards this program. I'll keep you posted with progress.