Barlow Family - Haiti

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The WHOLE crew

 

Ted & Rebecca

(Haiti)

Tania Grace

(Texas)

Ana & Oliver

(Germany)

Tynan

(California)

Emma

(California)

Olivia

(Texas)

Syndie

(Haiti)

 

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In Prayer, For...
  • the orphans in Haiti
    a smooth moving process
    calm during the transition
  • our kids -
  • Tynan & Tania in college
  • Ana working in Germany
  • Twins' homeschooling
  • the future "additions"
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Thursday
Nov092017

Fast forward to FALL 2017

WOW, how did THAT happen? Where has the time flown off to??

Ready for our 2.5 year FAST FORWARD?

October 2014 - Blog posts and email reports tapered off - with notice - due to Rebecca starting midwifery school studies full time.

February 2016 - Rebecca started clinical rotations.

August 2016 - Ted resigned at Operation Blessing.

December 2016 - Rebecca graduated with her MSN in Midwifery from Froniter Nursing University and became a board certified Nurse Midwife!!

September 2016 - New mission project for Ted: NouKod Foundation, Inc  

December 2016 - NouKod officially registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

February 2017 - Rebecca began providing home birth services for missionary families in Haiti.

July 2017 - New mission project for Rebecca: Nich La ("the nest") a midwifery-led, freestanding birth center in Port Au Prince, Haiti opened its doors and we celebrated our first birth onsite, August 1st, 2017. 

Why are we bringing you up to date after all this time?

Well, during a recent trip to the US for our daughter Tania's wedding, including time in both Texas and California, we had several requests to start sending out ministry/project updates again. Realizing that our promise to do so once school ended for Rebecca had been a little overdue and neglected, we decided to carve out some time to surface, "breathe", reconnect and ultimately to share more about our current work here in Haiti.

Where are we NOW? - 

Last year we started NouKod, a mission driven business that is currently a non-profit organization, about to break off into both a non-profit "foundation" and a for-profit IT company! Our vision and goal for NouKod is to help create IT jobs in Haiti, bringing in new industry and economic resources that will trickle down and help relieve the rampant issue of poverty in the country. Life in Haiti has shown us that job creation is one of the best ways to help lift the oppression of physical poverty in the country and to bring hope and healing to the next generation. While we don't have specific parameters for our employee base, it happens that most of our initial team are youth who graduated out of local orphanages and had not many prospects for employment ahead. NouKod is also committed to hiring as many women as it does men in this wide-open field of opportunity. Those with little experience can work their way up the skills ladder with ongoing training and new project opportunities. Some of our team have college diplomas and are anxious to finally have hands on experience locally and to step into the field of IT services and computer programming here in their home country. This is an opportunity that until now would have required someone to get a visa to the US or other developed nation.  NouKod hopes to open wide the door of IT opportunity for young people in Haiti and allow them to work locally and with success, change their own communities

You can read more about Nich La at the website HERE. Nich La was born out of repeated requests by missionary and expat families for midwifery and women's health care in the comfort of a home-like setting. We just opened our doors a few months ago, but have already heard time and again, what a blessing it is that we are an available option for this population. At the same time, we are working to create a unique form of sustainability for maternity care, within Haiti. Any excess revenue taken in by Nich La after expenses are paid, will go to support Maison De Naissance (MN), our partner birth center down in the remote area of Torbeck. MN provides care for Haitian women in need regardless of their ability to pay. They have attended to over 5000 births in the past 13 years, had ZERO maternal deaths and <2% newborn deaths - an incredible feat for that region of the country. Nich La hopes to also be an incubator for Haitian nurse midwives to help support more midwifery-led birth centers being developed throughout the country. 


Lastly...our family!

Tania Grace was married in September to her sweetheart, Michael Harris. So, we happily welcomed a new "son" to the family. They live in the Fort Worth, TX area with our 2 yo grandaughter, Alina. Who was also born since my last blog post!!

Ana and Oliver are now living near Ollie's dad, Ishai in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ana is studying for her MA in organizational development. 

Tynan & Emma are settled in northern CA, where Emma is working at a local Sonic Drive-in and Tynan is working for NouKod from our stateside headquarters. 

Olivia is living in Dallas, TX and working in a leadership role at CareCenter, a rehab program ministry. 

Syndie is growing up SO FAST...too fast! She is thriving and healthy and as smiley as ever. We are beyond impressed with how incredibly well she is doing. However, she is still waiting for the day that she will get to visit the rest of her family and friends in the US. We are neck deep in her adoption paperwork process and have just changed gears to pursue adoption as Haitian residents. It will save us nearly $10K in adoption expenses. We recently received a $1500 grant from One17 Foundation, which will help us take the next few steps forward in the paperwork process. It was such an encouragement! If you would like to help with our adoption expense, you can donate HERE or via our NouKod PayPal site (tax deductible).

Now that we've brought you all up to date, keep an eye out for new posts and news on how our projects and adoption are going. WE would also LOVE to hear from you!!! Feel free to reach out via email, facebook or the like. Life is busy, but we truly miss keeping up with everyone personally.

For information on how you can HELP or walk alongside us further, please refer to our project/company websites or watch for our adoption journey updates!

 

 

 

Tuesday
May262015

Kindergarten graduation

Syndie successfully completed kindergarten for the first time ever, after only going half a year several years in a row in her orphanage. It was a pretty exciting day! Not only did she do well in her subjects, she added English fluency to her accomplishments too.

Syndie's godmother & god-grandmother/foster family came to celebrate with us too.

We're so thankful for Mrs. Ackerman who poured so much love & knowledge into her this year! She is going to miss her very much!!

Tuesday
May052015

International Day of the Midwife 2015

While there are so many lovely midwives that I honor and send love out to today...I have to say that this one, the newest "midwife" in our family, wins my sincere admiration and the BEST midwife award for 2015 in MY book! - Rebecca 

EMMA BARLOW - International Canine Midwife

and leave it to Cosette to do her part

as our ever faithful Blood Hound guard dog...

by honoring the HEART of our work to promote global maternity care

ON International Midwives Day 

by delivering SEVENTEEN puppies...

...in Haiti!

 

Saturday
Oct182014

Entering a new “dimension”…effective 11/30/2014

SO, one of the BIGGEST challenges of overseas life, we’ve found, is communication.

Another is isolation.

Beyond that we face a stronger sense here of limited resources…

  • funds

  • time

  • proximity

  • energy

  • relationships

  • encouragement 

We enjoy & need ALL of the above! 

Facebook, Squarespace blogs, Newsletters and Twitter have been fabulous tools for SHARING what we are doing ministry-wise, personally, and as a family in general. They are also helpful for sharing thoughts, events, pics and chat sessions with family members & friends. However, we have to dedicate quite a LOT of time to planning, writing, posting and updating the latest "news".

With a busy 6 year old underfoot, me (Rebecca) in the midst of midwifery studies 50 hours a week now & Ted’s 40-60 hours of field/office work we have had to seriously weigh up time management factors along with our current resources & “needs” as human beings, christian workers, family members, and friends.

This is what we realized...

  • Broadly used social media is playing a different role than we hoped.
  • It is probably more of a drain on all of the above than an improvement.
  • Our personal & ministry support of all forms has been through truly engaged (daily to annually) family members, friends & co-workers.
  • We are not comfortable broadcasting...personal events, experiences, and needs...or the lives and stories of our Haitian friends...with the general public anymore.   

What we honestly don’t desire right now (or ever) is:

  • to spend extra non-interactive time on electronics
  • our Haitian friends’ privacy to be invaded or stories exploited 
  • to feed information consumerism instead of tangible engagement in ministry
  • personal information to be turned into “gossip” 
  • one way communication
  • a growing sense of isolation in observing normal life from afar
  • a mile long FB chat list of individuals that we never interact with
  • our youngest to learn that life revolves around a laptop! 

We DO desperately need:

To SIMPLIFY during busy times & STRENGTHEN “real” and positive relationships, even from a distance. 

To share meaningful personal time with family & friends in some interactive (probably media based) form regularly.

SO, here is the HARSH part...

...we are going to take a VERY BOLD step & actively shut down any social media pathways to the general PUBLIC and those we are not interacting with personally….over the next few weeks.

What does that look like?

We WILL still be on facebook/twitter as individuals.

Our family page will be shut down by the end of November.

If you would like to remain “friends” please send each of us a quick message saying so.

No communication from you in the last year directly by any mode or between now & the end of November, means...don’t take it personally...but we must unfriend you at that time.

BLOG POSTS may be limited or even eliminated. We'll see what time allows in the coming months.

We WILL continue to send occasional NEWSLETTERS out.

The idea is that when they arrive, we'd love to hear a reply & catch up on YOUR news as well!

You will receive one ONLY IF you send a brief reply to the most recent one and notify us that you would like to continue receiving them OR have responded personally at least once in the past year. 

Does this mean that you have to chat with us daily or weekly or monthly??? No, not really. We are just looking to be more engaged personally with you over the course of the year in some way.

We sincerely hope that you understand this phase of our overseas life & work right now and will be an active part of our circle of friends & family that laughs with us in joyful times & shares strength, wisdom & encouragement during the hard ones. We love and cherish you either way!

As always...there is a standing invitation for the use our guestroom in Haiti as well!

Have a blessed weekend - Rebecca

Friday
Sep192014

My husband, My Hero...! Happy Birthday, Ted.

It’s amazing to think that the best day of my life happened 15 months & 1 day before I even took my first breath. The faceless woman who labored to bring my husband into this world 50 years ago today didn’t have him in her plan, but his Father in heaven sure did!!! And the world is a better place for His gift...

THEODORE:

From the Greek name Θεοδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of God".


I take him for granted way too often, but today I am just missing him terribly and sharing this tribute.

he·ro

 noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\

: a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities

: a person who is greatly admired

: the chief male character in a story, play, movie, etc.

                                                     Merriam-Webster

Hero

A hero or heroine refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. Wikipedia

By all definitions, you see, my sentiments are absolutely TRUE.

In the aftermath of the recession & a forced career shift, he chose not to seek his own wealth and happiness, but the path of helping others who were in greater need than he had ever imagined.

He has worked tirelessly on behalf of at-risk children and families for over 3 years now in Haiti and his shoulder is at the plow still as he follows the path his Father has laid out for him, abroad. It isn’t easy, but it IS making a difference.

He wouldn’t see it this way, but the sacrifices that he makes every day are astounding.

At this very moment he is making several:

-          He is working 40-60 hours a week under the Haitian sun overseeing countless projects that are slowly changing the landscape of poverty, everything from fish hatcheries, to schools, a special needs orphanage, medication distribution and more are under his eye at the moment.

-          He is caring for a sweet & spunky 6 year old, who adores her papa.

-          He remains in Haiti, while I am away tending our big kids' needs.

-          He’s dealing with an extended separation with the needs of many others in mind, but primarily for the sake of processing the adoption of his youngest child.

-          He is providing the physical & emotional support, for me to start midwifery school in a few weeks. All the while, with the future of Haitian nurses, midwives, and the precious LIVES of mothers & their babies in mind.

-          He drives to school, grocery shops, pumps water to flow through our house, keeps electricity running, attends parent/teacher conferences, medical appointments, and even does LAUNDRY…

I know for a fact, there are things he does, that I never know about, to help make our lives possible there and to promote the well-being of others.

I LOVE and admire this man!!!!

It feels so miniscule to only be able to offer this tribute on such a MONUMENTAL day…and from afar.

Please join me today in THANKING GOD, in CELEBRATION and by offering words of joy & encouragement to MY HERO…my husband.

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY, Ted Barlow!!!!

I LOVE YOU and am so BLESSED by you…

I hope and pray to share the second "half of a century" more walking the journey and adventures of this world with you!