$70!!!

I went to the market today. I decided that I wanted to buy my family some Haitian artwork for Christmas this year. I figured that would be an awesome and unique gift, right? Well, I must have looked like an easier target to the merchant lady because she tried to charge me $70 for two paintings!! And believe me I wasn't attempting to buy the Mona Lisa off of her. I told her she was crazy. Sorry family looks like your getting bath and body works again this year...lol. The problem at the market is that Haitians believe that every American is rich. As soon as they see a white person coming their way they double their prices. One day I made the mistake of tagging along with the ladies that purchase everything for our feeding program. I found out later that on that particular day the cost of beans was twice as high. That's the last time I've went with them.
I think one of the hardest adjustments for me when I came to Haiti was having to depend on other people for everything  I'm still not used to it. I have to have someone drive me around, because there is no way I can drive in a place with zero traffic laws. I can't buy anything myself because I get ripped off. And, I can't even take a walk outside of our property because my white skin draws to much attention! Hopefully in the future I'll be more comfortable in this new culture, and I'll be able to do more things on my own. It all comes down to learning the language, though. I can't wait until that challenge is behind me. I've been studying every day now. I'm pretty good at reading Creole, but I still can't understand them when they talk to me. I guess, it's coming along in baby steps.....very small slow baby steps.

"Dear Jesus, help me through another day. Teach me patience, Lord. Give me the determination and passion I need to succeed here. Lord I know by teaching me to depend on others your showing me how to depend on you. I can't do everything by myself and it's useless to try. Thank you God for taking the time to mold me into the person you wish me to be....Amen "

My hardest day yet!!

I just got into the biggest knock down drag out fight with my kids! We were all having a nice afternoon. I was helping the girls write their ABC's. While the boys played basketball in the hallway with a little basketball hoop they got for one of their birthdays. T. I. Ute, a 6 year old girl, somehow got an elbow to the chin when she was walking down the hallway. Of course, she started to cry. When I was trying to figure out what happened the boys started to make fun of her for crying. They were mocking her. That made her cry even more. I told them to stop but they didn't. I said, "If you don't stop I'm taking the basketball hoop away." I threatened them three times til eventually I took the hoop and locked it up in my room. Well, at that point Nathan, a 6 year old who lives with me, absolutely lost it. He threw a temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums. He threw himself on the floor kicking and screaming. Then he started kicking my door! It was ugly. I just set back and watched quietly until he wore himself out. That took about 15 minutes of nonstop screaming!! When he was exhausted enough to stop I marched him up the hill to the retired missionary that lives behind our house. Nathan tried to plead his case to Poppa Bob but it didn't work. He got spanked and put in the corner.So did the rest of the boys who were involved. Plus, they had to apologize to me. I think that may have been the hardest part of all for them.
I felt so horrible getting them into trouble, but I can't let them pick on each other like that. Its not nice!!! Oh Lord help me. Do they make an instruction manual for this kind of work???
I hope they turn out to be good men and women. I know they have a hard life, but they have an opportunity here to go farther then most children in Haiti. I want them to excel. I want them to become great leaders. The first step towards achieving that goal is taking away a basketball hoop. Every child needs discipline.They have to have it or who knows what kind of people they would grow up to be. (I'm saying all this now just to make myself feel better)
Ok so maybe I'm taking this punishment thing a lot harder then them. I can already hear them outside playing and laughing again. Thank you Jesus for children.

One tough little girl

Today while I was teaching my preschool class a little girl started screaming right in the middle of "if your happy and you know it clap your hands". When I looked down I noticed she had a huge gash on her leg. One of the  kids must have bumped it while we were singing.  It was horrible looking. A whole chunk of her skin was missing. Apparently, she had been bitten by a dog. I can't teach when a child is hurt that bad. I picked her up and carried her up the hill to my house. Then I did what any self-respecting missionary would have done in that situation; I called my grandma. She told me how to clean the wound and what medicine to put on it. The little girl didn't cry once. These Haitian kids are tough! After I was finished I gave her a cookie because she was so brave. Then I carried her back to school. Hopefully, her parents can keep it clean so it doesn't get infected. I'll make sure to check on her tomorrow. Please, remember her in your prayers tonight. I have no way of knowing what dog bit her, so all I can do is pray the animal didn't have rabies.

Movie Day

We didn't have school today. It was a Haitian Holiday. All the children have been running around the house playing since 6:00 this morning. In our house we only have electricity at night. We run a big generator every night for 4 hours. This charges a set of batteries. They look just like car batteries. The batteries will gives us power in the whole house until about 7:00 in the morning. After that every thing turns off. However, there is normally enough power in the batteries to keep one outlet working in the back of the house. Its the back bedroom that has two bunk beds in it. When mission teams come and stay with us that is where they sleep. Today I plugged my computer into the outlet so I could lay on the bottom bunk and watch a movie, The Chronicles of Narina. It wasn't long until one of the kids noticed what I was doing. Wilson walked in the room and laid down beside me and started playing with my hair. Then Jean Marc, Wilson's best friend, came in and laid his head on my shoulder. After that Marinese, a 12 year old girl, crawled into the bunk and laid her head on my back so she could see the movie. Finally, Nathan, who is a tiny 6 year old, curled up around my legs and fell asleep with his head on my butt. Try to picture this scene in your head. I'm laying on the bottom of a twin size bunk bed with 4 kids laying on top of me watching a movie! It was very uncomfortable. I soon realized that I was the only one who could understand English so I switched the language of the movie so they could understand. I laid like this for two hours watching a movie in a different language! The entire time I was laying there all I could think of in my head was, "Thank you Jesus." This time last year I was very lonely. Now look at my life. I am more blessed then I could have ever imagined. All because I was obedient to God.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

New Plans

My kids are standing at my door right now asking me for candy. My response to them was, "No you'll ruin your appetite." Its inevitable, eventually we all turn into our mothers. :(

Today was such a sad day at our little children's home. For the first time in the history of this home we had to bury one of our kids. She was 22 years old, but she had grown up in this house and was still living here when she died.. I don't really know what killed her. She had a fever for a long time. Ever since I arrived here she has been sick. They told me she was a teacher at my school and she often led the praise and worship in the church. She was a Christian, but her mother was Voodoo. Her mother was caring for her when she died. 

Her death is just another reminder to me of how desperately Haiti needs better health care. Hospitals are so far away and overcrowded that people only go to them when they become very very sick. More often then not by then its to late. But change is coming. My boss just was given deeds to a property across the street from our children's home and plans are already being put into place to start a full time clinic. God is moving in this country. With every set back he is always there to bring us more hope. For me, the future is so exciting!