Rainy Season

Finding time to myself has become increasingly difficult. I came back to Haiti at the beginning of April and moved into my new home. In less than a week I became a mother of three. I love my children and what I do but in the beginning it was a little overwhelming. We’ve all managed though. The children are in a routine now and so am I. Although I may not have the cleanest house in the world it is definitely the busiest. We have school and feeding programs, Sunday school classes and the prison ministry. In the middle of everything else I have to remind myself I’m also a wife. Finding time with my husband is quite the challenge but somehow we find time for that too. All in all it’s a pretty amazing life.

The month of March marked the beginning of the rainy season here in Haiti. Every night for almost the entire month the rain would pour outside. Mud was everywhere.  Personally, I like the rain, but what I don’t like is what comes after the rain. Stagnant water is breeding ground for mosquitoes and mosquitoes spread disease. This year we were hit with a virus called Chickungunya fever. (Good luck trying to pronounce that) It amazed me how fast it spread through this country. It seems like anyone living here has experienced it, myself included. It starts with a fever. Afterwards you get a rash over your whole body. My rash was even in my mouth! Then the joint pain. I felt like I was 105 years old. I could barely walk to the bathroom because the bottoms of my feet hurt so bad. Everyone in my house has been hit with it. Some people have worse cases then others but there doesn’t seem to be anyone who is immune. I thought my son Ben was the only one that was going to get past this rainy season unscathed. He’s lying beside me as I write this blog with a temperature of 102. I guess I was wrong.

My supply of medicine is running dangerously low so I’m looking forward to my trip back to the States in July when I can restock my Children’s Tylenol supply. My house is a pharmacy. There seems to always be someone standing on the other side of my gate asking for medicine and holding sick children. I know what this virus felt like. I can’t imagine going through it without medicine.

Haitians are tough, but I suppose they have to be……