Another Day in Haiti

I awoke to Papè telling a story VERY loudly in the yard.  I immediately thought, "WHY is he being loud so early in the morning?!"  In reality, it was almost 8 o'clock.  Ah, I remembered, New Year's Eve.  I didn't get to bed until after 3AM.  8 o'clock certainly came quickly.  What a great night it was, though.  The girls from the orphanage danced their "Waka Waka" song, several Americans had the opportunity to encourage the assembly and everyone had a great time of praise and worship.  At midnight everyone cheered and went to prayer.  Then the McDonald's Quarter Pounders began being served.


I stood at the front of the line, to tell people when they could go get their food. Those who had a smart alec remark for me stood in line a little while longer, as I let others go around.  I would let the shock set in and then let the kid go eat.  Sometimes they forget if I speak Creole.  LOL.  


Will started out grilling the burgers and then Lex and Dave took over.  Maike, Danielle, Silke and Ronda filled each plate with a burger on a roll with ketchup, macaroni salad, baked beans...Jerrica was the cookie girl.  We also gave them a cup of juice.  When the line was done, I went down to the serving area and discovered the french fries were still by where they were being cooked. Oops!  We gave the cooked ones out to the dozens of children still hanging around.  The ones that were not yet cooked were conserved for lunch today.  


The Rav4 broke down last night, was fixed this morning, was broken down again and then miraculously worked again.  The little school bus broke down this morning.  We blew the Clutch and had to park it to await repairs.  The good news?  SWC came with a mechanic, Mike, who is eager to get started.  The NOT so good news?  Mike was not able to start, as he did not drink sufficient fluids on his way into Haiti and his first night here.  He became very dehydrated, but nurse Korey looked after him and re-hydrated him quickly.  This evening he was smiling and had some color in him again.


The teams slept in this morning, after being up until 2AM+.  After breakfast they wrapped presents.  In the afternoon they took part in the children's Sunday School program.  The kids were rewarded with prizes for saying memory verses and such.  We have some great "kid players" on these teams!  


Late in the day, they brought the orphans up to the mountain where their new home is being built.  People were touched by how much the children enjoyed being up there.  There's just sooooo much room to play.  There are mountains and valleys of adventures to be had up there.  A great moment to consider Matthew 18:3, "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."


Under the choukoun was looking pretty full as Dan, Don, Scott and Jason arrived last night.  It ends up that Dave from the PA team is from the place where Dan and Scott were born.  They were able to share stories about it.  Small world!  


Be Like Brit's bulldozer arrived, but it seems it was invisible!  Ended up that they delivered it to a different location.  This is part of the inauguration into Haiti.  Simple things oft times become quite complicated.


I'm looking forward to a great service in the morning.  Our Christian Leadership Academy starts on Monday, but our speakers begin at church on Sunday.  It's sure to be a great time.


Thank you for taking a moment to hear about another day in Haiti.  God bless you!