New Year's Eve

There's just never a dull moment in Haiti.  :-)  This morning I (Renee) went to Port-au-Prince to buy some barrels (so that we can have running water on the second floor of the guest house!), fruits and veggies, and to go grocery shopping at a real grocery store.  I needed to buy some items for the New Year's Eve celebration tonight, as well as some important ingredients (like mozzarella cheese!) for our pizza tomorrow.  It was a long day, bouncing along "crater" (bigger than a pot hole) roads in the big red pick up truck, which would be a great truck in New England right now, with all the heat it throws into the cab. :-)


Lex was late getting to the bank yesterday, so he went this morning to get money to pay all our workers - teachers, construction workers, orphanage workers, guest house workers... there are a bunch of them and they ALL need money for the holiday.  New Year's in Haiti is just about as big a deal as Christmas is.  Everyone stays up all night.  The women start cooking soup (traditional pumpkin soup) around 3AM.  Everyone hits the streets on January 1st, to visit their relatives and god parents.  And all those relatives and god parents need to have some money on hand to give these young people.


The bank director greeted Lex warmly and asked what she could do for him.  He told her and she said, "well, I can give you..."  It was about 1/3 of what he had intended to take out.  The bank was, in fact, just about out of money.  How often does THAT happen in Gardner, MA?  I've NEVER seen it happen, myself.  But I HAVE seen it happen here and the timing was pretty bad.  Nevertheless, somehow Lex was able to make most everyone happy.  (PHEW!!!)


We will be grilling McDonald's Quarter Pounders for somewhere between 700 and 1200 people tonight.  Our PA friends have been peeling and cutting potatoes for French Fries for the past 4 hours!  The Sturbridge Worship Center team arrived this evening and have been helping with the macaroni salad and baked beans.  Len, Bernie and Ross are getting ready to start grilling soon.  I'm ready for bed, myself.  ;-)


Alexis has been working with the girls at the orphanage on a dance for about 2 months and tonight is the night that they will be performing it.  I'm looking forward to watching it.


Tomorrow is the beginning of a new year and for us, the beginning of our new operation as Mission of Hope International, Inc.  We have a great new website in the works that should be published in the next week or so.  We are confident that 2011 will be better than 2010.  From all of us here in Haiti, we wish you a healthy and prosperous new year!