A "typical" day in my Haitian life.

I start my morning by waking up at 545am. I have been tossing and turning and falling in and out of sleep since 0500. I can hear the music outside from the workers and the traffic starting in the city of Titanyen. I go into all the rooms of the children and start waking them up. Kisses and hugs are given, but not appreciated this early in the morning. I quickly get ready which only takes me 15 minutes, I shower before I go to bed and do not really need to do much in the morning. I check to see if the internet is working, it continues to not work so I start giving out morning medications. I have three children with fevers, a baby with an infected belly and a girl with parasites. They all do wonderful with taking medications and I have no complaints. As the children pass me as I sit outside I continue to encourage them to get ready and that they need to be on time for breakfast. I help change and shower two of the girls who seem to struggle the most with getting ready. I run and grab things that are needed, but for the most part they are doing very well getting ready on their own these days. At 0700 all the children are in the cafeteria and ready to eat. Vitamins are given and praise is given to God. The children line up for food and sit quietly as they eat. After being here almost a month they are starting to get this as part of their routine. When finished water and snacks are given for school. I drive some of the children to school while others walk. As I pull into school I wait for the others to arrive. I observe what is going on around me. One boy is peeing right in front of me with no privacy at all. A girl is hitting another girl with a belt and hard. I shout and ask why this is being done and the reply I get is because she is bigger then the other. As I observe this behavior I start to understand more things about the children at Grace Village. I cannot comprehend why the children here hit each other so much and why when something is given they all crowd. I am learning that hitting is what is done in Haiti, and it is accepted by all : ( Hopefully change will be happening. I also learn that when something is being given you run to it, not knowing when you will get or see it again. I always tell the children that there is enough for everyone and you need wait your turn.

We arrive back home around 810. I greet all the workers and take their bags. I make sure things are being cleaned and everyone has what they need. Guilliume and I need to do some errands and head on out. Since we do not have a car our adventure begins by walking to the taptap station. Here we load in the taptap. I watch all the people as we pass and still in amazement of the garbage and poverty here. We make our first stop at a doctors office for Guilliume. It is run down and dirty, I cannot imagine what people in the states would think of this place! He gets an examination and some tests done. I am thinking how people here continue to live and for so long due to their health care being this poor. We finish with this and are on our next trip. We get on a moto and travel to our next stop. We buy some things needed for the children and then make a couple other stops. It is time to head back home. We take a large bus, which you hang onto some rope as you ride. It feels like we are on a roller-coaster, which puts a smile on my face. Somehow I find this super amusing. We suddenly stop and someone leaves, there seems to be arguing, and then we leave again. I ask what the problem was and Guilliume says she had no money. I suddenly have a heavy heart, I could have paid for her! So frustrating how such simple things are so hard to come by here.

As we arrive to our stop we see the kabuta picking up the women in the market and their food. We join them and head back to Grace Village. I get to see all the food purchased and what they are going to make. I eat all my meals with the children, so I get excited about certain food we get to eat! I try to get some questions answered and sort out some details. The kids are finished with school and I go to get them. It is so good to see them again. We have lunch and two additional children join us who are very hungry. I wonder when their last meal was. They do not go to school and are dirty. Then they have a tutor come and then play time! Play time is by far my favorite part of the day. I can run with them, play soccer, or just sit and observe. The weather at this time of the day is magnificent and the sky is beautiful. A child arrives with his Grandmother and she is ready to drop him off and leave him here. He has a bag packed and no mother or father. My heart breaks, but I know we need to verify everything that we hear in Haiti. I invite him to play and come back on Sunday for worship services. I take his name and know at this time we are not yet ready to take more children. Soon it is time to shower, just before they go to shower the sun sets and I get to take in God’s amazing work. After the shower it is worship time and the last meal supper. Sometimes this goes on way too long and getting the children to bed can be a struggle. Giving hugs and kisses at night are very much appreciated and reciprocated back! After this I try to email people, clean up, shower, read my bible, and finally say good night to my husband. I am exhausted at the end of the day and always very ready for bed.

This is my typical day in Haiti, but then again nothing is ever typical in Haiti! Every day brings new adventurous, new happiness, new pains, and new discoveries. I would not change what I am doing right now for anything! I love it here and love the children. They have so much energy and they all just shine with the greatest joy I have ever seen. I cannot wait to share in this experience with my husband and show him God’s presence and love at Grace Village and around Haiti.

Having Fun

Funny girls.