Ground Hog Day

This morning began with a sweet voice saying "Bonjou Krystle! Bonjou Krystle!" And an even sweeter face pressed up against my bug tent. Vladimir was trying to be a good boy but by 6:30 this morning he just couldn't wait any longer! He crawled into my bug tent for snuggles for a little while. All of the orphans were getting up by now too so the upstairs of the mission house came alive! While Mom, Lee and I were on the balcony getting ready, Mom made a comment that really got me thinking. She said " Haiti is like the movie "Ground Hogs Day". I have never seen the movie but I know the general gist of it. A man wakes up one morning and keeps reliving the same day again and again and again. Life in Haiti is just like that. You wake up, clean up, clean the house, eat some food if you are lucky enough to have it, you walk, you sweat, you go to bed and hope that something different and good happens tomorrow and then you wake up and do the same thing all over again. Life here in Haiti is pure survival on so many levels. There is not enough time or resources to relax or do something you want to do because it is all spent on just living. It makes me wonder how these people keep hoping and dreaming when everyone seems, for lack of a better word, stuck. The answer is Jesus. We all have hope when we have Jesus! Still, it takes a lot of faith to press through the trials these people live through! Haiti is not for everyone, but everyone needs a perspective change, and Haiti is mine.

It was another fun morning with all of the kids! Painting sun catchers, watching Robin Hood and playing Candy Land! Today has been the hottest one yet so we had to pace ourselves to go more slowly. The four of us ladies had the big job of putting 500 bags together for the children's service this afternoon. We were all sweated wet by the time we finished but we have so much fun together laughing and sharing! Next on the agenda was lunch... At least 30 PB&J sandwiches later, we were all feeling tired. Grandpa took a short nap and Mom, Lee, Emma and I got to just sit and relax for an hour. We also sang with a bunch of the family! It was so special to watch all of them!

Today was the children's service at three. When we got there Emma and I stood at the door to pass out the bags of coloring pages, crayons and verses while the others went to the front of the church to get everything else ready. It took longer to fill the tent with kids, and Manius even took Mom out to the street to announce it to everyone! The service was probably the most fun we have had with all of the children! It started with a couple of special songs by a few children and then went into a singing competition between the boys and girls of the song "Father Abraham"! Then came the story! Lee and Emma were in charge of it for this trip but all five of us ended up being involved! The story was "Jonah and the Whale" and it wasn't just read, it was acted out! The casting goes as follows: Emma was our narrator, Lee was our Jonah, Mom and I were the whale while Grandpa got to play the part of the Captain! If you haven't ever seen 5 Americans trying to act out a Bible story in front of 450 Haitian children then you have not lived! LOL! It was the best part of the whole day in my opinion! Grandpa wins the gold medal for best acting skills of the day! I don't know which part was better... Grandpa throwing Jonah (Lee) over the side of the boat, or Mom and I swallowing her up with a sheet! The kids loved it! The two girls did an AMAZING job! We passed out all of the candy bags without much trouble and then headed home. By that time it was about 6:30 and we got some dinner ready. It has been a wonderful evening spent on the balcony together sharing and laughing. Our trip has been absolutely wonderful so far! Sunday mornings start very early here in Haiti so we are all trying to shower and get to bed at a good time. It is bucket baths by lantern light for everyone because we ran out of water this morning! Just another day in Haiti! Thank you all so much for your sweet comments! They have been so encouraging to us! Much love to all of you!

Krystle

P.S. Grandpa talked to Leon about the rig that he wanted him to come and pick up from the island. They brought it over on a boat (an 8 hour journey) but when they went to unload it, they forgot to anchor the boat and the rig dropped between the dock and the boat into the ocean. I don't know how they managed it but with lots of rope and block and tackle the Haitians pulled the 5000 pound rig out of the ocean. Grandpa has told them how to wash all of the salt off of it as well as other instructions so hopefully they can get it working.