March 8, 2010

We just got back from Leslie's orphanage. The kids are so behaved there! They line up and wash their hands before they eat. They sing a prayer of thanks before AND after each meal. We brought activities for them this time. We played freely with them jump roping, coloring, and making bracelets. I couldn't believe how perfect they color! They live in a dirt field with tents, and they color than most of the kids in the US their same age. It shows that they value simple things more than we. With the jewelry, they were making rings and necklaces and bracelets with patterns. We really had a great time bonding during these activities. Before we left, Michelle and I helped the ladies wash the clothes. They go from bucket to bucked back to the first bucket then to the second again washing and scrubbing and rinsing every piece of clothing. They take pride in their belongings. I've seen rugged homeless people getting their shoes shined, all the cars are washing often, and the orphans get clothes that are not just scrubbed, but also ironed!
Today is the first hot and sunny day since we've been here. It's lovely. I'm glad that Leslie's orphanage has a few coconut trees to provide shade!
The teacher, Philip, was here today. I had someone translate while I asked him a few questions. He went to college for teacher training. 1 in 5 Haitian teachers haven't passed the 3rd grade. He comes to the orphanage all day long every day of the week. He teaches them about plants, painting, writing, and getting along. He's like to have someone come in to teach them English. I told him that I'd send some books and supplies. To learn more about education, I was talking to Joseph. He is 19 and has gone up to the 10th grade. The only kids that go to school in Haiti are the ones that can pay for it. His mom was so poor, so he left to live in between an orphanage and the streets. He paid his own way through school. He wants to be either a mechanic or work at a bank. He also says he's good with electronics. I'm so amazed by his life. He is doing everything every day to make something of himself. He's got so much desire and such a big heart!
We came home today for a quick lunch and we'll be leaving for Mother Theresa's house soon. We're having a Mexican fiesta tonight with homemade tortillas, guacamole, homemade refried beans, salsa, the works! We're all pretty excited!
Michelle is seriously talking about adopting a boy, Kerby, and taking him home. She's sent pictures to her family back in Kentucky and said that she's completely serious. If I were married and stable in my life I would definitely think about it. All I can do for now is help.

I'm pretty sure that going to the Mother Theresa house was one of the most difficule and rewarding things I've ever done. I teared up when we first walked in, but God gave me strength to do what needed to be done. We sat at the edge of a dying person's bed and massaged lotion into their hands, arms, legs... Some of them had AIDS, TB, Hepatitis, other's probably had undiagnosed cancers. They were all skin and bones, many of them 70 or 80 lbs. Even when my Grandma was dying and withering away to nothing, she wasn't that sickly-looking or small. The first woman that Michelle and I visited was 29. She kept talking about her cough, so she probably has TB. She has 5 kids; one died, one is at the same hospital, and the other three are at an orphanage. The 2nd lady I visited kept asking me to give her medicine and something to help her sleep. The boy didn't translate everything, but I understood "Vagine" in Creole, and she had pulled down her panties, so I'm guessing she was having some female problems that the male translator didn't want to share with me. I sat with her and nodded my head as she told me her story in Creole. WHen we prayed hand in hand, she said Creole as I said English. That was powerful. I sat with one other woman briefly before we moved downstairs to sit with the men. They were a little more modest, but very eager to get their turn. They lifted their shirts to get a chest and back rub. They weren't as shy, and it didn't seem like they were as sick as the women. We sang "Amazing Grace" to them, and they sang it back in Creole, then we sang together in both languages. There really is nothing to help these people. They have a bed, slippers, and a cup with their name. I assume since they were asking us for medicine, they don't have am ample supply on hand.

I'm trying to find a time that I can go to a cyber cafe to send an email to let everyone know sort of what's going on. I really need to get a calling card, too! It's so hard to get anything or go anywhere because if it's getting close to dark we can't leave the house. During the day when it's light out we're at the orphanage or somewhere working. I guess tomorrow we might go shopping or something. We're going to try and make a schedule for the rest of the week.
Michelle has been letting me use her phone to text John every night. He said he'd call me tonight, but then we said he'd rather have me get a cheap calling card and call tomorrow. He even called my Dad and filled him in with everything I've told him in our 2 minute conversations. What a guy! I really never thought it would be so hard to be away from him! We are apart all week and just see each other on the weekends...but I guess now being so far away and having emotionally draining days it's harder than ever to be away. Just having someone to hold me while I release the emotions would be great. I'm going to need a lot of TLC when I get home.Too bad I only have Sunday then it's back to work! I wish I could take a few more days to recoup!

Uh! I'm so frustrated with 'P' and 'K.' When we get to Miami on Friday, we have a 12 hour layover. They are going to stay at the airport all night and party and get drunk. We were supposed to go to the hotel and rest before the morning....now I'm stuck by myself. Not like I want to hang out with them for another day, but I really don't want to be in a hotel all by myself. I'm also going to try and get a flight straight to Detroit instead of stopping in NY for 3 hours. I know I'll just want to get home asap. I just texted John about my frustration and he said remember why you are there, and you'll soon be home with me. That's exactly what I needed to be reminded. <3

We just had our nightly devotional and it was so much different than our other ones. We started by humming a sad song that I didn't know, then we surrounded Joseph and Boney with prayer. Let me give some history...Rebecca adopted 8 boys from an orphanage where an American guy was molesting children. They now all live in the US and are doing well for themselves. There were some other boys that she wasn't able to adopt. That's Boney, Jimmy, Joseph, the boys who were helping us now. Well, tonight Rebecca was sharing stories of her sons and showing pictures and Joseph and Boney couldn't handle it. They walked away and we're devastated and crying. I wasn't here for any of this, but Holly came upstairs crying and told me everything. These three boys already feel like they will never be good enough no matter how hard they try. They are absolutely crushed right now! During devotional, Boney had on his head phones and was shaking and holding back tears. Joseph wouldn't stay in the room with us. He was bawling and went off by himself. If there was a way to take them back, I would in a heartbeat.
After the prayer, we discussed how the rest of our week will go. It's nice to have somewhat of a plan. Then, Paige shared for the devotion part. All she said was that she believes in God but doesn't go to church or anything. She said after these few days she's been so inspired. I truly hope that her heart has fully opened to Christ and she's able to change. I'm sure far from perfect, so I feel bad for criticizing, but like I said...she doesn't seem like the type of girl to be on a Christian mission. Rebecca gave some testimony on the power of prayer. She opened our eyes to the fact that there are people on this earth that don't have a single soul that has ever prayed for them. She challenged us to think about the people we've never met or passed and pray deeply for him/her. I'm so honored to have the opportunity to pray for the sick, frail men and women today. I pray in my mind for these kids when they hug and snuggle with us. I know that God is with them, and I pray that they feel love in their lives. I need to pray more often and deeper. I'm going to get a prayer board and a prayer area, and devote time every week to pray for people.