Mangos and Cola's

The temperature and humidity is dropping slightly (29-30 degrees) and the evenings are noticeably cooler. That means that they are comfortable for us, but the security staff working the night shift are dressed in hoodies, toques, and gloves.

Some of the mangos are ripening and falling every little while. Outside the kitchen is a covered area for the school cooks and it has a tin roof. Mangos fall on it and make a large crashing sound. Shortly after that, we see someone climbing up to get the mango - either staff or one of the team. A couple of the team members are having 2 or 3 a day!

We've recently discovered various kinds of cola's. There is fruit and grape cola, but the best is banana cola. We've grown to enjoy sitting on the roof top in the cool and having a banana cola.

Wade and the team are soooo close to finishing the wall. If all goes smoothly, it will be completed by Friday. There will be great celebrating if that happens. The building of the houses for orphans and their house parents will able to get started in the new year.

I have been working with Ceres (school administrator or principal), to design a couple of new report cards for the school. One is for Kindergarten and one is for the grades (1-5). It has been an interesting job for a couple of reasons. They have to be done in French and communicating with Ceres about what he wants is a challenge. I have been honing my listening skills to try to catch all that he says. He is appreciative for the help and I have got to know one more person here which makes this experience all the richer.

Birthday in Haiti

This may be Marilyn's most memorable birthday and not because it's her 50th.....

Celebrating it in Haiti has been fun. This morning we had prayer and singing at the school yard and Lisa had the group sing 'Happy Birthday'.

Once this morning when I walked through the kitchen area, the ladies who cook for us broke out in 'happy birthday' and gave me hugs. I even got a kiss from one of them.

Lucianna and Lisa made a cake with almond icing at suppertime - yum!! We don't get dessert in Haiti, so this was a big treat for all of us. Rarely has a cake disappeared so quickly!

So far being 50 is fun!

Church under the Mango Trees

Last Monday, the church here was tore down so that a new one could be built on the same site. One that would be straighter and sturdier. It will also have a plywood floor and will be a bit larger. So the benches were moved to under the mango trees for tomorrow. They provide great shade. Wade is preaching on Matthew 5-7 which is a sermon that Jesus preached outside as well.

This photo was taken from our balcony. We have a beautiful view from here.

Children Everywhere

We walk to most places we go to here and there will always be children run up to touch us, ask for 'one dolla', hold our hands. They really like to have their photo taken and then see it on the camera. Half of the population of Haiti is under the age of 18. The most current population figure is 10 million. That's alot of young people!

One thing that we get to do with teams is to go out in the area and visit families. We usually take hygiene bags and goodies for the kids. One home we stopped at was a family of 8 children. Mom said that she lost her husband and mother in the earthquake. She and her family have a very difficult time finding enough money for food. She seemed as though she needed to talk about it all. We spent quite a while with her listening and praying. In the end, the small items we left with her seemed to insignificant compared to her needs, but they put a smile on their faces.

Workin' Hard

This is the team (minus 1) along with some of the ever so faithful Haitian workers and Marc.

They anticipate that they will finish the wall while they are here. This week, the church here at Haiti Arise has been tore down and a new sturdier, straighter one is being erected. It will be a bit larger and will have a plywood floor instead of a dirt floor, but will still be the post and tin roof style of building. We'll post some pictures of it soon.

Guerline

For those of you following our blog, you may remember the story of the 22 year old woman who came to the clinic when the medical team was here. She had a badly infected sore on her leg - so severe that it has damaged her heart. She weighs 88 lbs. and her family kicked her out when she became too sickly to be of any help at home. This picture is of Lisa helping to hook up Guerline's iv. The first day that she came, she had walked by herself to see a doctor and was very scared and quiet. After coming everyday for a while, she became much more at ease and would give us a beautiful smile. She was also very hungry, so we would give her something to eat each time she came. This is such a moving story and a reminder of how much we have to be thankful for and just how easy our lives are on these levels - so many things that are huge struggles for people like Guerline here in Haiti, we take for granted.

Photographing Kids

We get to do a great variety of tasks here and we never know from one day to the next what's coming. Today, I had to go to school and take pictures of 20 children who are available for sponsorship through Haiti Arise website. Some of them were from the three year old preschool class. They are so tiny and cute, but so scared. They've likely never had their picture taken before by a white, freckled lady! This little guy was the only one who was eager to smile - he is so cute.

We had a team arrive today to do construction work. There are seven of them, 2 from Moose Jaw, 4 from Halifax and 1 from Labrador. Three of them have not been here before so they are feeling somewhat overwhelmed but looking forward to a great time.

Wade went to the airport today and security let him in. Last time he went to get the medical team, the guards wouldn't let him in for a while, then eventually they did, but told him where to sit. You never know what the procedure will be at the Port au Prince airport from one time to the next.