Some Random Pics

If I wait until my thoughts are completely coherent to write something here, this blog might remain blank for quite a while longer.  By evening time I have taken my second shower and I'm starting to cool off physically, but my brain has been cooked by 9:00 PM.  That's when the main power goes out and the inverter kicks on with battery backup to a few outlets and overhead lights throughout the house.  When I sit down at the computer at that point, I get to witness the variety of Haitian insect life as dozens of unique bugs are drawn to the light of the computer screen.  Which is unpleasant.

So it's 9:47 and I'm sleepy and I'm over the bugs, but I'm thinking I've snapped a lot of random pictures over the last few days and, at the very least, I should post a few of those, even if words fail me a bit.

So here we go.

Sarah found a coloring buddy in Elida, who works in the mission medical clinic.  She said she wanted Elida to come babysit so Mommy and Daddy can go on a date.  OK... where exactly would we go?

We've actually hosted several different folks for dinner on various nights recently.  I was excited to see my friend Joab show up at our door one day while he was in town from Port-au-Prince. He and his fiancé Angeline were able to join us for dinner a couple of nights later.

We've done a fair bit of Skyping since our arrival.  It's better than nothing, but it sure gets frustrating sometimes - you never know how strong the internet connection is going to be, how fuzzy the picture will look, or how many times the call will get dropped. In this picture, Samuel and Sarah were looking at their own images on the computer screen: Sammy was making faces and Sarah kept striking various modeling poses.

We didn't even get over to Cowman School until last Friday.  It's been impressive to see how much work has been completed over the summer and how much continues.  This is Motoi, painting one of the "cafeteria" tables. He and a crew of Haitian workers have spent the week painting and cleaning and repairing around the school grounds.

Melissa's first graders, including Sarah, will be sitting at brand new desks this year, created by a local carpenter.

Last Friday was Melissa's first opportunity to survey the space available to house both the kindergarten/first graders and the preschoolers.  She decided that this space, which was spruced up last year for kindergarten, would work best this year for the preschool.

And this space, which last year housed the office of a well-drilling ministry called Life Water, would become her classroom.  With a little bit of effort.

Even the gates got a fresh coat of paint this year.

Last Friday night we invited the Heckman family to dinner.  So GOOD to see them again.  We got to know and love them during our July Cross Training in Greenwood and were so excited to see them arrive in Haiti just a week behind us.  BUT when Melissa heard they were completely unpacked already - in their first 24 hours - she was a bit envious!

This week has been spent mostly at the school, preparing classrooms. Earlier this week, the kids helped sort and organize some of the preschool toys.

I found the remains of a rather large spider as I was cleaning out the teacher desk in my classroom a few days ago.  Glad I didn't meet him while he was still alive...

The kids have enjoyed a lot of attention from a couple of dogs staying on the school grounds - and vice versa.

We have found a wonderful lady to help us out in the kitchen three days a week.  Her name is Ma Louis.  The other night she made plantain chips - Haitian junk food - that were absolutely heavenly.



More painting - this time the outside of the kindergarten.  It's looking sharp.

This morning we had a teacher meeting - this is starting to get real!  I got the names of my students: seven 7th graders and eleven 6th graders.  Cowman continues to grow.  We have 93 students this year.  One of the teachers - who is celebrating her ten year anniversary of teaching here - said she remembers a year when there were only 12 or 13 students in the whole school!  Even in 2010 when Melissa first visited, there were only 23 students...

We tried a recipe for honey bread in the bread machine this morning and learned that it should be halved next time.  We left the machine to mix and bake the bread while he went to Cowman and one of the other missionaries called us a couple of hours later concerned that our house was in danger of burning down.  The dough had overflowed the pan and was all over the heating element.  It stank to high heaven.  We still ate the good part of the loaf for dinner tonight because we had guests coming ...

Our friends Bud and Jane came over and so did our buddy from Alabama, Steve MacInnis.  Jane has been helping Melissa navigate the unfamiliar terrain of grocery shopping in Haiti.  Tonight she came bearing a 100 pound bag ... of sugar!  You should have seen the look on the faces of our kids at the thought of that much sugar.  Still, it's the most economical way to buy it.  We'll split it with Bud and Jane and keep our half in the deep freezer, out of the reach of any insects or rats.

Bud and Jane are trying to help a Haitian couple in the States adopt this darling little guy.  In the meantime, they are Samuel's guardians here in Haiti.  Sammy had been found abandoned in a suitcase in an empty house last year, close to death.  Now he's a healthy, happy little boy who is full of personality and life.  This picture is a selfie - Sammy was getting a kick out of seeing himself on my smart phone screen.

Gathered around the table tonight.  A great meal of chicken drumsticks, courtesy of Ma Louis.

Funniest moment of the evening: Jane had just mentioned how she wished she had some Sesame Street videos for Sammy to watch and that must have prompted our Samuel to remember the red puppet he had made during Cross Training.  He came bouncing into the room with that puppet and Sammy screamed and stumbled backwards towards Jane!  He was terrified!  I think he might have soiled a brand new diaper.  Bud and Jane tried to work with him to get him to accept the puppet, but he was not about to have any of it...

Somehow, though, Hannah's pink puppet was less intimidating or creepy in Sammy's eyes and he finally made friends with it.  Maybe Big Bird still has a chance...

Tomorrow is Friday and it's our last day of prep at Cowman for the start of school next week.  I'm not sure we'd even be able to get into the school grounds on Sunday if we wanted to and Saturday we have promised to take the kids to the beach or at least a pool as our last hurrah of summer.  So there's a lot to do tomorrow!  We continue to find great encouragement and comfort in your prayers and support. God bless you!