Thursday: We Have Gas!

 

What a busy past two days we have all had!  On Tuesday, Karen Bultje picked us up in her pick-up truck & we went into Cite Soleil.  This slum city is literally right on the waterfront of Port au Prince, & much of the trash & sewage from the city finds its way here through canals & ravines.  Just imagine several hundred acres of the Frederick landfill with sheet metal shacks, tin roofs, curtain or blanket doors, pigs rummaging everywhere, human & animal filth everywhere, little kids, including babies, playing everywhere, & the most unbelievable stench from all the above plus all the open fires used for cooking & burning trash.   Add in the rats (that thankfully, we didn’t see but know are there) & the constant threat from gangs, & this is a pretty inhospitable place.

Our first stop was a privately run Christian school led by Joel Janeus, who grew up in Cite Soleil & has spoken twice in Washington, DC, before the Human Rights Commission regarding the conditions in Cite Soleil.  Anita saw several children there, & we briefly stopped in at several of the classrooms.  Your eyes have to adjust from the bright sunlight because they have no electriciy.  A 15×15 room is crammed with about 20 students, all in uniforms & all eager to greet us & hear & speak English.  The view from the school’s roof is spectacular- the beautiful Bay of Port au Prince, the gently sloping  mountains to the north & south, the wide plain beyond Port au Prince stretching up to the mountains.  That such overwhelming poverty & crushing conditions should exist in the midst of such an idyllic location is hard to grasp.  Yet with all the billions of dollars that have been dropped into this tiny nation over the decades, very little of it has actually benefitted the intended recipients.  After we all got over the shock of seeing people live this way, our emotions turned to anger that human greed & corruption could allow this to continue.

Of course we had our normal entourage of children following us everywhere.  They have learned the profitable art of seduction- grasping our hands, smiling, calling us “papa” & “mama”.  Ultimately, besides their curiousity, they are angling for money.  Everyone here wants money, & they know the “blancos” (whites) have it.  Travis hung at the back of our party, alert for any danger & having fun with the kids who constantly surrounded him.  We did see some young men who appeared to be looking us over, but our hosts kept us moving & there was no ugly incident at all.

We stopped by the huge soccer field which is used for evangelism by another man, & then we stopped at another school which was even darker than the first one, again also loaded with eager students, all in uniforms.  We were in the same area where the documentary video, Ghosts of Cite Soleil, was filmed, but at no time did we feel threatened.  As we drove out we saw the police station, right on the border of Cite Soleil, & I later learned that I had been mistaken: the UN is no longer headquartered there, but out by the airport!  We didn’t see a SINGLE UN soldier or policeman the entire time!  We will never know how many angelic interventions were run on our behalf, but we were all grateful that we had a good visit there.

I found out later that Travis doesn’t know how to swim, & is deathly afraid of water.  Yet out onto the wharf he followed us, just to be available for protection.  There was a good sized crowd on the wharf, which has no fence or railing at all.  He has such a good heart!  He even stripped of his tee shirt to trade with a young boy!  (We had to stop by the guesthouse later so he could get a shirt that wasn’t squeezing him to death- the boy’s was about 5 sizes smaller!)

Following our Cite Soleil adventure, we took a brief tour in front of the White House (National Palace), then spent some time at Karen’s mission, where we walked about 2 miles, seeing the Ravine where people live amidst trash & pigs, & from where Dorothy rescues alot  of abandoned babies.

Then it was off to the village- about 45 minutes East of town.  Mich & Eddie are from here.  We had to abandon our truck & walk about a mile to the village, where goats & sheep & naked children & bare breasted women were going about their daily routine.  There were some concrete huts, but they soon gave way to straw & thatch huts.  Karen does alot of medical work back in here, & Anita saw probably close to 10 children. We probably walked another few miles- the village is very spread out & it seems to go on forever.  Karen said she hase never been to the end of  it!  Our guide was a little boy who knew where all the sick people were.  Talk about an act of faith- we just kept following him as he would jabber away in Creole or French to Karen, who was quite clearly in her element!

We got to meet Mich’s mom, his brother & his sister.  His siblings both have crippling bone diseases- likely something genetic.  I think of the pics of Mich at Dee Dee’s house & try to imagine him lying out here in the village with no care at all- what a miracle he has become!

On our way back to the truck, a mother stopped us with a 10 month old infant who has a heart murmer.  Anita spent quite a bit of time assessing her, & speaking via cell phone with another medical missionary comparing notes & arriving at an action plan.  But the odds are great that this child will not see her 2nd birthday.  Needless to say, we were all exhausted when we got back to the guesthouse!

Yesterday, Abby, Travis & Kim worked at Dorothy’s guesthouse while Anita & I went with Dr. Ed to his dental clinic.  Wow!  Anita, who has had no dental training, was soon learning where to insert the needle for blocks, filling cavities & pulling teeth- which is alot harder than you might expect!  We probably saw about a dozen patients, ranging in age from early teen to very old.  Quite often the crown breaks under the pressure of the pliers, & Ed would have to go digging for roots, or give them Ibuprofen & have them come back next week to finish the job.  The clinic, held in a side room of Adoration Christian School, is surprisingly well stocked with medicines & tools. 

Finally, as we saw the last patient of the day, a middle aged woman, Ed turned to me & offered me to give it a try!  I refused to do the initial prying required to loosen the tooth (break the cementum & get the tooth moving a bit) – from watching, I could tell that was a very potentially pain-inducing procedure, & I wasn’t convinced the linocaine was working as well as it could have.  But once he loosened it for me, I did grab the instrument & gently rock the tooth one side, then the other, holding pressure for about 10 seconds each time, stroking her hair with my left hand, telling her we were almost done.  She grimaced & tensed, but together we “found the place” (as Ed called it) & before you know it, her tooth simply slid out!  An unbelievable experience for me, let me tell you!  And the woman gave us all big hugs- in spite of the pain, she knew we had helped her, another great feeling!

(I kept the tooth, btw, it is now soaking in two bags of rubbing alcohol, & I will find a way to display it in my study when I get home!)

Meanwhile, the others completed some painting projects at Dorothy’s infant rescue mission- including Kervins’ room, a back wall, a bathroom & several doors.  They fought off a wasp nest & termites, which caused both Kim & Travis to feel that they had bugs crawling on them for the rest of the day!  (A psychiatric condition, as Anita later explained, known as “formication”!!)  Abby didn’t paint because she had her good clothes on, but she kept busy just loving on the 20 or so infants strewn about the basement floor (it’s coolest there) & then feeding time (upstairs).  She said every so often she just had to get away by herself, it was just too hard to see such suffering & feel so helpless to do anything about it.  She has a really good heart, & it will be fun to see how God uses this trip as she makes life-decisions in the next little while.

Last night was very relaxing as we ate another incredible meal, played Crack the Case, shared in devotions, & watched Abby have her braids removed by Kim & Anita!  Travis had gotten a bit dehydrated, & was ordered by Anita to drink several glasses of water, which he hates!  He feels much better today.

Today is a light day- I’m updating this blog, & will go down to check on the others who are again at Dorothy’s.  Later I’ll spend some time at the Barefoot School, teaching a spiritual life class to the elementary kids.  Mr. Nickson just arrived & announced that gas is once again available in the city, so we may get to go to Petionville this evening to see the Haiti Baptist Mission & maybe eat at a nice place with some of the other missionaries, as well as get a chance to buy some souvenirs.  Travis will go down to Dee Dee’s at 1:30 & spend two hours with the boys, & again tomorrow morning from 7:30 to 9:30.  She has severely restricted the time we are permitted to spend with them, & refuses to let Anita examine them, which is incredibly unfortunate.  I’m not sure what the issue is, but it’s very sad & the boys are the ones who are missing out on some blessings.  We’re grateful God has opened other doors of opportunity, though, & I am excited to come back again & build on some of the new relationships we’ve made.

We fly out tomorrow at 1:30 pm for Miami, then Anita goes her own way to Atlanta, & we arrive around 10:345pm at Frederick!

School Daze & Dust!

Today around 7:45 am, we all headed to The Barefoot School, about a 3 block walk from the guesthouse.  They have about 90 students, ranging from pre-k to 8th grade.  We enjoyed watching them line up for their Haitian Pledge of Allegiance, flag raising, & worship time.  Then several of  us went from classroom to classroom, meeting the students, checking homework papers, helping with spelling, things like that.  Meanwhile Dr. Anita saw 26 students in another building, doing basic medical check-ups, & beginning a medical record for each child so that follow-up care will be possible.  She also saw some of the older students who had specific medical problems, like hydrocephalus, which  will be fatal if not surgically corrected.  There were also LOTS of cavities, which is very common.  Jungle allergies, pink eye, lots of different ailments afflict these poor kids.  Kim helped ferry the kids to & from the classrooms to her.

Around 10:00 am, Travis & I walked the few blocks to Dorothy’s infant rescue mission.  She has over 20 babies that have been rescued from The Ravine & other places.  (The Ravine is a drainage ditch a few miles away in a slummier section of the city.  Entire families actually live & die in there.  Dorothy will take us for a visit before we go.)  We began work on a screen replacement which we will finish tomorrow; we also did some painting & replaced a door knob.  These don’t sound like significant tasks, but to a middle aged woman with little handiwork skills & lots of kiddy & canine chaos going on ALL THE TIME, they are huge!  We’ll return in a day or two to finish the projects & do some more painting.  Dorothy has several Haitian nannies, who she says are all excellent, as well as several young American women helping her.  We made several trips between Dorothy’s & Dee Dee’s, which isn’t an easy trip because the road is so uneven, & the dust from the wind & passing vehicles is everywhere!

We managed to install a handrail at Dee Dee’s for Mickey, who suffers from cerebral palsy.  We also changed out the feeder hose from the water line to the toilet, which had been leaking.  We had wanted to install a brand new valve as well, but we only brought a 3/8″ & a 1/2″ size, & the pipe is a full 1″ diameter!  Go figger!  But, even with the new hose, the toilet still leaked.  Our guess is it’s a seal or gasket from either the bolts that hold the tank on, or the valve that fills the tank.  Either way, I decided to stop & leave her the parts.  I suggested she contact a local plumber type person, they could probably fix it in about 10 minutes.  We were crunched for time & we didn’t feel like disassembling the whole thing just to make it worse.

We had a great dinner (again)- rice & beans & a beef saucy thing with cucumbers & salad & cake for dessert.  We played some more Crack the Case (Travis wimped out on reading one to us), then finished with a devotion on the moonlit roof with Travis sharing from Matthew 10, where Jesus commanded his disciples to shake the dust off their feet at people who were not hospitable or receptive to their mission.  We talked about the obstacles that we all face in serving Christ, & how we need discernment to know when to move on & when to make a stand.  Finally we ended with popcorn prayers- one word prayers of what we want God to do for us tomorrow.

Speaking of which: Tomorrow is the day I am most looking forward to of the whole trip: Karen Bultje, a medical missionary from Canada, will pick us up at 7:30 am for a trip to a soccer mission in Cite Soliel, the most dangerous part of Port au Prince.  We will take her pick up truck- she thinks it will make it even though her front end is really noisy & shakey.  Then we’ll take a brief walking tour of the White House & government area, eat lunch at a “safe” fast food place, then hopefully rent an SUV & head out to a village.  Should be a blast!!

Cockle Doodle Doo

Anita insisted that I call this post Cockle Doodle Doo because of the rooster that keeps everyone awake most of the night!  And to top it off, last night Kim started singing in her sleep!  She had her Ipod playing in her ear buds, & unknowingly began singing aloing with the tunes!  Really freaked me out- I never heard of sleep-singing before!

Today we all walked down to the Quisqueya Chapel, the English-speaking church about 4 blocks from the guesthouse.  Travis walked down a half hour earlier to Dee Dee’s house so he could take the boys to church.  The weather is just perfect- temperature probably in the mid 80′s, lots of sun & a few puffy clouds.  Travis held little Kenny through most of the service, while Abby was smitten with Patrick, who spent 10 days on the roof of a building in the city of Gonaives, which was hit hard by a series of hurricanes this past Fall.  He is estimated to be about age 4.

After services, Anita connected with Dr. Ed, who isn’t really a doctor but a Physician’s Assistant who has been practicing medicine for 35 years.  He does surgeries, tooth extractions- you name it, he’s figured out a way to improvise getting it done, simply because there is such a systemic lack of basic medical care.   While the rest of us headed out to a buffet lunch at the Visa Lodge near the airport, Anita & Ed went to a clinic he runs every Sunday.  About 1800 kids from the poor neighborhoods are invited- fed a meal, & then those with any medical needs are assessed & treated.  Anita estimated she probably saw about 35 cases, mostly with scabies (a skin irritation resulting from insects burrowing into the skin).  She also had to lance a blister under a girl’s fingernail, which resulted in alot of screaming!  Some of Dr. Ed’s improvised medical treatments include turpentine & veterinary medicine adjusted for humans!

Joining us at the Visa Lodge were Karen Bultje, a Canadian medical missionary who also runs an orphanage for older children; Dorothy who runs the infant rescue misssion; her nurse Kizz & her friend from Maryland, Maggie; Dee Dee; Dottie; me & Kim; & Travis.  We worked on what our schedule will be for the next 4 days.  I am most excited about Tuesday- the plan is to rent a pick-up truck & go to a village about 45 minutes east, on the road to the Dominican Republic.   That is where Mich & Eddie are from.  Karen is well trusted there, & it will be a good exposure for us to typical Haitian country living- mud huts, no electricity.  Also on Tuesday (SHE asked!) we’ll be going to Cite Soleil, one of the worst slum sections of Port au Prince, & for years, the most dangerous section of the city because of the widespread prevalence of gangs.  But the UN Headquarters is now there, & some improvements are being made to the roads & infrastructure.  Several Christian missions are also active there, one is a soccer mission with the goal of giving boys something else to do with their time than join gangs.  We all watched the video, Ghosts of Cite Soleil, before our first trip; now we’ll see this rough place for ourselves.

Travis & Abby stayed behind at the Visa Lounge with Kizz & Maggie, & ended up jumping into the swimming pool with their clothes on!  (Kizz & Maggie had brought swim suits; we had no idea there was a pool there.)  Abby was thrilled to see a Canadian flag & posed beneath it; but then she also posed beneath the US flag as well.  (Traitor!)

Kim & I ran down to the church to get a 40 foot extension ladder so her electrician, Dino, could climb the pole & reconnect her line which was cut by a dump truck dumping a load across the street.  He wore no gloves, used no electrical tape or wire nuts- merely twisted wires together & left them.  When the power still didn’t work (later when the city power came back on) he had to return & switch the wires at the box on the house.   From what I can see, there is no municipal utility company that you can call for stuff like that.   And the people that do the work are completely unregulated & unlicensed.  Just a little bit different from home!

Shortly after Anita came back from her clinic with Dr. Ed, another man from church came by quite panicked over a 16 year old squatter boy who lives next door to him.  James has had a fever, shaking, & severe pain in his jaw.  Although his ears had infection, he said they didn’t hurt.  Anita couldn’t see any absess in his mouth, but gave him tylenol & antibiotics & told him to go to the dental clinic on Wednesday to have that tooth looked at more closely.  She said it was no wonder Jesus came healing people- she was moved today by how appreciative people were, & she can see how receptive they are to someone who so obviously cares about them.

Dr. Ed invited ME to the dental clinic on Wednesday too- he promised I could pull some teeth!  Since one of my good friends is a dentist, I’ll be sure to get that on video!  How hard can it be?!

We had an awesome team devotion time tonight up on the patio.  The moon is still full, & because of its present orbit, is HUGE!  We shared about how the church service affected all of us, & then how the day was, & also a little bit about the sermon topic, which was Melchizadek (Hebrews 7).  It was Anita’s turn to share scripture, & she read from 1James 1:27 (joke!) 3 about  thereligion which God approves is taking care of widows & orphans, & keeping yourself from being polluted by the world.  Then we all had an awesome prayer time.

Oh, before that, we had a blast playing on of my favorite games, Crack the Case, where everyone has to solve a mystery case that is read to them.  Tons of fun!

Tomorrow we all head to the Barefoot School, & in the afternoon, Travis & I will head to Dee Dee’s to put up a hand railing so Mickey can maneuver down the hallway easier; we’ll also attempt to repair a leaky toilet valve.  Hopefully we can change it out without ripping the rusty pipe out of the wall & flooding everything!

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!

Ken Dwyer picked us up at the church parking lot at 3:30 this morning.  We loaded my truck & away we went to Dulles Airport.  Four of us were travelling, & we had 8 checked bags & 4 carry ons.  Kim handled the electric check-in while I loaded the bags on carts.   Next thing you know, we’re being handed our boarding passes, we’re through security, & on the flight- AHEAD OF TIME!  The flight to Miami was very smooth- clear skies, few clouds, just gorgeous.  An hour later, we’re boarding the flight to Port au Prince.  Another flawless hop over to the island, with the SMOOTHEST landing I’ve ever experienced.  The whole plane burst into spontaneous applause.  I leaned over & told Abby, our neophyte international traveller, “That’s not the norm!”

Immigration was smooth as could be.  Kim & I decided to check the box on the immigration form that said “pharmaceuticals to declare”, since all the meds were in our luggage.  We reasoned that that might signal a red flag to the officials, but we didn’t want to be deceptive, either.  We’d rather get all the medical stuff in here through God’s power than through our cleverness, & He blessed us big time!

However, when the customs official checked our fully loaded luggage carts & whispered to me that $5 would make things go smoother, I didn’t argue with him!  When I told our host, Dottie, that, she exclaimed, “Well you got off cheap!  Last time I brought a large group in, they dinged me for $20!!!”  So God was good too in that He didn’t give us a greedy official!

Dottie had her SUV & the Barefoot School’s SUV waiting for us.  The school principal, Mr. Nixon, drove (he just married Sophie, Dottie’s cook, in December!)  As we exited the airport, of course we were accosted by dozens of “helpful” porters, all of whom wanted a piece of our luggage.  Kim & the others were ahead, & I was bringing up the rear, gently waving them away & saying, “Not yet, I’m looking for someone”, when my cart hit a seam in the pavement & toppled over!  Like white on rice, they were all over my stuff!!  But then I noticed the one armed porter, Jackson, who had met us last time.  (Dottie always uses him.)  He came to my rescue, & with another porter fought their way through the throng to the parking lot.  But I did slip the one big guy who had helped pick up the bags a $1 bill, & he gave me a big smile & said, “Thank you!”

Dottie told me to just give $5 to Jackson & the other guy, but then Jackson sidled up & told me to give him $20, & he’d see to it that the others were paid.  I told him, “OK, but I’m telling Dottie, & if you don’t pay up, you’ll be in big  trouble with her!”  Sure enough, as soon as we were loaded, Jackson shot back toward the terminal & the other gray shirted porter came up & asked for his money.  “I gave Jackson $20, & he said he’d split it with you,” I said.  “$20??!” he said, & off he went to find Jackson!  Then another guy in a plaid shirt showed up at my door wanting paid, too.  I told him Jackson had all the money, & he said, “Jackson is inside help, I’m outside.  I get paid separate from him.”  At that point, Dottie leaned across from the driver’s seat & unloaded on him: (in French) “Shut the door, please!”  After a nasty staring showdown, & a few more insistences from this Take No Guff white haired gal, he realized he was not going to win & stomped angrily off for another victim.  Said Dottie, “The nerve of that guy- he didn’t even do anything to help load either of the vehicles!!”  (And here I was, ready to give him a few bucks just to get rid of him!)

The roads in Port au Prince are worse than I remember.  How anyone keeps shocks & front ends on their vehicles is beyond me.  But now we’re settled in at the guesthouse.  Kim & I have our old room upstairs; Travis has his own room below us, & Abby & Anita are on the other end of the house off of the dining room.  Albert greeted us & opened the gate.  Amos the mutt is gone- Dottie has had several more burglaries, & Amos wasn’t terrifying enough to robbers.  He has been replaced with a pit bull named Brown that I will meet later, but Dottie seems greatly satisfied with his ferocity!

Anita is thrilled at the medicines- turns out there is a Physician’s Assistant named Ed who serves as a doctor in this community, & tomorrow at church we’ll get with him & the other missionaries & plot out our strategy for the rest of the week.  But I’m greatly encouraged that it looks like Anita will be kept really busy, getting the lay of the land & seeing what the need is.  She’s already talked to Dottie about beginning a medical inventory on all the students at her school!

Travis stayed at the guesthouse for about 10 minutes, then he couldn’t stand it any longer.  “I’ve just GOT to see the boys,” he said.  Dottie called Dee Dee to inform her (not ask permission- y0u know my philosophy on that!) that Travis was on his way down!

That’s it for now; I promised Jon Bowles I wouldn’t write any more at a time than he could read in one visit to the bathroom.  I’m sure he’ll let me know if I could have written more, or if I need to shorten it up a bit!  THANKS to everyone who prayed- God heard big time!

Oh, one more thing (sorry, Jon!)  When Kim got up into our room, she turned to me & started to cry.  “I have missed this place so very much,” she said.  “It just really feels like we make a difference here.”  To which I said, “Yeah, it does.”

Glitches!

Who is going with us?  Of course, me & my wife, Kim.  Travis Patterson, who went last time.  Dr. Anita McElroy, who was part of our church family for a few years until God called her from the lab to the medical school.  And Abby McCullough, a Bible collage student from Prince Edward Island, Canada, where we ministered for 7 years.

Abby was supposed to arrive at BWI last pm, but they machine that starts the jets in Charlottetown broke & they had to fly a mechanic in to fix it.  So she got as far as Ottawa & Air Canada put her up in a hotel.  She’s due in today at 2:07.  This is her first time ever flying, so it’s cool she’s already got a story to tell!

On another transportation note, Dottie (who runs the guesthouse & the school) has informed us that there is now a gasoline shortage in Haiti & she’s not sure she’ll even have enough to pick us up at the airport!  When he heard that, my rball buddy Fred didn’t miss a beat: “Donkey!  And I want a picture of that!”  So please pray that we get a lift to the guesthouse, & that we’re able to rent a truck & a driver to go out one or two days into the country to visit some medical missions.  That’s all for now!

Return to Haiti!

On Saturday, January 10, five of us will head to Haiti for six days of making new friends, delivering much needed medical & dental supplies, sharing the love of God, encouraging selfless missionaries, & wondering how in the world people live like this!  As you can tell by scrolling down this blog site, I haven’t written anything here since our last trip, but once again I will be keeping everyone as updated as I can via Dottie Diehl’s BRAND NEW laptop at the guesthouse in Port au Prince!  Stay tuned!!!

Almost Two Weeks Later

http://www.t-raehaiti.blogspot.com/This is Natasha Taylor’s blog.  She works with Dorothy at the Baby Rescue Mission.  She’s an amazing young woman with a huge heart for God’s “least of these.”  I think you’ll be blessed & inspired & encouraged as you read her journey.  Please pray for her & maybe even drop her a note of encouragement.  I know she’d be the last person to suggest she’s doing anything special, but believe me, Tasha & Dorothy & Dottie & Dee Dee & the many others who are serving God in Haiti & in other hard places ARE special people!

Below is the latest email update from Karen Bultje, a Canadian young woman who, like Tasha, is completely smitten with being God’s hands & feet to those in dire need of medical attention.  I’m hopeful that when we return in November, we might be able to help her mission out as well.http://www.haiticoramdeo.blogspot.com/ Here’s a good summary of what she’s about as well as some of the latest political news from Haiti: 

Clubbed Feet Repair Successful!  Hi!  This week was a busy one with the medical program.  Doudeleimy Beaubrun came back to Haiti after almost one year in the United States for medical treatment of her clubbed feet. Her family was happy to see her again and to see that she is now able to walk normally. People in the village where they live didn’t offer the family much encouragement while they were searching for medical care. Some people told them that nothing could be done and that when she arrived in the United States the doctors would most likely send her back untreated. The villagers were wrong and her parents were proud when one by one people in the village visited the family to see the girl who had crooked feet being able to walk on straightened feet. 

Doudeleimy is now making her adjustment from living in an American home to a mud hut. She never wants to take her running shoes off and she keeps her backpack on all the time. Right now she is being treated as a queen. She talks to everyone in English but eventually she will learn Creole again. Her father is trying to enroll her in a mission school run by Americans so that she can retain her English.

Infant Malnutrition  During our visit to the village we were approached by families of other sick children. A grandmother came with her granddaughter. Remika Felix is 7 months old and is malnourished. She only weighs about 4 or 5 pounds and she can’t sit up by herself. Her mother died last week after probably dying from an untreated infection after giving birth to Remika. The mother was only 23 years old when she died.  Another mother came with 2 of her children, a 3 year old and a 12 month old. She is also pregnant with her 4^th child. The 3 year old hasn’t been able to walk for the last year and is the same size as his 12-month-old brother.  His malnutrition has caused him not to grow and also taken away his strength to stand and walk. The boys name is Evenerson.  When I got home I contacted some missionaries that I know who have children’s homes. Tony and Linda Cortesi of Holy Angels are taking in Remika and Deedee is taking in Evenerson. Pray for their efforts and that the children will thrive in their care.

Cleft Palette Repair Program  Francisco of Smile Train came to Haiti from Mexico to visit several hospitals here in Haiti. Smile Train is currently working in 75 countries around the world sponsoring cleft lip and palette surgeries. They work with surgeons living in these countries. They are planning a unique program for Haiti. It is estimated that there is anywhere between 2 and 8 thousand people who need surgical correction of their cleft lips and palettes here in Haiti. They are designing a pilot program called “Cleft Free Haiti” where they will partner up with hospitals around the country. It will take some time before this plan can be realized but it will be great when it is in place and working. Pray that one day every child born in Haiti will have access to this type of surgery.

Aristide March  While driving Francisco around Port-au-Prince on Tuesday morning we passed a “ra-ra”. These “ra-ras” are groups of people that are usually on the streets around carnival time. Francisco asked what they were celebrating but I didn’t know. Later, we found out that these people were celebrating the former president Aristides’ 55^th birthday. The march started in front of his residence on Tabarre (he is currently living in exile in South Africa) and then headed downtown where other groups joined in. By the time they reached the large downtown park area there were a few thousand people. The UN and police had the Palais National area blocked off and when some people tried to go around the barricades tear gas was fired to stop them. After a while the birthday march was over and everyone went their own way. Aristide still has a following especially amongst the poor in the slum areas of Bel Air and Cite Soleil where the people see him as a champion of the poor. 

New Prime Minister  The 3^rd candidate nominated by President Preval as prime minister was ratified by the Haitian parliament. Now Michele Pierre-Louis will need to be accepted by the senate before being installed as prime minister. The prime minister is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day functioning of the government and also for presenting the budget. Haiti has been without a prime minister since the April food riots. Michele Pierre-Louis is a woman and some people are speaking out over the radio that they don’t want a woman to help to lead the country. Some of the people here in the neighborhood don’t want her either. It’s difficult to keep people happy here in Haiti. There are many political parties here in Haiti and all stand for something different.

Rice Price Increase  The rice subsidy that was put in place by the president has now expired and rice prices have jumped from 43US$ to 52US$. The rarity of rice on the international market continues as China and India have halted rice exportations for economic reasons, as well as Australia’s rice production being decreased due to environmental conditions. The problems of hunger in Haiti will not be resolved in the short term.

That’s all the news for today. Have a good weekend!

Karen Bultje, Coram Deo

www.haiticoramdeo.blogspot.com

www.missionoftears.ca

Kim & I are planning to return to Haiti over the American Thanksgiving.  We’ll bring in more supplies & resources, try to accomplish a few more construction or repair projects, maybe bring some pre-teens who want to love on the babies, & maybe even bring another couple of adults with us who are very interested in seeing what God’s doing in Haiti.  Right now it looks like we’ll be leaving on Tuesday, November 25, & returning Sunday November 30.  Estimated cost of the trip wil be about $700.  (Let’s hope gas prices go DOWN!!)  Let me know if you’d like to go!

Thursday & Friday: Wrapping Up

I don’t think I’ve said anything about roosters or lizards yet, so let me just say that it’s a MYTH that roosters only crow when the sun comes up!  The one behind our house lets rip anytime from 10:00 pm on!  And he starts crowing in the morning in direct proportion to how much sleep Kim needs!  The place here is crawling (pun intended!) with lizards.  I don’t know the difference between geccos & chameleons & lizards, but these things are really cute & change colors depending on what they’re on, & come in all sizes.  Kim spent the week trying to become the next Lizard Whisperer.  Alfred the yard man can just go up to them & they jump onto his upheld palm.  So once Kim saw THAT, she spent every spare moment hunting the docile gecco.  Tonight the baby gecco she’d been seducing all week in the kitchen finally succumbed to her wiles & climbed up onto her hand.  She was going to show it to our dental patient, Kervin (you’ll read about him in a few paragraphs) but the little lizard got cold feet & literally jumped back to the counter & scooted under the stove!  Poor thing, she’s heartbroken!

Yesterday we got back to work on completing our Four Projects: Travis & Jack tackled building the back screen door, which was tricky because of the big locking latch box in the middle of steel outside door, & because of the thick steel lock bars on the top corner of the door & the door frame, which we didn’t notice at all until Dee Dee did her final inspection & said how was she supposed to lock the door?  After much head scratching & kicking around various alternatives, none of which sounded incredibly pleasant (because we had about exhausted ALL of our supplies from the hardware store & were about down to ripping apart box springs again), we decided to just NOTCH the door up in that corner, which worked beautifully.  Travis was great working with Jack & Mac, letting them use the Makita cordless drill, teaching them how to cut boards, measure with a tape measure, use the staple gun & hammer.  He was very patient & encouraging with them, but he only let them WATCH him use the Skilsaw!  That just has too much potential to do serious damage!

Meanwhile, Wes (I call him Weezer) & I added a latch to the other screen door, & then split a 1×4 in half to make a 44 inch high Kenny Door so the baby (Kenny) couldn’t escape the playroom & hurt himself on the steps.  We measured the opening for the tableau; the top was 36 1/4 inches, the bottom was 35 7/8 inches, so I took the opportunity to explain to Wes that sometimes we can’t always trust our eyes.  The doorway LOOKED the same width, but in reality it was off by 3/8 of an inch.  Just like a tape measure reveals reality, so too does the Bible: We need to measure our lives against it & make sure we’re in line with what God wants.  Anyway, it seemed really wise at the time.  But then again, did I mention IT’S REALLY HOT HERE?!!

I also taught all the boys the old carpenter’s expression, “Measure twice, cut Once.”  Mickey learned that right away, & when I would rumble through the house yelling, “Measure twice . . .” he would be among the first to shout back, “. . . Cut once!”  It was obvious the boys were eating up the male attention; I hope they’ve got some good memories that may make a difference some day.

Our final task of the day was to install the hinged doggie door & put the excess tableau up on the dog pen with wire; Mich was a big help crawling into the pen to help feed the wire from the other side.  Kim had made lasagna earlier at Dotties & now it was cooking in Dee Dee’s kitchen.  She reported later that ALL of it was gone, gone, gone!!  They have all so enjoyed getting to eat something other than rice & beans!  For lunch yesterday the boys all had Slim Jims, pudding & apples!  Boy, was that different for them!  And little Kenny is really coming out of his shell- tossing a soft football back & forth with Kim first, then me, & even laughing a little.  He’s hardly said a word since he’s been there, but slowly the shell is breaking.

Kim spent the rest of the day painting another dinosaur with Nicky & Mich, & giving some more piano lessons to Jack, who she says is a natural!  He’s only on his 3rd lesson but already he’s playing chords with both hands (I guess that’s a big deal!)  She says his singing voice is also beautiful & that he has perfect pitch.  Maybe music can be his ticket to a better life here?

Last night for dinner, Dottie had prepared some awesome cornmeal stuff that you put either chicken or black bean sauce on, or both.  It’s a Haitian staple, along with beans & rice.  For dessert we had pound cake & fresh strawberries & whipped cream.  (And I wonder why I never lose weight on these trips?!)  For those of you who have contemplated coming on a short-term mission trip like this- DOES THIS SOUND HARSH?  DANGEROUS? UNPLEASANT?!!!  Come on down!!

Travis went to bed right after dinner last night- he was really exhausted & quiet.  We think because we had barely any water all day yesterday that he may have dehydrated a bit.  He seemed more refreshed today.

Today Travis headed over to the church property about 7:30 to play with the boys, who go there every Friday to play before the day really heats up.  Other schools & orphanages & ministries also schedule the property for the same purpose.  The church has lovely shaded trees & playground areas, all within a safe, walled compound.  It really is idyllic.

But a little bit later, Travis showed up back at the guesthouse: No one answered the gate at the church, & there was no one at Dee Dee’s when he walked down to her house, either.  Right about then Dee Dee called Dottie on her cellphone & asked if Travis was coming or not!  Turns out he hadn’t realized he needed to bang on the gate at the church property & wait for someone to let him in, & no one had heard him calling!  His demeanor never changed, he just jumped up, got some water, & headed right back out the door, sorry he had lost some playtime with his new little friends!

Dottie, Kim & I then drove to the Caribbean Mart to pick up ice-cream for the boys, which was going to be a surprise.  We also picked up some frozen chicken nuggets for Mich, who hadn’t gotten to go on the shopping spree with us.  We didn’t want him to feel left out.  And we grabbed a few bags of expensive chocolate for Dee Dee because she is addicted to the stuff but we knew there was no way she would have bought it for herself on the shopping spree.  She used that opportunity to buy staples & essentials.  It felt good to be able to give her a treat!

On the way to the church for the surprise ice-cream social, Dottie stopped at a bakery so we could have a quick tour.  No electricity, a gas powered ancient machine did the mixing while in the black smokey room several men cut the dough & put it in brick fireplaces hot with the sticks that were burning.  No one wanted their picture taken, but they did let me take a few of the machines & oven.  We paid each of them a dollar (more than a teacher’s daily wage) & also bought a bag of bread.  This is a local business right in Dottie’s neighborhood; it doesn’t hurt to make friends down here by being generous.  (Next time I come, instead of mostly US$100 bills, I’m bringing a whack of $1 bills for exactly this sort of essential tipping!)

Travis & Dee & the boys were way over in the shady corner, waiting for us.  They’d played football & soccer & other games, so they were ready for the chocolate & vanilla ice cream!  Dottie had brought styrofoam cups & plastic spoons, & each boy got as MUCH as he wanted!  Then Tasha & her bunch of charges showed up (from Dorothy’s baby-rescue mission) & we had plenty of ice cream for all of them, too!  So, another nice surprise for some of God’s servants down here!

Dottie & Kim & I then drove down to Dee Dee’s house (about 3 blocks) while Travis hiked back with the boys, Mich staying especially close to him.  We took pictures of yesterday’s completed projects, loaded the tools we’d borrowed from Dorothy into the Blazer, & got ready to head out on our next venture, a trip to the White House way downtown.  I accused Travis of dawdling, so he took off sprinting up the street- he RAN all the way home!  Needless to say, we insisted on his taking another shower before we hit the road again!

The trip to the White House was an adventure- bumper to bumper traffic, people inventing lanes of traffic where none existed, street vendors & beggars & pedestrians everywhere.  Dee Dee had us pull over at one point & we bought some fried plantain, which she loves.  I had the GD$250 bill in my hand, but that was way too much, so she & Dottie had to jabber away in Creole, & I had to be sure NOT to hand him the money until he had given us the change.  Not exactly as efficient as the drive-thru at Wendys.

I didn’t catch on to this real fast, but Kim says she’s seen it all week: the men (& some women) just urinate right out in public.  Once this was brought to my attention, I actually started seeing it, which explains why the streets smell like pee.  Dottie says this is one of the problems they have with boys who come to her school- they can’t get them to use the bathrooms because, well, they have been trained to do it on the closest wall.  And right across from the White House was an older woman bathing herself (fully clothed, fortunately) with water coming out of a pipe by the gutter (I know, you can see just about the same scene across from the OTHER White House, in DC!)  I was going to take a picture, but didn’t want her to feel self-conscious, or the people standing & sitting all around to become hostile to me for shooting that picture.  I have noticed that if they see me pull the camera out, they intuitively step away.  Either that, or they want money for letting you take the pic.  So I’ve had to learn to shoot fast & surreptitiously, even from the front passenger seat of the Blazer (which explains why alot of my pics might be a bit blurry!)

There were lots of police directing traffic at the intersections as we got closer to downtown, which made us all feel a bit safer.  We parked about a block away from the White House & walked past a park with a fountain that Dottie said hadn’t worked in a long time.  But today, in the 100 plus degree furnace of Port au Prince, it was like an oasis of refreshing spray!  Except no one was playing in it or even taking advantage of its cooling power, which we thought strange.  Maybe there’s a law against public getting wet, who knows?

Travis had an interesting observation as we strolled past the park: “All these people are looking at you guys like the people back in Maryland look at me.  It’s kind of strange being in the majority & watching what it’s like for you to be in the minority.”

The White House itself was very impressive, & we all had our pictures taken in front of it (maybe THIS will be our 2008 Christmas card?!)  Across the street is a building where Dottie said judges meet to discuss issues (lawmakers here are called judges), & that several years ago, after a regime change, alot of corpses were found in the basement during a revovation.  This country has only ever known violence.

Also catty-corner to the White House is a monstrosity of a monument that President Aristide had built, apparently as a memorial to himself.  It is triangular & very high, with a bowl on top that is supposed to have a flame in it.  The center is a staircases, so the idea obviously was for people to go up to the top & look around, but there was no one up there.  The consensus of the few missionaries that I spoke with who have been here a while is that Aristide was a thug, & that he was also a huge supporter of voodoo, which I think has since been officially named as the religion of Haiti.  Tales abound of human sacrifice in connection with voodoo worship; I don’t doubt them at all.

Following our walk around the White House block, we stopped at Epidor for lunch.  There were four or five separate counters, each with different types of food (crepes, hamburgers, fries, bakery, pizza, cheesteaks) but you only ordered & paid at one location, then walked around with your receipt & had the order filled, which seemed strange.  I had a Royal Burger & Mega spicy fries, which tasted remarkably like they had been seasoned with Old Bay!  The food was great, sorely needed (after all that walking in the heat) & was supposed to be very safe for us to eat (it must have been, none of us have reported having any digestive issues & it’s been 9 hours now!)

Following lunch Dottie drove us across town to the new US Embassy, built way in the middle of nowhere, right next to where the UN Transportation Depot is located.  Dottie says the old location was very small, hard to park, & quite vulnerable.  This location, while further away, larger, & easier to defend.  She’s been in there on several occasions, & has yet to see an American working there!

When we got back, Travis & Kim stayed with Dee Dee at her house.  Travis helped the boys finish painting the dinosaur & just generally messed around, & Kim did dishes & watched the boys so Dee Dee could enjoy a shower without having to wonder what the boys were up to!  I stayed at the guesthouse to work on my blog but ended up reading a book & taking a nap!  Dee Dee & Travis came back up for dinner (grilled Talapia, broccoli, salad & upside down pineapple cake)  Then Travis walked Dee Dee home before it got late, came back & lost 2 games of backgammon to me.

That’s when the next adventure started! Dottie got a phone call from Dorothy, who runs the baby-rescue mission a few blocks away.  Kervin, one of her 10 year old charges, had fallen & broken his front right tooth.  The dentist was there but they had no electricity; could they come up & do the repair at Dottie’s house?  So we met Dr. Marly Desire, a very pleasant man in his 30′s.  He set up shop under the bright dining room light.  Kervin looked so frightened, but he barely whimpered as the dreaded Novacaine was administered.  Tasha sat next to him, but he didn’t much want her to hold his hand!  The rest of us stood or sat around & cracked jokes & took pictures, & tried not to look at the blinding blue light as Marly slowly built up the tooth & bonded it with the UV light, just like Peter Trepper uses back in Frederick!

About an hour after they arrived, they were done, & Kervin’s tooth looked like new!  He was cracking jokes too.  Earlier in the day he had broken his arm in another fall, & had just had a cast put on it!  So, it was a rough day for him!  Dorothy knew the doctor at the hospital, who cut the bill from $120 to $60, which was great because small missions like those run on a shoestring budget & just have to trust God to provide in cases like these.  We were happy to be able to slip the dentist a gift for his time & sweet spirit (he does lots of dentistry for the various missions here, as well as operates an office).  We took care of Kervin’s hospital bill, too.  We are just so blessed in the USA & take so many things for granted.  It felt good to make a difference here; it takes SO little to do that.  Marly gave me his card, I know we’ll be sending more gifts to him just because he is making such an obvious, loving sacrifice here for so many people who have so little.

The power just surged & the lights got brighter; we thought maybe the local electricity had come on, but Dottie just informed us that in fact it had gone off, & now the guesthouse is running on batteries  (16 of them) & an inverter.  She said she’s been running on the batteries most of the day so they’re low, & if the power doesn’t come back on, she’ll have to get up in the middle of the night & fire up the diesel generator right outside our window!  (Did I mention we take so many things for granted in the USA?!)

Kim just remarked to me that it’s going to be pretty boring heading back to work next week- she’s met some amazing women of God here & what they do & the spirit of joy with which they all just love the daylights out of these Haitian people is moving, to say the least.  We know we’re making a difference in our corner of the world, but it’s easy sometimes to just fall into the rut of playing church & going through the motions, & you wonder if you’re really making any headway or difference at all.  But here it’s more like you’re on the frontlines: you know if you weren’t here, this child would be on the street, or starving, or sick or dead.  There are frustrations & disappointments & personality clashes & all the same junk that everyone else faces in affluent cultures- but there’s also a tangible sense of fulfillment and, I think, of just being closer to the heart of God.  “True religion & undefiled is this,” James wrote, “to take care of widows & orphans in their time of need.”  It’s so easy to TALk the God thing, it’s a whole nother matter to actually march it out in a way that makes a real difference.

We leave tomorrow morning at 10:00 for our 12:35 pm flight.  We arrive in DC a little after 8:00 pm.  The boys are coming up at 7:30 so I can cook them my world famous Bisquick pancakes (the key is one extra egg!)  Dee Dee’s not coming, so ALL the boys can be here (someone has to stay & watch the house.)  We’ll see her when we run Mickey home; Tasha also just called a bit ago & said Kervin wants us all to sign his cast!

The lump in my throat is already beginning to form.  Haiti is not the hellhole I thought it would be.  It’s rough, yes, but as you get to know the people & see their smiles, something inside you just begins to melt.  I will miss them.  Their pictures will pop up on my screensaver, & I know many times during the day my body will be in Frederick but my mind will be here.

I am almost 50 years old.  I am still searching for what God wants to do with my life.  I am still struggling with me in ways that frustrate me to no end.  But one thing I know: Kim & I are committed to making a Kingdom difference.  And, we will be back.

Wednesday: Dream Menu & Mountain Views!

Today was a FUN day- we took most of the boys to the Caribbean Grocery Store (same store we went to our first night here) & let them pick out ANY foods they wanted!  US$1083.00 later, we had at least 6 grocery carts filled to the rim with everything from sardines to yogurt to turkey bacon to hair spray (Dee Dee’s!)  We loaded everything into the two cars driven by fellow missionary types Dorothy & Tasha, who run a baby rescue mission, & Karen, who runs a mission that finds medical care for severe cases of both adults & children.  Travis & Jack rode “shotgun” in the back of the pick-up truck so no one would grab any boxes while we were at a red light or even just slowing down!  I still can’t get used to shotgun-toting security guards everywhere we go.

As soon as we got the boxes offloaded at Dee Dee’s, we trudged up to Dottie’s & loaded into the Blazer to head up to the mountains to the Haiti Baptist Mission, about an hour outside of Port au Prince.  They have been working there for decades, & have started hundreds of churches & taught the people how to properly terrace-farm the steep hills & become self-dependent.  They also make handcrafts, & operate a zoo, restaurant, museum & gift shop.  We took Mich & Mack; this was Mich’s first trip & boy was he excited!  We looked at the small zoo, then grabbed hamburgers & french fries & Cokes in the restaurant.  While we waited for the food (nothing happens fast in Haiti!) Kim & I picked up some knick knacks in the gift shop, including a nice sailboat rug for the boys’ bedroom.  Once again our parking lot was protected by a security guard with a shotgun, but this one was sawed off & very menacing looking.

Kim got her baptism by bartering as we headed across the street to look at paintings from the street vendors: they all swarmed us, inviting us enthusiastically to “Look at my shop; come look at my shop!”  We promised them all that we would, & we did.  Then we got down to the age-old business of haggling for the price.  We found a beautiful, very colorful painting done on a length of bamboo.  He wanted $18, Kim got him down to $15.  Not a very profitable first outing for her.  (I had just picked up a very nice hand-made machete in the parking lot; he wanted $20, I got him down to $13!)

Then we walked across the street to the canvas painting we liked; I did the bargaining this time.  He started at $90, & I came in at $20.  After they picked him up off the ground, he brought it down to $70.  I started to walk away & told him there were lots of other painting for sale.  The price began a steep & rapid plummet.  Finally we settled at $40, & I think I could have got him even lower!  But we were standing on a bend of a very busy road, & the traffic was roaring by perilously close to all of us!

On the trip back to town, we detoured up into the mountains where we passed a limestone quarry & headed up into an exclusive, very ritzy neighborhood that Dottie said was probably the home of big drug lords.  At the very top was an absolutely incredible view of ALL of Port au Prince!  Across the road was a walled-in large house, with security guards keeping an eye on us.  I got some great pictures of Cite Soleil, the White House, Parliament, & the entire city.  I couldn’t help but think if this country ever got its act together, this road should be filled with charter buses bringing tourists up from the cruise ships to see this amazing vista.  But that’s going to be a while.

Continuing our journey back into town, we stopped at a DOMINO’S PIZZA!!!  That’s right, there are two of them in Port au Prince, & yes, they DO deliver!  We dropped Dee Dee & the boys & Travis off at the orphanage with six pizzas, then Kim & I & Dottie drove home to cold showers & fast fans!  It rained for about 10 minutes; they haven’t had any substantial rain here for weeks & maybe months, so it was a pleasant break. 

As we made the final push for home, we got behind a UN vehicle with a manned machine gun on the back; one soldier sat facing the traffic behind with an automatic weapon at the ready, while the other stood up with both hands on the BIG GUN, looking forward.  Dottie did her best to get the gunner to turn around- blowing her horn, pulling up closer, but it didn’t happen.  I snapped a bunch of pics.  Again, a typical site here & in many other parts of the world, but for me, different in a sad sort of way.  I’m grateful that the UN is here protecting people (like Romans 13 says is one of the purposes of government) but it’s sad that the government is so weak it can’t provide that protection itself, & that lawlessness is such the accepted norm.

Tomorrow is a work day; we’ll put the finishing touches on the dog pen & kitchen screen door, build another screen door in the dining room, & build a toddler proof door for Kenny upstairs.  Then on Friday we’ll hopefully get to see the area around the White House & Cite Soleil, some of the worst slums in this hemisphere.

Tuesday: Home Depot It Ain’t!

Today we headed into downtown Port au Prince with Dottie in her trusty Blazer.  We’ve got to keep the windows UP, because of all the beggars & street vendors that come right into your car if they can.  Kids as young as 5 try to wipe your windows with old wash cloths or towels- Dottie says all they do is scratch your car even worse with dust.  (On the way back, though, we began opening the window & giving them Tootsie Pops, which were opened & set upon with immediate vigor!) Our destination was the hardware store (Maxime Castera) so we could get some decent material to work with at the orphanage.  I will NEVER again complain about waiting in line at the Home Depot or Lowes!

Everything you want is glued or screwed onto a display.  You show a clerk what you want, he jabbers in Creole to Dottie, who jabbers back in some combination of French & Creole, he writes it down & says, “Next.”  And if there’s a communicaton glitch, you use fingers or point to something else or finally get the manager over to intercede.  He spoke very good English & actually gave Dottie a nice discount when it came time to pay up.  (I would have gotten a pic of one of the displays, but I’m kinda gun shy about taking pics in stores any more after I was warned in the grocery store the first night!)

We picked up seven 1x4x10 boards (for building the screen door & other uses), two 2x4x12 (to frame the door), 16 large L brackets & screws (to brace the door), 12 smaller L brackets (to brace screens for the metal door), one small square (to mark straight lines), a box of 100 masonry Tapcon screws (to affix the 2×4′s into the concrete so we could hang the door on it), a bag of 100 1 1/2″ screws (to affix the braces to the door), a masonry drill bit (but one the right size came in the box of Tapcons, unbeknownst to us!)  We had a difficult time explaining that I wanted a 1×2 strip, just to use as a door stop & for the screen frames; finally I just said, “Forget it, add another two 1×4′s & we’ll rip them in half.”  Except that we don’t have a table saw, only a handheld Skilsaw.  But it worked!  We also got some wire to affix the tableua board to the dog pen, as well as hold the screen frames to the back door, & some hinges for the screen door.  We also got one 4×8 sheet of tableau.

Then the clerk goes over & writes it all up again, transferring the order from his note pad onto an official order pad.  Then he totals it & hands it to Dottie, who marches into the manager’s office & waits patiently until he greets her & she reminds him what a loyal customer she has been (with all the constant repair work she’s done at her school).  He whacks $20 bucks off the $126 bill & then we go to the cashier’s wicket & slide it through to the gal sitting on the stool on the other side.  Dottie then explains that since I’m paying in Gourdes & the price is in Haitian dollars, I need twice as much Gourdes.  I could have paid in $US but I didn’t feel like stripping my money belt off in the middle of the store.  Besides it was fun watching Dottie try to explain the exchange rate!  Finally I just opened my envelope of Gourdes & she pointed to a couple $1000 bills & said that should do it.  We slid the money over to the gal, along with two Tootsi Pops, which made her face light up.  She counted out our change, stamped the daylights out of several copies of our invoice, & slid them all back to us so we could go over to the Order Counter & pay a few other clerks some mroe Tootsie Pops to encourage them to gather the items faster.  Nothing moves fast down here.

Then the clerk who initially took the order called us over & apologized, he had only charged us for TWO 1×4′s, not seven, so he had to write up a separate ticket for that, which Dottie then marched in to the manager’s office for another discount, which she received, but only after the manager gave Vladimir (our initial clerk, yes it is a common Haitian name Dottie assures me!) a royal reaming out, ostensibly for incompetence.  Then we went back to the wicket lady, Dottie pointed to more money in my envelope (although not nearly as much) & another man back there with her processed that order, then she stamped it & gave us the paper work which we then took over to the Order Counter & proceded to prod them into moving it along a bit faster.

Somewhere in all this fracas, after  I asked another fellow sitting at that desk to take our picture with Vlad (yeah, we’re on a first name basis now), which he agreed to.  It took several efforts at figuring out our user friendly, super intuitive Nikon CoolPix, but he finally made if flash & we got a group photo.  I figured this way if they were mad, they’d have to yell at their own clerk & I was off the hook.  I’m hoping the picture shows the security guard at the front door with a loaded 12 gauge shotgun.  They didn’t pass the metal detector wand over our bodies, but all the other Haitians that came in got searched.

Finally the order was ready.  Travis watched traffic while Dottie backed the Blazer up a few spaces closer to the front of ths store.  I pulled out my envelope so she could see what bills I had with which we could tip the guys tying our stuff on to the roof; an old guy standing there saw it & immediately became my best friend, wanting some money for himself.  I did the Christlike thing & ignored him, hoping he’d get the hint.  So he began barking orders & advice to the guys doing the actual work, hoping he’d be included when the tip was distributed at the end.  It took about 4 or 5 of them to figure it all out, Dottie had to make another foray into my envelope for more cash.  But still that wasn’t enough- one guy started whining like a first grader so she dug into her own wallet & came up with a one dollar USA.  The old guy was no where to be seen, he’d moved on.  Watching the whole deal from a quiet corner was a UN soldier, automatic weapon at the ready.  They are everywhere, but it freaks me out.  I turned to Kim & said, “Where ARE we??”  “In hell,” she replied.  Yes, it was very hot today, too.  (I’m thinking that’s what she meant!)

We stopped at the Mega Mart on the way home- a Haitian version of Sam’s Club, Dottie said, to pick up a quality fan for Dee Dee- all hers are broken so there is very little air moving through her house & it is very, very uncomfortable during the day.  But they were all sold out.  Travis & I waited in the car so we could keep an eye on the stuff tied to the roof, although there were two UN trucks & 3 armed guards with shotguns at every exit to the parking lot.  Kim came out with a 12 pack of bottled water.  I had just said to Travis, “I hope she picks up some bottled water.”  Do we know each other or what?!  She also picked up some juice boxes as a treat for the boys.

Dottie dropped me & Kim off at Dee Dee’s with all the booty, then took Travis by the school & the guesthouse for a Skilsaw, extension cord & a few other items.  When he returned, we knocked the door out in about 3 hours flat!  Neither of us are skilled finish carpenters, & it was a challenge.  The door goes out of plumb by over an inch & a half, whether that’s due to the crooked wall, the crooked board, or my crooked eye, take your pick.  But Dee Dee seemed to like it.  We got it all built on the floor- screen in place, tableau board on the bottom, then we set it in & Voila!  It had grown by 1/4 inch!  So we took the Skilsaw & shaved that sucker down.  Slapped on some hinges, handle, stops, & it’s done.  Check out the pictures & call quick to reserve Jim & Travvy’s Home Repair Contractors for all your custom renovation needs!

Meanwhile Kim did some more keyboard lessons- Jack is learning chords with his left hand very well.  She finished a dinosaur puzzle she had brought down for the boys, & swept up behind me & Travis (we decided to cut wood right in the kitchen- had the best light & a bit of a breeze.)  Then Kim & I walked home to Dottie’s, while Travis stayed about 45 minutes longer & played with the boys.  “I haven’t spent any time with them all day, & I miss them,” he said.  What an awesome heart he has for these kids, & they are eating up the male attention!

He got home just as we were finished a rice & ocra & beef dinner, with fresh cucumber & tomatoes, with tapioca pudding for dessert (which he doesn’t like, because of the TEXTURE.)  Sheesh.  I think he’s showering now & probably heading for bed, he was pretty wiped.  Dottie’s going to watch the DVD we brought about Jim Elliot’s martyrdom in Ecuador, End of the Spear.  And Kim & I will play some backgammon & read.  Tomrrow is a Fun-Day: Dee Dee has lined up two vehicles to take all of us to the grocery store so the boys can get all the items on their Dream Menu List! It should be a blast.  We’re trying to figure out how to get ice cream back to the house- maybe putting in an Igloo jug.  I’ll try to take some pics of the boys in the store; I’ll try to be not as obvious.

Oh, I had to take a Cipro pill twice today.  Halfway down the main drag in Port au Prince, my stomach started talking to me in ways that you don’t want to hear when you’re in a crowded, third world city.  I decided to take a Cipro just in case (that’s an anti-biotic for diarrhea).  And I prayed: “God, just please settle my system down until I get someplace I can take care of things in a way that honors You, & brings relief to me.”  He answered wonderously- the harwared store had a spacious, clean bathroom on the second floor.  Kim, meanwhile, was feeling nauseaus, & took the other medicne for that.  We both feel better now, but I’m still on the Cipro.  You don’t take any chances with that stuff down here.

Tomorrow night, we’re taking Mich up the mountain to a restaurant & maybe Baptist mission school or something; I’ll keep you posted.  But the pizza there is supposed to be good, & we’re going to bring a bunch back to all the other boys (Mich gets to go because he’s the only one who’s never been up there.)

Oh, one of the cars we’ll be driving tomorrow belongs to Dorothy, who runs a baby rescue mission between the guesthouse & Dee Dee’s.  The mechanic has told her the brakes are totally shot & not to drive the car.  Is this fun or what?!

Sometimes God’s greatest gifts . . . are found on the 2nd floor of a hardware store!

Vladimir the Clerk poses with his favorite customers!

The material gets loaded onto the Blazer.

A small boy asks for money.

The boys enjoy discovering their gifts!

The kitchen is turned into a lumber yard!

Dee Dee makes sure the boys get clothes that fit perfectly!

Nicky holds up the completed dinosaur!

A table saw sure would have been nice!

Nicky does his best Vanna White impression as he admires our handiwork!

A UN bus drives by the guesthouse wall as Kim waits for Dottie to open the metal gate.