Busy week

Things have been VERY busy here.  On top of my four friends (Deana, Tina, Jeanne, and Emily) staying here at the house, Lala is still here caring for Youvendji.  So, we have had five extra American's around the house helping out.  Yesterday, Dorothy left Haiti.  She is going to be in the states for roughly two weeks.  So, that means I am in charge (scary, right?).  A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be in charge of 26 Haitian children and a staff of over 20 people.  It is crazy what God plans.

Yesterday, Jeanne started doing some teeth cleanings on the kids.  They did really well, and they were very excited to get a matchbox car after they were finished.  After lunch, I had to drive Dorothy to the airport.  My friends rode along just for the fun of it.  On the drive home from the airport, we have to drive through a notoriously busy roundabout with insane traffic.  I ended up fighting against a Mack truck to get the space out of the roundabout and onto the other road.  We were both blaring our horns at each other (his was much more intimidating).  As each car would inch forward, he and I would fight for the open space.  I wouldn't have been so "aggressive" except for the fact that my friends were all saying, "Don't let him bully you!  Keep going!"  So, I stood my ground.  Deana claims that at one point his fender was practically rattling against her window.  Finally, I made it through the open space and he gave up.  Everyone in my truck cheered when I got us out, hahaha!  I'll admit, it was an adrenaline rush.  I think that was the highlight of Deana's week.

Today, we made a special trip out to Mich's village again.  It was partially so that Mich could see his mama and partially so that my friends could see a Haitian village.  I warned everyone in advance that as "blancs" we would be swarmed as soon as we got there.  The village is pretty rural and has NO white people.  Deana carried a backpack with some toothbrushes and toothpaste for Mich's mama.  We made sure to keep it hidden until we were inside her mud house.  She was thankful for the things, and she quickly hid them away in her house so that they would not get taken.

By the time we walked out of her tiny house, a crowd of people had gathered (mostly children).  Last time we went, our friend Karen was along.  Everyone in the village knows her and her Creole is better than mine.   But, I think it went really well without her today.  As we were walking around the village, the local kids saw a snake in the brush.  When I told them that I didn't like snakes, they thought it was so funny.  So, the entire time we were there, they kept tickling my legs with sticks and telling me it was a snake.  They really loved when I pretended to be scared.

Two girls in the group were very sweet and kept trying to talk to me.  As we were walking, something smeared on my leg.  Thinking it was mud, I wiped it with my hand.  Then, I realized it was some type of feces (animal I hope)...gross, I know.  I wasn't quite sure what to do so I grabbed a leaf from a shrub to try and wipe my hand.  Then, I felt a tug on my arm.  It was one of the young girls.  She told me that I could wipe my hand on her shirt.  I explained that I didn't want to make it dirty, but she took my hand and cleaned it for me.  My heart broke right there.  I sure don't think any of my American friends would offer to let me wipe feces on their clothing.  Wanting to do something in return, I whispered in her ear that if she walked back to our truck with us, I would give her some bonbons (cookies) before we left.

When we got back to the truck, we all got in and I cracked the windows open to hand out some packs of cookies.  The kids were going crazy as I expected, and I almost couldn't get any to my little girl.  But she was feisty and was able to snatch a pack.  I saw her quickly shove it under her shirt and run off.  Mich said that he was happy to see his mama, but I can tell that it is emotional/overwhelming for him to go back to his village.

Seeing the difference between "Port au Prince poverty" and "mud hut village poverty" is such a huge eye opener.  Everyone really enjoyed our little side trip.

The following photos are from the past few days.  I took them from Deana's camera.  She said she knows they are good, but she's not for hire, haha.

lots of popcorn

a trip to the church playground

Jeanne doing teeth cleanings

we saw a tap-tap wreck

Deana got a picture of me buying some mangos for us off the street.  They were SO GOOD and the woman I bought them from was so sweet.

On the way to Mich's village, I got stuck driving behind a donkey, hahaha.

Mich leading the way through his village

You can't really see, but I am in the middle of that crowd of people.  This is Mich's sister's house.

A little girl smacking beans to knock the beans out of the pods.

The outhouse near Mich's house

A man knocking beans out of the bean pods

Me walking through Mich's village.  I had quite the herd of kids following me.

Deana loves Johnny!

The kids and I washing my clothes.