Haiti- Day 4

Thursday, March 14, 2013

It's hard to get a full night's sleep in here. The generator goes off at about 3:00 am, so our fans cut off. It gets stuffy and eerily quiet...as quiet as can be minus the sounds of horns, traffic, people talking, and dogs barking. I wake up a number of times a night, and I am up before 7:00 am. We don't go to the orphanage  until around 10:00 am because the kids are in school, so we spent the morning eating cliff bars, brushing our teeth with water from our water bottles, and hanging out with Teacon (our favorite thing to do).

At about 10:00, Mom, Dad, Lukie, and I headed to see the kids. Drew and Emily kept T here at the compound to spend a little extra time with just him. When we got to the orphanage, we did the same thing we always do while there. First, we stayed under the tent for shade....it's extremely hot here in Haiti. Next, we loved on as many kids as we could. I had Egloose in my lap. I can never get enough of his sweet self. He had the inside of a pen and was drawing all over his hand. When I offered him my palm do draw on, he refused. When he did accidentally marked on my arm, he softly worked for a good while at rubbing it off so that I stayed clean. If another kid tried to take my sunglasses, which they love to do, he would start speaking fast Creole to them until he had my glasses safely back on my face. He helps me out.  If only he had a dollar for every time I kiss his cheeks and tell him I love him. :) 

Again, I had the company of some older school girls. Most of them don't live at the orphanage, and they come only for school. They're not used to hanging out with us "blans (white people)", so they seemed pretty intrigued. One of the little girls said her Papa was Espanol, so she could speak Creole, some Spanish, and very little English. She's 11 years old, and that was enough to impress me. She was the cut up of the group and had all the other little girls laughing so hard. While trying to carry on conversations with what little Spanish and Creole I know, I could still feel little hands just rubbing all over my arms. I felt little fingers lock into mine. I felt little fingers pointing out every little freckle on my arms and hands. I felt my hair being played with. This stuff never gets old. 

When it was time for their classes to start again, we loaded back up and came back to the compound. If we stay they watch us rather than their teachers, so we clear away all distractions. We ate our normal Pb&J sandwiches and laid down to rest for a minute. With as tired as I feel when I'm here, all I think about while at the compound is their faces and how I can't wait to get back to them. 

When we got back to the orphanage, Drew took some more pictures, Emily and I got our hair braided again, and mom and dad were walking around with a trail of babies. It was time to line up for dinner (we thought they ate earlier, but it looks like this was either their late lunch or early dinner), and I noticed Egloose couldn't get his pants buttoned. He was working so hard.  It was because there was no button, just a small hook and no where to latch it. Because these are the shorts he has had on every day since I've been here, I thought it would be ok to get a new pair on him anyway.  I walked him to the back, did my best to explain to the ladies what I wanted, and they took him away. He came back in some different clothes....and shorts with elastic, so I know he was more comfortable. He missed his lunch line, so I got him a bowl of rice and sardines and he was all set. After the kids ate, I went to the water room to fill their bowls and cups, which they all just share from. They get a couple of sips and are pushed away to go play by other kids wanting their turn with the water. 

One little boy (I forget his name) was walking around just whining and crying because he was so hot and sleepy. As soon as I picked him up and sat down, his crying stopped and his eyes closed. He just needed a little snuggle time. He never let me put him down, so I continued to rock back and forth and hum Jesus Loves Me in his ear. The only moment Egloose left my side was to go play with his buddies. They were having the best time kicking a rock around. Puts into perspective just how good we have it. He kept looking at me to make sure I was watching. I can spot his smile from miles away. My sweet girls gathered around to talk and admire. Again, they told me I was "belle" or beautiful. At one moment one of the girls said something and the rest quickly grabbed my hands in amazement that I had fingernail polish on. Next thing I know, the polish was quickly being chipped off. Bellteen said, "Katie, you voyage diem (tomorrow). I cry." When Katie voyages tomorrow, Katie will cry too. Not ready to tell them bye.

We came back to the compound for a quick break, dinner, and to make arrangements to take them ice cream later. Like I said Tuesday, they love treats. We ended up going to two different gas stations and loaded up on 140+ ice creams. When we got to the orphanage, the sun was fading, and the kids were all under the tent. It was time to have church. They were singing and clapping and obviously having a good time. There were a group of boys at the front banging on drums and making music, and then there were some kids laid out sleeping on the benches in the back.  I do love to hear all of their voices singing in their pretty language. I jumped in and began clapping and dancing right along with them. Then I spotted Egloose. He was sitting on the bench not singing or clapping, but crying. My heart broke immediately. I snatched him up so fast and stood at the back with him as he clung on to me so tight. I'm still not sure what caused him to be so upset, but I just held him. I got him some water, and then I held him some more-rubbing his back, swaying back and forth with him, singing in his ear, and reminding him that I love him. As I held him, I couldn't help but think about when I was sad or upset as a little girl, that's what my momma did for me. That's what these kids so desparetely need and deserve. I want it for every single one of them.

We sat down again with Robinson sitting next to us. He was last to finish his ice cream. It both blessed me and made me sad to watch him share with Egloose and the boys around him. He placed a blob into Egloose's hand, and Egloose proceeded to lick it right off of his dirty little hand. He put some on the lid for the other boys to get and savor as much as they could. My goodness how we take so many things for granted. They get so excited for things we get whenever we want. When we decided it was time to leave I assured Egloose that I would be back in the morning. Instead of the usual big smile and head nod...all I got was a frown and the saddest look in his eyes. I kissed and hugged him and walked away. Again, crying and missing them already.

When we got back to the compound I headed to the shower, but there was no water. When we got the water running, I hopped in only for the water to stop while I had conditioner all up in my hair. Roughin it for Haiti, remember? :) I lucked out and only had to stand there for a minute before the water came back on. I quickly took care of business and got out of there. Everything was smooth sailing for everyone else except for Emily. We lost Haiti power while she was showering, and she was left in the pitch black. Dad stood outside the shower room holding his flashlight from his phone over the door so she could finish up while Drew kicked on the generator. You're definitely brought out of your comfort zone here, but we make it work. 

Our plans for tomorrow are to get to the orphanage around 7:15 to make sure the grounds are picked up before they start school. It was so dark tonight and they were still having church, so we couldn't collect their ice cream trash. We'll go back again around 10:00 while they're on their break from school to spend our final time with them and tell them goodbye. I have a sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about it. Especially having to tell Teacon bye. We've spent so much time with him this week. I am so thankful for it, but I sure am going to miss him. Finding peace in that the Lord cares for them so much, and He has them right where He wants them. I know Teacon's in good hands. I know they're all in good hands. 

Going to sleep with Ephesians 1:5 on my heart. "In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." Thankful that they are His.