Frogs on the Window, Kindergarten Class, Manifestation, and other Random Pictures in Haiti

I love to look at the hill in Petionville and see all the beautiful colors of the different homes. Apparently the government considered tearing down the homes, but decided instead to distribute paint. It's amazing what a transformation a little paint has accomplished!  

After my trip to Seattle for the Refresh adoption conference, I was able to bring in more supplies to Haiti. One of the main challenges we face in country is getting supplies in country. The expense of living in Haiti still just blows me away.

If you can find items, you often pay a premium for those items (sometimes 3x's the cost as in the states). Therefore, we try to bring as many supplies in as possible with myself or with team members.

This time when I came through, I watched for my bag on the carousel. I located one bag. It had been pulled to the side. I placed it on my cart and went back to the carousel in search of my second bag. I saw a trash bag go by and didn't think much of it. The second time I saw the bag, I noticed various things falling out of that bag. Then I noticed those various items looking very familiar to me. Hmm...slight accident with my bag and what was left of my stuff made it in a trash bag.

On the way home from the airport, we saw an interesting sight. A truck was driving down the road with a huge stack of mattresses. We kept watching that truck wondering how in the world it didn't topple right over. It would hit a bump and lean farther over to the point where it "looked like" it would tip over.

There was even a man hanging on to one side. I kept thinking: If that truck goes over or the mattresses fall off, that little guy is going to be squished!

But....it kept driving all the way down Delma and eventually turned off before tipping over. It's always amazing to me all the interesting things you see driving around in Haiti.

While I was in Seattle, our family was blessed with the opportunity to purchase supplies for our family. Willem showed up and asked if there were things we needed to buy for our family, so Ron apparently said, "Yes! Just a second" and ran upstairs. He pulled every single dime that we had and bought as much material as we could afford. It was like Ron hit the jackpot.

He has very much been like a kid in a candy shop. We were able to purchase a table saw and wood to make a couch, fix the dining room table, make a coffee table, and various other projects like finally getting a frame and hanging the chalkboard.

These past few teams have done an amazing job walking to the clinic and hiking up the goat trail. It has been the dry season and pretty dusty. We only recently have started getting some rain. It won't be long until the goat trail will get pretty slippery.

Another thing I love about Haiti is the weather. Especially out here in the mountains, the weather is pretty mild. It is a good 10 degrees cooler where we are at then in Port au Prince.

The last team was able to continue work on the silos. Shelves were build and most of the tile is done on the floor. I wasn't there during that process, but I understand that it was somewhat challenging to build shelves inside a round building.

The team also did an amazing job organizing a basketball camp. The picture shows the kids lining up to learn strategies on basketball. It was a lot of fun!

A few weeks ago, my very good friend Cheri was able to come and visit. Cheri and I met when we were both single young moms struggling our way through college. Such a blessing to have old friends and the ability to watch miracle upon miracle of how the Lord turns trial and suffering into good.

We went to the Caribbean Market and the guard let us take a picture. It's funny because I don't even really think about armed security in different places, but then realize how that stands out to others that aren't accustomed to seeing people walking around with shotguns.

 We also took Cheri and the other few team members to the "zoo" in Haiti. Always interesting to see bunnies, guinea pigs, and a goat in the zoo.

It's also funny the things that amuse us now in comparison to when we first moved here. Going to the Baptist mission to roam around the "zoo" or play in the playground is a huge treat to the family!

 During that same week, there was a "manifestation" at the top of the road. What the Haitian people refer to as a manifestation is basically a protest.

We had 10-15 little stores at the top of the hill. Apparently the stores have been there 20+ years. They started as street vendors and just over years and years made more permanent structures. The only problem is that they didn't actually own the land.

The stores were recently marked for demolition. People were upset about losing their livelihood (their business). I think most of us were hopeful that somehow they could negotiate a deal to pay rent on the land or something like that. BUT...I guess the road is going to be widened, so the houses/businesses need to come down. The government came in with their bulldozer to tear down the buildings and there was a riot. There is now a backhoe stuck in the road because shots ended up being fired in the air and the equipment was lit on fire. Many people were apparently arrested. Just overall, it was a very sad situation.




We have been fortunate to be able to do crafts each week with the preschool and kindergarteners. David and Julia are helping in the picture above.

To the left, Cheri and I are seen with one of the classmates with her craft in her hand. I absolutely LOVE the kids. It's funny how the older I get, the more I love kids.





We also spend time in the clinic getting it ready for upcoming teams. David is shown popping his head in the clinic after his last class for the day. He often stops by to see if I need any help. David and our Creole teacher and friend Rosias (otherwise known as "Mouse") visited with us as we were prepared for the next clinic.

A frog jumped onto our window when we were driving Joan home one evening. He just hung out there on the windshield. He eventually hopped off, but he first hopped all around the front of the car.

He was a cute little guy. We tend to see many frogs outside as well as inside the house. They are harmless enough, but apparently many of the Haitian people are afraid of frogs.

 Naomi absolutely loves the new playground up at the school. She went up to the clinic today with me and was able to "help" mom and the other team members as well as slide down the slide at lunch time.

Ron enjoys his time helping the building teams. There is always work to be done at Mountain Top Ministries! No matter your skills, please consider joining a team and serving in Haiti.

We were also blessed by Kim, an amazing lady that is adopting from Haiti. I'm shown to the right with a scarf that Kim gave us on her last trip here. It's humbling to see just how compassionate people are.

Various team members have brought little gifts for us and/or for the kids. We Thank You from the bottom of our hearts!

The Oregon team has served 4 days in the clinic. Tomorrow we are off to the beach for the day for some fun and relaxation. The team arrived on St Patrick's Day and were appropriately dressed in green.

Each evening, I have had the pleasure of doing devotions with the group at the guest house. I just love to see what the Lord is doing with each and every team member. There is so much we learn about ourselves through this process of serving.

I pray that we can all strive to be more and more like Jesus each day. It is not a small task!

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, 

and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~Mark 10:45