Naomi's milestone and ours

As any parent can tell you, there are certain milestones in the life of your child that are more difficult than others.   First words, and first steps are joyous occasions, but happen at unexpected times with little to no warning.  Other times are well planned, like a wedding.  One of the most difficult days for a lot of parents is the first day of school.  For many children, this will be the first time they are not under Mom or Dad's wing.  Their first venture into independence.  The excitement and uncertainty can be difficult. This day is often described by many parents as the most difficult day in parenting.
As many of you know, we homeschool.  Most of our 14 children have never attended either a public or private school.  However, a few minutes ago, Naomi started her first day of school here in Haiti.

Naomi ready for her first day of school

As most parents will say, this is a stressful day for any child, which generates stress for the parents.  Here in Haiti--and specifically for us--there are additional stressors involved.  Naomi is currently sitting in a classroom in a school that is being taught in French.  Naomi does not speak French, or very much Creole (the language most people here speak).  And none of her teachers speak English.  She is also quite likely the one white student in the school.
As I brought her to school this morning, the school graciously allowed me to enter beyond the point that they allow parents.  I escorted Naomi to the playground where all of the other students were playing until classes began.  It was like a seen from a movie as 150 or 160 kids of all grades stopped what they were doing to see the little white girl.  Naomi's excitement suddenly turned to trepidation as she realized that I would not be staying with her all day.  She grabbed my hand and held on tight.  I told her that everything would be fine and I would be back to get her after school.  I showed her where her classroom was and that I wanted to hear all about her new friends, her teacher, and her day.  It was difficult to leave, but I made it with no tears (at least on the outside).  Please pray for Naomi (and us a parents).

God Bless,

Ron

Hurricane Irma Prep

As I sit here typing this, we are waiting for the arrival of Hurricane Irma.  The traffic is much lighter than normal, and a strange calm.  I have seen reports of the devastation this storm has already caused.  They are reporting that this is the most powerful hurricane to ever come out of the Atlantic.  The last report I saw, it has sustained winds of 180mph and gusts to over 220mph.  Irma will pass about 100 miles North of where we are, so I hope that it is not too bad here.  We are however 4000 feet higher than Port-Au-Prince.  

We have tied everything down that we can.  I have used car tie down straps for the solar panels on the roof. When Hurricane Matthew came through last October, I had used a 3/8" rope to tie the solar panels down.  It worked, we did not lose any panels.  After the storm however, the rope was broken and the racking for the panels had broken.  Since Irma has much higher winds, I thought it would be a good idea to be safe and use something stronger.  Hopefully the anchors into the concrete roof stay in place.
We have pulled everything away from windows, mostly over a concern of things getting wet.  The homes here are not sealed.  No caulking around windows, so heavy rains will come in around window frames.  We are expecting some rain to get into the house, so we have towels, mops, and buckets ready. 

Our furniture pulled to the center of the room

My tools are in small rooms downstairs.  We are expecting those rooms to flood, so we placed everything on pallets, hoping that this will be sufficient.  We have brought some tools into the house for easy access if needed.  We have a small chainsaw that is ready to go.  Although there are not many trees here.  I have rope and shovels ready if needed.

Watching the news, I see many needs.  Recovery from Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and the fires in the Columbia River Gorge and all over the Western States. 

Add caption

So please, pray for those that have been impacted by these events and for those in the path of this storm.  Also, pray for those that will be helping with the recovery.  Seeing this type of destruction is very emotional.  please pray that they have the strength they need and help them to know that helping others in need is the right thing to do.

God Bless,

Ron Sheppard