So…what’s life like in
Haiti? I’ll tell ‘ya! Our orphanage (God’s Littlest Angels a/k/a
GLA) is located high up in the mountains so it is very different than any other
part of Haiti than we have been in before.
We typically are in Carrefour which is about sea level. We are about 3600 elevation now. Yesterday we
visited the new orphanage being built at Fort Jacques which is at 4500
elevation. It was breathtaking.
What is the Guest House Like? It
doesn’t seem like Haiti!!! It has 5 main bedrooms all with multiple bunk beds
in each room. Our room has 3 bunk
beds. We have a huge breakfast each
morning served at 7:30 sharp. Today was
freshly squeezed orange juice (amazing) with pancakes and fruit (bananas, pineapple,
mango, watermelon are served at each meal).
I used a Keurig for our coffee.
We have hot showers but they are very short (water off while you wash,
etc). We do have wifi too. The best part is the open balcony that has
amazing views!! There are two women that
work here and do the dishes after breakfast and then have dinner ready when we
return each evening. It is served at 6:00 sharp each night. They clean all day and do the laundry and
then have dinner ready and do the dishes afterwards. We are spoiled for sure.
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Funny story:
I looked at the bunk beds and asked Todd to sleep with me the first
night. He laughed. I was serious. I told him I would sleep better with
him. Again, he laughed. About 4:00 in the morning I hear footsteps
and here comes my man…yep, we shared! : )
We don’t share each night but we are on two bottom bunks. It’s different for sure.
What is the best part? That would be
when we went to pick Oberson up from the nursery and he got excited to see us,
smiled and reached for us! Pretty
awesome! He is starting to recognize us
and get excited to see us. He will walk
away from us and play with his friends and then after a few minutes will turn,
see us, smile big, run to us and throw himself into our arms. The best feeling ever! Doesn’t happen every time but it is
incredible!
What is the hardest? When we have to
take him back to the nursery. He didn’t
want to go back this evening and we watched him get put into his crib and just
sit quietly and watch us walk away. It broke my heart.
What is the most difficult: Ha! that would be me trying to be respectful and
eat whatever they prepared and yet remain the incredibly picky eater that I
am! Seriously! Go ahead and laugh! I haven’t even asked what meat I have been
eating because I really didn’t want to know. It has been good. Last night was pumpkin soup with cabbage,
potatoes, carrots and meat. I ate
everything but the cabbage (I dumped it into Todd’s bowl when he went to get
more bread….don’t tell him). Today we
had chili (I hate chili) but I added enough cheese and sour cream that it was
good. : ) The fruit is amazing so that
is awesome! Breakfast is awesome! I haven’t eaten goat on this trip….that I
know of! Again….I’m not asking so I
don’t know! The flavors are great but
new flavors, new foods and nerves….not a good combo. They have a good mix of
American and Haitian food.
Now for the hair….dom.dom.dom: Oh. My. Goodness! Yeah well, I should have just packed another pair
of cute shoes for the waste of space for all my ‘girly get-ready-things”. No hair dryers actually means no hair
dryers. Hum. And they don’t allow curling irons or
straightening irons either! Actually
when I laughed about the no hair dryers and then tried to make a joke about the
curling iron I was quicky told (in a non-laughing manner) that curling irons
were not allowed! With this heat and
humidity I have curls I didn’t know I have and frizz that is a conversation
starter. My poof matches the little poof
balls they put on the top of the little baby girl’s heads. Nice.
Oh well. The nannies just look at me and start yapping in Creole so
fast. I wish I knew what they were
saying. : ) (many of
you have said my hair looks nice in the pictures….first of all “Thank you”.
Secondly, I have the ability to take 500 pictures and pick the 1 that I
like. You may never see the other 499
and my poof ball. Maybe one day I will
post one just to laugh.)
Have you done anything crazy? Yes!
They have huge trucks and we rode on the back standing up and just
holding on as we drove all around town today.
We were way above the top of the cab of the truck. It was crazy.
We were holding onto the cage and standing on the seats instead of sitting
down. It was so much easier to stand
instead of sitting since the roads were so bumpy. We just had to duck for wires and branches vs
break your tailbone with all the bumps.
Those that have been in Haiti will understand. My mother would have mortified had she seen
me. I thought it was cool! On good roads we went pretty darn fast!! Some people were taking pictures…I was
holding on for my life! Haha!
My thoughts on Oberson: Just like any parent, we think he is the
cutest and smartest little guy ever. His
life (like every other orphan) is mainly lived in a nursery with a nanny. He
has a volunteer that takes him each day to the balcony for individual
time/attention for 1 hour a day. While
we are here, he is with us for 6 hours a day.
Right off the bat to say that is a change in his routine is an
understatement. We can already see how
much he has changed just in one week…..on SO many levels. Of course, in the beginning he didn’t know
us. As the hours and days have
progressed he has gotten more comfortable with us. He has also learned more
things and began to trust us more….in just days!! He is learning our voices and will turn when
he hears us call his name. He will
giggle when we chase him, laugh when we tickle him and listen (half of the
time) when we tell him No! : ) What we
have found amazing is how he has responded to one on one attention. He isn’t used to that you can tell. His time on the balcony has been free play
for the most part but with us we are working with him to do things each
day. Each time together we have worked
with a new concept/toy and it has been amazing to watch his thought
process/development as he must figure it out.
Some he enjoys more than others.
Haha! He loves balls and loves
one we brought more than anything else. He carries it in his hand all the time
and cries if he drops it or someone takes it away.
Trust:
building that trust has been hard of course. He still has bonded with me in a way he
hasn’t with Todd but again that is normal considering all of his nannies are
female. Do I think we are bonded for
life? Of course not! A bond is a person who can be trusted because
they meet a need. Then after that bond
is reinforced over time an attachment is formed. He comes to both of us now for play, comfort when
scared and for most things (bottle, hold hands, etc). But he is beginning to trust me more and
more. We experienced this yesterday for
the first time. He has fallen asleep on
us but not in the traditional way we are used to in America. He will not face us and cuddle or put a head
on a shoulder. He is not used to a
comfort hold like that. He wouldn’t let
himself relax or anyone to get that close.
Yesterday…he did! He snuggled
with me and went to sleep in my arms! It
was a big step and showed that he is really beginning to bring down those walls
and trust us on new levels.
What will happen now? On Friday we had our first of two
interviews. Monday we will go to the
Embassy and we will have our second interview sometime this coming week. The rest of the week will be filled with time
with Oberson. Our sermon today was from
none other than a good ‘ole GA boy Andy Stanley and was on worry (a video of
course). It spoke so much to me as I
have been pretty worried about leaving Oberson.
I have seen his life, I see where he spends his days and I have no
desire to leave him here. I must trust
God, trust His plan and not worry about tomorrow. I ask you to pray for us. Pray that we have a good last week together
and that God would protect Oberson’s heart.
As he begins to trust us we need to protect him as we leave. May our Lord hold him when we cannot and
protect his heart.
