Hi folks.  I wrote this blog a week ago.  My internet is operating again as of this afternoon.  Oh happy day!!  I had 86 emails waiting for me.  This blog is news to you, but I will endeavour to do another soon.

Carnival in Haiti is over, now people are recuperating. Hopefully things will start opening and getting back to normal again.  I hope that by Monday, 10th, I will be able to make contact with someone in Port au Prince.  I have been without television for 3 1/2 weeks (like to use it for news); and air conditioner for 3 weeks (like to use it to cool my room down from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. as no electricity to run it after generator goes off); and internet since last Monday, 8 days ago.  Have no idea how long I will be without internet.  I made contact with businesses in PAP about two of these things and was told  “nothing will be looked at until after carnival”.  That was nine days before carnival was to start.  I contacted those in charge of my internet service on Tuesday knowing nothing would be done at that time but wanted them to know.  I was told it would be looked into.  I will be on the phone big time next Monday looking for help.  I sometimes feel like I have been let adrift on an island.  I have no idea what has been going on anywhere else in the world.  I lived like this for my first twelve years here but did not really want to go back to it.  I am greatly missing contact via internet with my family and friends.

During carnival the country shuts down.  Everything is closed – schools, banks, stores, all businesses, etc.  The Friday prior to Carnival schools have a ti fet carnival.  Schools are ‘supposed’ to close for three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  In reality, however, almost all schools are closed for the week.  Some businesses also close for the week due to employees not turning up on Thursday and Friday.  Most parents do not send students to school for one or two days.  Today, Thursday, our HATS school, IMKH, opened as per the schedule set by the government.  We were, apparently, the only school in the area that operated, and we had a turnout of 128 students out of 286.  Luckner literally ran from grade 7 to grade 8 to grade 9 as three secondary teachers did not turn up.  Knowing Friday would most likely be the same or worse we decided to allow students to stay home tomorrow.  Things will get quickly back to normal on Monday.   One more week of teaching and then the students have exams again.  Mama Karen is cracking the whip and sending the children to do a lot more studying and a lot less playing.  Will it help?  Hopefully but … I will be anxiously waiting the exam results.

While carnival was in full operation many churches in Haiti put on special events.  This gave people an option as to how to spend their three days.  Here at HATS Mama Karen spent the time with her children – playing, walking, teaching, sleep-overs, and evening devotions with every child having a drum of sorts.  My kids called it Kanaval pou Jezi.  We marched around the compound singing and making a joyful noise with our drums.

HATS children love to make music with drums

Our marching drumming band

One night the older children had a sleepover upstairs at the ‘HATS Hilton’ with Mama Karen and Ti Luc, using the tents for workteams.  (Thanks David and team for the sign.)  They really did enjoy doing this and are already asking when we can sleepover again.

Time to enter the tents and hopefully ‘sleep’

HATS Hilton not quiet up to par with other Hiltons

Morning has come. Sleepover at HATS Hilton is finished

Another night the little children had a sleep over with Mama and Ti Luc at the HATS Hilton annex – the other missionary house.  The young ones were flying high with excitement.  JJ did a good job as my assistant on both sleepovers.  He is great about getting the other children up to pee during the night hours and getting them settled back in their beds.   In the morning I found JJ sleeping mostly on the floor because Jonathan and Sandra had taken his bed during the night.  Too cute.

Little ones sleepover with Mama at HATS Hilton Annex

Jonathan chose his bed as soon as my helper JJ lay down

Sleepover finished at Hilton Annex

Both mornings after our sleepovers I walked along the canal with all the children.  The older children were a great help with the younger ones.  We had English lessons while we walked.  Sandra did a good job of pronouncing all the English words for everything we saw.

Morning walk

Heading home for breakfast

During the second sleepover at 2:15 a.m. security chief, Richard, called me.  He and Gesner were both on duty that night for which I, and they, were very thankful.  He told me there was an uninvited guest in the compound that he had found, had wounded, and was about to kill.  He thought I might like to see first.  Since I go nowhere without my camera I grabbed it and ran downstairs and found them up by my house.  There was a big snake – I mean big.  This was no black garden snake.  Yikes.  I, of course, took photos before they got rid of it.  I asked them to keep the info about the snake to themselves as it would serve no point in making my children afraid.  One of our housemothers, who has an intense fear of snakes, happened to be on duty that night and overheard us talking in the yard.  She got up in the morning and told JJ she felt sure there was a huge snake in the yard that night just outside my house.  She was about to pass on her information to the other children when I countered it by telling her and JJ that she was misinformed.  I said there was a snake, but it was not very big at all and Richard put it outside.  JJ immediately calmed down and nothing more was said.  I don’t plan on sharing this photo with the children.

Uninvited guest – stopped by security

For someone who used to be scared – no terrified – of every tiny spider and every other thing that crawled or flew I have come a long way.  I thank God for how far I have come as I had asked him to help me with that fear.  I would not have been able to live and work here if I had continued to live my life in fear.  I don’t run away from things screaming, instead I run for my camera.  I have seen a lot of tarantulas small, medium, and huge here on this compound, and a ‘very big one’ when I lived in Borel.  Theresa (who used to assist me at HATS) and I saw a couple of doozie tarantulas here at this house.  It was indeed startling and I think they could have heard Theresa’s screams at the hospital or even down in Borel early one morning.  Theresa and I saw garden snakes but never something like this.  There are three things I allow to be killed on this compound – snakes, tarantulas, and cockroaches.  Everything else is allowed to live in peace here.  I have lived here almost 19 years and I still can’t handle cockroaches.  I cannot, and will not, live in peace with those things.  I dislike cockroaches a lot more than snakes or tarantulas.  I must admit I do freeze and then move quickly in another direction when I see a cockroach.  I declare no one should have to live with things like that in their house.  No one.

Thank you for your continued support for the children, here on site with me, and all the children in our school and those in our HATS schooling program outside of IMKH.  Thank you for continuing to walk with Luckner and I, with our Canadian board, and especially for walking with all the children whose lives are being touched because of you.  It is due to your loving, caring hearts for these children that HATS can continue to help.  Thank you.