The Food is soooo Delicious!

This fresh Haitian air gave us such a good night’s sleep that we almost missed breakfast, and that is not something to be missed at HATS! Everything is delicious…especially the mangos and melons! After breakfast we prayed with the children before they left for school and then Karen gave Mike and me the job of seeing the kids off to school through the gate.

Kids heading to gate to go to school

Well, I think we almost got fired from our jobs here this morning. I mean, it seemed like a simple task…send the older kids off to school and keep the younger kids home. However, when Markenson tried to get through the gate we pulled him back along with Sonson. I mean, he is very tiny after all! He tried to resist, but we insisted.

Markenson running behind other students. Sonson chasing him They look like escapees

Mike bringing Markenson back. Not allowing hime to go to school

When Karen saw Markenson with us she asked him in Creole why he wasn’t in school. Well, poor kid, he just looked at us. So, we got to take him back to school. Lucky for us we got to experience morning devotions at the school. Wow! 450 or so kids and teachers singing (loudly and beautifully!) and clapping in perfect rhythm and then lining up for the flag raising. What a beautiful sight!

School devotions. Mike and Nicki’s first experience with 450 students

The Haitian flag is being raised at the school

Then it was off to St. Marc for our first exciting shopping experience. We went to the market, a couple of pharmacies, a grocery store and the bank. We were thankful to have Ronald, the security guard, with us when we passed a police take-down as we walked through the market. Traffic was crazy again, but Keith proved to be an expert driver and navigated past motorcycles and tap-tap (local taxis).