We started today off with a Sunrise walk along the canal. What a breathtaking view of the fields, trees, and homes against the mountains while the sun rose. We walked for about a year (or so it seemed), as Keith decided we should see the whole countryside. We got home just in time for morning devotions with the children. Where we sang beautiful songs, and prayed.
After that we came back into the main house for the most spectacular breakfast of oatmeal I have ever had. After breakfast we headed over to the devotion house to start painting. We spent the next few hours turning grey walls a lovely shade of blue while trying desperately hard to not get it on the floor. It was so hot by the time we finished. I (Deborah) snuck off to the office to help Karen with some paperwork to escape the heat. At this point the house smelled amazing with our lunch of spaghetti, which we all happily ate.
With the heat at 37 degrees Celsius everyone in all of Haiti was taking their siesta time. Us included. With refreshed spirits we jumped in the back of the pick up truck and headed out to Luckner’s new property where he is building an amazing house. From there we headed to the pharmacy to pick up a few items and were on a hunt for some real Coca-Cola. As we were heading in the opposite direction without any Coke the truck suddenly stopped and Karen started chatting with a street vendor who had THREE bottles of Coke left. We of course bought them and drank them while cruising down the road. One more stop for more supplies and we headed back to HATS.
When we arrived back we were just in time for a dance party! JJ put on the tunes and us Blan’s (whites) showed the kids our moves…well that didn’t last while they laughed and laughed at our lack of rhythm. We had so much fun moving around to the tunes and dancing with the kids…who had much more rhythm than us. Some people (Mike) sat and watched while snuggling Dickieson and Magdela.
When the dancing ended the basketball game started. It was very enjoyable to watch Ashley, Mike, and Nicki run around in the heat of the day against the kids while I took photos.
When the game was over we headed inside for another fantastic meal and good conversation.
The last two days have been so much fun. We have been learning kids names, and knowing which ones will attempt to braid our hair, steal our sunglasses, or just want to lean their heads on our shoulders. I am so excited to see what the next few days will bring.
~Deborah Gilbert
