2 Months in Haiti
Two months in Haiti… it actually feels like we have been here much longer! We can hardly remember what it’s like to walk into a grocery store, or a restaurant, or what it’s like to take a hot shower or bath. Ryan has ventured out on some trips to the nearby cities to do errands or to pick up our mail and packages. But, our children have not left this isolated little village in the middle of the mountains. The younger children don’t believe us when we tell them that Haiti has some large cities, too!
Even though we feel like we have settled in here somewhat, we also are longing to get even more settled. We regularly walk down to the future boys home to see the process on the building – it is looking so beautiful! The masons are building an amazing stone wall all around the property, and the house is painted in vibrant colors! When the house is finished, we plan to move down there and work on making it into a welcoming home – ready for the grown boys to use sometime in the future. For now, we are living (and homeschooling) out of suitcases in this rental house. It is a challenge, but we are so blessed to have many people helping and caring for us!
Last week, we met our closest missionary neighbors. Our children were thrilled to meet their children, and to play with all of their toys and bikes! These new friends have blessed us so much with their company, and by giving us many tips and suggestions on how to shop for food and cook in Haiti – especially when we crave certain foods from America!
Preparing food in Haiti is a time-consuming process. We are so thankful to have a sweet woman who comes to our home many days to help us with cooking and laundry. When she is not here, it takes a long time to plan and make the food for our family! We don’t always have fresh meat to cook, but we have plenty of canned meats and refrigerated sausages. With some planning and creativity, we can make great pretty great meals with those ingredients.
Each weekday, Ryan leaves right after breakfast to spend his day at the St. Mother Theresa Medical Clinic. He is serving as the administrator there, and his goal is to help the clinic to run more smoothly, and to grow in its ability to serve the medical needs of this remote area. The kids and I stay home and work on homeschooling and cooking during the days. In the afternoon, we often walk down to the orphanage to play with the children there. We usually have to take our little children home to get ready for bed, and then a few of us can go back for nightly chapel at the orphanage.