Becca's New Adventure in Haiti!

This past week our circuit breaker box had problems which left us with no power for two days. No power meant no lights, no tv, no internet, no way to charge our phones, and no water. The water pump for the house is electric so there was no way to get water from the well. No water meant no bathing, no teeth brushing, no drinking, no cooking, no flushing the toilet, no washing clothes and no washing hands. The first day without power we filled up a big barrel of water with a hose from the neighbors. The second day we walked down the street to different neighbors and carried water back to the house in buckets. Yes, I did indeed carry buckets of water on my head like a Haitian. I got pretty wet.. The third day our water got fixed. I think about all the people in this world who have to walk far, sometimes miles, to manually pump their water. Then I think of all the people who live in the tent city that I can see out the school room window at the foot of the mountain. They don't even have a well. They have to rely on rainwater and a water truck that delivers water once a week. Unlimited, running water is such a luxury and something I rarely am thankful for.

Noah has had a skin problem for the past week and a half. I took him to the doctor last Tuesday. The doctor could only guess what the problem was and gave me three medications and a creme in hopes that it would fix it. It's been a week and he's still not better. I'm going to try and take him to a dermatologist in Port au Prince tomorrow. Poor little baby.

Last Wednesday Haiti had a 4.6 earthquake. It was in the evening and I wasn't sleeping yet but the shaking woke up the workers. They were scared and grabbed all the kids in their room and ran outside. Faboila said she grabbed baby SonSon by the foot and just ran with him like that because she was going so fast. After the ground stopped shaking we heard dogs barking and people in the neighborhood shouting. I'm glad that most of the kids slept through it. It sad to see how scared the workers were from such a small earthquake. I can't imagine what a reminder it must have been for them from the earthquake two years ago.

Yesterday was my birthday. It was one of the best birthdays I've had. Katie and I took the boys with us and went to a church in Port au Prince that is in English. I didn't realize how amazing church is when I can understand it! I got chills when they started singing the first song. I felt so revived afterwords. Our new friend named Grant came to church as well. He is an American and is going to live in Haiti for 3 months. He and his friend came with us to Epidor (a chain fast food resturaunt with pizza and burgers and things) after church to eat pizza with us. Katie bought us the pizza and Grant bought us cheesecake. The cheesecake was better than life itself and I have never appreciated pizza like I did that day. After Epidor we went to Pierre's house to visit with one of his American friends who lives in Haiti. They loved Jackson and Noah! The boys did SO good all day. They didn't cry once. They flirted with all the ladies in church and were perfect babies.

We got home shortly after the rest of the kids got home from church which was good. I got the BEST presents that I've ever gotten. Samantha told me that she would pray for me for my gift. When I laughed a little she said "don't laugh! That is a beautiful gift Rebecca!" I love that girl. Later on in the day she gave me 1 gourde (there are 40 gourdes in one American dollar). It was all she had. Jennifer made me a beautiful card and signed all the kids names by herself ;) She also asked Faboila for 5 gourdes to buy some cookies for me. She talked about it for a week before she actually got them. She was excited, but not more excited than me! Juliette told me she would give me five BIG hugs for my gift. Erline made me a card and wrote something in French for me. All the kids colored pictures and gave them to me. Katie made a card and all the kids signed it. Sue worked really hard to make a cake for me. She told me she had to go to 3 different stores before she found the right kind of sugar to make the frosting. I got a big kiss and many hugs from Claudeson. Peter gave me a pamphlet that he got in church about heaven and hell "so that I can read in Creole." Jackson threw up on me and all the kids said that he gave it to me for my birthday. My family and friends wrote me cards months ago and sent me to Haiti with them to open on my birthday. They made me cry. I didn't get any fancy or expensive gifts but the 1 gourde, cookies, heaven/hell pamphlet, endless cards, hugs and kisses were enough to make me the happiest birthday girl ever. Personally, I recommend having a birthday in Haiti with people you love. Even if they're sticky, stinky, crazy little people. Those crazy little people have big hearts and it's wonderful to be on the receiving end.