Here is Dianna saying hi to her mom with help from her sister Jennifer

Samantha Singing for her American mom and sister Rolanda.

The room that is the room that Katie and I call our quiet oasis...

There's always room for more in Haiti.

Humility

I learned a good lesson in humility the other day. I've learned this lesson many times, but this was the first in a while. I had to apologize to an especially sassy 11 year old. Sometimes, I feel more like a sister to her than a mentor/teacher/authority figure. I live with her, and she gets on my nerves sometimes because she's especially good at pressing people's buttons. And I get on her nerves too. Yesterday, we were having one of those days. The more annoyed I'd get, the more she'd want to be naughty to make me more annoyed. She used her 11-year-old-ness to be annoying and I'd use my authority to get her in trouble. At one point, I got extra angry at her for something she did wrong. My reaction was not reasonable for the situation and I knew it. I could have just let her be in trouble and feel bad but instead I decided to right the wrong. I apologized and told her that I got too angry for the situation and it was wrong. She also did the right thing and said that I was forgiven. It's so humbling to apologize to a child. Maybe it comes easier for other people but not always to me. When a child disobeys all day long then I do one thing wrong, the last thing I want to do is apologize. But I know it's so important. Not always easy, but important. Sometimes it's easy to use the power we have as adults to take advantage of kids, especially ones that you know well and have daily interactions with. But they deserve the same exact respect that every other human deserves. Just because one has authority over another, doesn't mean they are"more than" and the other is "less than." All people deserve respect. It's important to step down from your position of power sometimes and apologize even when your position of power gives you the option not to. I've always believed in this but it's different when you're putting it into practice. Especially when you live with 19 rowdy children. My patience is really being tested!

Photos

Sweet, perfect Monica from Leogane 

Jennifer and Samantha braided my whole head

Marvins

Jackson loves his carrier and so do I!

Tchaly from Leogane. He came right up to me when I got there and wanted me to hold him. He definitely knows who I am. :)

Yverose

Katie passing out some toothbrushes to the girls in Leogane

Our kids eating sugar cane

My friend Junior from Leogane came to visit

cuddle time!

Who says bows are just for girls...

Awww Noah, stop being so adorable!

Me and Claudeson

Juliette and Dianna

My boys missed me after I left for a long day at the beach

Everybody

Mama, Jackson, Papa, and Noah

Their normal hangout spot

In the kitchen before bed talking to my boy

I have found myself getting really angry at times during the past few weeks. We took all the kids to the beach on Monday. Katie and I walked to go to the bathroom which was a ways away. Every group of Haitian men we passed had something to say about our bodies and the way we looked. They made comments on which one they would "take" or if we were attractive or not. They didn't know that I understood most of what they were saying as I passed by. The last group we passed was the worst and really made me angry. I should have just kept walking and ignored them but I didn't. I wasn't exactly representing Jesus in a gracious or kind way but I was mad and wanted them to know it! When I sassed back, they didn't seem to care and made even more disrespectful comments. I was furious and probably shouldn't have said anything to them but I couldn't help myself. I've seen men treat Haitain women like that as well and I despise this disrespect.

Earlier this week I went on a rant about the way that I've seen some American men treat Haitian women. The fact that someone is visiting Haiti automatically makes them "richer" and Haitians know that. It is for this reason that Americans need to be careful how they present themselves in Haiti. I don't want to abuse the automatic privilege I have that comes along with having "more". I have more opportunity, (I can leave whenever I want) I have more education (college degree) and I have more money (I paid for a plane ticket that costs more than some Haitians would make in a year). I have seen American men come to Haiti to abuse that privilege to get the attention of young, Haitian women. That's not to say that it doesn't happen with American women with Haitian men too but the few incidences that I witnessed involved American men and Haitian women. The American men got a fun time out of the attention they got from the young women and then they flew home without a second though. On the other hand, I can guarantee you that the Haitian women were hoping for more. They had hope of the security that money or a visa would bring. They weren't looking for "a good time." One situation I witnessed involved a girl who was only 17. I thought of little else for a week after I knew what was going on. I talked to some of my friends who are Haitian men about it. I wanted them to know that I did not appreciate that sort of behavior and I didn't want his behavior reflecting on me or others as Americans or Christians. I was shocked when they laughed at how seriously I was taking it. They thought that this man's behavior was acceptable. Well that just made me even more angry.

When I talked to Katie about it, she told me that she noticed me getting upset a lot in the past couple of weeks. After talking to her, we figured out that the things that were upsetting me the past couple of weeks had to do with how women are treated, especially here in Haiti. It really got me thinking that this is where my passion is. I thought a lot about how I really want to stand beside young women in Haiti. Especially those who grew up in orphanages and probably have very few strong examples to follow. I don't know what this will look like but I think I'm on to something. I really feel like God is putting this passion on my heart and I don't want to ignore it.

The longer I'm in Haiti, the more I seem to get an idea of the direction I want my life to go. It's coming along very slowly but it's coming. I wanted to learn a lot from my time here. There are many days that I feel like I'm not learning anything at all, but when I look back, I realize I really have. I guess I just wish I could have my life planned out for me and someone would just tell me exactly where I should be and what I should be doing. But it's not that easy and no one ever knows where they'll end up. But I'm getting more comfortable with the fact that things are always changing and as long as I'm learning and growing, then I'm doing okay.

It's been raining every night for the past 4 or 5 nights. The thunder keeps me awake! I believe that rainy season has arrived. It's nice because it cools things off at night. But all this rain is causing our roof to leak. Paulette and I went up on the roof yesterday to clear out the drains but the entire roof is one big puddle. The water has rotted the roof all the way to the inside and there are at least three big leaks in the house. Every morning we wake up to a new puddle on the floor from the water dripping from the ceiling. Our roof most likely won't hold up if there's an earthquake and it's made from heavy concrete. The good news is that Sue found out that she will be moving out of this house in the Summer. We're not sure of the date yet but we hope it's sooner rather than later. Pray that the construction for her new house will go fast so they can get out of this house!

Noah's skin is getting better. Slowly. We still haven't figured out what is causing it. I've started to eliminate things in his environment in case it's an allergic reaction. He's a lot better than he was at first but he still gets new spots every day. We have to wait for him to get better before we try and get him his vaccinations. So we really need him to get better!! Other than that, the boys are doing great. Jackson says "dada" now and he's getting up on all fours. They both respond to their names when I call them from across the room. I thought they didn't know who was who, but they do! It's so fun watching them grow and develop.

The other day, Katie and I went out to walk to get some things at the store. We happened to run into Frankie driving some of my friends who I knew were visiting Haiti. My friend Josh is living on the island La Gonave to do an internship with Extollo International. He had a construction team there for two weeks and I knew one of the men named Willie. I have been to Haiti with Willie once before. I was so excited to see both of them and have the chance to talk to them for a while. I didn't realize they were going to be in my neighborhood on that day so it was a nice surprise. They were at the end of their trip and staying in a hotel for their last night here so they could catch their plane the next morning. Katie and I decided to go with them for a little vacation! We were away from Sue's for less than 24 hours but it was a much needed break and felt like a longer time. The hotel we stayed at was in Carrfour. It was very nice and had a pool as well as a very nice restaurant with PIZZA. Amazing pizza. I swam in the pool even though its was getting late and was cold. I was shivering but it was so worth it.

I was rocking Peter to sleep tonight but there was mostly talking and little sleeping. That was OK with me. He always has a lot to say and I love that time with him because he's so sweet and mellow. Tonight I was telling him that I'll have to tell his new teachers to tell him to focus during school. I always tell my kids that and they get so mad that we had to figure out code words because they got sick of hearing me say "focus!!" so much. We started talking about his new teachers and he said "you aren't going to be here again? I'm getting a new teacher?" I said "yeah, after I leave in May you are going to get two new teachers. I'm going back to the U.S." He replied "but you said you want to stay in Haiti! You said you love Haiti." I almost cried thinking about how much I'm going to miss all these little kids. Oh Haiti, how will I ever keep myself away!!!

Video Messages to Parents

Peter's message to his mom! He recited his St. Patrick's day poem for you.

Samantha for her mom

Jennifer telling Francis what her favorite color is

Juliette singing for her sister Gracie

SonSon for his mom "Bonjou! Good morning mom! I have a party today, we have chico at it and then I had rice and beans. Goodbye!" 

Jennifer's message to her mom

First it was Johnnie boy, he now insists on being called Johnnies

Michaelle's message to her mom "Good morning mom, we had a party today. I love you! Thank you for the doll you gave me. Goodbye!"

On St. Patrick's day, Katie and I had a party for the kids. Katie found a poem for the five school kids to recite for everyone. Erline recited a poem in Creole for everone too. The six performers dressed up in green for the occasion and took it very seriously. I love that. Katie and I made juice, bought chico (Haitian cheetos, remember?) and had candy bracelets for everyone. Katie also did a cute craft with all the kids. We had bubbles and put green food dye in them to make green bubbles. It was a good day for a party and the kids were really well behaved. Sorry about the yelling in the video. The kids were well behaved and quiet but the two adults there kept talking through the whole poem! Oh well.

A woman named Cristy is here from Portugal to visit for a week. She is a really great lady. She has traveled all over the world and had a great spirit. There have been some really great people who have come to stay with Sue and I'm lucky to have met all of them. I fell like the timing of each person who came to visit was perfect. They each had something to teach me that was exactly what I needed at that time. It's amazing how that works out. Thank you Pastor Bill, Shannon, Collin, Serena, Mary, Cristy, Bob, and Grant! 

I took Noah to the dermatologist in PAP on Tuesday. I was very disappointed because she just told me pretty much the same thing as the other doctor. They say it's infected bug bites on his body and an allergic reaction on his face but I don't believe it. He's never had bug bites that look like this. I am going to keep using the prescription lotion and anti allergy medicine though. Today, he looks better than he did before so I'm praying that it's healing. On top of that, we've still been having kids with really high fevers. We can't figure out what that is either. They'll get really high fevers in the afternoon and then once their fever breaks, they're fine until the next afternoon or night. It's been about the same cycle for so many kids in the house. Today it was Marvins. His temp had to be 104. I stuck him in the bath because I didn't want to waste time taking his temperature. Sue commented that she thinks we haven't gone a day without at least one sick kid in the house for months. It's no fun! But I guess that's what we get for having 19 kids. I'm so thankful that I get to be here to rock a feverish kid or put lotion on cracked skin. It almost brings me to tears every time I'm holding a sick kid to think about all the kids in Haiti who don't have someone to love and care for them when they're not feeling well.

Yesterday, when everyone was in their beds, Peter called me over to give me a belated birthday card. I am happy to say that he had perfect handwriting and spelled everything correctly with no help! Yay for smart students!

Speaking of students, my kids just graduated to the second grade books. We're discovering that second grade is much harder than first! They finished their math books a few weeks before they got their second grade books and we've become rusty on the basics like addition and subtraction. Does anyone know about math wrap-ups? They're a tool to help kids learn to memorize their math facts. I used them in school when I was younger. Since buying them isn't really an option, I cheated and made some out of left over cardboard from the corn flakes boxes.  Oh, to be a teacher in Haiti.

I didn't mention before but the boys are 6 months old as of a few days ago. Where has time gone??? I gave them bananas for the first time today. They weren't stoked.

Other than that, nothing is new here!

Prayer requests:
-Marvins to settle down
-Noah's skin
-Haitian Government
- Generator/circuit breaker/battery problems to not happen again
-For me to have patience with the kids

Videos

Happy birthday!

 

There were ten in the bed!

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.

SonSon in his party hat on my birthday

Passing out party hats

Scheelanda and I ready to eat supper and cake

Me, Noah and crazy Claudeson

Blowing out all 23 candles

My card from Jennifer

Excited for cookies from Jennifer

Samantha, me and Michaelle hanging out in the kitchen

My birthday hair courtesy of Jennifer, Erline and Samantha

Noah and Jackson

Noah and Jackson

Peter and SonSon in school

Paulette is in the back and Faboila is in the front

Photos

Tomato plants from our new garden

Peter and SonSon watering our little garden

SonSon playing in the water

Me and Michaelle being goofy

Jean, Bebej, Diana, Scheelanda, Francesca

Peter, me and Michaelle in our classroom

Katie, Claudeson, Jennifer, and Samantha in their classroom

Joshua

Jackson, SonSon, Noah, Joshua

back row: Betchina, Mislanda, Marvins, Juliette, Erline
front row: Scheelanda, Bebej, Diana, Jean, Francisca

Claudeson picked some flowers for me 

we always end up a mess