Rescued?
Today started with a lot of listening to God and not many plans which is just the way He likes it. Started the day with a hot cup of coffee, pancakes and Haitian bananas which Patty says are the only “real bananas” around! The children at New Life School are going through final testing this week, so they are done with school each day about noon time. The morning was spent with the handicap children getting to know them better. Most of these children are very interactive and speak some English. We shared coloring time with them and they use larger style crayons that are easier for them to hold. Once school let out, Patty was off to continue interviewing for the sponsorship program, Joan went to try flying a kite and a try her hand at a little catch and I was off to experience English levels through matching sight word and letter games. Of course, with every right match a piece of candy was rewarded. Before I knew it, there was a swarm of interested children. Joan finished up her morning refereeing a challenging game of dominoes. They certainly take their dominoes seriously!
A quick brake to rehydrate and we were off with Miriam to visit a new orphanage and evaluate their readiness to take care of children. A woman who met Miriam on one of her trips through the Miami Airport had contacted her as she was concerned she had been donating and giving of her time to an orphanage since the quake and had recently felt the charitable donations might not be getting used correctly. So it was off to this orphanage of 8 miles away. Unfortunately, it took one hour to get there. Bumper to bumper traffic and many large potholes later, we arrived and were greeted by many smiling faces of beautiful children. The conditions were very poor as we toured. Dirty kitchen and eating areas, no toys to play with and lots of dirty laundry. Only one seventeen year old girl was taking care of 19 kids, not only caring for the children but cooking and doing all the laundry. We just wanted to load up the truck with as many children as we could and take them back to Miriam’s. Of course, that was not possible, but we did bring the donor back with us to let her see how New Life 4 Kids is run and World Harvest Missions hope to help them in the near future.
Upon returning, there was a little bit of time for Joan to teach some additional youth the skill of catching and we were off to dinner. Each night, as we enter the eating area, there is a large sign that says “remove your shoes”. So as in past nights, we continued with this ritual. Unfortunately the dogs decided to have a little fun while we were eating and used one of my sandals as a chew toy! So much for that brand new pair of Crocs. Good thing I packed another. I rewarded this behavior with a good belly scratch. You know me, the dog lover! Another awesome dinner shared with many guests staying with us tonight. The evening ended on a beautiful note with a team coming to New Life bringing six new wheels chairs for the handicap children that are desperately needed. Thank you God for your guidance, patience and love today.
Renee
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