Well, may I say that at this point I could really deal with some time off. In fact, I took some already- yesterday. Went to the beach and sat. Looked at the beach and thought about the beach and listened to the beach and read a book by the beach. It was a wonderfully simple day.
I'm having hard time gathering my thoughts, probably because I ran out of time to sort them like a week ago, so you'll have to forgive me for these few random details on a lifestyle too eccentric to be anything other than mine. Whatever God was thinking, He sure had no trouble giving me a taste of the irony of life in America and my early travels, but He's taking it to another level now- from irony to cruel irony, or something resembling it.
We just got a donation of a large bag of animal crackers, so I finally know what our Christmas family treat will be.
We have flees in the internet room...again.
Only one of six baby chicks has survived the first few weeks of life. I have no idea how to rpotect them.
I have to clean everything. Somehow it all got dirty while I was preoccupied with...um, everything else.
I learned how to drive in Port au Prince today. Thought I had or was going to die several times, but somehow those trucks missed me by a few divine centimeters.
School is out for Christmas, which means that kids will stop spelling my name wrong when they write it with discarded chalk on my front door.
We have a new sewing machine, so there's one more thing I don't know how to do that I'll learn by causing various physical injuries and trying it different next time.
One of our goats finally gave birth. I didn't know baby goats were so cute. He's a little guy with fluffy white fur. Closest thing I'll have to a snowball this winter, so I'm resisting the urge to throw him.
Love.
-C
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Nonsense of Haiti
Yesterday, right here in our province of Archaia, something completely useless and desperately tragic happened. We all know how important food is to these people, who have to search and scrape for every morsel. To parents it's even more of a life-and-death endeavor to feed their kids.
In a school about a 20 minutes' drive from Carries, a woman had two sons whose food she gave them was being taken and eaten every day by a group of other boys, who by the way didn't have any food for themselves. Instead of getting angry when she learned of it, the woman just got evil. She didn't speak with the school directors or teachers or simply bring it to their attention even once. Rather, she saved up a few bucks and bought some poison, put it in the food and sent it with her boys to school. And by the end of the school day yesterday, five boys were dead. Five boys. They not in trouble or apologizing. They're gone. The school was not told until afterward what had been happening.
These are the kind of hopeless things that happen every day in this place. It seems so often that people don't think, they just react. They don't consider consequences. Their actions are almost always simply selfish and self-serving.
Now, of course, there are splendid exceptions to that. There are people with hope in this country. But in the shadow of a towering wave of enemy attacks in the form of deceit and selfishness, hope seems like only a ripple.
Then again, that IS how God does his business, isn't it? He makes ripples into waves- earth-crushing, overcoming, immovable waves. And it's our prayer and expectation that He does just that.
In a school about a 20 minutes' drive from Carries, a woman had two sons whose food she gave them was being taken and eaten every day by a group of other boys, who by the way didn't have any food for themselves. Instead of getting angry when she learned of it, the woman just got evil. She didn't speak with the school directors or teachers or simply bring it to their attention even once. Rather, she saved up a few bucks and bought some poison, put it in the food and sent it with her boys to school. And by the end of the school day yesterday, five boys were dead. Five boys. They not in trouble or apologizing. They're gone. The school was not told until afterward what had been happening.
These are the kind of hopeless things that happen every day in this place. It seems so often that people don't think, they just react. They don't consider consequences. Their actions are almost always simply selfish and self-serving.
Now, of course, there are splendid exceptions to that. There are people with hope in this country. But in the shadow of a towering wave of enemy attacks in the form of deceit and selfishness, hope seems like only a ripple.
Then again, that IS how God does his business, isn't it? He makes ripples into waves- earth-crushing, overcoming, immovable waves. And it's our prayer and expectation that He does just that.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Busy Days in Haiti
Can I be honest and say that I'd rather be Haiti busy than in-the-States-for-Christmas busy. I have no problem with spending my Christmas here without the shopping (I hate shopping), and the cold (I hate being cold) and the ice (I hate falling in the ice).
Last year I lost count of how many times I fell in the snow or ice. The funniest of them was worthy of a Funniest Videos prize (let's be honest- it doesn't take much to be on Funniest Videos). I was walking to the car when my brother picked me up from work and right about the time I was passing the side view mirror, CRASH! Yep, that's me. My brother said he heard the squeak of my fingers trying to grip the hood as I went down. I was there one moment, gone the next. No fun. And I don't miss it.
I wouldn't mind being around for the birth of my first niece, though, which is happening a week from today. My big family isn't too thrilled about me missing it either. It WILL be a bit different, but wouldn't give this up.
Besides, I kind of like the idea of taking a walk along the beach on Christmas day. Better than losing feeling in my digits when I walk out to the car.
More soon.
-C
P.S. I finally realized that it was nearing Christmas the other day when the sun set and it got so cool that I almost and to put on a long sleeve shirt! Whew, that was close.
Last year I lost count of how many times I fell in the snow or ice. The funniest of them was worthy of a Funniest Videos prize (let's be honest- it doesn't take much to be on Funniest Videos). I was walking to the car when my brother picked me up from work and right about the time I was passing the side view mirror, CRASH! Yep, that's me. My brother said he heard the squeak of my fingers trying to grip the hood as I went down. I was there one moment, gone the next. No fun. And I don't miss it.
I wouldn't mind being around for the birth of my first niece, though, which is happening a week from today. My big family isn't too thrilled about me missing it either. It WILL be a bit different, but wouldn't give this up.
Besides, I kind of like the idea of taking a walk along the beach on Christmas day. Better than losing feeling in my digits when I walk out to the car.
More soon.
-C
P.S. I finally realized that it was nearing Christmas the other day when the sun set and it got so cool that I almost and to put on a long sleeve shirt! Whew, that was close.
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