Busy Day

As I didn't get much / any sleep at Fort Lauderdale airport last night as was dragging a bit today. The good news is that all my bags made it and I was the first one out of customs. It goes quicker with a single person as opposed to a group. A quick trip to Natcom to pick up a phone sim and out the door to meet Pastor Ronel. Quickest trip through PaP's airport I ever had. From there to the guest house and most of the plan for he day was accomplished.

I chatted with the Pastor a bit and found out he already had one person in mind for the mentor position. Her name is Stephanie and she was raised in an orphanage. She has since studied psychology at university and has been already volunteering at the orphanage, working with the kids on socialization skills. The Pastor and I spent some talking with Stephanie making sure she understood what we were after and the requirements like reporting on the student progress. It seems like a good fit and I am excited to see what comes of it. 

For most of the day I hung around the with the kids.  The orphanage  dounless as a sort of community center and everyone was busy getting the place ready for a wedding and / or a wedding reception; he neatly I am not sure which. The work was being mostly done by adults who were friends of the wedding party, but occasionally the kids were call into action to carry some chairs. 

The kids were helping me with my Haitian Creole pronunciation, which is still quite horrible. Really need someone to practice with back at home. I feel like I am the speaking level of a toddler. 

When the Pastor was done with his morning meetings, and after we talked with Stephanie, the Pastor took me on a tour of the new property. The purpose of this property is to house some of the older kids so that they can start to live independently while still having a bit of a safety net. The property also will be use to raise chickens/eggs, a garden, and perhaps some fish. The building itself still needs a lot of work so if you want to led a construction crew to PaP for a week or two let me, I bet something can be worked out and there is plenty to do.

After  the tour I spent some more time with the kids  I brought my old iPhone 4 that I loaded with games. This seems to be a hit. In the afternoon I was feeling quite tired and ended up going back to the guest house for a quick nap, followed by putting some jelly beans in some plastic eggs for the kids. It is unclear to me if the kids will understand the tradition and I may have to explain the concept of a rabbit delivering chicken eggs.  It is all a bit weird. At least it isn't a Bilbi like is it in Australia. 

Tomorrow is Easter so I am looking forward to seeing how Easter is celebrated here in Haiti. I hear it is about eating fish, no meat. I do expect a long service tomorrow, but I also know that I will get to see some friends I have seen in a year. 

Tonight I give a prayer of thanks for a safe journey and the good news of all that happened and was seen today. I pray for continued grace and protection of my family, who I miss; and I pray for a glorious Easter tomorrow. Enjoy you Easter everyone. Amen.