Sun and Sand

Today was the best.  My morning was slow, and then about 10:30 Gertrude, Denise, and I headed out to Wahoo Bay Beach Resort.  It’s a gorgeous resort about an hour north of Port-au-Prince.  We found a spot under an umbrella right near the water, ordered lunch, and then dived into the water.  Refreshing.  And clear.  At least 12 feet deep, and I could see the sand at the bottom.  If Haiti every gets its act together, it could make tons of money on tourism. 

            Lunch consisted of a regular old hamburger and fries.  And a Diet Coke.  An American Diet Coke, which is different from the Coke Lite that sells in the grocery stores.  I spent my afternoon people watching, cooling off in the water, and reading.  Even with how busy I have been, I have found more time to read than I normally do during the school year.  I love it!  The down side is that I’m running out of books.

Relaxing on the beach.

Great View!

One of the many bars.  No Super Bowl coverage--just soccer.

            The variety of people at the resort interested me.  Lots of U.N. off-duty U.N. soldiers, families (some Haitian, some American, and some “mixed” in terms of adoptions), a group of orphans with a visiting mission team, and then just random folks like us.  Multiple languages were spoken.  It was pretty cool.

            Tomorrow I am going to go out with a couple of people from the MO mission team as they finish up some of their work before heading up to Arcaia.  We will stop in at the tent city where they sponsor children to go to school, run its director over to the university, and then finish the Apparent Project.  I want to meet both the women who run these places because I think there is a lot that I can learn from them.

            I read my second letter from my church this morning.  Thank you Don and Laurie for the words of encouragement.  The words you wrote “new challenges for mind, body and spirit” hit home for me.  I have certainly been challenged in my mind.  Some days I feel like a first-year teacher again reading up on interventions the night before I try them with the kids.  My mind is continually challenged as I struggle to communicate in Creole.  My body is facing the challenges of being on my knees so often working with the different kids.  The knees and hips have hurt lately due to all the up and down on the floor.  My wrists hurt a couple of days from the massaging.  I have a whole new respect for all physical therapists because they are working physically hard when working on their patients. 

            And the spirit is constantly challenged.  The days that I haven’t made the time to read Scripture have been the hardest because those are the days that doubts assail me.  It is so easy to be daunted by the seemingly insurmountable challenges here.  Knowing that God is with me every step of the way sustains me.  Knowing that friends and family walk with me helps tremendously.  It makes me feel less alone.  And it is easy to feel alone here. 

            So Don and Laurie, thank you for helping me to put into words how on so many fronts I am faced with challenges but that I am not expected to face any of those challenges alone.