09.15.12
“Rest in me my child...” This was the first line of my devo this am and it was just so perfect. Perfect timing, perfect words, perfect peace. I feel like before I came down to COTP I was just so eager to get down here and to dive right in. Especially into the nursing world. That has not been the case at all. I can sit back and see where I want to fit, where I know I could lighten the load, where I know God is calling me...but there are multiple things holding me back at this point. Some of them I can put my finger on, other reasons I can’t. So as I struggle to find the balance and the answer, I find comfort in Jesus’ call to me for rest. The transition alone has been overwhelming enough. This just grants me the permission I need right now to just be...to just be with Jesus! Maybe I wasn’t called here to just hit the ground running...maybe I was called to first rest in HIM, to find my need for HIM, to further establish my trust in HIM and to find myself in HIS heart and bask in HIS peace. And I pray that in time the Lord, in this period of disco very, revelation, and rest will begin to reveal his will to me and HIS plan.
I was up early this morning with Toby. It was kind of inevitable really. About 4 the dump trucks started going-there are dozens that travel back and forth on the road by our place every day taking loads of rocks from the nearby quarry to the airport to finish the runway-the dogs started barking not long after this, the roosters crowing and our bed started shifting and squeaking as Rob and I adjusted and attempted to continue our sleep despite the noise. I think Toby did make it until like 5/5:15...but then we got up and came out to just hang out this morning. It is kind of nice b/c it really does take me a little while to wake up and so Toby just roams around and plays and explores and I can just kind of sit for a little bit and not have to talk or think much.
I knew that I still wasn’t very awake when Toby came walking up to me with a baggies of what looked like squished cupcakes. I had no idea where they came from, but I assumed that the LOVELY ladies next door were the secret cooks behind these goodies. What do you do when you find brownies at 6 am in the morning when you live in Haiti? You eat them for sure! So Toby and I did just that! It was fun and I wished for a minute that he was older to realize and acknowledge the splurge and pure excitement that was occurring at this moment. I could picture the girls’ reacting to being told they could eat brownies for breakfast...Toby was excited, don’t get me wrong...just different :)
Not long after we ate the brownie, we headed outside. I then discovered more brownies-for the rest of the family-and a little note they had left as well. It took until Gracie woke up to realize that they had also spelled out the first letter of all of our names with little chocolate candies on each indivdual brownie. SO THOUGHTFUL AND SWEET! Yay, for living in community!
Toby quickly moved on from the brownie when he discovered 2 different bugs crawling close to each other. It was so entertaining to watch him push them around and just “talk” to them and make noises of excitement and curiosity. I video taped him it was so funny! (can’t upload it with this slow internet though :( After a while I stopped watching him so closely b/c I was doing my devo and still waking up ;) Pretty soon though he came walking over to me spitting and pulling on his tongue. “What do you have in there buddy?” Oh, no...oh, man...you ate the bug didn’t you...oh, boy. It was gross...there is no other way around it. I could see the crunched up wings, pieces of the bugs legs in his mouth. EWWWWW!
Soon, everyone was waking up and getting going for the day. I was extra excited b/c I knew that the ladies were heading to the DR today for our first grocery run and trip across the border! I was thrilled about the opportunity to get even more of a variety of groceries than we have even been able to find in Cap and stock up on a few items that are essentials (aka yogurt, milk, cheese).
For sake of not having to type out the details I am going to share my dear friend Christina’s account of the trip with you and interject a few of my own details and thoughts as well. Thanks, Christina for your gift of writing and remembering so many of the details that I may not have :)
Erin, Nikki and I grabbed our shopping bags and squeezed into the cab of the small pick-up with the woman who needed to go the DR. Rikerns drove. Driving in Haiti feels very little like driving in the states. The dirt roads are so filled with potholes and rough rock that “keeping to the right” has no meaning. The bumping and jostling causes your sweaty skin to rub and chafe against whoever you sit next to and those with propensity toward motion sickness are just in trouble. Of course this is the description for riding up front. Riding in back of any vehicle is another story entirely, and I haven't even come close to riding Haitian style in a crowded tap-tap or moto.
There is a good paved road most of the way to the DR, so after riding on rough rural ones, the smooth surface is a treat. Though the speed limit sign indicates 50 kph Rikerns drives at speeds well above and below the limit, using the horn to communicate his presence and intention. The road is shared with numerous vehicles, animals, and people. Motos (motorcycles) bearing anything from a twin size mattress to a family of 5 with bags and packages stuffed between, speed along the outermost part of the lane and we honk to inform them of our advance. There are a few other pick-ups or four wheel drive vehicles, many of them not-for-profit labeled, but some by working Haitians or the wealthy. Interspersed are larger dump truck which rule the road and proclaim their dominance with loud honks. Then there are the tap-taps. These vehicles are usually pick-ups outfitted with a cab and metal railings in which 12-20 people stuff themselves. Sometimes the roofs are also covered with items or additional people. A guy in the back acts as bouncer and fare collector, monitoring who gets on or off.
On the roadsides people ride or drive donkeys and horses with heavy loads. Women sit sideways in woven saddles with woven bags filled with market goods.
We were stopped by Haitian police, twice, doing road-sides checks. They requested our passports, spoke with Rikerns inquiring of our business and allowed us to pass.
Rikerns whizzed in and out of our lane, slowing for speed bumps and children, speeding up in the clearing while acrid smoke burned in my nose from intermittent ditch fires. The land changes from tropical to semi-arid and back again during the drive and the wind in my face and sun on my arm feel comfortable despite the stickiness inside the cab of the pickup.
We arrived at the border around noon. The crossing consisted off a short bridge with a Haitian gate on one end and a Domican Republic gate on the other. No one talked to us or asked for identification. We simply walked across with others. Some guards were busy spraying off tires of vehicles crossing, in an attempt to limit the spread of Cholera, which has not yet reached the DR.
I have just begun to form sentences and thoughts in Creole, but as we crossed the border everything became Spanish. My brain ached as I tried to bring up a simple “hello” in Spanish. As if in gridlock the only foreign words I could form were Creole! I could understand some of the speech but was helpless to respond.
(I just let Nikki and Christina do all of talking...my head couldn’t think in any language and I was taken in by all of the sites around us. I found it interesting that as we waited for the woman returning to the DR we stood by the side of the road. It took no time at all for a man to force us into the shade and not allow us to stand in the sun and also for him to offer us a chair. Nikki told us that it is not ok to just stand in the sun, nor is it ok for you not to accept a chair if you are being offered one. So we sat in the shade with a group of about 5-6 other DR men and waited.
Once the woman caught up to us we headed to the Texaco station for lunch. It is still funny to me that we were so excited to eat at the Texaco. Back home I think that would bring laughs to many and no sense of excitement at all! But it was exciting and it was good-once the food came! We were grateful to have the woman with us who spoke fluent spanish and could help us communicate with the waiter and translate what was available on the menu! I had the chicked fajitas...I have been missing veggies so much and while I wish there would have been more in the meal-it was REALLY GOOD!)
We walked a few blocks further to reach the supermarket. In this town the roads were paved on every street. There were gutters to take waste water and little trash littered the road. Little storefronts lined the streets with quite modern looking items within. The supermarket itself was clean and orderly, like a small version of what you might find in the States. Pricing seemed to vary depending on availability. A small bag of oats was about $6 USD and a box of Cheerios was just over $5. I left the Cheerios in favor of a local box of cornflakes for $2 and splurged on a small tin of olive oil for $7. Local items were better priced such as a local variety of pop for $1 for a 3 litre as was a small bottle of lime juice for the same price. I was also able to buy a large ball of Dutch cheese for $8, which I will split with the Vande Lune's.
(Before we left the store i had one of my lower moments in our time here. As many of you know, I have been battling the Big D...it had been getting a lot better but I think the meal I just ate did me in a little. So I went to use the bathroom before we left, considering it was a long drive home...man, not sure if I should tell this story or not. Let’s just say that as I went in I knew I had no choice...I had to go. There was no toilet paper, no paper towels and no hand soap. This was my first moment, and it was even in a bathroom with a flushable toilet! where I felt the need to be creative and that i felt stuck in my situation. Let’s just end this part with the fact that I was THRILLED that Christina had hand sanitizer in her purse.)
We left the store with heavy bags, hailed a modified moto to load up the groceries on. Nikki rode with the moto and our groceries where she'd meet up with Rikerns to load them up, and Erin and I walked back the border crossing to meet her, enduring cat calls and hissing as we walked.
All in all, it took us 5 hours and $300 to drive to the border, have lunch, get groceries, and return home. Things that are easy and inexpensive at home are not so easy or inexpensive here. Of course, adapting to local foods and tastes will be far less expensive, but I guess we take this one step at a time.
I loved getting back home. Addy came running over, like she had been waiting for me all day to come back! She was so helpful in getting the bags and the groceries upstairs. I also was able to wave hello to KJ from the balcony and I loved the look on her face. It was kind of like the, wow, she took time to wave just at me and she is back home kind of wave. I loved it! She was playing down on the playground with Gracie and Brooke, they looked like they were having SO much fun with a few kiddos :)
I love these moments that my girls get to share together! There are not a ton of kids their age and the ones that are here are mostly boys...I love that they have each other. Some days it is rough and ugly....but I still love that they have each other!
We also got to end the day with an attempted FaceTime with my parents! Toby was the most entertaining to watch...he got so excited to see them and would just say “Pop...Pop!” and then when it would freeze and the call would drop he had the most concerned look on his face and would just say, “Uh-oh!” and put his hands out like “What just happened?” It was precious to watch! We are praying for our internet supplies to arrive soon...Join us in praying for this if you would!
We ended our evening with spaghetti and garlic bread with the VP’s. Wow, just goes to show you really can pack a lot into one day!
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