Back in Haiti
By the time I actually get to post this (we have been having some internet issues) we will have probably been back in Haiti for 5 days. Life here is so different than life in America and for so many different reasons. In the short time we have been back it seems like we have already spoken to more people, had more people over to our house, and spent more time with non family members than we did for the 2 months we were in America. I know that is an exaggeration, but that really is how it feels here. It’s a lot hotter at night here, the water is a lot colder, and neither a Target nor a Walmart was built while we were gone. We have already gotten to spend some time with Ezekyal and we are trying as hard as we can to move forward with guardianship and then hopefully his adoption but we have run into some issues that we are trying to resolve.
Most of you who are reading this are probably wondering about the kids. They are doing great! Herbison and Kervinson can drive now. In fact, Herbison came to do the trash the other day, and he informed me that he no longer needs me or Lener to come with him because he has been driving by himself. I was both proud and scared. The kids have been taking English classes from one of our tutors, Mackenson, and some of them seem to be doing really well. I was informed by all of the girls that Herbison is the best at English followed by Son Son, Zalex, Woodly and Dada. We hope to continue teaching them so that they can add this valuable skill to their resume. We are also getting ready for school, and almost all of our kids are at Christianville for the first time this year! That means that Apolon, Tony, and Misthafa have caught up enough that they were accepted into Christianville for the first time this year. Christianville is known as one of the better schools in the area and we are thrilled that 23 of the 29 kids who attend school through ATN will be at Christianville this year. We also did our annual shoe shopping trip, so be on the lookout tomorrow for a blog about that experience. I feel like I learn a lot about our kids on these trips when I see them bartering and waiting patiently for the shoes they want. It should be an interesting blog.
Finally, some of you have shown quite a bit of interest in some of the job creation avenues we have been exploring. In the next few days we are going to begin having some of our older boys go into the local markets with a “portable phone charging station” to see if they are able to make some money by charging cell phones. The idea came from the fact that while 63% of Haitians have cell phones, only about 13% have consistent electricity. While there are remote charging stations everywhere, we are going to try to be the people who will come to you to charge your phone. There is a little more to it, but we are using this trip as a data gathering exercise to see what type of potential there might be for some of our kids. Stay tuned. There are other job creation ideas flowing right now as well, and one in particular that I am very excited about and I will share it with you as it begins to progress. We have a test case that will be starting in the next week or so, and this could be another way for us to create jobs for our kids and for others as well. Needless to say that our first few days have been eventful, and we are excited to see what the next couple of months hold. Please continue to be in prayer for us as we move forward with Ezekyal and stay tuned for more updates to come!