Weekend Report written Sunday Night

After the fun Saturday at school we came home and started working on the pool. Thank you to Rusty and Cheryl from the Bercy Orphanage for bringing down the pump and parts we needed to start getting things figured out. We really hope this will help our boys (and girls) burn some energy. We’ve missed our wide open spaces but this might be our ticket to using excess spazziness up in a healthy and fun way. We’ve never been pool people so we have no stinkin idea what we’re doing … but as long as we avoid chemical burns we figure it can be called a success. Hopefully by a week from now the pool will be open for business. Paige and Isaac and Noah insisted upon jumping in today sans chemical treatment – here are a few photos of the inaugural swim.

We had the pleasure of meeting two cool ladies headed to Les Cayes. We picked them up from the big airport, brought them to church, had lunch, then deposited them for their flight south to Les Cayes. They work with a ministry called HUT Outreach. They were headed down to check out storm damage. I neglected to mention that the south portion of the island has also suffered damage and loss. Heidi and Amy are pictured below. It was fun meeting them! We kidded them that we would put up some super holy sounding report about our time together … try to out-missionary other missionary bloggers … but we just cannot make ourselves do it. We're bad at missionary language.

This afternoon we (by we I mean I) painted the area where snotty nosed kids rub their hands on the walls and make them look horrid on their way upstairs. It looks super funky and we like it.

Jeronne is nervous for literacy class and says that she “hopes God will help her” because she has “a hard head”. We assured her that her head is no harder than the rest of us. She will attend class M – W – F for two hours for the next three months. We’re anxious for her to have some confidence and we know that reading and writing are the first step. (As I am posting this she is down in her first class now!)

Isaac and Annie’s birth family is going through a tough time and called for help. If you have been reading for long you will recall that we adopted from Haiti to avoid being involved with a birth family. Isn’t God hilarious? We have been convicted otherwise on this issue and personally believe that if we have the ability to help them, we should. We’ve been blessed to know them – in spite of some difficult things it has turned out to be a very good thing for Isaac, for us, and for them. For those of you adopting, we strongly urge you to consider meeting your birth family – and if you are uncomfortable with that please be gracious and allow them photos of their children. Sorry to editorialize about this fairly “personal” decision - but I have seen so much hurt - and feel strongly that a birth-mother deserves to know what her child looks like and be assured they are well! I know if we all put ourselves in their shoes we might find more compassion for their difficult lives and the very hard decisions they had to make.

John McHoul is a bad influence and is rallying his people to vote yes on the motorcycle. When I got to church late today I leaned over and told him that I was sorry to be late but I had killed a motorcycle driver on the way to church. That is a sick kind of funny, but it made John snort – so I guess he likes that kind of funny. Say “No!” to young fathers and motorcycles – right!?!?!? Yes, thank you. To get serious for a moment -- I fear losing my husband. I love him. I want him around. I like NOT raising kids alone. I fear motorcycles. I do not want him to ever ride one as a regular form of transportation -- especially not here and especially not now. :(

We don’t want to get all big headed and cocky – but let us just go out on a limb and say that THIS is the week we will get Internet.More when the Internet guy shows up! Have a great week.