To March: Goodbye.

It's been a rough day here. It was just one of those uncomfortable, wish I was elsewhere, not so-good-days.

Oh. Hi! It's me your friend. You know, the broken record.

Blah.

I played a game early on that is now backfiring. I said things like, "the kids don't need summer clothes because by the time it warms up here we will be home." And, "The kids should not enter into school here because by April we'll be back." And, "Why bother finding a chiropractor to help me when I won't be here very long at all." The weather got warm. The kids started tutoring. I still need a chiropractor. For a while the date was May 1. But then that seemed unlikely. And now, the dumb thing is, I am playing the same game only with my new totally made up date. By June 1 we will be home. That is my most recent fabricated and self-created coping mechanism and plan.

Sigh.

Sunday we went to Church Under the Bridge and then The Austin Stone in the evening. Both services were great. Totally different and great. We spent time with Joanna (lovingly referred to as "earthquake buddy") and the Iveys. It was good to be with these beautiful people. (See pics of Jesus on Palm Sunday - this is how he rolls in Waco.) We are speaking in Houston, TX on April 18th if you're interested in details- shoot us an email. For those that asked, we will come to share Haiti stories and speak in mid-Texas. For now we're not able to go further than five or six hours from Waco. No expectations exist. We come to encourage and share first and foremost. We typically tell our story and all that God is teaching and doing and we and simply ask that you pray about and consider supporting either one of the two ministries or our family, as God so leads.

Troy and I have been reading a lot of news. We were pretty disgusted with the Red Cross and the big power house NGO's and we continue to wonder how it is they can continue to be so successful when there is not much to show for BILLIONS of dollars. We're reading all the opinions and all the issues and listening to every side. The struggles and challenges for ALL parties to make wise choices for Haiti are very real. Even as small NGO's we would never wish to make choices that would set Haitians up to fail or to depend on us. I read all the criticism and I think a lot of it is dead on ... yet the answers are not easy and those who claim to have them are usually over-confident.

I continue to believe that investing in the lives of girls and women is of great value. That is what we hope to keep doing. (See this.) I am so excited to get back to Haiti and get back at what matters so much to all of us. Helping women get a hand up in a culture that has not made life very easy or fair for them. How amazing would it be if Haiti healed in such a way that no NGO large or small was ever needed. I pray to live to see that day.

Tomorrow we're doing a marathon counseling day in Austin. I am hoping to work on EQ P4 in the car.

Until next time, please don't forget to pray for Haiti.

Lydie and Phoebe on Sunday

tara