A “bus” full of children singing worship songs ridding down the “street” (the streets here are CRAZY and it feels like you are on a roller coaster!) to go to the swimming pool! As we were driving the kids just started singing worship songs (they sing in English) really loudly so of course we joined in too! Because this truck/car we ride in is like a uhaul and then has bars on the back everyone can see in and out. We were driving through town and there probably was not a single person who did not turn their head, stop, watch and listen to this car where kids were praising God. As we drove through town I was deeply moved by two things…
- These kids love the Lord and although they have been through more then I can imagine they still worship Jesus ALL day long and LOVE to sing praise songs! These kids continue to dance through this life even as many of them have had a rough start. It reminded me to also continue to dance through life and be thankful always as they are.
2. Watching people just stare at these kids today reminded me how much a light these children are in a place of darkness to all that meet them. They may have no mother or father and many have no idea if their sister or brother made it out of the earthquake alive or where they are now, but still amidst it all, they have a strength and a light to them that literally draws others in. When you see their smiling faces you would absolutely be drawn to them too. And when you hear them sing songs your eyes have tears in them always…we sing every single night for our devotions with the kids. YES, they sing worship EVERY SINGLE night and LOVE it!!!
Today was a huge blessing for the kids and for us! We got to go swimming at a school where Hal (the “dad” and owner of the orphanage) is the principal. The kids went WILD with excitement!! Some of the children had never seen a swimming pool and it was interesting because they must have thought it was like a river/pool to bathe in because they started splashing water on their bodies as if to bathe. So it was really cool getting to experience watching some kids have their first ‘play in the pool’ experience today! They were SO joyful and excited!! We had an awesome day! Then we came back and grilled hotdogs for dinner.
FACTS: We have started rotating who watches the 2 month old each night…wow parents, probably mostly all the mothers out there, WOW is all I have to say! It is A LOT of work having kids! And it’s really true what they say about crying, eating, burping, wet diaper, sleeping…that’s the cycle and they just keep doing it over and over again! You know you are on the world race when you use a head lamp to change a babies diaper instead of a regular lamp! …many times I will be in the shower and it will turn into literally a DRIP, welcome to the world race…I am still sweating ALL the time…I do OT with the kids here which is super awesome to be able to use my degree!…I have started a new ministry as of today called the cooking ministry! Since there are so many kids the cooks are always cooking and my friend James can speak Creole and English so today he translated for me!…we leave for Ireland in 12 days, crazy!…I actually like rice and beans here…they actually put a piece of plastic over the rice then the top on it which doesn’t let the water steam off…all them women here laugh at my hands because I have no calluses!…I met army men at the grocery store from Brazil, Peru, Japan, and Chile!…it storms or rains every single day…one of the cooks here gets up at 4 am, walks 30 mins, gets here at 5 am to cook breakfast and does not leave here until 6:30 pm…I really really love this family of 4 kids and if I was married and 30 (you have to be 30 to adopt from Haiti) I would absolutely adopt them!!
