Over the past two and a half months, I have had some of the funniest days of my life. I haven’t talked in a blog yet about some of the funny things that have happened, so that is what I am going to do. There are times in life you just have to laugh at things and move on and think, “This is going to be a great memory one day.” So what I want to do in this blog is just tell of some crazy life things that have happened so far. To start with I had found a sunscreen that also had mosquito repellent as well my last week in Haiti. Not saying that is was pointless, but there was absolutely no point in using it. Saturday is our off day, and we got to go to the beach. A few other racers and I applied this sunscreen/repellent, and then it was off to a great day in the sun. The sun in Haiti is super hot, and by lunch it was already too late. The sunscreen we put on had done nothing, and we were so burnt. But the good news is that some of it worked stayed on so there are random spots of skin that are normal amongst a lot of red, burned skin. It is quite funny looking.
As I was enjoying the dark and thinking about how burnt I was that night, I really wanted to do nothing but sit in the dark. I didn’t, though, because on Saturday night we have a movie night for the orphans. This is my favorite part of the week. The kids come and sit in my lap, all boys seeking the affirmation from a father, and for a small window of time God lets me step in and give it to them. The other racers and I hold them and tell them they are loved by us, but loved so much more by the real Father. There is one little boy named Maxinlove. He is two years old and loves to be held. The problem is that he cannot tell us when he needs to get down. He was beside me, and in the middle of Frozen something very much unfrozen, warm and smelly started to run down the bench. He had to use the restroom and just peed on me instead. The funniest part of that is that was 2nd time I had gotten peed on that week.
Another day that week we were putting on a roof for a tech school that Mission of Hope is starting. There were two Haitian workers, me, and Evan on the roof. If you know me, you will know that I have a competitive side. Well really it is on all sides and I can make a game out of anything. We each had our roles on the roof, Evan and one Haitian were taking the tin from the ground and getting into place when me and the other Haitian JB would go behind them and screw it down. It became a race to see who could get the screws in the fastest. JB and I got really into it and it was a blast. One time he beat me and thought it would be funny to lie down and act like he was taking a nap waiting on me to finish. To be honest it was funny and we had a good time with it. I got to return the favor a sheet later and was going to do the same back to him. What I had forgotten was that I had screws in my back pocket and ripped my pants open. You can only imagine how funny he thought was.
And then there was the infamous poop floor. Out bathroom in the DR was about a 4-inch step down from the normal floor. There were times that throughout the stay there that the sewage would come up through the drains and would flood the bathroom. That wasn’t too big of a deal because we would just go outside or use another toilet without a seat on it. However, one day we came back and it had gotten out of the bathroom. We had seven people packing up all of the stuff we have for a year running around trying to get it all outside. Then we had to figure out where to go.
Here in Jaco, I have picked up surfing. My days consist of waking up at 6 am spending time with Jesus, working out, doing construction from 8:30 to 4:30 then running to the water before the night ministry. Hannah, our host and the owner of where we are working this month, was surfing with me one day. As I sat on my board and waited for the next set I was looking out over the water thinking about how blessed I was to be doing this and then I saw something I wish I hadn’t. About 30 feet in front of me was a 4-foot shark. He came to the top of the water and had his fin like in a movie. I had no idea what to do. I was a long way from shore and I had a long board to lay on. I put all of my limbs on the board and started praying. Hannah just was getting back out there from her last ride and I told her what had happened. With the straightest face she said, “Oh don’t worry about the sharks; they are really well-fed here……”
I think what I am finding so amazing about this year is how hard it is, but also the amount of fun that can be in it all. I have gotten to do so many things that are just unbelievable. I am writing this as the sun is coming up over the jungle of Costa Rica. I have got to feed a wild monkey, see a sloth, surf with a people from all over the world, all while telling people about Jesus. I truly want to thank everyone who made this possible. You are here with me, changing lives and eternities.
