On monday we took Wendel and Norhens to Hopital Espoir in Port Au Prince for medical examinations as I was worried about the health of both boys. We took a tap tap to Saint Marc then a bus to Saint Marc to Port Au Prince. On the way there I sat between the boys and by the end of the trip both were fast asleep, one in my arms and the other on my lap. After being checked out by five doctors, poked by three needles, and after many tears and kicking and screaming, we found out that both boys have scabies. Wendel also has anemia and has some issues with digestion. We are still waiting for a lot of test relsults but we are hoping and praying that they come back positive. It was a long day for both the boys and Montanna and I. To top off the day Montanna was puked on by a lady in the tap tap and I was peed on by a baby at the hospital. Before returning to the orphanage we took the boys to get ice cream, juice, and candy for being so brave.
Today I am living the desires of my heart and I cannot imagine being happier. Before moving to Haiti and officially taking on this task, I anticipated that I would encounter many hardships and frustrations. Yesterday was the beginning of the many frustrations to come. Lately we have been having issues with our staff as they are not abiding by the rules that we have set out and they are not satisfied with the changes we are making. The most frustrating part is they keep asking for more money. It hurts when the people you are trying to help are actually trying to screw you over. It was time to put my foot down, so that I did. We gave them two choices, either they stay and we continue to pay, shelter, and feed them, or they simply leave. It would break my heart to let them go but we do need some sort of structure and order at the orphanage.
We began the reconstruction of the storage building yesterday as well which also brought on some more stresses as we are trying to figure out building plans and expenses. We received most of the building supplies yesterday and we received the sand today. As we began the reconstruction it began to rain so we have had to put our work on hold so instead we loaded all the kids on a tap tap and surprised them by buying them ice cream. It was a blast !
Although yesterday was filled with stress, frustration, lots of emotions, and exhaustion, I cannot imagine living any other life than the one that is unfolding in front of me each day. It is not easy and it is definitely not the life I had planned for myself. I thought that I wanted to attend university with my high school friends, graduate with a good degree, find my prince charming, get married, have a successful career and children, settle into a nice house down the road from my parents and live happily ever after. But that just isn't in the cards for me. Today I am a single woman raising a house full of children and trying my best to teach others to follow their heart and to chase their own dreams in a country that is a far cry from my hometown and culture. I laugh now at the stresses I have experienced during my time in Haiti about the cockroaches, spiders, children eating crayons and erasers or when they find condoms on the streets or in the garbage and start blowing them up, learning to cook on open fire, washing my laundry by hand with a bar of soap, or bathing with a bucket of water. I realize that the frustrations I am experiencing this week will also pass and be something for me to laugh about. Everyday I look around at beautiful, expectant faces with huge brown eyes hungry for love, I know that I am here just to love and to give the children everything I possibly can, the rest I will figure out in time. I believe that we are all created to do the same thing. It may not look the same. It may take place in a foreign country or it may take place in your own backyard. But I truly believe that we are all created to follow our passions and to change the world for someone, to help someone, and to love someone unconditionally. Our dreams are quite possible. They are within reach and they are acheiveable.
Some days life in Haiti is excruciatingly difficult, some days I even question myself as to why I am here and why I chose to give up the luxuries of my past life, but in totality, the blessings I receive here far out weigh the hardships. No matter what kind of day I'm having, no matter how frustrated or stressed I become, no matter how many lonely days or days where I long for my friends and family that I experience, every night when I get to lay down beside my babies and have them fall asleep in my arms, it makes everything worth fighting for, it reassures me why I am here and the frustrations I faced earlier in the day are erased and I am overcome with a sense of happiness and my heart once again becomes full.
I have no idea what tomorrow will hold, every day is a new adventure here. It is going to rain again today so it looks as if the reconstruction will have to be put off until another day. We are finally starting to get the hang of things, but it is going to take some more time to get used to the routines. Sleeping is still an issue, especially when I wake up to a huge trantula above my face... Gotta love sleeping on the top bunk !!!!! NOT .. Well the kids are just getting home from school so it is now time to go eat lunch, play tag, colour, skip, give piggy back rides and then have a game of hide n go seek in the dark, have a bed time snack, tuck my little munchkins into bed and then cuddle them before I fall asleep myself. Mwen renmen ou zanmi's. Ou revouir !!
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