Forts, Celebration, and Rainbows

So the fort we went to last Friday was probably the coolest thing I’ve seen. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting older that I appreciate historical stuff more, or maybe it’s because I’m in Haiti- either way it was awesome. The drive there took a good 2 hours both ways and we took a huge full bus. We wound on the gravel road, and I’m proud to say I didn’t get sick. Danger signs were scattered on the road- it was hilarious. One woman in particular was so scared that we were going to die- the whole bus sang worship songs before the trip and prayed for a safe drive. During the drive they were praying we’d make it and same on the way back. Once we got there it was about half a mile hike up the mountain to the base of the fort… here’s what it looked like from where we parked:

The Haitian men were like little boys, exploring every crevice of the place. There is one part of the wall which has an opening about the size of a small teenager. You can fit your head into it and look to the left where it stretches about 20 feet, only 2 feet wide. And then nothing… no one knows what it was for, there were many discussions but it remains a mystery. The smaller Haitian men had a blast squeezing back as far as they could into it until they couldn’t fit any further and then coming out covered in dust. I can’t even express how happy the men were to play there. I had walked across the mountain to a separate “building”… more remains, only to look back and see about 10 middle-aged men running, crouched down low to the ground, carrying their imaginary guns- acting as though they were soldiers being invaded by the French. It was a blast… and once we got back to the clinic, in the hot bus we had a mini worship service led by one of the men to thank God for the great day. There’s something about the sincerity of Haitians when they praise God that is so honest, so real…

School has been going well, the boys are high energy, but also smart and well-behaved so as long as I have energy and encourage them they do great. Their reading has already improved! Carmelo left for the states with his mom and they will be gone for 2 weeks. He was SO excited to go, and it will be a fun trip for them- I am having him journal everyday and take lots of pictures. One of his assignments when he gets back will be a book of his trip.

There has been a 3 day celebration going on outside our gate for Cazale, each area in Haiti has their day of the year to celebrate, and of course it’s necessary to celebrate the day before and after. Huge bonfires light up the night sky, and music has been blaring nonstop since Saturday night. It goes all day and all night. Popular Haitian bands travel from across Haiti to perform live, and it’s pretty much like having them in my room at night. It’s lively and exciting but hard to get the boys to focus with all the noise during school, and after not sleeping 2 nights ago, I resorted to taking Benadryl 2 nights ago. I slept for 10 hours J

Celebration means chaos for the clinic and rescue center. Lori and the Haitian nurses are up all night sewing people up. It is Lori’s least favorite time of the year… drunken men come in with injuries at 3am and need to be sewn up. She tells me many of them pass out on the table and wake up to see a white woman with a needle sewing them up and freak out. Lori printed out welcome signs and pictures and had them strung across the streets in front of our house, and then inside the clinic… it’s very festive, yesterday the craziness started to calm down

Yesterday I walked out into the yard and saw the biggest rainbow I have ever seen, there were actually 2 but the one was gorgeous. The pictures don’t even get close to doing it justice (i wish you could all have seen it), but they give an idea. The kids just learned what the rainbow meant in bible lessons, and we finger painted a rainbow... so it was cool to be able to remind them of God’s promise to us with such a great visual.

When Trey, the youngest has a really fun/good day at school he always says, “Teacher, thank you for you finish school wif us!” so cute :)