Broken things, Sweet things, and Promising things (my first five days in Haiti)

I've been stuck in a hotel in Petionville for five days.  Things have not been working out for me at all on this trip.  No surprises there!

They began to go wrong on day 1 when the vehicle I had made arrangements to use broke down on its way up the mountain to Fermath.  It was about 11:00 at night and we had to leave it sitting by the side of the road while we hitched a ride with a young man who told me the only reason he stopped was because our license plate said "919".  He has had a series of bizarre and life-directing experiences related to this number so he always takes notice when it pops up.  Thank you Claude Martin!

Anyway..... up the mountain we went.  We spent the night in a beautiful, and extremely elaborate, home.  This house belongs to the sister and brother-in-law of Guerdine, the lawyer I am using for the Rickerd's adoption.  They were kind enough to offer it to us at no charge.  I'd had a long and dirty day so I was relieved to finally be able to drop my bones into bed.

Imagine my unhappiness when a loud thumping on the door woke me up at 5:15 a.m.  (translation: middle of the night since it was still darker than tar outside and I had only been asleep a mere handful of hours.)  Our hosts were getting ready to head downtown to work and since they lived in such a remote area, our only option for getting back to our car that day was to leave with them. 

After filling the radiator with an entire BUCKET of water and dinking around with the car for over an hour, we were finally able, by jerks and stops, to work our way down the mountain into town.  Where the car finally gave up the ghost and stopped for the final time.  (Again, we were left stranded, trying to work out how to get to our destination.) 

Enough about the car already.   You don't need a play by play.  (BTW - please don't think us negligent about the bucket of water thing.... we had put water in the radiator earlier that day)  In a nutshell, the cylinder head was cracked and the car had to be towed.  My well-laid plans for a vehicle and place to stay had been foiled.  Without a vehicle, it was not going to be possilbe to continue staying at the house in the mountains.  I ended up having to rent a hotel room in town (an expense I simply did not come prepared to pay for.)

I was hoping to avoid paying for several days in a hotel by heading out to Jeremie, where I would be able to at least find a free bed.  But the planes are completely full and I haven't been able to find a seat for any of the days I have available for travel.

So..... I have been stuck here at the Paradis Hotel (yeah, right!) since Thursday, making only one excursion.  Yesterday, I was able to meet Lucienne, a delightfully sweet young lady who is hoping to find a family to love her.  She is one of seven children whose mother died shortly after giving birth to her youngest sister approximately two and a half years ago.  Her father has abandoned the children to various relatives and aquaintances.  Lucienne is currently living with her aunt (sister of her mother) who is already struggling to feed her own family. 

Lucienne Isidor

Eddy's sisters have started a school in their neighborhood and since the earthquake, it has been meeting in a tent.  Carline and Martine have big hearts for the children of Haiti and even though their own living situation is difficult, they make daily sacrifices to school and feed children who otherwise would not be able to go to school.  They've accepted Lucienne into their program and it was through them that I first heard her story.  When I arrive home, I will begin looking for a family for her.  If you or someone you know is interested in making this sweet young girl a part of your family, contact me!!

tent school



Lucienne's classroom

Just moments ago, I was able to secure a vehicle for the day (only problem, it doesn't have a spare tire.  Which, actually, is quite a serious consideration!)  I'm headed out to the countryside to visit Clean Water for Haiti.  This is a wonderful program that supplies sand-water filters to the people of Haiti.   Haiti's water problem was already quite serious, but the cholera outbreak has added a new sense of urgency to the situation.  I'm hoping Mustard Seed might be able to get involved by bringing a sand-water filter project to the Jeremie area.  Keep your fingers crossed that we don't get a flat on our way going to or coming from the countryside!!!

(Time is short, otherwise I'd tell you about my near-death experience traveling down the mountainside in a monsoon, with zero visibility and cars being carried away by a raging torrent of water left and right!)