So, we are back from another full day. Hoping my team members are blogging right now and will fill in the holes bc my brain is shutting down! It started happening on the ride home from visiting the boys at the orphanage.
We keep asking each other how in the world can you even describe what it is like here? Tonight we stopped trying to process everything and just shared some good chuckles and stories on the ride home. We laughed about the bruises that Sara has and wondered if they happened while we were getting jostled around in the truck… We laughed about Doreen nearly getting a concussion when her head hit the window during said rides… We laughed about Rocks conversation with the policeman who pulled us over today bc we were 5 white people being driven around by a Haitian man. It was no laughing matter for the 10-15 min we sat there silently (except for when I saw Doreen trying to slyly pull her camera out of her purse and I was like, ‘what are you doing?! Put that away!)… But later we laughed about Rock saying to him, ‘I know the law.’ And, ‘do you see any kids in the car?!’ (The policeman on a power trip had mentioned that there was a lot of child trafficking going on).

Anyway, had a great day visiting some awesome ministries… Heartline/Haitian Creations, Haiti Partners, and The Apparent Project. All are doing amazing work that is empowering Haitians to help Haitians. I love that. They aren’t just people/organizations who are here to make themselves feel better about themselves but are truly invested in relationships here and desire to see this country and people prosper. I’m hoping Sara tells more in her blog!

Before we got to the orphanage, we visited a Haitian food court called Epi’Dor in Petionville, for a little lunch. It was fun to go where the locals go to get a quick bite to eat and it was hopping with teenagers who had just finished their school year.

The boys were waiting for us when we pulled up to the orphanage. We were greeted with hugs and peeks into our bags to see if we brought them anything! I gave Davensly a new Avengers t-shirt that he then wore over his other shirt. We also got to be flies on the wall for the quick Skype session bw the Haroldson family. That was fun! I was bummed my family wasn’t home to do the same 😦 . C’est la vie!

We had a popcorn/movie party on the porch. We played the Avengers- in French- and the boys maintained interest for about 45 min. They became distracted by our chit chat in the background, and wanted to hijack our cameras again for more photos. Cali wants me to not delete the couple hundred that Vinny has taken.

As it was time to go, of course, Vin asked me if I wanted to play ball. I was bummed to tell him we had to go. He smiled when I told him I would see him tomorrow. I hugged him and said, ‘I love you, buddy.’ And he said, ‘I love you, too, Mom.’ Pretty cute. And it felt so normal! To say it and hear it. I didn’t expect that, but loved it!

Couple other cute things:
At one point of the movie he wanted Stanley to move from his chair so I could sit by him. And he was really checking out my earrings. He pointed them out to Stanley who proceeded to touch the one on my left ear, and Davensly scolded him with, ‘No! Stanley!’

One more cute thing: He asked me for some water and after I gave it to him he said, ‘thanks, Mommy.’ Come on!