Day 5 and Day 6 in Haiti

Day 5 Wednesday (4.6.16)

We enjoyed another great breakfast this morning. Seriously…the Haitian mango is the best fruit I have ever eaten. When we arrived at the crèche, the boys were dressed in some more cute clothes that their Meme sent them.  After a little while of hugs and playing, it was time for A to go to see his teacher. He was NOT happy to leave his daddy, but Joey talked to him (he and Joey are communicating very well; even if it isn’t the same language), and he reluctantly went to class. After A finished with school, we walked them across the street hoping to play a little soccer. Because of the rain the night before, the field was too muddy, so we just had a little hang out time by ourselves. It is difficult to get to know the boy’s personalities at the crèche because they are SO territorial and refuse to get out of our laps because of fear their spot will be taken. So, while we were across the street we saw A LOT more personality…and LOTS of energy. We are getting an opportunity to see what makes them happy and what they do when they are upset. As people who spend a lot of time with children, we have observed so many “typical” responses to various stimuli. They are, as we say in the south, “all boy!” They love hugs and kisses and the love wrestling with their daddy.

A’s attention and energy, however, can be completely funneled and focused if he discovers Joey’s cell phone. He loves playing Subway Surfers! He and C take turns playing, but C doesn’t really play…this boy is into music! He will hit the play button, then stick the phone to his ear and listen to the music until his character dies…he looks at the phone and smiles and then hits play again. He would do this forever, just to hear the music!

After we played for a little while, we took the boys back to the crèche to eat and the big kids were back from school. Joey and A have enjoyed getting to play soccer with the big boys. It is quite entertaining to watch them kick the ball between Joey’s legs!

C and I continue to look over the wall of the crèche when we are not watching the big kids play. He just loves the sounds of cars and motorcycles. His excitement for cars makes me so excited to introduce him to things in our world. My heart LONGS for them to be home soon.

(A little entertaining side note) So the older elementary aged boys have kind of taken to us, possibly because they found out we had cookies. J One of the little fellas came up and asked me in my ear if he could have a cookie, well…let’s face it…who is going to say no?! I put my finger over my lips like it was our secret, you know…nonverbal communication that everyone but an 8 year old boy gets, because in about 2 minutes there was a herd of little boys around my backpack. So…I allocated cookies.  One of them pointed to his brother who was not in the group, as if he wanted to give him a cookie, so I gave him one for his brother. In just a minute I see the brother chasing him around the building. When I finally caught up to them, I tried to ask what was wrong because both little boys had a cookie in hand. Then the brother who had been playing opened his Oreo to show me that the “concerned brother” who got him the cookie ate his cream. J Brothers will be brothers no matter what the environment! (I got the little boy a cookie with cream!)

A's idea of community time. 

                                                                  C playing some drums :-)

                                                                C playing with numbers

Day 6 Thursday (4-7-16)

So today was hard…it was first real emotional day I’ve had since we arrived. Until today, I have been soaking in the new that surrounds me: new sights, new sounds, new smells and new people. But today, the idea that in just another week we will say goodbye to our boys for an indefinite amount of time began to really sink in, and I couldn’t make it stop. I had a flood of emotions. One minute I would be choking back tears, and another I would be mad at the system that is keeping these boys from going home with us now. It is such a struggle to look at these kids, ours and others, who have families and can’t get to them because of bureaucracy. We have no definite timeline and with all of the recent referrals (which is a HUGE praise), I’m not sure there is going to be any way to predict a timeline.

 On a more positive note, C4C has some community members come in a couple of times a week to do some one on one time with the toddlers. During this time, C and I played with some of their developmental toys and enjoyed ourselves. Our oh-so active A held on tightly to his dad and wouldn’t even consider playing in such a crowd. After the community members left, it was time for A to go to class, which again, he only reluctantly went to after a talk from his dad. When he came from class, he had a big smile on his face and gave a paper he had colored to me. It was precious and I’m so happy to have it!

Because of expense, I haven’t had my phone service turned on in Haiti. But today, I needed to have a little distraction from my hyper-emotional state (which I had to bottle up because I didn’t want to traumatize anyone J). We called and talked to Meme and Aunt Becca, who had Molly, Linc, Lauren, and Caroline. The boys, especially C, were eager to talk on the phone. C also got to talk with Poppie, Uncle Brian, and MaeMae. Joey and A got distracted with playing.

The rest of the day went well; I tried to swallow my emotions and enjoy the entertainment of some wonderful children, who are so deserving of every bit of attention they get. It is overwhelming to not be able to give them all the attention of a mom and while I understand that is not my job, it is difficult.

Please take a moment to pray that our paperwork will move seamlessly through the next steps of this process. I know and trust God’s timing, pray that I can rest in the knowledge that He is in control and His ways are higher than mine.