At home, my mom uses vinegar for everything. My dad, brother, and I all make fun of her for it because she buys it by the gallon, and usually three or four gallons at a time.
I am currently sitting on my bed with paper towels drenched in vinegar laying across my back. It just so happens that one of the many uses of vinegar is to take the sting out of a sun burn. This past weekend we went to Cormier, a beach resort over the mountains. I put SPF 100 on every part of my body... except my back. I pretty much hate myself for this foolish mistake. I have one of the worst sunburns of my entire life, blisters and all. With a shirt on, I can tolerate it, but with undergarments... I am holding back tears and clenching my jaw. So I stayed home from school today to rest, drink lots of water, soak my back in vinegar and aloe vera, and pray to God that something takes the pain away.
But there are more pressing matters to tell you about...
Thursday I had my first bracelet making session with three beautiful girls. But I can't for the life of me remember their names. None of them speak English, and we didn't have a translator, so things were rough at first. Somehow they understood, and starting making the "bracelets." I say this loosely because I was just having them practice the stitch over and over again. Pastor James and Pastor Migueloson stopped by, so of course there was much laughter and joking. At the end, I allowed the girls to pick out more colors so that they could make bracelets at home, and then bring them to me.
Today, the girls came again. They presented me with 23 bracelets that they made over the weekend. I then taught them how to make a chevron bracelet, they sang songs while Breanna danced around the living room. Despite the language barrier, I think that the meetings go well. We all pray together at the end, and they take more string to continue making bracelets at home. I was able to give them 25 Gouds per bracelets, which is roughly 60 cents US. I had hoped to give them more, but the amount that they brought back was more than I was anticipating the first week. I intend to get more money out of my back account so I can pay them a bit more Thursday when they come back again.
Saturday we went to Cormier with Bud and Jane's daughters that are visiting, and their household help. Mano, the yard man, brought his sweet daughter Gerlande. She was the source of so much joy for us throughout the day. In order to get to the beach you have to go through town and up over the mountains on a one lane road. This often means that there are other cars going the opposite way that you cannot see because of the twists in the road. Not only was that a bit scary, but we were also in the back of a truck. It had high sides, but it was much more comfortable to stand than sit, making a blanc truck full of blancs quite the site to behold. I've taken to waving to the little children because they all stare anyways. We got to the beach after an hour long ride that would have probably taken about 20 minutes in the states. Cormier was beautifully out of place. It is essentially a resort for the Haitians. It cost 5 US dollars to get in, about 800 Gouds. The sand was so white, the water so blue. The coral reef was just a few feet past when you waded in waist level. The beach was lined with white lounge chairs, there was a volley ball court, tennis courts and a restaurant. It seemed so out of place compared to the beached on either side that were full of Haitians laughing, dancing, and singing. We took Gerlande into the ocean for the first time and she had a blast. She loved the waves, and finding coral in the sand. We introduced her to the cheeseburger and french fries with ketchup. She ate half of her double cheeseburger, which was about as big as she, and refused to give the second half to the waitress to allow her to cover it with foil for later. She clung to the plastic bag that it was in for the rest of lunch. After lunch we went back out to look for beach glass, and the sun cooked my back. Afterwards was more cuddling with Gerlande she wanted to hold my hand the way out to the truck and over to see the bird cages filled with Budgies, Love Birds, Parrots, and Cockatiels... AKA my mom's heaven. She insisted that I sat with her on the truck, where she fell asleep on my lap on the way home. We eventually moved her into the truck with Gretchen and Bud who was driving. When we got back to the compound, Gretchen and Marcia gave her some hair clips which lit up her entire face. Melt my heart.
Tomorrow is my last lesson before Easter break, the Easter egg hunt, and the Principal's Party (a reward based on the school wide behavior program). Stephen, Meg's brother, will also be getting into town then. Wednesday, our first day of Easter break, we are driving out to Children of the Promise, which I am SO excited about.
Meg is taking up a donation to buy baby formula for Bethesda Medical Clinic here on the compound. There is a dire need for formula for HIV Positive mothers who should not breast feed, and also mothers who are uneducated about breast feeding practices, and need some supplemental formula while they are attempting to restart their breast milk production. Please consider helping Meg's cause to purchase more formula, bottles and nipples.
Please continue to pray for all of our health and well being.
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