Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Mother’s Day! I once heard that Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for the phone company, so I called my mama yesterday to be sure I got through. See what a good daughter I am.
This week contained an array of events, some documented on film and others left to the imagination. Monday evening, I attended a missionary orientation for the Pfisters. This included the answers to questions like, “What should I take with me when driving?” and “What do I do if my dog bites someone or kills someone’s animal?” (Answers: Your license, identity card, money, water, tool kit, and first aid kit AND pay, pay, pay.) I learned a few things as well, like where to buy fresh fish and the natural dangers of Haiti including, but not limited to, black widow spiders and scorpions. (This was later validated when Sheila found a good-sized scorpion in her shower. Ewwww. And I repeat, EWWWW!!) Other areas covered: What to do when you have an accident, dealing with beggars, food preparation, and cultural expectations for weddings and funerals.
Tuesday, Sheila and I hosted tea. We served peanut butter popcorn, ham and cheese bites, chocolate butterscotch cookies, mangos, watermelon, and juice. We had a very nice turnout. Before tea, I went into town with Tess and Andrew to do some clothes shopping. Andrew really didn’t have any dressy clothes to wear to church, and Haitians always look very sharp when attending, so Tess and I took him shopping on the Kennedy. The Kennedy is a few streets in Cayes with masses of clothing, like an outdoor Goodwill or Salvation Army. In fact, many of the clothes on the Kennedy come from those places. It got its name from JKF who began sending huge bales of clothing to Haiti when he was President as part of our charity to the poorest country in our hemisphere. The name stuck. It’s not quite like Target or Wal-Mart, but Tess and Alisha are amazing at finding good deals among all the rubbish. It’s like a gigantic garage sale. The only difference is bartering madly with the vendors and stepping over ditches full of sewer water to check out a size on a shirt....otherwise, totally the same.
A bunch of the teenagers on the compound came over on Tuesday night to play a few games. There was much gaiety and competition. The game of Spoons got semi-violent and Pictionary became an all out rumble. Good times.
Wednesday, Volker had the Bible study on Jesus: The Crown and the Cross. It was inspiring! A medical team lead by Dr. Keith Knepp came in on Wednesday, as well. They spent the next two days working at mobile clinics and seeing patients. Thursday was a little bit of a catch-up day for me with nothing of interest to report except that I had a ham and cheese sandwich for supper and went to sleep early.
Friday, I was getting ready for work when Rich called with a babysitting request. He needed to take a few of his LSM kids to the mobile clinic and Amber wanted to ride along. They took Silas, and I took the four others. We watched two short movies (one about motorcycles and the other about lumberjacks), took a short ride to Simon for cookies and drinks, a long 4-wheeler ride through some rather deep mud puddles, and a nice stroll to visit the Gutweins and introduce Daisy (the Pfister’s new puppy) to Bella (the Gutwein’s new kitty). I was having a late lunch around two that afternoon when Val came over to borrow my 4-wheeler. As I went to get the keys, I heard her say, “Oh, there’s smoke in your house. Oh, we have a fire!” Sure enough, there was a fire in my bathroom. As it turns out, an uncapped ground wire accidentally got charged by touching a live wire, sparked, and started to burn. It didn’t do much harm; my house is made of concrete. Rod Wray came over and check it out, declared it very unusual, and recommended capping all the wires in the box. I readily agreed.
Saturday, Dr. Keith and his team members gave us an excellent session on first aid and emergency care. We learned the ABC’s (airway, breathing, cardiac) to help an unconscious person, moving and stabilizing a person after a fall, how to treat heat stroke, and how to stop bleeding just about anywhere. It was very informative, although I hope we never have to use it. Saturday afternoon, I went to Rainbow beach with the team. It was a stellar afternoon; the water was clear and the sun was bright. We had a singing on the Pfister porch that evening. It was nice to pull out the Hymns of Zion and sing some old favorites.
Sunday morning, I listened to Bluffton North services (Hannah and Samuel in honor of Mother’s Day). We all met up for lunch at the Nami and then proceeded to Azile Dorcus, the nursing home in Cayes. It’s definitely not a Christian Care, but the residents do receives meals, beds, and medical care. We planned an outing to Jelly Beach for the residents. It’s very close to Cayes and the local church helped to host our party. The residents thoroughly enjoyed themselves! One man hadn’t been out since 2004! They simply don’t have the staff or vehicles to take their residents anywhere enjoyable. Nearly all the residents ended up in the water at some point; it was a blessing for me to witness their pleasure and contentment while enjoying the ocean.
Happy Mother’s Day! I once heard that Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for the phone company, so I called my mama yesterday to be sure I got through. See what a good daughter I am.
This week contained an array of events, some documented on film and others left to the imagination. Monday evening, I attended a missionary orientation for the Pfisters. This included the answers to questions like, “What should I take with me when driving?” and “What do I do if my dog bites someone or kills someone’s animal?” (Answers: Your license, identity card, money, water, tool kit, and first aid kit AND pay, pay, pay.) I learned a few things as well, like where to buy fresh fish and the natural dangers of Haiti including, but not limited to, black widow spiders and scorpions. (This was later validated when Sheila found a good-sized scorpion in her shower. Ewwww. And I repeat, EWWWW!!) Other areas covered: What to do when you have an accident, dealing with beggars, food preparation, and cultural expectations for weddings and funerals.
Tuesday, Sheila and I hosted tea. We served peanut butter popcorn, ham and cheese bites, chocolate butterscotch cookies, mangos, watermelon, and juice. We had a very nice turnout. Before tea, I went into town with Tess and Andrew to do some clothes shopping. Andrew really didn’t have any dressy clothes to wear to church, and Haitians always look very sharp when attending, so Tess and I took him shopping on the Kennedy. The Kennedy is a few streets in Cayes with masses of clothing, like an outdoor Goodwill or Salvation Army. In fact, many of the clothes on the Kennedy come from those places. It got its name from JKF who began sending huge bales of clothing to Haiti when he was President as part of our charity to the poorest country in our hemisphere. The name stuck. It’s not quite like Target or Wal-Mart, but Tess and Alisha are amazing at finding good deals among all the rubbish. It’s like a gigantic garage sale. The only difference is bartering madly with the vendors and stepping over ditches full of sewer water to check out a size on a shirt....otherwise, totally the same.
A bunch of the teenagers on the compound came over on Tuesday night to play a few games. There was much gaiety and competition. The game of Spoons got semi-violent and Pictionary became an all out rumble. Good times.
Wednesday, Volker had the Bible study on Jesus: The Crown and the Cross. It was inspiring! A medical team lead by Dr. Keith Knepp came in on Wednesday, as well. They spent the next two days working at mobile clinics and seeing patients. Thursday was a little bit of a catch-up day for me with nothing of interest to report except that I had a ham and cheese sandwich for supper and went to sleep early.
Friday, I was getting ready for work when Rich called with a babysitting request. He needed to take a few of his LSM kids to the mobile clinic and Amber wanted to ride along. They took Silas, and I took the four others. We watched two short movies (one about motorcycles and the other about lumberjacks), took a short ride to Simon for cookies and drinks, a long 4-wheeler ride through some rather deep mud puddles, and a nice stroll to visit the Gutweins and introduce Daisy (the Pfister’s new puppy) to Bella (the Gutwein’s new kitty). I was having a late lunch around two that afternoon when Val came over to borrow my 4-wheeler. As I went to get the keys, I heard her say, “Oh, there’s smoke in your house. Oh, we have a fire!” Sure enough, there was a fire in my bathroom. As it turns out, an uncapped ground wire accidentally got charged by touching a live wire, sparked, and started to burn. It didn’t do much harm; my house is made of concrete. Rod Wray came over and check it out, declared it very unusual, and recommended capping all the wires in the box. I readily agreed.
Saturday, Dr. Keith and his team members gave us an excellent session on first aid and emergency care. We learned the ABC’s (airway, breathing, cardiac) to help an unconscious person, moving and stabilizing a person after a fall, how to treat heat stroke, and how to stop bleeding just about anywhere. It was very informative, although I hope we never have to use it. Saturday afternoon, I went to Rainbow beach with the team. It was a stellar afternoon; the water was clear and the sun was bright. We had a singing on the Pfister porch that evening. It was nice to pull out the Hymns of Zion and sing some old favorites.
Sunday morning, I listened to Bluffton North services (Hannah and Samuel in honor of Mother’s Day). We all met up for lunch at the Nami and then proceeded to Azile Dorcus, the nursing home in Cayes. It’s definitely not a Christian Care, but the residents do receives meals, beds, and medical care. We planned an outing to Jelly Beach for the residents. It’s very close to Cayes and the local church helped to host our party. The residents thoroughly enjoyed themselves! One man hadn’t been out since 2004! They simply don’t have the staff or vehicles to take their residents anywhere enjoyable. Nearly all the residents ended up in the water at some point; it was a blessing for me to witness their pleasure and contentment while enjoying the ocean.
I don’t know what this week holds for me, but I know I can rest in the knowledge that God is in control. Blessings,
Abby
