Morning surprises

September 14, 2012

Waking up this morning I found that this morning there is no water in the house so the children went to the mountain source carrying buckets and plastic bottles to fill and bring back for washing themselves, dishes, and clothes.  I found that Wozlo needs new sandals.  I found that our food supply is low because there have been demonstrations in Miragoane and best to stay away till they are over.  The kids ate spaghetti two mornings in a row for breakfast.  No complaints…they love spaghetti!  This morning  Cawol and Wozlo will go to market.  The younger kids are in class, the older kids will go later.  Painting continues.  After only five months of use the house needs to be painted.  This time we are using brown in the areas that get the hardest use.  One lives and learns here.  No matter how many times I have tried to teach the kids to keep hands off walls, it just doesn’t sink in.  They are kids!  I place a basin of soapy water at the entrance as a reminder to wash hands when they come in from play.  They seem to connect OK with this and wash often.  We were blessed with a few rain showers during the night and we pray that our garden grows.  Banana trees are planted as the beginning of our vegetable and fruit garden.  My little flower, tomato, and spice garden is surviving in spite of being accidentally raked for weeds, and trampled by the painters. (The “weeds” were actually small wild flowers.)  Our “living” fence has been planted and is almost complete with crossbars made of bamboo.  We need a fence to protect our garden from hungry goats and donkeys.  The roosters are our alarm clock waking us at 5:30 in the morning.  I find that if I go to bed when it gets dark in the evening, then I’m ready to wake up at sunrise…very basic living that works well here.

I listen to the kids practice singing and think about all the advantages that our kids have that other kids in the community do not.  It’s almost unfair, but then, my hope is that our kids will be leaders in the community.  Our kids have special private classes three times a week with focus on math, language arts, and science.  Our kids have singing and choral three times a week with an accomplished music teacher.  They sing as a group for Sunday service.  Our kids are training to be lectors.  A few of the kids are on the regular schedule for readers.  Our kids are acolytes.  Our kids have music lessons on Saturday morning.  Our kids have bible study two afternoons a week.  Our kids are learning to plan worship services, beginning with planning our evening chapel prayer service.  Gastina selects the hymns to be sung, the psalms and readers for the psalms.  She uses the BCP, the hymnal and the bible to format the service.  (Gastina’s long term goal is to become a priest.)  Occasionally we welcome guest preachers.

Our kids don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from and are able to concentrate on their studies.  Our kids also work, washing their own clothes, and helping to keep the yard clean.  Our kids play hard kicking a soccer ball till it is thread bare!

A touching moment with Benjamy and mom

September 4, 2012

 

I took Benjamy to visit his mother, whom people said was in a hospital, but turned out she is staying in a kind of rest and retreat center.  I drove the parish SUV west for about 45 minutes to arrive at “Rouck”.  About half of the drive was on dirt road filled with rocks and pot holes.  At one point, the route took us across a stream of briskly flowing water.  The road followed the coast line with magnificent ocean view most of the way, until the turn off to “Rouck”.

This would be the first time Benjamy and his mom would see one another in more than four months.  The family is desperately poor.  The mom, Janine, has been sick since I first met her three years ago.  At one point I helped her pay for hospital costs.  Benjamy has more or less always been on his own.  He is only six years old now, and I remember him as a toddler roaming around half dressed and always filthy dirty.  Many times I took him to the guest house for a bath and clean clothes.  Benjamy had a reputation for being an uncontrolled and uncontrollable child.  People named him “desod”, which means “disorder”.  He was growing up “wild”.

He has always been one of my favorite kids here in Bondeau, so when I was planning Kay Timoun, I asked Benjamy’s mom if he could stay with me.  Her first reply was something like, “Oh, you don’t want him!  He’s always dirty, he rolls around on the ground, he’s ‘desod’.  Take my girl, she’ll be better for you.”  But no, I told her that Benjamy is a very special boy and I want to care for him.  She shook her head, like she didn’t understand why I would want him.  Even Junior, at that time, tried to discourage me saying Benjamy is hard to control, is a wild kid.  But, Benjamy has turned out to be a joy, a great kid, smart and lovable.

We found Janine in a dark room at the rest center. She came outside where we could all see one another.  I expected that mother and son would hug and kiss, but that didn’t happen, maybe because she might be contagious.  After a few minutes of Benjamy and mom gazing at one another, I handed Benjamy a bible and asked him to read Psalm 23 for his mom.  Now, Benjamy has not yet begun first grade, so he can’t read.  But he held the bible and recited word for word Psalm 23.  Janine cried! 

What a wonderful reunion between mother and son!  I don’t know what the prognosis is for Janine, but before I left, she asked me if I would keep Benjamy.  I said yes!

 

 

Follow up to "simple walk"

Another "simple walk" with Pere Phanold and seminarian...we visited people in Nouvo Bidaw who had moved off Bidaw island to escape Isaac.  While on our walk, I mentioned the sick baby to the group, and then asked that the baby be brought to us.  Pere Phanold blessed and all said healing prayers for the baby.

The following Monday Magali, who said she would be responsible for getting the baby to the doctor, came to me, for the money I had promised for the doctor visit.  Baby was all wrapped in a white blanket ready to go.  I gave Magali enough for the doctor, medicine, and taxi.  (1100 goudes)  That afternoon I waited and waited for them to return and give me the doctor report. 

For this blog, all I can say is I never received any report from the doctor, or a receipt.  The baby and mother took off for Port au Prince, Magali said that she didn't steal the money.  Rumors were that Magali took the money and baby never got to doctor...at this point, I don't know.