At the top of the bottom

Sunday afternoon and it's too quiet for comfort. Need to Breathe comes out of the speaker and the silence of napping dissipates. It's been a weekend away for me .. Friday morning I went to a women's conference where I was able to meet other homeschool moms and women who are serving all over this country. Five women from Wisconsin make up the SOS team who Serve Other Servants all over the world. I was impressed with their willingness to serve and bless us. We were encouraged and fed and blessed. I spent the day with a friend meeting new friends. That night a friend and I went to dinner and ate real sushi. Not Haitian style sushi but a California Roll I'd expect at a Japanese restaurant in the States. It was refreshing. The conversation flowed without effort. Two homeschool moms doing life on an island needing a respite from ministry and kids. We laughed as we ran out of the restaurant inside the UN and the rain was coming down in sheets. We made a dash for it and realized the water was deeper than we thought. It was almost up to our knees! A UN truck pulled up and the young man who made our sushi looked half Haitian, half Asian. He had perfect English and said, "hop in." We climbed in the back of a UN truck sopping wet and he took us to the car. It was a bit of a crazy experience.

Saturday was another girl's day that allowed us some extra time together to shop. One thing we rarely do in Haiti. But this was an opportunity to help each other. Apparent Project is a little diamond in the rough. It's a store of products by Haitian artists who make, market and sell their art to support their families. We supported them alright! Afterwards we worked up an appetite and stopped in a little boutique in Port Au Prince and ate lunch. The shopping continued into the afternoon. Miguelson picked me up and we rode out to Hope Center in time for dinner. We had good conversation about how Haitians don't often read their Bibles regularly and often believe what is taught from the pulpit. He said he just switched churches to one that has better theology and admittedly said he doesn't often read his Bible. I wondered how he knew the theology was better. He said I wouldn't understand. I find it interesting that more and more Haitians I talk to have a broad, more liberal stance on the right and wrong and fully trusting God and using God as a genie in a bottle. The conversation was cut short by our arrival where I was greeted by bear hugs from the girls. It was good to get away.

The weekend had been well worth the time away after a hard week of another bout with Ava's fevers, no power, and a series of discouraging events.

Ava spiked a fever again that compounded the ongoing stomach issues. I stayed back with her and we slept the afternoon away given that everyone but the security guards were gone to Thoman. Wednesday was Thoman's new Hope Center dedication. It was a day full of events that I heard about from various team members and staff.

Thursday morning Ava turned a corner and was feeling better. Lilly and I went hiking up in Thoman with a few people from the group.


.... I could never get my thoughts together on this post ...