Family

My dad, mom and youngest sister Hannah just spent the past 2 1/2 weeks with us! We had such a nice time showing them where we live, where the kids go to school, the airport where Todd is now working, our church, neighbors.... Mom and dad came down Feb 28 and stayed until March 8. Hannah was here from March 4 to the 17th. We worked them hard, but they were good sports about everything. :)
When we were first here in Haiti Mom told me that she and Dad would be willing to come down and help us clean and get settled. When we realized we were going to paint the inside of our house, they volunteered to help with that, too. What a blessing!
Originally we were not supposed to come back from Piyon until the day before my parents were coming. We finished our language text books and saw many of the cultural things we had wanted to wanted to experience, so flights were arranged and we came back to Port a week early. Apparently we were just in time for Mardi Gras which is a BIG deal here. In fact, many stores and businesses even close that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That was the case for the paint store so we were not able to order our house paint until the day before Dad and Mom got here. Thankfully, Todd was able to pick it up right before we got them on Saturday.
Mom and Dad painted, replaced many screens that had holes in them, put new contact paper down on the kitchen shelves, dad did some plumbing work, mom did some mending and washed lots of dishes... They spent time with the kids and just visiting. It was so special to share all of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Haiti with them.
Hannah was a big help around here too. It was fun to see her interacting with Kyle and Megan as Aunt Hannah, not my little sis. She painted Megan's nails and did her hair and played and read with Kyle. MAF-Haiti's retreat was this past weekend, so Hannah watched the 8 kids (ranging from ages 2-12) during the sessions. :)
They were a huge encouragement to us. They saw all kinds of possibilities for the house (which has a pool!!!), for ministering to others, etc. The painting seemed so overwhelming before they came, but room by room it got done. Now we continue adding those finishing touches that make this home.