Crismen

George and Crismen live right across the street from us, behind the Whites...another MAF family. They have two boys, Hans (7) and Zach (12). When the boys were little, the Whites were hoping they would teach their kids, William (9) and Abby (6), to speak Creole. The reverse happened. Zach and Hans speak perfect English!!!
George and Crismen have worked for the various residents of this house for probably 10-15 years, so they kind of came with the house. George comes on Tues., Thurs., and Sat. to sweep leaves outside. He also has been SO helpful with things like getting the water trucks to fill the pool, helping answer questions when people have come to work on our house, hauling off boxes and scrap wood that will not be hauled by the normal trash collectors....just all of these little details.
Crismen comes Mon., Wed. and Fri. for about three hours at a time to sweep and mop, dust, do some general cleaning, and on Wednesdays she cooks Haitian food for us. She is a great cook! We have enjoyed everything she has made so far. She also knows a lot about the house and has been helpful with practicing Creole and teaching me new words.
She brought some Easter food over Friday afternoon, and then came to get her containers back and see the pool-filling progress after a Friday night service at her church. She looked so pretty in her dress and with earrings so I got her picture.

Our Backyard

Over the years our house has become known as the "pool house." It has served as a refuge for many during the hot summers of Haiti when there is nowhere to escape the heat. Our entire back yard is a swimming pool with just enough sidewalk to walk around it. For about a year it has been out of commission due to leaks and other problems. Before we came the owner of our house supposedly had it repaired and painted. The paint is a beautiful aqua blue that looks refreshing all by itself. Even at Christmas we noticed that the paint was already chipping (probably not properly cleaned and prepared before painting), but we decided to fill it and use it as long as possible. After researching pool maintenance and ordering the proper chemicals we finally began the filling process last Friday. The kids had a blast splashing around as the water trucks came one by one, each making the pool deeper and deeper. It is already getting HOT, so this is our air conditioning system. :)
I have some video of the process, but I will need to make it smaller before posting. Pictures will have to do for now. Altogether we had seven water trucks plus quite a bit of water Todd was able to siphon from our cistern. Everyone went for a dip after our Easter celebration Saturday....at least 25 people. We are all ready to cool off! Since then we have noticed quite a significant drop in the water level (probably a truck's worth), so we probably still have a leak. But we are going to enjoy all of this beautiful cool water as long as it lasts!!! :)

Cool Megan

For a long time Megan has wanted her hair cut like Ally Noble, a friend in ID. She also wanted her hair to grow to her knees, so we have been letting it grow a bit. A couple weeks ago a little girl in Megan's kindergarten class had the cutest hair cut (sort of like Ally's), and I found out that her mom had cut it! She is a professional hair dresser.
It has been getting hotter each day, it seems, so last Monday we asked Shelley if she would be able and willing to cut Megan's hair. She did, and it looks so nice and cool!!!

Kites

Apparently we are in kite season around here. A few weeks ago we began to see kites, usually made of thin plastic or tissue paper, being sold on the streets and flown across the ravine near our house. The kids found a few in trees and restored them, but Julie White our neighbor finally made a trip to buy all of the kids their own kites (about 50 cents each). These kites can fly with almost no wind at all!! Electricity and telephone wires are a problem in our neighborhood, but the kids had a great time. Saturday we took them all to the church yard where there is some wide, open space.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!

Today is our first Easter Sunday in Haiti. Friday night we attended a communion service where they read parts of the story of the Passion Week in between hymns about Christ's death and resurrection. With each reading a candle was blown out until we were left in total darkness. Supposedly in some villages here everyone spends Friday in silence.
Saturday at 2:00 some neighbor kids came over. They told the Easter story using the Resurrection Eggs. Then we dyed eggs and later hunted for candy and treats that Todd had hidden. Other moms brought extra snacks and treats. It was a fun little party.
This morning, I made some cinnamon rolls, and the kids delivered them to neighbors...the ones we did not eat, that is. :) At the church a cross was decorated with beautiful flowers of every color. As each person entered the church, they were given a flower to add. We sang some of my favorite hymns, "Hallelujah, What a Saviour," "Victory in Jesus"... It was a beautiful celebration of our life in Christ. On the way home from church, Todd bought me some flowers, so now they are sitting on our kitchen table and dining room table as a reminder of this special celebration of Christ's resurrection.

Open Hands

"Open hands should characterize the soul's attitude toward God
-open to recieve what He wants to give,
open to give back what He wants to take"

--Elizabeth Elliot