Day 7 - The longest yet

Today was a day of sacrifice while others received their great blessing! But before I go any further I'd like to just be clear that Jason and I are ecstatic to be here. There's no where else we'd rather be. The moments I'm sharing with you are not complaints but the reality of the situation. We would go through anything for our girl and the little we've endured so far will seem so small in years to come. Also, I apologize if I repeat things I've mentioned before. Moving on...

Today we had the pleasure of another family joining us at the creche. They are here to pick up their two boys from a different creche but couldn't go until 2 pm, so joined us for the morning time. The couple brought both sets of parents along on this 'gotcha' day trip. I think that's so sweet and a challenge for the parents. They got their workouts in at the creche, a lot more than those sneaker classes at the gym! It was precious to see the kids interact with others though. B wasn't so sure who they all were and I didn't know how to explain it to her. She took whatever attention she could as well, but kept coming back to us. Eventually she started to shut down. We've seen this happen when all the kids come out to play. She seems overwhelmed and just not sure. I think part of it is jealousy, not wanting to share us but to me I sense more over stimulation for her. She has only been there for 9 months which is a short time considering she is 6. We're also not sure if she is real connected to anyone there. Maybe more time will tell. 

We did get a tour of the entire facility today. Hearing about the other creche from the family with us I realize how incredibly blessed we are to have B at this one. Although some stuff seems wild to us, like cribs lined up next to each other, touching, filling the room for kids of ages 1 to probably 7, maybe 8. They have bunk beds for the older, bigger kids as well. They go to bed around 6 pm, which is so early and yet when the sun starts going down. We saw the kids classrooms where the teachers are doing English, Spanish and French/Creole. The older kids were working on Math. One of the greatest sounds I heard today was the kids singing How Great Thou Art in their language. All of this is happening because of the great structure and teachers they have there. 

Today I was able to learn a little bit more about some of the kids living there. You may recall the older boy who Qade has done some stuff with and I mentioned I'd take him home in a heartbeat. Well, if I did that I'd have to take his 3 brothers too. Yep. Four brothers are living at that creche. I wonder what happened in their lives to land them all there. We've met two of them so far that we know of. I hope to figure out who the other two are. I'm also wondering at what age can they stay at the creche. I vaguely recall that around age 12 they can't care for them anymore. I hope I am wrong as this young man is 11 already. If you would, take a moment and pray for him and his brothers. It's possible they still have parents around. I didn't get a clear answer. 

So that sacrifice for our day...when the afternoon portion of our day came we were dropped off at our creche and that family was off to pick up their kids. On the already emotional day I could feel their emotions as well. They were excited and anxious and about to burst, all of them. It was so precious, so sweet and I can not wait until we are in those seats! Their creche is about an hour or more away, depending on traffic. We knew our afternoon could be longer than normal and we were right. Around 5:45 it started to pour. At that time most of the kids were headed to bed. We still had B and went inside to relax and wait for our ride. Around 6:15 we were told they'd be there in 5 minutes. I decided to take B to bed so we'd be ready to run through the rain and into the van. Five minutes turned into a half hour. During that time one of the nannies had called our driver to find out where he was at. She tried to tell us but we had no clue what she was saying. We had her type into google translate and got the jist of it all. We went to another area where there was a different door to exit the creche. One that was not on a steep hill. Steep hills are not easy to go up when it is raining here. Especially when your 15 passenger van has 13 passengers! Frank, our driver, is incredible getting around in traffic, but a traffic jam in the rain slows down anyone. So, around 6:50 we finally entered the van and we're on our way back. In the van were those two sweet boys who were headed home with their new family. The feeling in that van was much different than earlier in the day. There was peace, a calm and serene feeling. All anxieties had been washed away and the joy of having their children at last overwhelmed them all. It was beautiful, even in the dark van. We were blessed to have their first dinner with them as a family! It's so neat to see this step of the process transpire right before our eyes. Their pick up was even unique as the parents and grandparents were there to say good bye. Each child is different in their situation and each creche as well. Who knows what our day will bring when we go to pick up B! For now I will take in the sweet moments of this family uniting.

Each day we learn a little more of the language and culture. It's eye opening, humbling and yet my heart is growing more and more for Haiti! I knew God would do so much more than we could even imagine and it's happening. It's still only the beginning of something much greater. So I will end today as so...

Lord, lead me beside quiet waters, restore my soul and open my eyes to see all that you are doing here. Help my mouth to stay quiet, my ears to remain open and my heart ready for the desires you have placed there. May my hands and feet go where your light leads. Amen.