Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Greg's birthday. I wish I could be there to wish Togo happy birthday in person. We had cereal for breakfast, and coffee of course. We've had coffee every day! The coffee is so good! I guess it's a good thing that we don't drink coffee at home, or I'd probably drink too much when I get back. Oh, we went on a walk at 6:15 again. It was the same group except we traded Logan for Bethany. On the way back a guy named Donald joined us and walked with us most of the way through town. He talked with Marty quite a bit, and he told us that he knew the Campbell's and the other missionaries in town. I guess he did, because he was in the send off group at the airport that afternoon! The morning we spent in a bit of packing and then mostly with the kids. Jesse and Logan went to town to get machetes and vanilla for everyone. (people place 'orders' before they leave!) Jimmy became especially attached to me. He wouldn't hardly leave my side all morning. Otenel, on the other hand, kept running away and being ornery. A lot of the girls got really moody. Benji just sat around, but Galaan and Rosie wanted me to hold them. Mariilyn stayed with Hannah much of the time. Most of the middle aged boys were kinda teasing or held back. Wesley sat off to the side of the porch, Ronald sat with the much on the porch but wouldn't say much, and Davenel just sat off under a tree. He drew me a picture though. It was a big beetle and flowers (the beetle he draw from a rubber one the kids had played with all week). He's a pretty good artist. Hilary had the kids sign a shirt for her and Davenel drew flowers on the front. For lunch we had macaroni and cheese, fresh mango, and citron/orange juice. It was my last taste of the fresh Haitian juice. (that I keep raving about!) After lunch we loaded the truck and said good-bye. I gave all the nurses hugs and they seemed sad to see me go, I'd had such a good time singing with them. I gave hugs to the older girls too. Lulu, Rosie, Dauline, Francois, Galeen, Galaan and the other little girls let me hug them, but the middle aged girls held back. We went over to the boys' dorm to say good-bye too. Jimmy, Jackinson and Otenel were climbing trees and didn't want to say good-bye. Wesley and Friko came over to see us but you could tell they were sad. Davenel said good-bye and then left, Ronald was really reluctant to say anything. Jennifer, Bill, Jesse and Benji went with us to the airport. The kids waved good-bye but they were subdued as we left. The saddest thing to see though was that Davenel was sitting by the boys' dorm wiping his eyes... Both the working MFI planes came into Pignon that day. The first, the one on which we had arrived, dropped off another team associated with the seven who came with us, and then left. The second one came about twenty minutes later and took us and the team that came with us on board. I got to hold Benji for awhile while at the airport and I didn't want to let her go. Good-byes were hard for me. I didn't actually cry, but I did tear up two or three times. Our team had to hurry boarding so that we could take off in time to reach Ft. Pierce before customs closed. We landed in Cape Haitian to clear customs leaving Haiti. Leaving there we were supposed to have 18 people. Somehow, whether the guy didn't show up or the pilots just forgot him, we left a guy behind! It was a Haitian guy in a group going to FL. I slept quite a lot going home. I was feeling sad and suddenly more tired than I had been (probably because everything was over and there was no extra adrenaline) We did play cards part of the way too, just sat in a circle on the floor of the plane! There was some glorious sand marbling in and around the Exuma Cays and Nassau. I took some pictures with Hannah's camera and I'm hoping they came out nicely. We made it to Ft. Pierce about 10-15 minutes before customs closed. Walking into the airport was kind of a shocker....because there was A/C! It was cold in there. It was pretty to see the reactions to all the bags with machetes and vanilla in them...there was no surprise! Apparently those are the two most popular items brought back. It was really cool watching the scanners when all our bags went rhough. There were different colors for different types of materials. Our Hertz cars were Nissan Altimas. They were quite comfortable. It was a funny mix of new and old though. There was a key, but just the fob, no metal part. If you had it near the car then you pushed a button on the dashboard and that started the car. There was no key hole! But at the same time the seats were all manual adjustment, no buttons. The first thing that struck me as really being home and not in Haiti anymore, besides the A/C, was driving by a field with two horses in it. I said, "horses," and in my mind I thought, "wow, I just saw real horses." Then it struck me what an odd thought that was. The horses in Haiti were real, just not like the ones I was used to seeing. The drive to West Palm Beach was fun. I was Marty's navigator and Hannah was also with us. We listen to the radio and I heard some songs that were new to me. (Quite amusing to Hannah and Marty who knew them well) Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got, Don't Stop Believing, Calling All Angels, and maybe another one. We stayed at a Best Western. After arriving at the motel we took off to get gas and find a place to eat dinner. At the gas station the guy inside suggested the Mexican restaurant across the way. We got there just at closing, but they told us to come in anyway. It was authentic! The sings were all in Spanish, the menu was in Spanish (w/ English on the side :P) and to Logan, Hannah and Hilary's great amusement there was a soap opera on TV...in Spanish! I got a BBQ goat torta. (I'm telling you, I love goat) It was a really big sandwich though. We all had plenty to eat (but Logan and Hannah had to go next door and try the homemade ice cream) After that Marty, Dorene and I scouted out our route to Hertz for the next morning. Turns out it was just three or four miles down the same road we were on...so that was cool. Back at the hotel most of the girls decided to take long showers. Having taken one that morning I went straight to bed! =)