Your File is..., Misc

I went to pick up my US driver's license in the guts of Port-au-Prince (boy is it hot down there! And crazy busy, too!). I need it for my trip to the US and the Haitian driver's service had it to create my Haitian driver's license (they have had it for a looong time, but not as long as the gov't has had our adoption paperwork).

On my way to get my license, I paid a surprise visit to the orphanage director at her office. There was one person there that was doing paperwork. The director was not there. I went because I had to drop off a paper that Tina knew we didn't sign and to drop off another paper that they didn't have but Tina knew we needed.

I was allowed in to talk with the person doing paperwork. I told her that the paper I had in my hand was to replace the same paper that they had without the signature. I asked her to find the file and replace the paper I brought with the paper they had.

She started looking...and looking...and looking, but could not find our paperwork. I waited about 20 mins while she sorted through what looked like not that much paperwork. In other words, it appeared that she had gone through all the stacks of paperwork at least once within the 20 mins.

There are two ways that I can look at this and I am fighting to look at it the positive way (perhaps I have gotten a little too used to Haiti). One way is to think that they lost it. The right way is to think that they were working on our case and that the director wasn't there because she had it and was trying to make progress.

I will continue to try to hope for the best.

Misc.

Sleep

I made it until 3 AM this morning. I was very happy to see that on the clock this morning. The last 4-5 days I have been waking up around midnight and not being able to sleep well until I got up around 4 or 5 AM. I guess I have too many things to think about lately.

Jack

There is a gentleman, Jack, that is staying here at the mission for about a week. He has been helping to do various things. He has mostly been helping Pastor Rob's brother, Roger, with construction related things. Yesterday, he was pulling wood from the rafters and somehow his ladder gave way and he fell. The story that I was told (I haven't seen him yet) was that he has stitches in three places on one of his arms for a total of about 15 if I remember correctly. He also hit his knee and hip pretty bad, but was up and walking around yesterday afternoon.

I am so thankful that all I have had is a few cuts and bruises. With the amount of things that I do around big, heavy, "dangerous" things and with the odd ways of making things work here (like tying two ladders together with rope to make your own extension ladder), I have enjoyed my time here without any major incident.

Driver's License

I have to go into Port again today to finalize my Haitian license. It wasn't fun yesterday waiting in the heat and crowds to get my US license and I am anticipating the same "non-fun" today. Hopefully things go well. Yesterday while we were there, a guy started talking to our mission driver who took me (and Carter) there. He asked our driver if I knew how to speak Creole. Now, the words that I know mostly revolve around the mechanic shop and some construction as well as the everyday words that usually go around those mechanic and construction words - so I can get along fairly well. I answered him in pretty good Creole (speed and accent) telling him that I cannot speak Creole. It's not going to be as funny telling you this story here on the blog, but it was a very funny moment that cut through the heat and stress of hanging out waiting for transportation related paperwork. In the end, this paragraph may have been a bit boring for you.

Leaving

I am leaving tomorrow morning for MPLS. It's hard to leave my family. I want to enjoy the people and things of the States WITH them and not BEFORE them. My wife is incredible and puts a lot of focus on our children. There will be struggles, but I know that she'll make it through them OK with God's help. Please pray with me that all goes well for my family.