Transitioning

The worst thing about transition is that is never gets any easier, even if you have been through it a million of times (or what feels like a million times!).  Maybe I wasn't quite prepared how difficult another change would be this year, because in coming back to Haiti we knew what we were coming to and we knew what to expect but it hasn't been easy.

Poor Sam was back in Haiti for two days before starting back to school.  We are thankful he loves going to school but he is struggling with being away from home for so long. We leave home at 7.30am and hes not home until 3.15ish by which time he is exhausted.  Sam is one of those kids who just cannot cope with being tired.  Anyway he is gradually adjusting to being at school every day so please keep praying for him.

Joel is missing Sam a lot when he is away.  Its been a big change as the boys have been used to being together all day every day for the past 6 months.  Then to add insult to injury I started back to work last Thursday which Joel was not happy about.  Yverose always laughs and says that Joel knows what time it is, at 3pm he asks for me and just watches the driveway until I come home!  Saying that Joel is still our very easy going one and he is coping pretty well.  I've been surprised at how much he remembers about life in Haiti, he is loving having rice every day for lunch again!

Jacob has done pretty well, he wasn't well when we first came and not sleeping well and like Sam he just cannot cope with being tired.  Now is is sleeping much better he is a lot happier during the day.

So back to work...Altidor has been doing a brilliant job for the past 6 months.  All her patients are telling me how great she is and one patient in particular was singing her praises, he had a stroke in February and now is completely mobile again.

I enjoy being at work when I am there and I am really enjoying having some time to teach Altidor but I really don't like leaving the boys.  Yverose and Michilene are great, I just don't like to leave them with anyone really.  It's going to take me a while to get back into the swing of working... I have been away for 6 months after all. 

Every time we travel back to Haiti the sense of how difficult things really are hits you a little bit harder.  I think I see it more at the clinic, just this past week I met a granny taking care of her three grandchildren but now she has had a stroke so the kids are the carers, a little boy with cerebral palsy who is really underweight and after some conversation with mum it transpires she just doesn't have the means to feed him everyday and little Yvelinda, who has done so well with therapy, hasn't been for 4 months because now its 100 gourdes a visit.  That's £1.15 or $1.50 US.  The weight of meeting, treating and building relationships with these people is hard, I can't even imagine what its like to live it.

So if you remember please pray for us as we get used to life in Haiti again,  its different, draining,  exhausting and rewarding all at the same time. And pray for those we are working with, for the students and staff at EBS and our patients coming to Bethesda each day.