"Field Posts"

Creole word for the day: Zami (pronounced zah-mee) which means friend. Meet Merihta (pronounced Meh-ree-tah).  She comes every day (M-F) to help us with the kids.  She is the reason that Rob and I are able to focus on language learning every morning.  We have a tutor come to our house from 9 to 10 AM and then we try to focus on studying individually from 10 to 12.  She doesn’t speak English, so she is especially great for the kids language development.  Tessa calls her “my friend” and loves to play a game she made up called “hide the X.”  Drew often does his own thing playing outside when Merihta is here.  It’s Braden who especially loves hanging with Merihta.  She pushes him around on a two-wheeled bike (making him think he’s a big boy), lets him sit on Daddy’s motorcycle, and helps him color (the boy is obsessed with coloring right now… well, scribbling.) Braden wasn’t thrilled with the whole idea of hanging out with Merihta at first, espe...

I have no idea why this helicopter landed in our neighbors yard two weeks ago, but Drew and I enjoyed watching it take off! It kicked up a lot of dust and dirt taking off! Drew “posed” for this one :) ~Becky

It was here.  The Sunday I had been looking forward to from the moment we made the decision to move to Haiti.  I went to bed Saturday night looking forward to our first visit as a family to an RMI sister church.  Even better, we were going out to visit with a team visiting from the US.  I couldn't wait to worship; couldn’t wait for the kids to see what it was like in a village for a few hours. (Warning: what is to follow is not for the faint at heart) Braden woke up that morning smeared in poop.  Just cleaning him and his crib up took 15 minutes.  We threw away the pajamas and a pacifier. Drew woke up complaining that his belly hurt.  This is where my heart hurts.  We decided to go anyway.  Often, he says his belly hurts or he’s tired when he doesn’t want to obey or do something we want him to do.  This morning, he didn’t want to get dressed.  Sometimes he gets carsick and knew we were going to be driving on rough roads for an...

Sunday was my birthday, and since I’m sure you want to ask, I turned 35.  That number makes me feel old for some reason… don’t know why.  Anyway, it was my first birthday in Haiti and the weekend was a lot of fun! On Saturday, I went shopping in Cayes with Amy Long, another RMI missionary here who is quickly becoming a good friend!  We took our 4-wheelers up to the Cite Lumiere clinic and took motorcycles taxis into the downtown Cayes market area.  The motorcycle taxi was a fun adventure!  It’s exactly what it sounds like— paying a fare and getting on the back of a Haitian’s motorcycle.  I’ve driven in a car for that ride many times, but there is something different about seeing Cayes that way. We met Jenn Rogan, another missionary, at the market area to shop.  The streets are lined with stores, but we didn’t really go in them.  We checked out the vendors lining the streets.  It’s kind of like a bid yard sale.  Used clothes, shoes, n...

I am really getting sick of bugs.  I like to think I’m adventurous and pretty brave.  I like to think I roll with the punches pretty well.  I did move to Haiti, after all.  But I have to admit to you that the bugs are really starting to get to me.  ALL the bugs, not just the big ones. Drew just woke up from a nightmare, and when I was taking him back to his room, I saw something crawling slowly in front of his door.  My contacts were already out for the night, so I thought it was a small tarantula and called Rob (who was already sleeping) to come out and kill whatever it was.  Well, it was a scorpion.  I am feeling discouraged tonight.  We all have a new round of bug bites (mosquitoes or gnats or no-see-ums, I’m not sure).  I can’t get away from the moths and beetles.  The constant line of tiny, marching sugar ants in my kitchen doesn’t help either.  It’s really all part of life in Haiti.   In general, I’m okay ...

I just had to blog my favorite picture.  This was taken our first full day in Haiti, at sunset.  It really captures the sense of adventure, excitement and hope we all felt that first day at our new home.  I think Rob is a pretty amazing amateur photographer, don’t you?  ~Becky

Tessa gave us our first reason to visit the Cite Lumiere Clinic today.  Of course, Rob is away on his first overnight trip.  He’s at the Zanglais Retreat Center with a team from Gainsville, FL who was out visiting their sister church.    About an hour after he left, I hear Tessa screaming.  I was outside by our depot and she was by our front “porch” door and shut her thumb in the iron gate door.  Her thumb was shut in the hinge side and the gate had latched.  Josette was closest to her and had to unlatch the gate to get her thumb out.  Looking at where her thumb was later tonight, I have no idea how she didn’t  completely crush her thumb.  I could tell right away I needed to take her to the clinic to see a doctor--  her thumb was already blood-red from broken blood vessels and looked flattened.  It was all I could do to take a deep breath and stay clam.  Since Rob was away, I had to think pretty quick about what to ...

Here are some pics of today’s fun…  Our new swimming pool!    Tessa was the funniest!  Her little personality is starting to really shine as she gets closer to 4 years old!  She was singing nonsensical songs as loud as she could the entire time in the “pool” and trying to make us laugh with her poses.  Most of the time, she just laughs at herself! Overall, it was a fun day, and the kids stayed cooler. ~Becky

Here is a video I shot out at Les Irois, Haiti.  If you want to see what this school looked like before, watch this video.  In this video, you will see some Haitian scenery, the school construction progress, as well as me crossing the river to get to Les Rois Church/School. Rob