The Long-Awaited Update

Day 9 in Haiti!

Family and Friends,

So sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but here is the long-awaited update on our adventures in Haiti.  We would have written sooner, but we don't have internet access on our property yet, and it might be awhile now.  Fortunately, we should be able to have some limited access at a friend's house a couple of times a week until we get set up.  Also, I can't upload pictures with the speed of this internet connection.  We'll try again later.  Below is something I journaled a few days ago:

Our adventure is nearly one week long already, and the days are already passing by quickly. It seems like a good time to sit down and journal, because we haven't had internet access yet for communicating with everyone back home and updating the blog. Actually, the only correspondance we have had so far is one email with our parents and one with Pam which we sent on someone's blackberry. So things have been quiet here.  Well, as long as you don't count the roosters, countless bugs, donkeys, and other crazy noises you hear at night!


Actually the days are pretty loud too!  Every day a work crew comes to build another level on the top of the house where we are living, so they do quite a bit of banging up there. When the kids in the orphanage are home, which is all the time other than school, the yard is buzzing with activity. Also, many other people from the community like to come and hang out in the yard for various reasons...youth group, food and shoe distribution, medical attention, and other business relating to the schools and other projects. There is also a team here from the US, so they are busy doing different things in and around the house which they are sharing with us.

But I'll back up to the beginning and try to tell the adventure in the order it has happened...

DAY 1 (Tue, Nov. 9):

Cory:   Kester, what do you remember from our first day of driving from Sioux Center to Omaha and flying from Omaha to Chicago to Miami?

Kester: We got to see both sets of grandparents in the Omaha airport, and they said “goodbye” to us. I remember going fast in the airplane as it was taking off in Omaha. When we flew to Miami we got to see the ocean from the airplane, which was cool. In the motel we brushed our teeth after eating pizza and drinking pop. Dad and I slept in one bed, and mom and the girls slept together in another bed.

DAY 2 (Wed, Nov. 10):

Cory:   Elizabeth and Alexandra, what do you remember from our second day, when we flew to Haiti and then drove for a long time in the bus to Ti-Rivier?

Elizabeth & Alexandra: On the plane we found out “Baby Kiki” (Alexandra's blankey) was left in the motel in Miami. We took a nap on the bus. Everything we saw was different than in Sioux Falls. The people had dark skin. The people spoke a different language. The house where we would live was nice (we are temporarily staying in one room of the Mission House). We ate different food, and we liked it.

Kester: Dad, I'm hungry right now. Can I have a snack?

Cory: Lynn, what do you remember from the first couple of days?

Lynn: It was fun to see the kids' reaction to flying for the first time...to see it through their eyes. At the same time I couldn't help thinking, “What are we doing?  We're nuts!”  I was proud of the kids and the dog for doing so well travelling. It went pretty smoothly. The biggest disappointment was arriving at the orphanage and finding out my indoor toilet accidentally got locked in the back closet and no one in Haiti had the key.

DAY 3-7 (Thur-Sun):

Cory: Everyone...what are some things you remember from the first few days of living here in Ti-Rivier?

Kester: I have liked meeting new friends and having them meet us. I have played with John the most so far. He knows English.

Elizabeth: Swimming in the ocean is fun, but it is salty.

Kester: I like the ocean because there are waves. I'm having fun learning how to swim in the ocean.

Alexandra: I hope I get Baby Kiki back. I like going in the ocean, too. I don't like all the people here wanting to hold me and touch me.

Kester: I like to play with the kids in the orphanage, because they know english. We play badminton. I like to play soccer with them...they play rough, but I don't care.

Lynn: It has been great seeing everyone again and getting settled in.

Alexandra: I like it in the ocean that it is salty.

Elizabeth: I don't like that it is salty.

Kester: I like to play with my new friends because they are really nice to me. I like to mee the adults, too. I like to see the little crabs on the beach.

Lynn: There was a little lizard in our room waiting to greet us.

Kester: Yesterday was the first time I saw a crab. I liked going hiking with Dad and Elizabeth and climbing the mountain. I like seeing the little lizards. I like to hear the new sounds, like donkeys. I like to live in a new country. I know the word, “Wi”, which means “yes.” I know “bonjou”, which means “good morning.”

Cory: Lynn, do you want to say anything else?

Lynn: I'm tired. I was happy to see the kids jump right in and get involved and try the new food. Cory said to the kids, “Who wants to try goat meat?” and all of them said, “Me!” Bruce Milliken was here from Sioux Falls, and we figured out that he is actually my 2nd cousin on my mom's side. He is a great woodworker, and the first morning we were here he built me a ramp into the Mission house. The main frustration has been not being able to be mom to my kids...I can't help them take a bath, use the bathroom, cook for them, or even get them a drink of water. I'm frustrated by what I can't do, and Cory is frustrated by having to do everything.  But I will be able to do more things when we get our own space to live. It is also hard to be on display all the time with everyone gawking at us and watching what we do.

Cory: It is hard at this point to briefly give an overview of the first week because so much has happened. All of us have had our difficulties adjusting, but Pam was wise when she told us to not focus so much on “ministry” the first month and just work at adjusting to everyday life. The hard part in applying that each day is that people in the village still have their requests and their desires just to spend time with us. Also, the youth group always wants to meet every night, and the team working here often has questions about the work they are doing, etc... In addition to that the whole property is a construction zone and there always 11 orphans begging for attention.

Getting through each day is a small victory in and of itself and it brings us joy each time we feel a little bit more normal living here. I get really fired up each time I have a chance to be out in the community meeting people and practising creole. Learning how to do that with the kids tagging along is really the trick. Doing that will take years to perfect if it is even possible, finding ways to incorporate the kids into the minstry we are doing and yet balancing that out with adequate family time.

The youngest two members of our family, Alexandra and Cookie (our dog), have had the hardest time adjusting so far. We joke that at least Alexandra doesn't cry all the time...she takes regular breaks to whine, argue, pout, stomp her feet, fight with Kester and Elizabeth, and sometimes to eat or sleep.  Cookie has had an even harder time...she didn't pee the first 24 hours we were here!  But overall we are doing great and the adjustment process is going better than we could have hoped.  We are very happy here and can see all the ministry opportunities available to us in the coming months and years.

Thanks again to everyone who is praying for us and helping us to live out this adventure for God.  We truly appreciate it.

God Bless,
The Grimms