I’m starting to think that’s my husband’s motto. How else did we have 18 people sleeping in our house last night?
Okay, I admit it. I was a little worried how this was all going to go down. Like, how was I supposed to know how much food to cook? Did I have enough sheets and pillows for everyone? Was there enough floor space to lay out the mattresses? How were we going to transport everyone? Did we have enough chairs to sit on?
These thoughts whirled through my mind in the most inopportune times of course; like when I was supposed to be sleeping. But somehow it all worked out fine.
Here are some photos of our day.
What better food to make then a giant pot of spaghetti?
Port au Prince traffic.
Crowded streets.
Made it through.
Relaxing outside.
New clothes from Oma and Opa!
Front door shoe collection.
Eating dinner.
A spot to sleep for everyone..
Good night!
Steadying myself I adjust the camera settings.
It's early morning, barely after 6:00 a.m., and we are on the way to the Port au Prince airport. Today is the day we hope to fly our own airplanes to the Dominican Republic for our annual MAF staff retreat. Hotels in the DR are simply cheaper and we're looking forward to some time to rest, and study God's Word together.
The sky is gray, and dust and pollution billows up around us as we make out way through the already crowded streets.
I focus and snap.
I hit the playback button and glance down at the screen. The picture is grainy, but it somehow captures what words fail to describe.
20 minutes later we reach the domestic terminal and unload are backpacks. The MAF pilots get to work filling out paperwork and filing flight plans as we wait. When everything is in order we head out through the glass doors to the tarmac.
Once the backpacks and bags are safely stored we taxi via the runway to the international terminal.
Waiting for customs to stamp our passport I watch the sun rise.
As dawn turns to day, Jayden and his fried Jacob watch in wonder as American Airlines lands and taxis in. From our location, we can feel the wind from its jet engines.
When Justin starts to get heavy in my arms, I lift him back into the cockpit and let him try on his Daddy's flight helmet.
15 minutes later I look out of the airplane window as the city slowly disappears beneath us.
The city eventually gives way to dry, arid mountains.
I don't need a map or gps to know when we cross the border into the Dominican Republic. One glance down tells me enough.
Not to long after, we have Puerto Plata's coastline in sight.
After disembarking and going through Dominican customs, we head outside to a waiting bus.
The hotel that we will spend the next few days at is very pretty!
Orchids grow wild and small fountains bubble in the manicured gardens.
That same afternoon the conferences begin.
We listen, study, pray and sing.
Between conference times, the kids play on the beach.
We soak in the beauty of sand, sky and sea.
The sound of the waves and the wind soon lulls my baby to sleep.
Pulling out my library book, I disappear into the pages.
Jason enjoys long talks with a good friend.
At night the setting sun colours the sky with her golden rays.
A small part of me tries to capture the serenity of the quiet moments and save them for later.
The next six weeks, God willing, our home will be a bee hive of activities as it is filled with friends, guests and teams!
The weather last week was cool and cloudy. We enjoyed it and even wore long sleeve shirts a few of the days; a real treat!
This week the sun is back! The sky is blue, plants and trees are growing and tropical birds sing in their branches.
We are all thankfully feeling healthy again. A pile of fruits and vegetables have been added to our weekly diet. Every morning I make juice out of carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and oranges. Then I mix in a little strawberry/banana juice. With this daily infusion of vitamins and minerals we've never felt better!
Justin little Bustin, as we like to call him, is walking all around the house on his own! It is so cute and fun to watch him. His older brother, of course, is very proud.
Palo, Wilson, and Jedline, the neighbour boys are all in school! With the money he earned from the cereal boxes Wilson was able to purchase the uniform pants he needed to go back. When I gave them birthday cake the Saturday after Justin's birthday they only ate half and then asked for a little ziplock so they could take the rest home for their younger siblings. This week I received a bag of chips from Wilson. Palo, who can barely read, did much better and gained some confidence when we read the Bible story together. I used to ask God to help me love the boys. I no longer need to ask.
Who says toys have to cost money? This past Saturday, Jayden and I spent hours building a castle out of cardboard boxes, tins, baby cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls. Then we painted and papered it with construction paper. It was great fun!
Today marks the beginning of a long line of guests at our home. The guest room is ready and we are looking forward to it!
This Thursday we leave for our annual staff retreat in the DR. We are looking forward to digging deeper into God's Word with the help of a Pastor and his wife, and a little time of rest and relaxation as well!
