Hurricane Irene Came For A Visit

So sorry about being M.I.A.(Missing In Action)this week, but it turns out that we didn't have internet at Kenscoff, and even if we did, it wouldn't have mattered since there was no electricity the whole week. Which means no hot showers and it was brutal with the extreme hurricane weather. Hurricane Irene decided to hit this week, but we were fortunate enough to not be hit directly. I was very thankful for that! Even though it did not hit Haiti directly, it still did quite a lot of damage to the island. Trees were knocked down and heavy rain brought landslides down mountain sides. I was high up in the mountains of Kenscoff, which is 6,700 feet up to be exact, and it was downpour after downpour of rain. The winds got so strong that I almost fell over when I was running from one building to another. You would hear the winds just swirling throughout the night time and there would be piles of wet leaves and bark all over the floor in my room in the mornings. It was super cold and the shower felt like liquid ice! After about 5 seconds into the shower, my whole body would go numb! Ouch! It was quite an experience to say the least! Good thing the volunteer before me, Danielle, had given me advice on bringing a battery operated lantern for Kenscoff. That was what got me through the nights there this week. I had a flashlight for extra lighting when needed and the lantern was awesome to brighten up the small guest room. It was quite romantic actually. Just me, the lantern, and Master Cheng Yen's Water Repentance Book. It felt like I was camping in a really big tent. I guess it was luxurious camping! In Haiti, the sun comes up really early, like around 4:45am the whole sky starts to light up, and the same goes for night fall, the sun goes down around 6:30pm and it gets completely pitch dark within 15 minutes. So that would mean, if there's no electricity, you have like around 4 or 5 hours before you go to sleep that is just pitch dark (depending on what time you go to bed). So my eyes have been trying to get use to being in darker rooms and not going to lie, it does hurt my eyes. I am a person that always need a lot of light when I am working and just in general, so it is quite a challenge, both physically and psychologically to get use to the dark. I am working on it! Haha.

So Kenscoff, other than the extremely coldness, was awesome!!! I spent the whole entire week reading letters and showing the children pictures sent down from their adoptive parents. It was really great to see their smiling faces and curious eyes. They asked all different questions, like why do people have blond hair? Could I have blond hair? or if they will get a bike when they get to the States? And they all think that everyone in the photos are related to them somehow, even total strangers that are in the background of pictures on the road, they think they are related to them. It is these cute things that children think and say that just warms my heart. I love to see their eyes glimmer when they see new photos and watch their curiosity bloom over the days. I also spent a lot of time in the babies and toddler rooms. I was there taking care of them, playing with them, and feeding them. I was an active observer, both on the side lines and actively involved in their every action. I had a blast learning all the children's names and what their personalities were like. I also spent a couple of days on creating different art work with the children and giving them English lessons in the make-shift classroom they have in the basement part of the orphanage. Everyone had a good time and I was glad that I could contribute just a little for each and everyone of those little munchkins.

So I got 50 reports to do before the month is over! That's right, a monthly update report for every single child at FEJ orphanages. Wish me luck! Tons of writing is ahead of me! I am loving every single "letter" of it!

I got up at 4am today to come back to Lamardelle. Man, I can't believe I am not tired at all! Must be all that positive energy from all the children! I am truly blessed!