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Bon swa from Haiti, Hope this finds everyone well and persevering. The days of cruel heat are upon us here. The afternoon sun saps the vibrance of the population as they make their way through the dusty streets. For me, I am changing sweat soaked T-shirts 3 and 4 times a day. It may seem trivial to talk about the weather, but actually it is a big factor in life here. The heat is hard on everyone. There has been precious little rain and the dust that never settles is suffocating. With the heat here, sickness always increases. There are more types of rashes and sores than I can count that are related to the heat and that come with extra time spent in dirty water trying to find relief. The crime rate has been picking up a little. It's not at all like it was yet. I didn't think that the easy money made by kidnappers would be given up easily. It's not concentrated around Cite Soleil like it was. Cite Soleil has by all accounts been opening back up. Our schools there are both going. Pastor Jean is finally ready and even anxious for us to visit. My heart had burned for a long time to go back, but now I have kind of mixed feelings. One thing for sure is the massive amount of time and effort we are putting into the schools and feeding all around the Ti Goave area. I feel like my plate is full at the moment. I'd hate to see them get the kidnap stuff cranking again the day we go down. Also I don't want them kidnapping anyone that was seen with us after we go. I do want to go back. We've had a few deaths in the last couple of weeks. Nancy in PAP by Pastor Abner's house lost her mother last week. Her father has been dead for many years. She's with her grandmother. Shama's mother also died a couple of weeks back. I'll be sending another newsletter with more details on that situation. One lady near the Royale school died leaving 16 kids. We have a few of them in our school there. Another young lady died across from the school. Also a boy that was in the school suddenly died a couple weeks. Chertaly had malaria but thankfully she is about finished recovering. I mentioned a girl named Francois in the school in Smyrne in the last newsletter I wrote. She had died suddenly. I briefly mentioned that the only explanation floating around was that she had an aunt that put a curse on her. I do not know the aunt but rumors of her black magic powers have followed her since her days high up in the mountains before she moved to Ti Goave. Her own brother claimed she was a "loup-garou." That's what they call people that they believe turn into animals and send curses and search for souls to devour. These superstitions have been the cause of much bloodshed in Haiti. The brother was working on a rooftop one day and fell off, wounding himself nigh unto death. Though she was nowhere around at the time, he claimed that the aunt was behind it. These and other continual accusations and wild stories sank deep into the ears of his second son, now 18. He decided that she was not going to get away with her black magic this time. She already heard rumors circulating that she was the cause of Francois' death. She feared for her and her small children's lives. With little time or money to plan, she set out on foot to escape. With a small child in each hand, she made her way through the night. The second son knew of her plan and he went on ahead. This left no doubt that she was guilty. If she wasn't guilty, why was she running. He had borrowed a machete from an uncle and with that in his hand and misguided rage in his heart, he laid in wait by the side of the road, for the "loup-garou." The story gets a little murky after that, but for certain, when it was all over, the aunt lay dead with machete wounds to the shoulders, back, and face. He did not harm the children, if you don't count the emotional trauma of seeing their mother butchered before their eyes, and the fact that they are motherless in a merciless country. He is now in jail and will probably stay there until the story fades and he comes up with a suitable bribe for a judge. One of the many things that makes this bad is that he doesn't think he did anything wrong. As to a little bit better news, the feeding programs are all going strong. We're putting out 1,200 to 1,600 meals a week at the Royale school alone. We continue to have record numbers of kids at the Happy House every day. Also, many of the new kids at the house have been coming to church with us. They are even learning how to play without cheating. We have had MANY sick folks and I thank the Lord that the vast majority have recovered. I have learned to be thankful here when things go "normal." I'm thankful that hungry kids are eating. We have a little deaf boy named Billy that has been coming to the house every day for the last couple of weeks. He has no kind of schooling but he is very intelligent. His father is dead and his mother lets him roam the streets and fend for himself all day. He's probably about 14 though he could pass for 11 or 12. He has huge eyes and those long eyelashes that the girls always fawn over. He's not handsome by any stretch, but he's real cute, for now. His cuteness has endeared him to folks more than if he were older. Of course eventually, he will get older. Hopefully by then, we'll have figured out some better way for him to get along. Normally in Haiti, when a person has a disability, that becomes the person's name. A mute is called "Mute" for his name. A cripple's name is "Cripple." This was the case with Billy and it took some digging to find out what his real name is. Everybody had seen him around the streets, everyone knew his face, no one knew his name. Finally we found someone who knew and now at the house we call him Billy. He doesn't hear it, but I think he can see a little more respect in people's faces when they call him by his name. Having spent most of his days fighting and surviving in the streets, he can be rough. He's also quite emotionally charged. He fights, laughs, cries, all with equal ease. He is thrilled to be eating regular meals every day. Sometimes he tries to take food from the other kids. He is indeed a handful, (aren't we all), but so far he's found heaven and we're glad to have him around. Well, gonna wrap this up. I'm working on Shama's story. Part one is written, but I can't send it yet because I don't have part two and people don't like to just get part one :0) We have successfully had four "blan" come and go without getting kidnapped. Joel and Bobcat came and also Dr. Hal and Debbie. Also we got another visit from Christian and some more Canadian police here with the United Nations. Oh...I nearly forgot, little Melissa asked me to be looking for a dad for her. She lives in a little mud hut out near Lakul. Her dad is dead. I can't begin to write a serious chunk of all that's going on here, but this will have to do for now. Please keep us in your prayers. Haiti is a dark place and we want the light of Jesus to continue to shine brightly. Take care and Bon Dieu beni nou!!! fre Ed |