Our day began to a beautiful sunrise and the roosters crowing. Haiti. Such a slow pace. We enjoyed a relaxing morning in the beautiful Guest House. Russ led us in a devotion and we all chatted about all that we had experienced so far. We prayed and sang - had our own church service - as we thought about our Hickory Grove family at home. So thankful for all of their prayers and support.
The Clay kids have found Jarod to be the fun "big kid" and have roped him into playing with them several times. I think he secretly loves it but tells me he's "helping out" so all the grown ups can talk. So proud of the way he is handling it all. Last night the power went out and they were having a hard time getting the generator going. He played tag in the dark with them forever. He especially likes Jackson.
Once again - fond memories from last time as we traveled through Port-au-Prince and arrived to the tink-tink-tinking of the hammers and nails on those metal drums. Blocks and blocks of shops where you can buy unique items made from recycled oil drums. This is where Shelley gets all her medallions for her necklaces along with the crosses and nativity sets I have at Christmas time.
It is so fun to walk through - each artisan inviting you into their shop to show you their work. So many beautiful things!
Croix de Bouquet
Russ chatting with Jean-Claude Pierre about a special order that we placed through Shelley several weeks back. Can't wait to show you the finished product!
After lots of shopping - and buying - we had to get a group shot. Shelley took this for us so we are missing her in the pic. But we do have our Haitian friends.
Peterson, Emanuel, Johnny and Juvenson.
Shelley and some of our group following the TapTap.
After a very bumpy and very dusty ride back to the Guest House, we took a little break and then Shelley came back and took us to the artisan house. It's just a five minute walk from where we are staying. I was amazed at how much it has changed since I was there last year.
Lots of bright colors! You can't miss it when you drive through the neighborhood. It was so awesome to walk through that front gate again.
The pottery/kiln area
Photo credit - Elysia Armington
Photo credit - Elysia Armington
Again - not a whole lot of pictures yet. I was taking in all the changes. But don't worry - they are coming!
After Shelley gave us a tour of the artisan house, she took us to the new place. They are simply out of room! Every inch of that house is being used so they are expanding. The artisans will overflow into the house the Clay's are currently living in and they are moving into a larger place next door.
Isn't it awesome? They will live on the top floor and the bottom floor can be used for guest overflow and other things.
This is our task this week. The entire inside of this house needs painting to be ready for them to move in. Plus we have the fun job of giving Keziah (Shelley's daughter) her own space. It's a surprise and we are all so excited!!!
Another task this week is to paint two of the houses in the community. One is a single mom who works for AP and the other is for an elderly couple that would not be able to do it on their own. Shelley took us for a walk to show us these homes and so we could see the area where the majority of the artisans live.
One of the first artisans we met was Kettly, one of the seamstresses. I remembered her house from before - beautiful curtains hanging on the door and a flower garden out front. Everything inside all neat and tidy. It was a really special moment because Zoe, one of the girls on our team, was wearing one of the purses that Kettly had made. Zoe bought it from me months ago and is never without it. Kettly recognized it and beamed from ear to ear. She hugged Zoe and was just so proud. I fought back the tears.
We were cautious about taking pictures. Many of the Haitians do not like it. After all - would you like it if some stranger came up to your family or your house and just started taking random photos? We only did so with permission and I just love this one of our Chey playing with the children.
Photo credit - Elysia Armington
The kids flocked to both Chey and Jarod and even though they couldn't understand each other, they smiled and played together.
Heading back through the neighborhood to the Guest House.
Chef "Z" had another awesome meal waiting for us!
Tomorrow we begin the painting in the community and in the Clay's new home. Lots to do before we leave on Saturday morning. We are all so thankful to be here and are excited about all that lies ahead.
Continue to pray for good health. A few are still fighting the stuffiness. No fun!!! And of course, all of the dust here doesn't help that. Pray that they get well quickly and are able to plug ahead without feeling lousy at the same time.
Cannot express enough how happy I am to be here. God is so good.
Until tomorrow........
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