Creole for Dummies

I basically spent this whole week working on my Creole.  I will be fluent.  I will.  Life goal.  It’s not on my Truck-It List because I don’t think it will happen this summer, but it will happen.  Anyway, I’ve had teachers of all different shapes and sizes this week:

-The kids are usually my favorite to learn from.  Partly because they’re so dang cute, and I just like hanging out with them (surprise, surprise), and partly because they’re easier to understand.  They usually speak slower and have smaller vocabularies, so I can keep up with what they’re saying.

-Then you have Ruth and her cousins… little punks.  Okay, just kidding.  I love them to death.  Ruth is about ten and was staying out at La Baie with us to visit her aunt.  They found out I spoke some Creole and decided to only talk to me in it one night when we were hanging out—even though almost all of them spoke English, too.  Whenever they say something too fast, I always say “Two vit!”  “Too fast!”  So Ruth though it’d be funny to make fun of me by saying the sentence one syllable at a time as if I were dumb.  I hit her in the head.  She laughed.  Little punk.

-My interpreters and the driver this week also tried to only talk to me in Creole.  They definitely speak too fast… But I got used to it a little bit.  Sometimes I would say something like, “Hey, Amos, can you help me put this kite together?”  And he would answer, “Can you ask me in Creole?”

Hedwing, the other interpreter, decided he would teach me through songs.  I learned a Haitian dance called Kompa, which is kind of a slow dance--really easy.  He taught me a couple of other reggae-ish type dances and in return I showed him the basic swing dance moves and a salsa-ish dance step.  (The latter worked much better with Puerto Rican music than the former, FYI…) He wrote down the names of some of the Haitian artists we listened to so I can iTunes it up.  Seriously good music.

-But the prize for the best teacher of the week goes to Maxem, the headmaster at the school in Augustine.  First of all, he doesn’t know any English, so he couldn’t cheat and tell me what he said.  Instead, he would slow down (not making fun, like Ruth) or he would write it down for me.  I learned a ton.  I also gave him my email address, so I could have a Haitian penpal to practice with!

Usually, I do a single Creole lesson, but seeing as I've been learning so much, I'll throw a couple at you this time.

I picked my Neighbors Project group up from the airport last week.  While I was waiting for the plane to come in, I met a really nice Haitian guy who had a shoe-washing stool set-up.  He knew a little English and I know a little Creole, so we managed to have a nice conversation.  Somehow we ended up on the subject of my future in Haiti and how it's all still pretty blurry at this point.  His response:

“Bondye konn tout bagay.”

At first, I didn't understand... I asked him to repeat it for me.  And then I got it:

“God knows everything.”

Words of wisdom from a shoe-cleaner.  And some freshly-cleaned TOMS.

Last blog, I wrote about the proverb "There are mountains beyond mountains," but I forgot to say why.  I just finished a book called Mountains Beyond Mountains, an amazing non-fiction true story about a doctor in Haiti named Paul Farmer.  Here are some stories from the book:

When asked how a God who loves us could "permit such great misery," the Haitians answered: “Bondye konn bay, men li pa konn separe.”

“God gives but doesn't share."

Farmer translated this as "God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he's not the one who's supposed to divvy up the loot."  That charge was laid on us."  Some of the things I've seen here... you have no idea.  I've had the same thoughts at times: Why, God?  Maybe the Haitians are right.  Maybe it's up to us to makes things right, to make God's Kingdom come.

One story told of a pregnant woman who came to a hospital (not Farmer's) with malaria.  The woman needed blood and couldn't afford it, so she was denied.  In tears, her sister cried out: “Tout moun se moun!”  Literally "All people are people” or as the author translated, “We’re all human beings."  A simple obvious statement, with great impact.

What people are we ignoring?  All people are people.

Haiti Truck-It List Cont.

-learn how to make a kite

-ride/drive a moto (Love you, Papa.  Being safe.)

-go to a Haitian dance club

-go to the movies

-watch a birth

buying something from market without help-check

carrying something on head without my hands-in progress

Prie

Please being praying for my future plans in Haiti.  Bondye konn tout bagay!

Loue

I've been learning so much about the Neighbors Project this week!  I will tell you about it on my blog on Saturday.   So many ideas swirling in my head!  Get ready for something huge, DeBary!

-Ti Blan

More Than Meets the Eye

Five and a half hours later, we arrive at the Mole!  First thing we did was get stuffed to bursting with great Haitian food and then we were shipped off to the beach.

WOW.  Beautiful.
Sinclair, one of the interns, found a reef a little further out and called out for us to come see it.  Of course, I brought my scuba mask and snorkel along for the ride.  At first I was thinking, "I can't tread water for too long... I'll take a look and then swim back."  I ended up staying out there for about 45 minutes.

Yes, you read that correctly.  45 MINUTES.  People reading this who don't know me too well are thinking, "So?..."  But my family is probably laughing in disbelief right now.  But it's true!  I, Melissa, can officially tread water for long periods of time without panicking because my feet don't touch.

And boy, was it worth it!  The reef seriously was beautiful!  Coral, fish of every size and color, little caves for them to swim in and out of... amazing.  When we went back out Sunday, we even got to see this really cool shipwreck (not any farther out, don't worry).  I felt like I was in Finding Nemo--complete with overprotective father.  ;)

(PS I accidentally told this story to Papa on Father's Day and regretted it the moment it came out of my mouth.  I figured since I already blurted to him, it'd be safe to blog about.  Papa, sorry for worrying you on Father's Day!  I promise I'm being safe.  We weren't out too far, and we were in a group.  Love you!)

After church on Sunday, we had another Survivor: Haiti challenge.  The task: sandcastles.  One of the things we were being judged on was creativity, so I thought it would be interesting to do a drip castle--which apparently no one had heard of before.  (Is that a Cuban thing, too?  Like hot sauce in spaghetti?)  Anyway, it turned out pretty cool.  We made a drip spiral staircase all the way to the tip, a moat, and a really cool bridge made of sticks.

At one point, Kelsey, from the other team, came over and started watching us.  It made me nervous the way she was looking at our castle, so I yelled out, "Spy!  Spy!"  She said, "You know... this looks a lot cooler than I thought it would."  At first, I was a little offended, but really it was a compliment.  From far away, a drip castle really does look stupid, but when you get closer, you see the details: the spiraling towers, the arches, the walls--all made drop by drop.

It was more than meets the eye.  Just like when we looked at the water, all we saw was blue.  It took the effort of looking deeper to realize the beauty that was just below our feet.  Maybe it's a lot like Haiti, too.  Maybe all the Haitians need is someone who will not just look or stare, but really see them.  To look past the first glance and and see the beautiful details of each distinct person.

Prie:
First of all, thank you so much CUMC for praying for me and the Haitian people.  I felt it!
Second, Melonnie is the leader of the interns, and she's sick.  Again.  Girl is seriously always sick.  We kinda of need her and love her, so healing would be great!

Loue:
Tomorrow my new group comes in and *drumroll* it's a Neighbors Project group!  Whoo!  I will be spending a week in La Baie and going to Augustine each day for all sorts of fun activities.  This group was one of the first Neighbors Projects ever started, so it should be really interesting to see what type of relationship has been built.  I can't wait to tell you all about it.  (By the way, I don't know if I'll be able to blog while I'm there.  If you go a week without hearing from me, I promise I'm not dead!)

Creole lesson:
Deye mon gen mon.
Beyond mountains there are mountains.
The Haitian proverb book I have interprets this as meaning "There's a hidden meaning to what is being said."
Here's how I see it:
We don't have mountains in Florida.  If you look out across a field, you see the horizon. In Haiti, you would see a mountain.  It completely blocks the view.  So really you have two choices: (1) either assume that there is or is not another mountain on the other side or (2) go check it out for yourself.  Haiti is more than meets the eye.

Love from the beautiful mountains of Haiti,
Melissa

His Joy Comes with the Morning

There are lots of sounds in Haiti... It's not uncommon to wake up to a symphony roosters, donkeys, flies, dogs, music, people.  We all joke that walking down the street in the morning is like the opening song in Beauty and the Beast: "Bonjour!  Bonjour!  Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour!"  Music blares on motos, people bargain over prices in the market, kids yell out blan!  And singing.  Lots of singing.  Everyone seems to be singing all the time.

But never in all my time in Haiti have I heard a sound like I heard today.  It was a sound that will be etched into my memory forever, that will haunt my dreams.  The screaming cries of a woman whose husband died in our clinics this morning.  The sound continued to echo in my ears so loudly--even after I pulled myself away--that I had to clamp my hands over my ears to be able to hear the still soft voice trying to calm me.

I don't know her name.  I never even saw her face.  But I heard her anguish and will never forget.  Please pray for her.  Please.

I'm writing early because we leave for the Mole tomorrow.  It's a 7.5 hour trip each way, and we'll come back Monday.  Pray for safe travels!

Happy Father's Day, Papa!

Melissa

Surprises in All Shapes and Sizes

So my first English grammar class was on Wednesday... I usually invite a bunch of Americans to English class, but I guess I was kind of nervous about teaching myself so I didn't invite anyone.  A lot of good that did me... There was one American per Haitian there.  It worked out amazing, though.  They got to do a bunch of group work and everyone really seemed to like it, so it went well!  Yay!

Today, I had a nice little surprise... I found out I was teaching grammar to the beginning class today at 4.  I found out at 4:15.  Ha!  Let's just say I did a little bit of improvising.  I think it was good, though.  I've b een having a great time teaching the classes.

So, I thought that five books would be enough for the summer, but I'm already halfway through my second one, and I started with the longest ones.  Go figure.  Currently I'm reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and it's amazing.  (Mommy, I know you HATED the beginning.  I did, too.  But it definitely gets better.)  Anyway, it's basically the story of the man in the Bible who marries a prostitute and loves her unconditionally even though she continuously leaves him for her old life.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about how much God's love is like that.  As I started to read the book, I thought, "What is she doing?!"  But then I kept going and she started to seem more and more like me.  Screw up screw up screw up, and yet God still chases after me.

Love recklessly, guys!  Like God loves us.  :)

Prie:
Well, the skies have opened up over Haiti, which means two things:
1) I have to sleep inside the dorm.  Ptth.
2) The groups leaving on the bus tomorrow for Port-au-Prince have a looooong day ahead of them.  Please pray that their trip home is safe!

Loue:
Christi and John are officially moving into the House of Moses this weekend!  Yay!  They are so excited about it!

Creole Lesson:
Mwen te konnen ou anvan menm mwen te ba ou lavi nan vant manman ou. -Jeremi 1:5a
I knew ou before I gave you life in your mother's womb. -Jeremiah 1:5a

So, I'm kind of working on starting a new ministry-ish type thing.  We have a birthing center on campus, and I thought it would be fun to throw baby showers for the moms!  I spent all morning making decorations and gift bags and such.  Each mom will get a picture of themselves with their baby and a foam frame to put it in and decorate with stickers.  The above verse will be written on the back.  We haven't thrown a shower yet, but I'll let you know when!  I'm super excited!  :)

Love you all,
Melissa

PS I would love some emails... What's going on in the States?

The Tribe Has Spoken

Before I start, a quick shout out to all of the counselors at Warren W. Willis UM Camp!  This is week one, so their first group of campers came in yesterday.  Whoop!  Totally missing all of you guys, and I'm praying for you and your campers.  Love you!

Ya Win Some
I did [almost] all my laundry on Sunday!  (How did I last so long you ask?  Pure stubborn determination, laziness, and lots of skirts.)

The owls from the post office finally made it through customs!  (Love you, Max.)

Every year, the kids at a local high school do a fundraiser for their end-of-the-year party where they sell tickets to a soccer game: NWHCM v. the high schoolers.  And I played!  And we won!  Whoop!  (7-4)

Monday was Bonneau day for the Miriam Center.  We took them on a field trip to the playground.  It was tons of fun but tiring like crazy...

Teaching the Gran Moun (old people) the Cupid Shuffle.  'Nuff said.

So... Apparently I'm the official grammar teacher for the adult English classes on Wednesdays... Surprise!  Nehum, the teacher, asked me if I would help out, so I said sure, I'd love to.  Little did I know he was going to introduce me to the class as the new grammar teacher and go over curriculum with me!  Well.  Sweet.  Now they all call me "Tee-cher Mahleesah."  Love it.  (Wish me luck tomorrow!)

Ya Lose Some
The week I finally do my laundry... that's when it decides to rain daily.  Soggy clean clothes.  Boo.

Nothing says, "Take out that player!" like a 5-foot-tall girl, right?  Apparently so because during the soccer game, I got knocked down twice.  The first time was an accident... the second time I felt a palm to the back.  Now I have a quarter-sized spot on my left need that's missing some skin... Yum.  I must say, it's nice that I still haven't gotten sick yet, but the injury's have been a bit much this year... :P

    other intern (after seeing my wound): Wow.  That looks gross.
    me: Yeah, I know.  I hope it scars.  It'll make a great story.  I won't even have to make anything up!"

(PS If you know me well, this goes without saying, but I got right back up and kept playing.  And he got yellow-carded, so ha!)

We had our first immunity challenge for Survivor Haiti on Sunday, and the Gween Gwoblins lost.  :(  It's okay, though, because we voted off a girl that's leaving on Friday anyway.  She ceremoniously chugged a bottle of water, some of which was kindly dumped on my head by the other team.
Oh, well.  The tribe has spoken

Prie: Today, I went to the House of Hope with a couple of different teams.  If you don't remember, that is the short-term orphanage for mostly severely malnourished kids.  I got to meet a woman who was there with a little boy, Kevinson, her grandson.  He was skinny as a boy and would cry any time she left him.  After his mother (the woman's daughter) had another baby, she gave Kevinson to the grandmother to take care of him.  Unfortunately, the grandmother doesn't have the money to feed him.  Please pray for healing, not just for the boy but his grandmother also.  She could barely talk to us because of the tears in her eyes.

Loue: This one has a happier ending, promise.  There was a baby boy that was left at the mission yesterday by his mother.  He was special needs and clearly malnourished and abandoned.  Unfortunately the Miriam Center is already so over-crowded that there was no way we could take him in also and properly care for him.  Stephanie, who works in the Miriam Center, went with the boy (I wish we knew his name) and a Haitian staff all over the place to try to a somewhere that would take him in.  Finally, they found a beautiful place owned by nuns that welcomed him.  Not only are we sure they will take good care of the boy, but they have also offered to help us in our mission's time of need.  Please pray for Baby Boy this week...

Creole: "Ole ole!  Ole ole!"
Haha, jk.  This isn't actually Creole, as you've probably noticed.  However, it is apparently what Haitians yell/sing out at soccer games when something good happens.  Who the heck knows what it means... they just get really excited about soccer, I guess.

Anpil Petit! (Tortuga, Jorge, Miriam Center, and Graduation)

Well, hey there, America.

To be completely honest, I don't have a whole lot to say today... Yesterday was orientation and tours and whatnot.  Not much... My group is the "miscellaneous" group, which basically means that they can plug in wherever they want.  AKA, I can plug in just about wherever I want.  Sweet.  (Crossing my fingers for more  English classes!)

Today I actually spent with someone else's group because their intern was sick.  Tortuga!  Whoop!  My fav.  They did a pretty cute little Bible story about Abraham and sang the Father Abraham song in English and in Creole, which was fun.  Then we played all sorts of dancing and singing games- like Little Sally Walker, except Creole versions.  We also taught them how to play Freeze Tag with all the Blancs being It.  Oh my gosh.  So funny.  They were running away from us screaming!  Ha!  Hilarious.

I was playing with a girl in the water later (wearing my water shoes, no worries there) and she knew that I was friends with Wencha.  Apparently this is grounds to totally mess with my head... I told her that I hadn't see yet, and the girl told me that she had died.  It wasn't until I was marching out of the water to go find her that the girl said she was just joking.  Not funny, girl.  Not.  Funny.  I was sad that Wencha wasn't around, but no worries. I talked to her sister and she's fine.

After a late lunch, I did grocery ministries with a small group.  One house we went to was a man and his ten kids.  He said he was married, but his wife wasn't there.  We were invited inside where he immediately found chairs for us to sit in and wouldn't let us talk until everyone was comfortably seated.  It was cute.  When we left, he gave us each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Being Cuban, I'm used to that, but I don't think I've ever seen a Haitian man do that.  It was really sweet.

Prie
When we asked him how we could pray for him, the man that we gave groceries to, Jorge said that he had diabetes and was running out of medicine.  Please keep him and his family in your prayers!

Also, there are now 47 kids in the Miriam Center and let's just say there's not enough staff or room for that many... Autumn and Stephanie have been working like crazy to keep it running.  Please pray for them and the kids!

Loue
37 preschoolers graduate tomorrow!  Whoop!  :)

Creole Lesson:
Papa Abraham gen anpil petit!
Father Abraham has a lot of kids!

Sung to the tune of "Father Abraham."  :)

Forgive, Don't Forget

PIZZA for lunch Wednesday.  God is good.  My Survivor team won a challenge and that was our reward.  Ah, victory is sweet.  Oh should I say, cheesy?


And then I almost lost a really good friend.  After the pizza party, Kelsey and I went out to hang out with Weslyn and Wilsen again.  I learned something new...  We were walking around when I stepped on something sharp.  It went through my sandal, barely, but not my skin.  Wilsen grabbed my shoe and kept making fun of me saying my shoe was no good.  I was tired of standing on one foot and so, thinking it would be funny, grabbed my shoe and hit him on the head with it.  Well, little did I know that that is just as bad as flicking someone off here in Haiti.  He stomps off and doesn't come back.  I felt terrible.  Finally, he returns but he says he's still mad at me.
Me: "Can't you forgive me?  I didn't mean it."  
Wilsen: "No.  I can't forget."
Me: "Well, you don't have to forget.  Forgiving isn't the same as forgetting."
Wilsen: "Then what is forgiving?"
*silence*
I said it meant not being mad anymore at me anymore, even though it still hurt your feelings.
I feel like there's a better definition than that, though... Any suggestions?


Wednesday night, all the interns went out to eat at this fancy restaurant called The Breeze, right over the water.  I had fried lobster, plaintains, beans and rice, and even a little goat (Which tastes like beef jerky, FYI).  :)


Today was just a long waiting day.  Our first groups are coming in.  All morning was spent painting and painting and painting, and then after lunch I went with Mary to teach English to the deaf community.  (Mary is interning specifically with the deaf school.  She's fluent in ASL.) Man, is it a different experience teaching someone a language they can't hear or speak... But very interesting.


The first small group came in right before dinner and the rest of them will come in sometime late tonight.  Now, I'm off to enjoy Autumn's birthday party down at the Miriam Center.  (She's on full-time staff at the Miriam Center.)  Cake, cookies, lots of kids, and Enchanted.  Good times.


My Haiti Truck-it List
(and Creole lesson)
(AKA things I want to do before I truck-it on outta here)


Apre mwen ale a lakay, mwen vle...
Before I go home, I want


-to carry something on my head without using my hands
-to ride a donkey
-to make my own grenadia juice
-to take a waterfall shower (in my bathing suit)
-to buy something in the market without the help of an interpreter


Bye, everyone!
Melissa

From the Mountains to the Valleys

Well, it's been an interesting couple of days of ups and downs...

/\mountain/\
Yesterday, I went to the market with some of the interns for some random shopping, and we ran into my friend Ifozya!  Remember her?  It was ironic because I was planning on going to see her after the market anyway!  She looked good.  It was really nice to see her.  I'll keep you posted.  :)

\/valley\/
After the market, I decided I should probably go get the sea urchins spikes out of my feet...  I got them yesterday and didn't even know they were there until the morning.  They didn't even hurt, so I didn't think it would be a big deal but OH LORD ALMIGHTY WORST DAY OF MY LIFE.  Long story short, I had four in my feet total, got several numbing shots PER spike (which probably hurt more than them taking them out without them), and then got dizzy and threw up from pure pain.  Horrible.  The end.  Quick shout out to the three girls that came with me, talked to me during it, and let me squeeze the life out of their hands...

/\mountain/\
For dinner, I got invited to the house of a Haitian friend of ours, Weslyn.  She wanted to make dinner for some friends, so Kelly, Kelsey, Logan, and I all went over.  It was adorable... she had popcorn out for an appetizer and served all of us before herself.  Some other Haitian friends were there, so it was quite the party.  Food, music, dancing, the whole bit.  The longer I sat in her humble little room, the more I realized something.  When you first get to Haiti, you think, "Wow.  They have nothing."  But when you stay long enough you think, "Wow.  We have WAY too much."

\/valley\/
Keep checking in for details of my computer's funeral.

/\mountain/\
Lots of teaching today!  I spent the morning helping out in the preschool.  It was fun but confirmed my desire to teach older grades.  I found out that Jamantha, Ifozya's daughter, is in the preschool.  Later, I went to help out with the deaf school.  Some of the students got sick and the teacher, my friend Fedner, had to take them to the doctor.  Mary, the intern working in the deaf school, was left to work with them, so I was helping with my limited signing and French skills.  The school system is very different and the students are very behind, but it was still a lot of fun.  After lunch I hung out with a boy from the Miriam's Center named Steven, or Stevie Wonder, as I lovingly call him.  (Not that I have favorites, but he's my favorite.)  Anyway, he doesn't walk and he can't talk (though he's not deaf), so he's learning sign.  I was carrying him around and ended up inventing a game I called Word Hunt.  I would point to a word and he would fingerspell it.  Then he would sign me the color or even the name of the object, like water.  I even taught him a new word: milk.  Kid is smart.  Seriously.

Prie
Chirsti and John are two fairly new missionaries we have here.  They were supposed to be our spiritual "mommy and daddy" for the summer, but they were called to something even greater.  They are currently in the works of created The House of Moses, which will be located in a beautiful two-story home off-campus. Their whole family plus 12 of the teenaged orphans from our programs will be moving in.  It will be a transitional stage for the students while they finish high school and look for internships and jobs.  Starting this up will be very expenisive.  Please pray that God will provide for them!

Loue
Not only did John reach his goal by his birthday, but he got even more than he asked for!  Niason, Jim, and their family are going to get one heck of a house!  Thanks everyone.  :)

Creole:
Ak po ko ou ou vini, ak po ko ou ou prale.
With your skin you came.  With your skin you will leave.

This is the proverb I have chosen to do my devo on.  Any suggestions for some Bible verses to go with it?
Guys, seriously.  We have way too much.  And we won't have any of it when we leave this earth.  What's really important in your life?

Love ya,
Melissa

Boats and Internet Posts

Hey there, friends!
I'm gonna switch things up a bit and do your Creole lesson first:
degaje (day-gah-jzay): doing what you can with what you have

The crew spent Thursday in Port-de-Paix, about an hour from St. Louis.  We visited House of Hope first, which is a short-term orphanage mostly for children who are severely malnourished.  They're not a part of NWHCM, but we visit anyway because the kids are so dern cute.  :)  We did get to visit the NWHCM Port-de-Paix campus, but the majority of our visit was spent at Melonnie's (the intern leader/trainer) favorite places: the prison and brothel.

The prison has ten cells with about 30-40 prisoners in each cell.  Most of them are in for debts they can't pay... Melonnie comes every week to do Bible studies with them, so each of the interns got to share a little devo with one of the cells.  I know it sounds weird, but they're honestly really awesome guys.  The "brothel" is also more than meets the eye.  Papa Yo, the owner, would much rather just have a club, but he can't really afford it.  Although currently there are no girls working, I'm sure at least partly because of Melonnie's ministry there.  In the meantime, Papa Yo has taken in some orphan boys and has been mentoring them.  Like I said, more than meets the eye...

On Friday, we went to my favorite place on earth: Tortuga.  After a beautiful boat ride over, I got to see my little friend Wencha!  Yay!  She didn't recognize me at first because of my lack of hair, but once she realized it was me, we were attached at the hip.  She invited my to her home, so I got to see her mom also, who is really sweet.  I was so excited to be able to spend some time with them.  :)

Obvious observation of the day: ants in your towel makes for an unfun end to a shower...

Yesterday, we left to spend the weekend out away from campus.  First we went to Beauchamp, mainly just to see it and eat lunch.  At Salines Mayette, we got to see the kids at the orphanage.  At one point, a boy I was walking with completely stopped and bent down to pick something up.  He came back to me and put something in my hand that looked like a leaf.  He said, "Papyon."  Butterfly.  And it was.  The life gone from it, but just as beautiful.  I can think of a few things that are similar to that... Can you?

We spent the night at La Baie and went to their church in the morning: officially my favorite church in Haiti.  It was so dang cute.  It was very small and they started by memorizing a Bible verse.  Anyone from kids to adults were fair game to be called on to recite it.  During worship, they sang a fun song just for us that made us "kanpe" (stand up) and "shita" (sit down) a bunch of times.  It was cute.

Going out to the beach, I saw a boy playing with a toy sailboat he had made out of a flip-flip and a styrofoam take-out box.  It actually sailed.  If that's not degaje, I don't know what is.  We had a good time at the beach, mostly passing around my scuba mask to check out the fish and try to find shells (no luck).  We got home in time for dinner and for me to call my mommy.  Thank goodness that's the last bit of travelling for awhile because I have Tap-Tap Butt like nobody's business...

I'm sorry this was late and long... My computer has pretty much crapped out on me.  I'm typing this on a friends computer right now.  But you know what they say... degaje!

Prie (PREE-ay)/Loue (LOO-ay)
The fundraising for Niason's new home is going incredibly so far!  Last I checked, John had raised $6,400 toward the $10,000 goal.  Praise God!  Thank you so much for those of you who have donated.  Please keep praying for the funding to come and if you are led to give, here's the link!  Watch the video John posted for more info.  :)
http://www.crowdrise.com/bdayhome

Love you all!
Melissa