How did you sleep last night?

How did you sleep last night? I slept like a rock. I slept so good that I woke up at 5am - well rested and ready for the day!

Fourteen boys at the Madaam Christian's New Horizon's orphanage slept here. No, not in that 12x12 room - They slept huddled in a 14person group in this corner - just on the top bunk. That was the only place where they weren't soaked in the rains. Every morning, at least since I arrived last Wednesday, the boys have woken up to water on the floor, on their mattresses, and on all their clothing. One more night huddling in the corner with your 14 orphan siblings.   

 How many days have your kids woken up to ask, "Mom, Dad, do we have to string up all our clothes to dry again?"

I slept pretty good last night, in fact I've slept pretty good every night I've been in Haiti. Lord...isn't it bad enough that 17 boys have to sleep in a 12x12 room wtih 8 bunks? Does it have to rain and push them all into that tiny corner? At least the three smallest ones got taken to a dryer place in the middle of the night. I guess youth has it's advantages.

"Donna, what do you think? I spent all day yesterday buying wood to build a classroom here? I don't know what to do about this problem. Can we do anything? Notice the soaked and rotting wod on the base of the bunk bed. This has been happening for awhile. You see, whoever built a shelter for these people a year ago made the room with almost no pitch to it. The water just backs up...and the boys huddle for one more night. "This is just my little corner of the world."

The girls didn't fare much better. There's less of them, but they still had to double up and stay off the lower bunks to avoid six inches of water. The director, Madaam Christian and her husband sleep in the double bed you see. Every night sleeping just a few feet away from a roomful of girls. Last night, not even a few feet - they were right in the bed together.

There's a third living quarters - it's a relief tent...a temporary shelter that's starting it's third year since the earthquake. This temporary place shouldn't be housing little kids in an orphanage. There shouldn't be a young girl (hiding around the flap to the right) doing the morning chore of mopping 5 gallon buckets of water out of the sleeping quarters for the kids. It shouldn't be...but it is.

How do you deal with such a day of emotion - when God says, "I don't want these boys getting wet like that for one more night. You are here. You don't think you can do anything, but watch what I will do."

"How many loaves...and how many fish do you have?" Well, I built a deck a couple years ago, I know a little about building things. I have a team of college kids from Witchita. We have a little money available. "Lord, can you do anything with that?"

Because little boys and girls shouldn't have to lay out their clothes in the sun every day so they'll dry out just in time to get soaked again that night. Right now it's the start of the rainy season, so the daily rains come around 10pm. Later, the daily rains will come at 4pm every day.



Clothes and a mattress trying to dry in the sun.

Mattresses in the sun - Some of the boys checking them out.

These boys deserve better. I can't change all of Haiti, but I can change how tonight goes for these boys. So back to the store for some more wood. Back to the base house for some sawzalls, some more hurricane straps, and a fresh cooler of water. It'll have to be hot water, we used up our one ice block this morning.

A couple days ago we built these desks. Today we built the stud walls for the new classroom. The kids were kept entertained all day with games, songs, laughs, and lots of hugs.

And look what God did with a few loaves of bread and a couple smelly fish. Look what couple college kids and a broken down pastor from Nebraska were able to put together before the sun went down. (All the brown on the building is new). Take a sawzall...cut through the nails and hurricane straps on the front of the roof. Build a 12 inch stud wall. Call all  the college students to help you lift the roof so you can put in your new little wall. Now you have a roof with a steeper pitch. fill in the sides, cut a few tarps into window shades to keep out the rain....and here's praying it'll be dry tonight.

I know there's probably a hundred people within walking distance of this little project wtih stories that'll wrench your heart the same way. We all heard the downpours last night and we'll hear them again tonight. More children will huddle in a corner somewhere wondering if God really loves them or even notices that they're here. It can get a little overwhelming to realize that this little act of mercy today was a pitiful strike against evil and injustice.

But for 17 boys that share this little corner of the world, they won't have to huddle in the corner of the room tonight. I have to be OK with that!