so that morning we had the CAD bus & pastor jeanty drove the van. all the kids wore there tye dye t-shirts & we started on our 2 hour ride to the beach. in the van it was of course smaller but we were the ones that had to make all the stops to pick up all the cold drinks for the kids & bread for sandwiches.
well we are at our first stop. cold drinks. we get all the kids in the van a frozen drink. if you have gone to haiti you know how amazing those frozen cokes are. i open wilderson's for him & then before i know it he turns his upside down. i give him a baby wipe to wipe off the lid & when he removes his hand the coke EXPLODED everywhere. it was on the ceiling, it was in my hair, on my clothes, EVERYWHERE. i just laughed bc it was so funny but his face was priceless. he was staring at me like he thought he was in trouble but when i started laughing he just smiled the biggest smile & helped me clean it all up.
next we have a guy that comes up trying to sell some dried plantains. i try to avoid eye contact bc if you make eye contact they will insists that you want their food. now the baby was telling me yes i needed them but i was like nah. i thought he was gone & looked that way and eye contact was made. instead of trying to sell the plantains he insisted on blowing me kisses and winking. i turn my head away quickly but everyone saw it including robenson & wilderson. they thought it was the funniest thing. they kept trying to fix my hair & put sunglasses on me & then tried so hard to turn my head towards the guy. they kept laughing & everyone just had a real good time with it.
we are making our way to the store to get bread when we hear what sounds like another coke explosion, except it was not. i look down at my arm & there was rice. then i hear the sound again. i look at wilderson & its all over his clothes, his hat, & then i look at robenson & it is all over him too. they both look at me like they are about to lose their breakfast. they rest their heads on the seat in front of them while i get baby wipes & start cleaning them up. i look back & poor viviane is just completely car sick. laura is sitting beside her & even she will tell you she was happy she was there. if these kids had thrown up & we were not there the loving care a parents gives a child when they are sick would not be given. laura was a pro, cleaning the windows, helping viviane & doing whatever she could to make her feel better. dd hands a bag of baby wipes back but viviane threw up in the bag. so i am cleaning wilderson & robensons shirts, & wildersons hat & after i am done i hand them back & they did not want to put them back on. we were insisting they were fine. we pull up at the store & take the kids in to use the bathroom & wash up. i hunted down garbage bags, & more baby wipes while dd got the bread & everything else we needed. we go back outside & laura has cleaned up everything. i still had crunchy rice all over my dress & was trying to avoid it. laura was a boss & THANK god. i think mommy mode kicked in & it was this sweet little girl is car sick & just couldn't help it. we made sure she was ok & headed on our way.
on the way we asked the kids if they had ever been to the beach before & ALL the kids in the van said no. so we pull up at this little beach that alix found for us. we were the only ones there for the whole day! it was so nice. they had music, a little dance area, a place for us to prepare lunch, easy access to the beach & a POOL. the kids excitement could not be hidden. my excitement could not be hidden. we organized all of our stuff & told the kids they could go swim. they were all in that pool quicker than you could blink. dd & i hunted down our floats, blew those up & then i hunted down my sweet son that i knew would go to the beach bc he is an excellent swimmer. robenson without hesitation jumped into the ocean with us & then got onto the float & insisted i pulled him around. i was like geez i am the pregnant one. it was so fun. then we decided to go to the pool to hang out with the other kids & it was like a mad house in there. after a few hours of playing the team started preparing lunch for the kids. we made peanut butter sandwiches, pringles, these little cookies, water & we saved their bottled drink for the way home. you could tell they were all hungry so most of them got 2 sandwiches. we all sat around & ate together. we took some photos & videos. some of the girls danced. i just sat around so thankful for everyone that donated to make this fun day for them possible. the moments like those i will never forget. their sweet faces smiling so big, their little bellies full from the donations to buy food, their little hearts so full of love from everyone that raised money to spend their time with these amazing kids. all of those moments & thoughts were on my mind all day long. i just feel incredibly blessed to fight for these kids to have a better life. i feel honored that the lord opened this door, the best part is it can only get better from here.
the kids were tired so we left around 3:30 and headed back to CAD. this was our last day with them so we knew we were going to have to say goodbye. we stop by our favorite little gas station to get some treats. we got some ice cream cones, & drinks, & we got some apples. robenson told me he had an apple only one other time. those kids threw down on the ice cream cone. banaelle gave her ice cream to sammy & she kept the apple. we all packed back into the car & arrived back at CAD. we started organizing our stuff & going through things we were leaving. then we all went outside to say our goodbyes which are never ever ever fun. i had written robenson & wilderson a letter & had alix read it to them. as alix was reading robensons letter he was just in tears & it broke my heart. he is such a tender hearted kid & i love that he can be himself with me. i just hugged him up & then gave him a bunch of stuff we had like bug spray & this essential oil stuff i had, he even got my coconut water body spray bc he said it was good for boys & girls. he even wanted a few of my t-shirts which i was happy to give to him. we walked outside & sat down together & he just laid in my lap & cried. i told him not to cry that i would be back & he could talk to me every week like we normally do. at this point wilderson is hiding from me like he always does before i go. i see dd walking with him to our room & she gave him some sea shells & then he is crying again so she comes & gets me. i sit down beside him & he won't even look at me. he just turns his head & cries. so i just hold him. then i am crying & we are all a mess. he walks over & sits in a chair & starts writing his bio for me for the magazine he is going to be in. i just laid there organizing stuff & trying to take my mind of saying goodbye to my sweet sons & i just feel like its not fair. i HATE leaving them. i HATE worrying about them & hoping they feel special & loved every single day. it is really really really hard. alix reads wilderson his letter & then it is all time for bed. we are saying goodbye to everyone & then i go & tuck them into bed. i put wilderson in the bed & gave him a kiss & told him i would miss him & that i love him very much. then i do the same with robenson. we go to bed & i just laid there looking out the window at their window thinking about them. thinking about all of them. i laid there praying for them. praying that they slept good & that they went to bed knowing how much they are loved & cared for. those kids have my heart so much.
wilderson was prepared for another throw up episode.
we get up to leave & robenson told me to come to his window & say his name. we do this every time. so i did. i hear melita (who is the cook) saying robenson robenson get up evanda is here. he comes to the window & i say goodbye & ask him if he wants my water bottle. i do the same with wilderson & he says goodbye mama, i love you so much. ah. seriously. so robenson comes to the door & i give him the water bottle. i look over at wildersons bed & he is crying again. so i sat with him & said no crying. i will be back soon. i hug him & give him 1000 kisses. i do the same with robenson. then sweet johnny is crying so hard melita comes over to hold him & says don't cry evanda will come back, evanda will come back. i hug him too & give him kisses.
my sweet boys. they are like brothers & love each other so much.
i don't tell you all of this to make you sad, i tell you all of this bc its love. genuine love these kids have for me & i have for them. its time i have spent with them. hours of writing letters to each one letting them know they are cared for by the father & by me. telling them that anytime they are lonely or feel sad to pray. i go see them whenever i can. i pray with them. i love them & they know that i do. these kids make my world a better place & i try so hard to do the same for them.
this beach day was incredible & even through all the tears that night i would say it was one of the most special days for me.
we are trying to take $2500 with us for the land in july you can help us reach that goal HERE
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