an online journal of sorts

Being Back

otherwise entitled: why children shouldn't help you unpack your bags

Back. After 3 plane rides, 2 nights of restless sleep and a lot of heartbreaking goodbyes. Back. Where the hello’s have been the sweetest and I’ve yet to stop sweating (seriously). Back. With their laughter echoing in my ears and his smile so wide it melts my heart. Back. Where everything seems different and yet nothing has changed. Back. To where I am so close while also so far from the ones I love. It is absolutely lovely to be back.

The plane landed at 10:15 in the morning and stepping out into the humid Haiti air, it seemed a bit surreal to be back. Customs passed without a hitch thanks to Vero and immediately upon walking out of the airport gates Jason was there to help with my bags and the overwhelming flood of people who want to try to help you with your luggage. It was a most precious sight to open the trunk of the car and see 4 little faces peeking over the back of the seat. The girls ransacked my luggage in search of my Haitian phone, wanting to play games. And driving through Cap Haitien back to Limbe I took in the all-too-familiar sights of the now well-known drive home. I dropped my bags in my room, cleaned spotless by sweet Nikki. I felt incredibly spoiled by such a sweet treat. It was a huge blessing to not have to sweep and mop and pick up stuff before settling in.

Seeing the kids again was the sweetest, and filled with a mix of reactions—excited hugs, shy giggles from around doorway corners, and only Creole speaking I couldn’t pick out. I found my little buddy chilling in his pac ‘n’ play and was welcomed back with his hands about my shoulders and a wide smile I haven’t seen since December that near melted my heart. Absolutely precious. Mikey chilled upstairs with me as I began the tedious process of unpacking, giggling and cooing every time the oscillating fan blew his direction. We chatted about the last three months of our lives, checked out some of the sensory toys packed in the bags, basically got next to nothing unpacked, and it was absolutely perfect.

I forget exactly how it happened, but at some point in the day I found myself in my bedroom with Rudlen and Mayline ‘helping’ me unpack. We started out making successful strides in the world of “how do I sort through all this crap?!” There were excited gasps and goofy giggles at some of the contents in my bags—short readers, pretty dresses, a light up bouncy ball, flashlights, and my underwear— accompanied by countless pleads from Rudlen of, “This! This one! May I have?” He would take out the flashlight batteries thinking I wasn’t looking and turn to me, “See? It’s broken. No good.” Haha. The child has a serious fetish for flashlights.

Eventually progress turned to madness, ending in Jahntzy opening my box of chai while three-quarters of Rudlen got stuck under the bunkbed. Wildaneise pranced the room wearing two layers of my clothing and sweet Mayline stood by my side asking, “What else, Hannah? What else do we put away?” We decided it was time for a break and made iced tea before heading back downstairs.

Jason was the sweetest and left his afternoon clear so that he could take me to run errands—money exchanging, phone minutes, internet stick, all the essentials. We sat in natcom for quite a while, where we learned I needed a new SIM for my internet stick that would cost a whopping 50 cents extra. The unexpected expense near broke my budget, let me tell you :) While we ran errands, I got caught up on a bit of Nikki and Jason’s lives and some of what’s been going on in Limbe since May.  They leave next Tuesday for their time in the States, and while I’ll miss their friendship dearly, it will be good for them to catch a break for a while. Jason is so faithful in sharing the Gospel, telling me story after story of people he has shared Christ with and the ways God had used him to speak truth to the people here. It is all together humbling, convicting, and inspiring.

I closed my door that evening and tackled my mess of a bedroom full on. There’s still some stuff not put away, but overall it feels fairly put-together… at least, as much things can be in Haiti. After calling home I slept soundlessly from about 8:45-12:30, much thanks to the white noise app Sarah downloaded to my phone before I left. Best. Thing. Ever. Dogs howled on and off throughout the night, pretty sure I heard a rooster going off, and I’m half expecting to run into a rat here at any time, so the second half of the night was a bit of a restless one as I readjust to the nights no longer being peaceful and quiet. The power came on at 6, waking me from the hard sleep I had finally fallen into an hour before. But it was power, so I couldn’t be frustrated. Electricity is greater than one more hour of sleep.

In the time it’s taken to write this, the kids have been at my door about half a dozen times and the sky has turned from shades of orange to a full on bright blue. It’s been three months since I’ve written anything on here. I’m dusting off the keyboard and breaking the silence, working out the kinks as I fall back into the pattern of writing for more than just myself. For now I’ll leave you with a photograph of what was possibly the highlight of my day yesterday—cuddles with this little cheeky monkey.