a VERY LONG post

OK, confession time...

I have not felt like blogging for a really long time. I can't explain it but I just didn't want to do it. I know it is the only way most of our friends and family can keep abreast of what we are doing here in Haiti... I know I promised when we left the US to blog every few days... I KNOW!! So, it's time to get back in the swing of things, it's time to once again share our very ordinary life (that in my opinion should bore all of you to tears) on a more consistent basis. Jody is also going to start sharing about his work here.

We had a great weekend. Jody took some much needed time off. He has not a day off since he arrived (other then during the rioting). He works 7 days a week!! The way time off works for the civilian police is to work 21 days in a row then they can use earned time off. BUT, it doesn't matter if they take 1 day or 14 days, they can NOT take another day for 21 days. Very strange system but what can I say... it's the UN.

Friday night was game night in the Gray house. “Sorry” was the game of the night. Jody was the winner and we all laughed at him as he celebrated his victory. Then it was popcorn and a movie before bed. Jody had to work on Saturday so it was early to bed for all of us.

Our "vacation" started on Saturday afternoon. Jody got off early so the 2 of us went to the Ibolele t0 lay in the sun. While we were there we were invited to a party at a new club in PV. We decided... what the heck, let’s go!!! It was so much fun. We were the only Americans there. It was amazing to see so many people from so many different countries dancing and laughing together. The countries represented were Serbia, Morocco, Israel, Austria, Germany, Bavaria, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Italy, France, Philippines, Haiti, Africa and Brazil. I’m sure there were others as well. Jody and I are the only ones who have kids here so we got teased when we left the party at 10:30 p.m. We heard later that it went until 4 a.m.!!!!

Sunday morning we got up and went to church. Most Sunday’s I go by myself or with just a few of the kids. It was nice to be able to worship with my husband. We took Shane, Dylan, Kynsley and Isaiah. Jean Bernard and Angie (Makela’s daughter, who spent the night with Kynsley) also went. It was a great service and afterwards we got to see Kaitlyn and Sandy as well as Fiona (Alixson and Nancy were there too!). Port au Prince Fellowship is getting so popular that they are praying about what to do. Every Sunday there are people who must sit outside to hear the sermon. What a blessing it has been for us to have a place to worship God in the language we speak.

We brought the kids back to the house and once again headed up to the Ibolele (our home away from home). Jody and I have been blessed with some really great friends here, many that live at the Ibolele. When any of them go on leave, they leave their room keys with us and we are able to use the room. We took advantage of the opportunity and Jody and I planned a night away. We spent the evening with a few of our friends. Sam, the American police officer Jody was deployed with; Jamie, an Aussie who works for the UN; Christian, another UN employee from Bavaria; Dan, an American Coast Guard officer; Jody and I sat around the pool for hours just relaxing. Many stories were told and I realized that it doesn’t matter what country you grew up in, being a kid can be a lot of fun. Several of our favorite people were on leave (Rob, Jessica and Jim just to name a few) so it gave us the opportunity to get to know a few of the “less vocal” of our group. Jamie and I had a great talk about what being a Christian means to me. He is not a believer but I sensed a desire to know more.

On Monday we headed back down the hill for some time with the kids. We hung out for awhile, went shopping and then took everyone to pizza at JetSet, a popular UN “hangout”. We went early enough to avoid the crowds. While we waited for our pizza, the owner of JetSet (a woman from the DR) sat with us to chat. Again, we were blessed with hearing about another country and how much the human race is alike even when from such vastly different places. The kids behaved beautifully and Jody and Shane were even able to play a game of pool. The little kids had a blast rolling the pool balls across the pool table that wasn’t in use. The owner even provided free ice cream for the kids. We got back to the house just in time for the kids to go to bed. They needed to get some rest because we had a big day planned for Tuesday.

Tuesday morning we got up early and packed everyone, and I do mean everyone, into 2 cars and headed to the beach. There were 16 of us, Jody, Me, Shane, Dylan, Kynsley, Landon, Sutton, Isaiah, Jean Bernard, Kaitlyn (from 3A’s), Kesna, Clonise, Angie, Davlo (Clonise’s daughter), Judy (Clonise’s niece) and Ricard (one of the drivers we often use). It was quite an adventure. We had to stop several times on the way… to get ice… to get air in our tires… twice for people to pee… once to put water in the radiator. BUT, we still made it there by 10:30 a.m. The weather was amazing. We have been getting a lot of rain lately but God blessed us with no rain until the ride home. Everyone had a great time. No sunburns (except for Jody… who NEVER burns)… no bickering and no accidents. I do have pictures but Jody has the camera at work with him so they will have to wait until later. The kids got to go in a row boat, build sand castles, have a water gun fight and watch a guy show-off on a jet ski. Plenty of fun was had by all. By the time we got home everyone was exhausted and ready for bed.

Jody went back to work on Wednesday. He has already put in for a few more days off in July. The American military guys are putting on a big 4th of July bash and we can’t wait.

I’m sure the next few days will be exciting for us, several of the kids from 3A’s are heading home to be with their forever families. We of course will be very sad to say good-bye but also thrilled they are finally going home.

Isn’t God good?? I think so. I realize that I used "blessed" several times already but that is the only way to describe how I feel... BLESSED!

If you have made it this far… you are probably really bored or my mom! I can’t imagine anyone but Nana and maybe Sissy being interested in our wacky, crazy, but oh so fun life. Thanks for reading and may the God of everything bless you today!