We all slept in this morning until 8:00! Papa and R.J. went down to get their showers first, while I organized things in the room. After they returned, I went down to shower, and when I got back, Phil said R.J.'s birthmom had arrived and was waiting to meet with us. LaDawn had come up to our room to let us know, and she thoroughly explained to R.J. what was taking place. We had a very good visit of about 30 minutes with James acting as translator for us.
By time R.J.'s Haiti Mama left, it was time for us to leave for the Baptist Haiti Mission to do our souvenir shopping. Laurie and Jean each drove a vehicle and took about 8 of us farther up the mountain to BHM where we shopped and then had lunch. Some of the others chose to also do some shopping at the market outside the BHM compound, but Phil and I chose to limit our purchases to the wide selection inside the mission store. Thanks to R.J.'s newfound interest in taking pictures, I've posted a couple for you to see the BHM store. And the prices are great -- without having to negotiate as you would at the market (much to my delight!).
We all ate lunch at the Tea Terrace, which is a nice little restaurant at BHM. Phil had a Santo Domingo sub sandwich, curly fries, and Diet Coke; I had a Salad Mezon (chef salad) and Coke; and R.J. had the Especial -- a kids' meal with chicken strips, fries, small Coke, and a toy. We decided to have ice cream as well -- sundaes for Phil and me, and an ice cream cone with "white" ice cream for R.J.
Upon arriving back at GLA about 1:00 with all our purchases, Phil and I decided we'd better work on reorganizing and packing our things, and we managed to consolidate enough to eliminate 1 suitcase and 1 large carry-on bag (since we no longer need room for the donations we brought). We were surprised how fast we finished packing, and it left us with enough time to take turns taking a nap before dinner. Meanwhile, R.J. did various things: played with the babies & volunteers on the balcony, rode a bike and scooter, and used the computer. There was a 10-minute rain shower just before supper, which increased the humidity, and we actually felt hot and sticky for the first time here at the Main House; otherwise, it has been very cool and pleasant!
Supper was a delicious and very typical Haitian meal of chicken, rice, and red sauce; avocadoes; salad; fried accra; mangoes, bananas, and watermelon; and we had a cake and cupcakes baked & decorated by Molly for LaDawn's last day at GLA after two years of outstanding service. :) We will be flying out on the same plane with LaDawn tomorrow.
After dinner, we hung out with Joyce and Molly while R.J. practiced his bike-riding some more. We also got to see the sun set over the mountain behind the Main House. Then we had a call from Charlie and Aunt Pam at 7:30. They are understandably very excited (as are we) about our arrival at the airport tomorrow night!
We relaxed in the Main House for another hour or so, and by about 9:00, R.J. was tired and wanting to head to bed. R.J. said it was Mama's turn to read the bedtime story, then we said prayers, with R.J. going first tonight and praying a very sweet prayer in English, followed by lights out for Phil and R.J. I returned to the Main House to go over our last set of paperwork with LaDawn and to post this last blog entry from Haiti.
Our alarm is set for 5:45 tomorrow morning. We depart for the airport at 8:00, with Laurie serving as our driver. The three legs of our flight home will take 12 hours altogether -- 11:00 a.m. until almost 11:00 p.m., and then we have a 90-minute drive home from Indianapolis. It will be a long, but very exciting day!
Don't expect another post until at least Saturday, but we are eager to share with you the delightful event of finally uniting the whole family by introducing R.J. to his proud younger brother Charlie. Again, we'd appreciate your continued prayers for safe travels, good health, and a smooth adjustment.
