Happy 4th of July!

What is everyone back home doing for the 4th today? We have been navigating around via tap-tap (on our own!!) all day-- more to come on that story later. We also got invited to a party tonight, hosted by some of the guys Andrew has been talking to the last few months who live in a city called Pacot. We are looking forward to being able to speak normal english to people other than ourselves, and are hoping for a cookout or sparklers ;) 

In the meantime, click below for some pictures to summarize our last few days...

Monday:

Panoramic view of Mimi's restaurant, Mya'Bel (door to road to the left, seating in center, stage on right)

we love sitting under the giant tree in Mimi's restaurant, but we got a little bored and decided it was time to venture out on our own...

We got a ride from a friend of a friend and went to check out an apartment in a city called Turjeau. The man we sat next to on the airplane introduced us to this landlord and his wife, who are Haitian but just recently retired and moved back to Haiti after 48 years in New York. They were such a sweet couple. The man rode back an hour with us on a tap-tap to make sure we made it to the next tap-tap exchange and got on the right one that would take us home. We made it back to Mimi's before she did and were locked out, so we took a walk around her street...

Tuesday:

We spent more time at Mimi's restaurant. We didn't feel comfortable navigating the city on our own, so we just hung around with Mimi wherever she went.

Fun fact: Haitians consider spaghetti a breakfast food?!

Andrew and Mimi talking either about Creole or her dream orphanage 

We decided to make the most of our free time, and study some Creole...

Mimi took us to an orphanage in her hometown, Criox-des-Bouquets, so that we could get a head start on our interviews and develop an idea of what is out there. This orphanage was on the poor-er end of the spectrum. We did not take pictures out of respect to the owner and the children; this picture was taken on the path that led to the orphanage. 

Wednesday:

After spending all week sitting at Mimi's restaurant and feeling unproductive, and then discovering our money was missing, we decided to face the streets on our own!

Walking down the street Mimi's house sits on, headed towards the city

stopped at a gas station for water, sweating our faces off, waiting on a friend to pick us up

Our first meal of the day around 2:30pm, and Andrew set the record for eating the world's tiniest hamburger.

We got to spend some time with the leader of the church, Jorel, and his wife, use the internet and communicate a little bit with a few friends and family, and be with the church for midweek. We definitely felt a little more refreshed after being with the body. 

We have already received donations from our friends and family that have met the amount of money that we lost. We believe God has his hand in all things, and by losing this money, He showed us how much He really can give to us and take care of us through our relationships. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during such a challenging time. We are taking one day at a time, and slowly discovering where we fit here. 

First Image Courtesy of Pinterest.