T'was the night before Christmas

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house...
Many creatures were stirring
esp a mouse (actually a rat the size of a cat)
the stockings were hung on the steel gate with care
in hopes that St. Nicholas
to Haiti soon would be there
The children were nestled all snug under nets
while visions of the beach danced in their heads
While I in my shorts and Jeff in his too
had just settled down for a sleep with a fan
when out in the yard we heard such a clatter
I sprung from my bed to see what was the matter
I flung back the mosquito net
and opened the screen
the moon on the mountain
gave light to objects below
when what to my wondering eyes should appear
but a miniature sleigh, eight tiny reindeer, barking dogs, and crowing roosters!
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick in Haiti!
More rapid than UN cars his coursers they came
He whistled and shouted and called them by name:
"now, dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer! and Vixen!
on, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
to the top of the porch, to the top of the wall!
now dash away, dash away, dash away all!
As with palm trees blowing through hurricane Tomas (oh, yeah we boarded up and no wind came)
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the concrete house top the coursers they flew
with a sleigh full of toys and St. Nicholas too.
And then in a twinkle, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
I yelled up to Santa, "check the water tanks"
through the gate and down the ladder St. Nicholas
came with a bound.
He was dressed all in underarmor, fur is too hot
his clothes were all tarnished with dust a whole lot
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back
he looked like a peddler just opening his pack
His eyes how they twinkled
his dimples how merry
his cheeks were all rosy, his nose like a cherry
his droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
the beard on his chin was... shaven off ????
instead he sported sunglasses, sunscreen and bug spray!
He had a broad face and no little belly
he lost all his weight
as he sweated and fainted
I gave him some gatorade and coconut cookies
then let him to work
He filled all the stocking with snacks we can't get
and laying a finger aside of his nose,
up the ladder he rose.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle
Away they all flew as the dogs cheered them on
but I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night"

In this country, we have learned to laugh at some things, get frustrated with some(but what good does that do?), say "it's Haiti" with some, yet about others we see blessings and God clearly present. Tuesday of this week was hard in a few respects. Vanessa left, the 22 girls living below us for these first 2 months moved into a new home, and no gas was to be found. We have grown very close to the girls and they have been part of our family and daily lives since we arrived in Oct., so needless to say, it took a few days for us all to get used to the strange silence. We miss them very much. The plan all along with this house was to give us a place to call home, but also to be the AWAKENHAITI guest house. Still knowing this plan was right and good, it is hard not being able to travel down the stairs to see the girls. They moved into a beautiful home just 15 minutes from us. AWAKENHAITI has rented this home until permanent housing is secured through funds from the house4haiti ( thehouse4haiti.org ). We know they will love their new home and we will spend lots of time there with them.
Since the girls moved out, we have turned on Home Makeover here. Jeff built a new bathroom vanity and couch frame, fresh paint everywhere, new colors, bunk beds poly-ed and set up, shelves made and hung, haitian pictures (framed by Jacques)and decor bought and set (My first street bartering lesson and for the record, furthest driving adventure), refrigerator bought, kitchen set up equipped with all the gifts graciously given last spring (with the help of 5 very hard working haitian young ladies).

In the midst of all this work, the country seems to have run out of gasoline. The ship did not arrive when scheduled. When it did arrive, it was consumed so fast, we missed out. So now, we are close to running on fumes and it is Christmas eve. We'd like to go to Christmas eve service as we traditionally do. A normal trip to church on a Sunday morning with little traffic takes 30-35 minutes. So we take off at 5:25 for a 6:00 service. Then we hit town...sat, sat, sat, sat. Cars every direction, horns blowing, we're running out of gas. After 45 minutes, we decide to turn around as we won't make it nearly on time, we still had at least half an hour to go, so it seemed, and after all, we might not have enough gas to make it home if traffic were to be like this later. We stop off at our favorite store, BelMart, and grab some soda. All in all, an hour and a half trip to get soda! Later to find out that on Christmas eve, many people go out. Celebrating with church services, parties, etc. The town doesn't close down as it does in the states. Sometimes people don't sleep at all, just stay up celebrating. Lots of traffic. Lesson learned. This is Haiti.
We are thankful for the family God has blessed us with here in the Cazeau's. They brought haitian food to share with us and just their presence here lifted us. So tradition...is tradition, we still celebrate Christ's birth whether we have tradition or not. We might miss it, but we can't count on it, we have to be open to some new.
We are able to keep some old and add some new; the kids left cookies for Santa (yes Santa comes to Haiti), rice crispies for the reindeer, and powder milk mixed with water and ice (Santa will need cold milk here), we read the Christmas story as a family this morning and opened gifts one by one (as we have traditionally done).
We are so proud of our children for being so open to our new tradition of 3 small gifts for each of them from us representing the wise men's gifts brought for Jesus.
And, we are also thankful that Santa left the family a tv to watch the movies that Mom Mom and PopPop left for the kids to open today. Watching movies on a small computer screen is our only source of tv here. So watching a screen big enough for 5 and the playing play station games that have been untouched for months, will be nice once in a while. Turns out to be a good thing most of the time, we don't spend time just watching something just to watch. So, thank you Santa!
Today, we will eat a traditional American meal, sort of. Chicken legs (can't find a whole chicken and turkey is just way too big for 5 people), filling, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie (thanks to mom and pop's delivery earlier this month). Then off to visit 22 great girls and 6 sweet boys, if we have enough gas that is!
Today is a special day indeed. No matter how it is celebrated, tradition or not as long as it is celebrated for Christ's birth.
Tomorrow is another special day for us, for a team of 12 people coming to Haiti, and for AWAKENHAITI as our guest house officially opens and begins this ministry here. We are so thankful for the time of transition for our family over the past 2 months. We have learned a lot, made some great relationships stronger, learned more culture, and more trust in God as He has been very real and present...now we are ready to share it with others. We look forward to hosting Team December and to learning what God will reveal as they serve others.

Jwaye Nwel tout moun!
Merry Christmas everyone!
~Deb