the wide array of 'normal'

Now that we've been in Haiti for almost a month, "new" things are starting to become normal. I wish we could say that having lizards hanging out inside our house wasn't normal, but it is! Even though it is quite hot, walking out our door in the morning reveals an absolutley cloud-free beautiful day EVERY single day. Every day for lunch, we eat at the seminary with the students. One day we have rice, and the next day we have corn mush. And then rice, and then corn mush...you get the picture. On Mondays and Thursdays Stacey does laundry and then hangs it all out to dry in the sun...which takes an hour to wash and hang, but only 15 minutes to dry! The power goes off every single night at 10:00 pm, so that has become our normal bedtime, and the roosters crow the loudest at 6 am, so that is when we get up (even on Saturdays!...so sad :) Several times a day several people come to your door: our dear fruit selling lady, a language helper, someone asking for money or a place to plug in their cell phone for a few hours, or another missionary needing or having some answers. Because of this, it has become normal to be dressed in the culturally appropriate skirt, pants, and shirts with sleeves from 6:30 am until dark.

In the classroom, we are starting to adjust to normal responses. In a country where a lack of money dictates almost every part of every day, talking about money is very common. When Stacey asks a student to finish this sentence: "I am..." the answer is usually "very poor." The sentence "I have..." is usually answered by "no money." When we take prayer requests in the classroom, it is common for EVERYONE to have a prayer request, and for all of them to be very real issues, for dying family members, for desperatley sick children, for the money to continue coming to school everyday, or for a job.
The phrase, "si Bondye vle" (if God wills), is a normal part of every conversation. "See you tomorrow!" We will say. "If God wills," is the constant response. Tomorrow is no garuntee. In Haiti, that is normal.

The necessity of your prayers, our great need for His help and wisdom each day, our gratefulness for your support and His peace, and our burden for these beautiful people who either depend fully upon the Lord or pass each day in darkness...Normal. Praise the Lord!