check.

-That dear, annoying bag.  Though we were never there, it's in Miami, and though we never flew them, it's supposed to be on it's way to Port-au-Prince via Air France.  And though we're not too confident, it's then supposed to get from one airport to the other and flown up to Cap-Haitian.  Sometime.  That would be nice.

-That really needed charger.  Though I have no idea how, Sam is going to switch out the hard-drive from the Seminary finance computer to Junior's laptop until the new charger and new power cord have come...which would just make today and this weekend and Monday SO MUCH less stressful and more efficient.  The other options of having to do financial registration twice, hand creating student bills, trying to go through receipts to figure out which students still owe what...yikes.

I love it when Sam is able to take my problem, understand that I don't have to understand HOW to fix it, and just somehow fixes what I thought to be the impossible.  This will not be the first time :)  Hopefully we'll be up and running still today!

-That really nasty rat just keeps dying.  Turns out we had way more than a bunch, and every time we set that old-school trap, we're catching them, and then Lily runs around the house squealing, "We killed another one, wha-hoo!"  Whahoo is right.

-That nastiness from all the rats is being demolished.  My m-in-law sent us back with some Melaluca disinfectant cleaning power something, and we are using it in ways they never listed on the bottle.  It is GOOD stuff, and then house smells Melaluca clean (you know that smell?  way better.)

-Yesterday, I got a little overwhelmed.  May of had something to do with a plethora of small children in the house undoing everything I was doing.  Lesson: cleaning the house when 6 children are in it is like trying to shovel snow in the middle of a blizzard.  Just. Stop.

But this morning in an O. Chambers moment of begging us to BE STILL, the Lord reminded me that my to-do list is just that: MY to-do list.  It might not be His.  And it might not be the right one.  And it might not be as necessary as I think it is.   And it might not contain His priorities.

EVEN on my first two days back to Haiti, this life, any life, is about ministering and serving and loving and sharing Christ with others.  EVEN when the house is chaotic.  EVEN when we're not done unpacking.  EVEN when it's lunch time.  EVEN when I'm tired....hot...frustrated.  My life is ABOUT being poured out, NOT about whatever it was I wanted or "needed" to get done today.

So todays visitors, unlike yesterdays, found a much more pleasant, calm, unefficient friend in Stacey, albeit, in a crazy house.  Which no one seemed to notice.  And my hair, I later learned, looked like a cockatoo the entire time.  Darn humidity.

And today's visitors, again, have been precious!  The morning started with Ezechiel, who is alive and well and pushing onward!  His wife had their dear little son a month ago (named Daniel...fitting, right?), is feeling better, all of their land and church and school were taken from them, he is building them again, by hand, 5 miles down the road and living in a small pup tent he found in Cap-Haitian so as to not endanger anyone else.

EVEN with all the persecution, hardship, sacrifice and difficulty, this conversation with him this morning just laid out Ezechiel's ever-faithful heart: "I know the zone where we are at is in so much need of Christ and of this little church and school.  But every day, I know there are MORE zones just like it and even MORE zones even worse!  Where people are killing each other every day and are dying from cuts and worms because they have NO medical help, and they are living so so so far from God, like they were living on the bottom of the ocean while God lives up in heaven.  And my heart burns for them, all of them, I want to be there.  I want to take Him there.  But I can't even find anyone to help me serve where I am, so I could go those terrible places, because my OWN place is still so very hard, and maybe always will be!"

I know it's very foreigner of us, very missionary of us, but by the time he left, Matt and I were literally looking around the house and handing him things, finding and giving anything that might be of use or encouragement to him.  I mean, you just wanna pack your children on your back and go live in a tent next to Ezechiel's and die with him, every day.

At this point, I'm not thinking about my wheat flour.

Then Granny (sorry, this is getting long) came while Ezechiel was still there, and it is marvelous to see her radiant face and to hold her bony hand and watch the children come and try to impress her and to hear of her children and her heart for so many others' children.

Then Napo came while Granny was still there, one of our upcoming fourth year students, as we all had a great laugh with him while Sofie pulled off all her clothes and ran joyously through the living room and Lily made everyone necklaces.

When Micheline came we had to get more chairs, and MAN.  It was like a breath of cool, sweet air to see Micheline.  Everyone who knows Micheline, even those who can't speak with her, says that she has the kindest, gentlest, most loving countenance they've ever seen.  It runs deep, and she's been helping me since the WEEK we first moved to Haiti, and Jesus in her just hasn't swayed.  The girls were THRILLED to see her, and when Maurice and his HUGE beard pounded on the door a moment later, Sofie ran shrieking in nervous fear, not for me, but for the arms of Micheline.

By the time Noel was added to the bunch, Lily looks at me wide eyed and says, "MOM, we're having a PARTY!" and indeed we were.  With beads everywhere and a naked Sofie and no lunch thought of and cockatoo hair and a floor that needed swept so badly that no one even bothered to remove their shoes once looking in.

I may get nothing but this post done today, but tasting and seeing that the Lord is Good with these dear brothers and sisters today is...CHECK.

Praise the Lord.