Well, while I am unable to connect to the wireless which may or may not be working, since nobody else seems to be waiting here to plug thier computer in for internet, I will try to catch up. 

Nearly two weeks ago on a Friday afternoon, we had a bad storm which came quickly.  It was extremely windy and the rain was quite heavy; it may have been the remnants of a tropical storm; it felt to me like a mini hurricane, fortunately it did not last too long.  At Kay St. Anne, where I work the storm blew some tree branches to the ground but did no real damage.  There were problems however where the children over the age of six live.  There was one mild injury of an teenage who comes to the program for the day because something blew off the roof of a container and hit her in the mouth.  There, tents blew around, water got into the tents and places where the children stay (shipping containers converted into long term shelter), look-out towers that security guards used at night blew down. 
 
Compared with the problems there and in the many tent communities in the area, the water in my house was minimal.  The irony is that the tent I used to live in stayed perfectly dry and all of the new houses like mine which were supposed to be hurricane and earth quake proof had water in them.  We learned that the crew who assembled the prefabricated houses had not put on some finishing touche which include sealing the seems of the houses; they have completed them now.  My cardboard box bookshelf seemed more clever before it got wet.   Recently, I was given real shelves for which I am very grateful. 

Last week all 40 of the children were home all day, as there was no summer camp or school program.  Kay St. Anne was quite a busy place!  Everyday the children bring a smile to face and most days break my heart as well.  It is such a privilege to watch as a baby learns to walk.  Yet, I felt a deep sadness upon hearing a two year old orphan with a fever cry out, "momma, momma."   

The children at Kay St. Anne have started their school year this week.  All of the children who are three and over are going to school in the mornings now.  This week I am using the mornings to help the cook who works there use some of the large supply donated food since the directions are in English.  This morning on a typical Haitian charcoal stove, we heated up large precooked packages of rice and Beef Burgundy which was created for the US army.  I am also in the process of organizing a space in a porch like area that is on the roof of the house, for the children to play in the afternoons.  We are planning activities for them for after school; although the past two days for reasons related to transportation they did not come back until after 2:00.   

I had been asked a couple of weeks ago if I would like to go on a bus trip to the beach with the people who gather for liturgy near Matthew 25.  I expressed interest, but then the date changed.  I found out on Saturday that they would be going on Sunday, but I had no idea how I would get there, as I don't have a car, and have yet to develop any sense of direction here, nor would it be safe for me to take a tap tap by myself to Matthew 25, so said I would not be going.  Then, I was offered a ride.  Never do I remember being so excited about going to the beach.  A driver, the priest, a volunteer who is at Matthew 25 and about five others arrived at the gate by St. Damien hospital in a crowded SUV at 10:00 am.  There was also a full school bus which they had charteded for the day as well.    Like many buses and vehicles in Haiti, the school bus was likely a hand me down from the United States, at least I don't think there is a Pottsville Area School District in Haiti which can afford a school bus like that and if there is they would have painted the word "lekol" on it instead of "school."  The drive to the beach was wonderful.  It was really the first time I had left the general Purtaprince area.  We drove for about two hours through smaller towns and rural areas.  We saw large tent communities on the sides of mountains which I was told have sprouted up more recently as some people who were living in the city were relocated, although there did not seem to be much around them in terms employment or resources; the only visible advantage I could think of was that the tents and shelters were not so close together as they are in the city.  As we got closer to our destination, there were tall mountains on our right and beautiful ocean views and occasional resort signs on our left (including a sign for the Obama Hotel.)  The beach was a piece of land someone said had been left to the diocese.  The water was clear, calm and a beautiful turquoise color.  There were people on the trip of varied ages and it was wonderful to see so many people really enjoying themselves.  I  learned that for my Irish skin applying a number 70 sunscreen four times is insufficient when spending three hours at the beach in Haiti, oh mezami!