Playground and more

This morning we took the girls on an adventure and walked over to Quisqueya Chapel to use their playground and fields area.  It was so fun to see them laugh, run, swing and even climb the trees!!  We brought along a soccer ball, frisbee, bubbles and even a special treat of juice & siret (creole word for candy!).  Four of the girls go to school on Saturday mornings and one stayed at home with the staff ~ more on that in a moment ~ but as a previously kid-free couple I was pretty excited that we got 12 girls to/from on the streets of Port au Prince :)

 

Then this afternoon tested both of us ... rounding up all 17 girls for their weekly visit with the social worker is something we have experienced a few times already.  Just when you think you have most of them seated and go to find the others, the original ones have hopped up for some reason and the process begins again.  However today was extra challenging by keeping them seated, focused, not touching or poking each other, not talking, seated again etc. etc.  We both got pretty frustrated by the lack of respect the girls showed us, the staff and each other (the aforementioned girl that stayed home this morning was discipline related).  It is days like these that are teaching me parenting is hard - really hard - especially in a totally new  language/culture.  Plus the fact that most if not all of the girls have not had consistent loving discipline in their lives so they basically don't know any better ~ kind of like our lives before God.  Even with the frustrations of this afternoon, we feel so blessed to be here to love and help raise them to be Godly women in the tough world of Haiti.  We do not know what each of their futures hold, but want to point them to honor the one that does!