Wednesday - Day 4

It’s 6:40 am. I have been awake for 2 hours. It is so frustrating to be here and not be with Johnley. I am hoping to get a better understanding of when I can come and go at the village today.

The people are so poor. It was quite depressing driving past all the shacks and huts yesterday. We do not know how lucky we are.

I am still running through a million emotions about yesterday. I bounce back and forth between believing I am doing a good thing by adopting Johnley to I am the person separating this little boy from his mom. I hope she knows he will be loved and that we will keep her memory alive within him.

Breakfast was real French toast (Baguettes!) and some sort of porridge that was way too sweet for me to eat, eggs and spaghetti.

I went to the village at 8:30 am. It is a group of houses inside a concrete fence. They have their own water tank for cleaning water, a generator, solar panels (they go green) and one building that has a kitchen.
The office staff lives these Monday through Friday and goes home on the weekend. The care takers seem to work either the day shift or the night shift; I couldn’t quite figure that out.

I met Johnley and gave him his hat (Chaparre) and his shoes that light up. He showed everyone the lights. I gave him some cars, a ball and his photo album as well. He hung on to that photo album showing everyone the pictures. It was so neat.

The kids are non stop. Every little one wanted to sit on my lap. We played and played. It was amazing to see all these kids just being happy and playing.
I gave the staff their gifts. I think they really liked them. There was more than enough for everyone.
The Polaroid camera was a huge hit. I could have taken 300 shots with that. The kids loved watching the picture appear.
Around noon another bunch of kids came home from school. They were just as fun as the first bunch. When all the kids were there we gave out the toys. “OH MY GOD!” It was the happiest chaos I ever saw. They were so excited. I was amazed at these little kids. The suit case was like a treasure chest.
The staff divided up the clothes and the bed sheets. They seem to work well together.

Lunch was served around 2:30 pm. I had rice with bean sauce, okra and goat. Yes, goat. It was good.
The kids went to take a nap and I hung out and tried to send an email with pictures. It rained and rained for an hour or so.
Johnley woke up and came and found me. We played together alone for about 2 hours. I still don’t understand him but he laughs and laughs every time I say m’pa compren, (I don’t understand).
I said goodbye to him about 5:30 and went to the hotel.

Mansuer and I had dinner. He told me how Haitians eat a big breakfast and lunch. Dinner is something light. It is only for the foreigners that they serve big dinners.

I feel good about Johnley. I think he will do well in our family. I cannot wait to see him and Sammy playing together. I miss my family, I wish they were here with me. I am really a lucky man.