Ever Changing Days.

 What do folks who 'visit' the USA do with their time? Each day and week contain a lot of variety.

When we visit for a couple months I find it almost impossible to get into a 'normal routine' because each day the to-do list changes so much.

This week- oral surgeon visit with tooth extractions scheduled for Anna on Nov. 5th, daily trips to driver's education with Eli along with his dental visit, library, mailing of hundreds of newsletters, cleaning up the e-mail in-box, working on paper work and additional scheduling, French study resumed for Anna and myself, Christmas shopping on-line, and family time.

Praying for Haiti. The flooding hit all low areas throughout Haiti hard. Pictures from LaGonave, the South, Port-au-Prince areas and the North show homes lost, water eroding away precious topsoil and carrying away homes, bridges, roads and lives. People trying to cross flooded rivers still could find themselves in life threatening situations.  Today folks in the Port area reporting sunshine!

Our last E-mail from home on Thursday reported a lot of rain. Cory called John Pierre this morning who reports lots of wind and rain but no major damage known at this time.

Yesterday Eli and Anna experienced a small part of my childhood. Many a hour did I spend in the crisp fall air as 3 generations prepared for the cold winter nights by cutting and stacking wood.

 My brother Todd still returns to the farm to gather winter fuel. My children enjoy making family memories during visits to the USA and it helps them to visualize life on the farm as many generations of  their family lived.

Looking forward to sharing at Friendship Wesleyan's Mission Sunday followed by an afternoon with Cory's mom's family.

Monday I will travel with my folks to Ann Arbor as my mother will have some surgery. While we wish the surgery wasn't needed I'm thankful for the good medical care available to my family and that I will be here physically to help out.

Not being present for family health issues continues to be one of the hardest times for me to be in Haiti. This time I'll not need to wait for an E-mail or phone call to update my prayers.

Cory will hold down the home front taking Eli to class and Anna to her routine dental appointment on Monday. Tuesday they will go to Eli's interview that will decide what testing he will need to do on Friday to confirm his learning disability. Additional testing is required by some colleges within three years of applying to attend.

 I'm told this picture was taken as a joke by Anna. Cory stated that she had lots of ideas on how to carry and stack wood!