A Gray Morning

I slowly open my eyes and then let them fall shut again, my body still heavy with sleep. I lay still for a moment and then concentrate on slowly opening one eye again. The room is gray and a cold breeze blows through the slats. No windows here, just a screen nailed on to a frame and some slats that open and close. I pull our one thin blanket up to my nose and then move a little closer to Jason for extra warmth. He is still fast asleep. I imagine it’s about six-thirty but the weather is unusually cold and gray. Memories from last night flood back and I remember hearing the pounding rain dancing on our tin roof. The land here has just been begging for water and I am thankful that the rain has finally come. When we arrived here in Pignon the grass was green, but when it didn’t rain for weeks and weeks the grass became dry and brittle. Just yesterday I noticed how starved the poor goats in the pasture looked. There was just nothing green left for them to eat. The rain will be good for this thirsty land, I think to myself. I let my eye lids fall shut again and mull over the events of the last few weeks. Our time here in Pignon has gone by so fast. I still can’t believe we already finished our Language study book. That book was thick! Ever since we finished with it we’ve been visiting different places to experience Haiti’s culture. We’ve heard the Witch Doctor’s testimony about how God changed his life, discovered a voodoo altar while spelunking in caves, built dams and bridges across the Gwap river, observed a feeding clinic at the Campbell’s orphanage, and learned how to fish and crab with our bare hands. Pictures flash through my mind and I work to put them in some semblance of order, but to no avail. So instead I turn my thoughts to the week ahead. We hope to drive four hours to Cap Haitian, the second largest city in Haiti, and then take horses and donkeys up to the Citadel, we hope to visit World Vision’s office, drive 2 hours to Hinche and visit a school, eye and medical clinic. I spend several minutes imagining what that will be like, and then slowly drift off again. With that kind of busy schedule, I’m going to need all the sleep I can get, is my last thought before sleep overcomes me once again.