Day 3 Concluded

First of all, an update on the ring situation. I ended up telling Julie about it on the drive to her sister's house after I got home. She was upset that I didn't tell her when it happened, but understood why I didn't. It was sad, but we've moved on and are excited to get the next installment.

The Beach: Part Deux

We swam a while before the kids arrived. One thing I forgot to mention before was how salty the water was. The first time it got in my mouth, my face scrunched up. I forgot it was salt water!

We were actually still looking for my ring when the kids arrived. I thanked the guys for looking, but said it was time to turn our attention to the kids. It was my own stupid fault anyway.

There were 32 kids that came to the beach. "Babies" to older teens, maybe 20s. Steve's girl, Kaylene, came in with him and was having a blast. I think she has one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. Period. Her sister is hilarious. Many of the kids came in even though it was "cold." One little guy rode on my back for a long time and wanted me to help him swim. Then we'd fount to five in French and go under together.

By the end, many of them were shivering and tired. And it was pouring rain the last half hour or so.

In the Caribbean Sea, pouring rain, surrounded by palm trees, mountains and smiling Haitian orphans...c'mon.

Loading up was the saddest part. ALL of the orphanage piled into the back of a small pick-up. 30-some children. A lot of them were smiling, but some of the smaller ones were crying and they were all wet and shivering. Even now, hours later, it's still raining.

Our ride home was quite the adventure, too. All 15 of us standing in the back of a pick-up truck, driving through the pouring rain. All the culverts were overflowing. But, it was really fun! We also picked up an old lady that needed a ride into town, which was funny.

A great first day at the beach.
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Now we're back in the hotel, waiting for dinner. Goat for me tonight. Can't wait. It's still raining, which is a bummer. I hope it stops. The electricity just came back on, too, which is good. Still haven't talked to Julie, but hopefully I can try again tonight. I miss her like crazy. Distance, fondness, etc.
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Quick thoughts:

The Packers won today. 33-7 or something. Wish I could have seen it. And I can't believe we'll miss the first round of the playoffs! Bah!

Jimly? Jemly? I think it's Jemly.

Dinner was good. The goat was tasty. I'm still not eating the salad or coleslaw. Nick keeps eating everyone's leftovers, especially the plantains.

There are lizards all over. I love it! And we saw a huge frog outside our room tonight. Very cool.

The dogs have multiplied at dinner time.

Thus concludes Day 3!