"My life in Haiti is definitely not ...a normal life."

Many people have been curious to know what my life is like in Haiti as both a missionary & orphanage mom: and my response is that it's both amazing & tiring, difficult & rewarding, exciting, extremely hot (Haiti is always hot) & I love it all! I absolutely love  raising my kids, love watching Jesus do miracles on a weekly basis, and am so grateful to be able to touch the poor and raise  my children to do the same!  

So, to satisfy the curiosity of many who've asked me this question, here's what a typical Monday has been like for me over the last few months:  
1. Wake up, pray, eat breakfast with the family. 
2. Handle day-starting administrative tasks with my staff.
3. See the kids off to school.
4. Go to the Darbonne Open Market & watch Jesus heal person after person. See Jesus heal anything from tumors to headaches on the open street market. He's alive! Communicate the gospel one by one to precious people at the open market, and then return home. 
5. Start office work while my kids get picked up by staff from school. 
6. Each a traditional, 2:00pm large Haitian lunch with the family, usually with rice & beans included. 
7. Finish office work for the day. 
8. Start playing & hanging out with the kids. 
9. Play anything from running-chase (if Mommy has enough energy!), hide-and-seek, or just watching my little ones crush up leaves and dirt making pretend "food" in the yard while the older ones wiz by on scooters up and down the driveway. 
10. Have the kids clean up the playroom & make them anything from Haitian "macaroni & cheese" (Koki- I am guessing at the spelling here, it's pronounced "Koh-key"), fried eggs, peanut butter sandwiches OR my Dad's favorite "toe-in-the-holes" fried egg inside of a slice of bread. 
11. Serve the kids their before-bed snack, read Bible stories together, read 1-2 books together and pray together as a family. This is a time where I really get to teach them some things like praying for the sick, and get to hear their hearts about their day which I really love.  
12. Tuck them in bed. 
13. Post on Facebook for the day. 
14. Head for bed myself. 

So, there you have it! That's a typical Monday in the life of an orphanage, missionary mom! Hope you enjoyed!      ~Elaine  Rensink