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Day 9- Grande Saline day 2

Sorry the post is late but I needed a breather and some sleep last night so this post is actually about yesterday.
We left Saint Marc around 8:30am to go back to Grande Saline. The trip was much shorter from there, about an hour and thirty minutes. We took the guys right to the water filtration system so they could start working as early as possible. Again there was a lot to work on but they fixed a few programing issues and got it all cleaned out by the end of the day.
The four of us ladies walked down to the school to work on more computer lessons and art projects. We cleared out the school to set up. That was step one of the plan that went really well. Step two was to let 20 kids in. Five for each station to work with each of us. Jen was working on using USB'S and saving and opening files. Marcia was using the Paint program on a few of the computers with the students. Jean was making little cutouts for fans/puppets. And I was on finger prints with ink on a big paper and then drawing flowers and suns. Mine took the shortest amount of time though so I had to improvise when all the kids started yelling fini and I had no where to put them. So they mimicked my beats on the table, we banged out the alphabet, sang the days of the week song in French and English and we learned the words in English for some body parts.
It was one of the few times I have felt capable to do the things I love. There is no greater feeling for me than when I capture all of their attention and I can help them learn with games and songs.
We worked with about two groups before things got hectic. Step three was to rotate the kids around to the next station but somehow the door was opened and 20 more children were invited in before any left so it turned into a mess. But we continued the best we could.
The children were not cleared out until Doctor Robinson came in to hand out the soccer balls to the different teams. He is the only one that could do it without getting trampled to death. They love soccer balls. They want them. Dont show weakness. Dont show soccer balls.
But after the kids left we cleaned up and packed up.
Unfortunately I didn't get to see Onnika again, the little girl that fell asleep while I was holding her yesterday and I also didn't get to see the lady with 3 daughters again from last year. I had managed to find dresses for her girls but I never found her.
But when it was time and we were out of activities we walked back to the water  filtration system and hung out with the guys while they finished up. We got to see tons of people coming for water. There was a continuous flow. The people hired to work as the operators were doing a fantastic job. They loved the shirts Pall gave them as uniforms. They really looked great. We got to spend some time singing and dancing with the kids and then I went and attempted to take a nap in the truck. All the kids gathered around and yelled Blan at me (the world for white in kreyol) to get my attention. They kept saying we are hungry and then they would poke at me through the truck. It was harmless but I felt like an animal at the zoo. After a while of pretending to be asleep they all went away and I got in a quick nap before we started the bumpy 4 hour ride home. By the end "our buns were not fresh" and they were "not made of steel". Judes felt more like home than ever before. Thankfully the ride home was uneventful and we arrived safely. So praise Jesus for that. I was definitely praying over some of those bumps that we would not lose a tire.
Every trek to Grande Saline is an adventure but when you look back it was always worth it. Happy to be safe.
Love has no borders,
- Rachel Martha  

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