Calming down

Today Haiti's parliament voted to remove Prime Minister Alexis from power. They also made a plan that will have the government subsidize rice prices while the private sector agrees to decrease their selling price. Together, those changes will bring the price of rice down 15.7% - that's a good step in the right direction. Preval did not say when those changes would go into effect.

My Haitian sources tell me that things have quieted down since the riots that shook the country on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. They say that there was one car burnt in front of the cathedral downtown today and that one UN soldier was killed. But in the neighborhood of our orphanage, everything is quiet. The street looks the way it usually does and for the most part, people are going about their daily business.

Our school has been closed all week. Maranatha was also closed because there was shooting behind the wall that surrounds the school. Dr. Bernard stayed with the kids until Thursday when things quieted down. He's back at his home in Thomasin and optimistic about the situation. One of the nannies, Chimene, went home for her day off last Saturday and didn't make it back to the orphanage until Thursday evening. The boys have not gone to the seminary for sports all week. In addition, the kids did not go to Bataillon today and they don't think they will go to church or youth group tomorrow. The boys did cross over to the girls' house on Friday evening for Family Fridays with Kerlande, but otherwise, they have limited any crossing of the street.

But don't worry - the kids are not nearly as concerned or shaken up by this as we are. Oh, the joy of being a child! Duckhein was telling me about their week and as he summarized each day, he would start with, "We didn't have school again and we were happy!" They got to watch Barcelona on Tuesday, Manchester United and Barcelona on Wednesday, and Bayern on Thursday. Luca Toni played in the Thursday game and scored 2 goals. It honestly doesn't matter what is going on in the world - if Luca Toni is scoring goals, Duckhein is happy.

I asked if he has been scared with all the "dezod" that's been going on, but he just laughed. "Some of the other boys were scared. Bernadin and Drisk woke up when the mob came through on Monday night, but I slept right through it. They said I was sleeping like a log!"

Thanks for the prayers and please keep them coming. I'll keep you updated as I get news from Haiti.