Pay day today.......what a day! How did it get to be 7:00 PM already, it just seems like I just rolled out of bed. ....believe though I am ready to roll right back into it at this moment. The process was more complicated this month as all the staff were meeting at the school. Thus we had to load up the relief packages, bags of rice, lanterns etc etc. to take out to the school for distribution. Plus we delivered 90 boxes of rice packages to get ready for the distribution when school opens. There was so much stuff I had to take the pick up truck loaded to the hilt and Joseph the big truck.

All was going well until we got to the school entrance and I realized I had forgotten the pay envelopes.....believe me I was not too happy with myself. Then I learned that the fellows forgot to pack some of the boxes on the truck with the items for the staff...that made me feel a bit better. The trip back to Hope House was not just due to my non functioning gray matter. As well Christophe who had come with me to fix the screens in the food depot got to the school only to inform me he had no screening....so back he came too. I dropped him at a hardware store, after we creeped through Croix des Bouquets due to the long traffic jam. ....why do these things happen when one is in a hurry?

In a blink of an eye I was in and out of Hope House and heading on back down the road. Christoph waved me down like a mad man as he had changed hardware stores as the one where I dropped him off didn't have screening. Attached is a picture of the role of screen unfurled in the yard of the hardware store and 12 lons (Haitian measurement ......near a yard in lenght) of it being measure and cut for us to take. No fancy rollers here to put the rolls on for easy dispensing.

Once we got the pays and goodies handed out, I met with three staff members for various items, one of the university students, Met Dumas regarding church related things and finally met with Clovis for a short time as well. In between time I greeted my Cnd visitor of yesterday who came to see the school and Health Center site. He is very excited about what he saw and will head back to Canada with thoughts as to how to help us get the center built. He also has a home in Palmetto and I have arranged to see him while I am in the Tampa area.

Back to the University student..I am happy to report that the Notre Dame University is getting back on its feet somehow or other so our three med students are back in class. As I understand they are finishing their semester work this week and will have exams next week after Easter. ..so that is a bit of encouraging news.

When I got back to Hope House there were several folks waiting for me. Got there requests taken care of then I started getting several boxes of items ready for the school opening. To help everyone get adjusted back to school...the first week will be 2 hours of class and then 2 hours of less structured classes..such a quiz time, sports, classroom games etc. Clovis wanted to have little prizes for the teachers to be able to hand out so that is what I was getting organized.

Clovis used a good tactic today by having his meeting with the teachers in one of the classrooms on the second floor of the secondary building.....I wasn't there at the beginning but everyone seemed to be handling okay when I went up to greet them.

So there you have it for this fine day......and I will leave you with the following quote as a little food for thought.

The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.~ Henry Knox Sherrill

Debbie