Pre-DTS

Ugh, I've really gotta stop waiting to write a whole week's worth of stuff. Lets see, Thursday night I...don't remember. Friday...don't remember...Saturday... In the morning I went to the clinic and helped clean off the roof a little and play with the kids. In the afternoon I went to Philipson's Aunt and Uncles house and got to meet his cousins and hold little two month old Carl. He cried at first but then I had him laughing a little, lol he reminded me of Carl from the Simpsons. Sunday I hung out at the clinic for like an hour and then went to the beach with some of the nurses and doctors for a little over an hour, then Monday I helped with Registration. I had to operate the computer and read (very badly written French) papers filled out with basic info that we plugged into the computers. This was very very very frustrating. Some of the papers were not fully in print, or fully in cursive, they were mixed, some even in the middle of a word switched from cursive to print and back again. Plus when trying to ask another Haitian for help, they don't pronunciate the letters the way we do, so I had to stop doing the computer after lunch because I was getting to frustrated. I went to cutting the id's down to size with a huge paper cutter, and ended up slicing into my thumb. A pretty good amount of blood flowed out till I was able to bandage it up lol. Anyway, that Monday night, Freeman and Wayne sat me down to talk about how they felt I wasn't fully ready to do the DTS unless I went through the Pre-DTS first. They gave me the night to think and pray about it. That night I went out with some of the guys to Epidor and just had a good time having a "guys night". Tuesday morning, I told Freeman and Wayne that I would be joining the Pre-DTS. I am the first non-Haitian (and Caucasian) to go through the Pre-DTS down here in Haiti. This meant alot of changes for me down here. Because of the focus on ministry and such, I would have to wear clear spacers, and not wear sleeveless shirts so that the Haitians would not focus on my tattoos and earrings and listen more clearly to my message (I could still wear shorts, cuz lets face it, it's hot down here lol). Also, anytime I go off the base, I have to ask one of my leaders first (Freeman, Wayne, or Philipson). Every morning I have to be ready at 6 am and in a quiet spot where I can do some personal devo's for half an hour till breakfast at 6:30 (on weekends I can sleep in as long as I still do it before breakfast for at least 30 minutes, cuz breakfast is at 8 am on weekends). Then after breakfast, on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, we have prayer/worship (on Friday's its a prayer walk to somewhere in the city) from 7 to 8, and on Tuesday and Wednesday us guys in Pre-DTS have a little group prayer time/journal reflections (also from 7-8). Then we work till lunch at 12 and at 1pm we have 2 hours of class time, then work again till 5. On Saturday and Sundays we have off, but we can still help in anyway we want. Then at night (Weeknights on the base at 9 is quiet hours, and 10 is lights out and Weekends its 10 quiet hours, and 11 lights out, but you can still be downstairs and chat) we DTS students have to be in our rooms an hour before lights out, and have to be in bed at lights out, in order to practice and learn discipline (There are of course some nights that are exceptions, like movie nights). This bedtime schedule is especially hard since I haven't had a set inforced bedtime for about 3-4 years, and especially a bedtime at 10 which I haven't had since about middle school probably lol. Anyway, if I pass this pre-DTS, which I certainly hope to do, but it's an extremely stretching (in a good way!) experience, I will continue on to the DTS in July. Anyway, so I had my first class time Tuesday and it was awesome, this week we have been learning about negative things and the opposite qualities of them. We then figure where we our on a scale of numbers in these areas, and how we can work towards being better in those areas. Wednesday morning about 1 am I woke up and started a long 4 hour process of extreme vomitting (never had it that bad my whole life, was literally in tears after each time) then at 4 the diarheaa started, and at 5 the vomitting ended and the diarheaa continued. I spent that day resting and ate Ramen noodles for lunch (life saver!) and skipped dinner and had Ramen noodles at about 9:30 at night. Thursday was a normal day of registration (either cutting ID's or laminating them) and class and I felt alot better except my inner muscles were extremely sore from all the vomitting for about 2 days. Friday was registration and class and then we helped unload a trailer of food, and clothes, and basically almost anything lol sent down for the base staff and also relief for victims. Oh yea and Monday or Tuesday night I got the Haitians hooked on Avatar: The Last Airbender, so every night this week till last night we watched a couple episodes from Season 2, and now that it is over they want my family to send down seasons 1 and 3 lol. Anyway, today I helped move some rice and beans then went to Epidor for a cheeseburger and fries and a coke with Alain. Then we came back and it has been raining basically all day and so when we came back I just played around on my iPhone downloading apps, watched the only episode of the Simspons I have on my computer (family your sending down two seasons next time stuff comes down, I can't take it without my Simpsons!! lol). Anyway, then I took about a 2 hour nap and then had dinner and now I'm on my computer writing this blog lol. So now I'm caught up! I'm thirsty, gonna go get a drink. Later!