Thursday, September 30, 2010

Red Thread Challenge

Some of you may remember that The Red Thread Promise (TRTP) purchased the curriculum I'm using at Laboule Children's Home. They are an organization that works to change the lives of "the least of these." I am hoping to meet the director this fall when she comes to Haiti to distribute some all-terrain wheelchairs.

Yin Xi has spina bifida and needs surgery.
Tonight the director of TRTP, Kathy, told me about a little boy in China they are trying to help. Yesterday, at just two weeks old, he was taken to an orphanage TRTP sponsors. He has spina bifida and needs a life changing operation. Kathy, the director of Red Thread, is hopeful they can raise $5,000 to have his surgery in two weeks. If you are interested in learning more about this precious little boy and how you can help, please read the post on their website.

School News

My stint as a foreign language teacher begins on Monday October 4th. I am more than nervous about beginning school. Those of you that know me, know that I am a planner. I like to know all the details. I like to have a plan to work from. Not knowing what is going to happen next week is driving me crazy, but it's one more thing I've added to my "I'm Not In Control God Will Work It Out" list.

Here is the sum of what I know about my position as the Native-English-Speaking Teacher:

  1. I will have 6 English classes that meet once per week. There is one class for each grade in the high school, which has grades 7-12 this year.
  2. I will travel to a different classroom for each class to deliver instruction.
  3. I could have anywhere from 10-50 students. I am praying I don't have 50 students in a class! Can you imagine trying to check pronunciation or comprehension for that many kids?!?
  4. I will be teaching elective computer classes to selected students. I have no idea how these students will be selected or how many there will be. Tomorrow I will go up the mountain to check out the computers.
  5. At some point I will also be providing English "lessons" to the kindergarten class. I am not sure what this will look like or how often it will happen.
Here is what I am hoping to find out soon:
  • The schedule of classes I will be teaching
  • The location of each class I will be teaching
  • The vocabulary I should plan to work on with each class
  • What supplies the students will have with them
  • How many students are in each class

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Haiti Q & A: What is church like?

This was taken during Sunday school back in April
Q. What is church like in Haiti?
A. The church service in Gramothe is very similar to traditional services in the States. The service opens with a welcome from either the pastor (Willem) or an elder. That's followed by a prayer--typically passionate and lengthy. Then we sing 3 or 4 songs that must have six verses each. I'm not joking; we sing for a long time. Sometimes I recognize the tune, but the past two Sundays I haven't recognized any of the songs.

After one song (or maybe before we start singing) there is a part of the service that is not something I've seen in the States. Each Sunday school class is called on to stand and recite their memory verse. They work on it during Sunday school and presumably practice at home as well. Today it sounded like each class had a different verse they were working on. Then after each of the 4 or 5 classes has said their verses some banners are given out as awards. Last week one lady received all the awards, but this week it seemed that someone from each class received one. The banners must be returned at some point because the same ones are used each week.

After the classes recite their verses we sing some more songs. There is a band that plays the music. Today we had three guitars, a piano, a drummer on the standard drum set, and a conga drum player. For some reason the music is always turned up to the top volume level, so the sound is not always pleasant. Today it seemed especially loud. Anyway, after the singing there is another prayer and the offering is taken. Today during the offering, one of the students from the high school gave her testimony. She will be the first student to go all the way through the Gramothe school and graduate. She hopes to go to medical school to become a doctor after she finishes her last year of high school.

Because there were teams here this week, Willem asked one of them to speak. Pastor Steve is on the construction team from Illinois and did a fine job preaching. He spoke and Willem translated for him. When there aren't any teams here, Willem just preaches. Those Sundays are hard for me because I don't understand anything during the service. It can be a very lonely time for me because church is supposed to be a time when believers come together. On the Sundays when everything is in Creole I feel very isolated. Today I was very thankful for at least part of the service being translated into English!

Generally the service comes to a close shortly after the sermon is finished. Willem either prays for us or has one of the parishioners pray. Then as everyone leaves they shake hands and greet one another. The older people often make a beeline to me or any Americans in attendance. They shake our hands and the women kiss us on the cheek. Last Sunday I sat near the door and after church I felt like I was in a receiving line because every single person who passed me shook my hand. It made me feel very welcomed. Today with the big group at church I didn't feel like I was in a receiving line, but there were still some elderly Haitians who made a point to come and find me.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Power, of the electrical sort

The big storm yesterday afternoon knocked down branches and even some small trees. Willem was in Port au Prince picking up the 13 person construction team when it came through. He said there weren't many branches on the roads up here, but in the city it was worse. It took them almost 2 hours to get back from the airport because of the combination of rush hour and the downed branches.

Anyway, one of the branches took out our electricity. Johane says it could be days before we have public power again. We do have two inverters here--one for the upstairs and one for me. Basically an inverter is a pack of batteries (they look like car batteries) that charge when the public electric is on. Then when the public electric is turned off, the inverter automatically kicks in and the house is run off the inverter. Since I've been here the public electricity has come on between 6 and 7 each night and it shuts off about 12 hours later. Now that I know the public electricity is not going to be charging my inverter I will be very stingy with my inverter's power. When my laptop runs out of juice, I won't be charging it for a while!

Oh, a third way of getting electricity here is to run a generator. I can hear at least one generator this morning. They will run it for a little while this morning, probably shut it off for most of the day, and then run it again tonight when they need power again. They just put fuel in it when they need more power.

I'll let you know when I have electricity again!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Medical Clinic... and a mountain adventure in the rain

On Monday and Tuesday of this week 27 people arrived at the guesthouse to run a clinic for several days this week. We started the clinic on Wednesday with only a small portion of supplies because 34 suitcases were lost in transit. Thankfully they showed up at the airport on Wednesday. The first three days of clinic have gone very well. The first day we saw 166 people, and the other two days have been comparable. There are two surgeons on the team, so they have been quite busy. The first day they completed some minor surgical procedures in the clinic. On Thursday and again today they traveled up the road to the Baptist Mission hospital to repair some hernias and do some more invasive procedures. Tomorrow and Monday they will be back at the clinic.

The weather here has been mostly dry since the team arrived. It's only rained at night since they've been here. At lunch today we noticed some dark, ominous clouds coming over the mountain tops. We speculated on how fast they were traveling and if they would bring rain. There was some talk of what to do, but since it was still sunny we kept working. The clouds slowly worked their way toward us. While we were seeing our last patients (we had a mom and 3 kids), the dark clouds descended upon us. Suddenly the rain started pouring from the sky. Shortly after that the temperature dropped significantly and the wind started blowing something fierce. The metal covers on the windows started slamming into the walls and the curtains in the clinic were whipping around. It was a bit chaotic in the clinic for a few minutes as we considered if it was a storm or a hurricane sweeping over.

We packed up our things and then waited around the clinic for a while to see if the rain would stop. Unfortunately it didn't. Eventually we decided we needed to get off the mountain before it got dark. Because the road was wet and the truck could slide, Willem wanted as many people to walk as possible. The vast majority of us started down the steep hill. The kids squatted in the middle of the road where it was the slickest. They slid on their shoes and used their hands to guide them. The adults picked their way down the cement, or walked carefully on the grass edge. I brought up the rear, closely following Myra's exact foot placement. The entire time we walked it was lightly raining. Eventually the truck caught up with Myra and myself. It stopped near the bottom of the hill and we jumped in. We precariously crossed the riverbed, with only one scary spot where I thought we were stuck. After we crossed the riverbed, we had and equally scary ride up to the guesthouse. The road on this side of the mountain is much choppier and has some huge ditches cut through the road by all the runoff from rain. There are also branches and wires we have to duck to avoid!

It took much longer to get home from the clinic today, but PRAISE THE LORD we all made it safely home! As long as the road is safe tomorrow we'll be headed back up to help some more people.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Haiti Q & A: What money is used in Haiti?

Q. What money do you use in Haiti?
A. The official Haitian currency is the gourde. If you should exchange $1 USD for gourdes, you would get just under $40 HTG. However, people also talk about Haitian Dollars. This is quite confusing to me, but in doing some research I found this article that helps explain the thoughts behind Haitian dollars. The article talks about the "exchange rate" as 5 gourdes is equal to a Haitian dollar, but most signs say it's 7 or 8 gourdes as a Haitian dollar.

It's kind of an interesting process to get money here. First I write a check to a local grocery store that will cash it. The only one who will do this for me right now is Hispanola, but it's the only one close to my house anyway. The other grocery stores I've been to are all "in the city", meaning Petionville (about 20-30 minutes away on a good day). However, at the grocery stores in Petionville I can use my debit card.

It's hard for me to say if things are cheap or expensive here because it really depends on what we're talking about. I bought a 20" stainless steel stove with a cover for the range for $350 USD. I thought that was pretty good. On the other hand, I didn't buy any liquid hand soap because it was more than 200 HTG for one of the little softsoap bottles you keep next to the sink. That's more than $5!

Some sample prices
Half pound of ham from the deli     $94 htg=$2.35 usd
roll of paper towels                        $58 htg=$1.45 usd
light bulb (1)                                 $10 htg=$0.25 usd
Kraft mac and cheese spirals          $39 htg=$1.00 usd
dozen large eggs                            $155 htg=$3.87 usd

14.1 oz can of powder milk           $136 htg=$3.40 usd  (This can of milk should last me quite a while.)

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Frustration

I slept at my apartment for the very first time last night. It was an uneventful night. I was in bed by 9:30pm and awake by 5:30am. I didn't know there were two 5:30s in one day until I moved here! (It gets dark by 6pm and the sun comes up around 5:30am--along with all the dogs and roosters.)I'll share more about the apartment later.

Today was a good day. I helped Willem serve breakfast at 36 (another guesthouse the Charles family runs), went to church, ate two wonderful meals with the Charles family, and walked to my house from 36. Actually I walked to 36 this morning as well. It's a quick walk, maybe 3 or 4 blocks by American standards. There aren't really blocks here though. Maybe I'll draw a picture sometime of my neighborhood.

The frustrating part of the day (and really in being here) has been communicating with others. I can say very few things in Creole. I'm limited to greetings, saying excuse me, and items found in a kitchen. I am picking up on the language--I've learned lots of new words in the last week. The problem is that the vast majority of the time I have no idea what people are saying to me.

After understanding absolutely nothing during church, I was greeted by almost everyone after the service. Mostly they said hello and shook my hand. I just smiled and said "Bonjou." It was quite nice to meet so many people. But a little old lady whispered something to me, but I have no idea what she said. Then, after leaving the sanctuary I saw my kids from Laboule. I was excited to see people that knew my name. I was able to say hello to them, but couldn't talk to them beyond that. I hope my smiles and pats on the shoulder were enough to say, "I like you guys."

At church I'm not completely on my own. There are at least 4 other people who speak English fluently (the Charles family) and some others who know enough to communicate simple things. If I really want to know what's going on, I just have to ask. The hard part comes when I'm on my own. Tonight when I got back to my apartment I successfully called Pierre Louie (officially "the yard man") to let me in the gate and even thanked him. I was all proud of myself for walking home and talking to Pierre Louie. I even said "Bonswa" to the neighbors who were sitting outside. A little while later when I was working in my apartment, Pierre Louie came to my door with this five gallon bucket. He said something to me, but I don't know what. I asked if the bucket was for me by saying "Mwen?" and pointing to myself. He indicated that it was and said something that sounded like lavatory. I said in English that I had no idea what he was saying. I must have looked confused because he pointed toward my kitchen and said something else. I just took the bucket from him, put it near the kitchen, and said "Merci." He didn't look satisfied, but he left the bucket with me.

I feel so incompetent. I'm like a little kid that needs constant supervision. In fact the only two things I've done on my own since I arrived have been walking three blocks to and from 36 today and teaching English at Laboule for a couple of hours. It's very frustrating not being able to communicate with the people around me. I definitely have a renewed compassion for people in the States who are learning English.

Now that I'm done throwing myself a little pity party, I'm going to get back to organizing my apartment.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Haiti Q & A: What do you eat?

Q. What do you eat in Haiti?
A. So far I have eaten whatever Beth's cook, named Mira, has made for me. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have someone else cook a nice meal every single day! Mira is an excellent cook and makes a variety of dishes. Most of the the time she cooks eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. There have been a few days I've just eaten some fresh bread (I could live on the stuff it's so delicious!). The for dinner she has a system. She generally makes some sort of rice/beans, a meat or meat dish, gratinay (casserole), a hot vegetable, a salad and bread. So far I really like Haitian food. I'll try to take some pictures of other things we eat in the coming weeks.

Tonight we had ble (pronounced blay), which is a crushed wheat/grain, instead of rice with our beans.


Our meat dish was fried meatballs with a red sauce (my favorite sauce).


The gratinay tonight was something new. It's normally made with cabbage or potatoes and had a cheese sauce. It's baked in the oven and is yummy. Tonight Mira made it with lom, which is a gigantic vegetable that seems similar to a potato.


Tonight we had okra as our vegetable. Thankfully that one doesn't show up very often. My mom made me eat it once. I still think it's as disgusting as it was when I was a kid.




Yummy fresh bread. It takes on different shapes, but it tastes the same everyday.


He, She, It, Red, Blue, Yellow, White, Brown, White, Black

On Thursday I went back to Laboule for our second English lesson. The kids are awesome. While I went to drop something off in the kitchen, they spread the word that I had arrived. By the time I was finished in the kitchen, all of them were gathered on the porch for our lesson. For the first two lessons the kids have set up chairs in a semicircle on the porch, and I have used a chair in front of them. I say a word or a phrase and then kids repeat me.

The second session began with some review of Monday's lesson.  Then I introduced the words clock, chalkboard, paper, boy, and girl. I introduce one word at a time by showing them the picture, saying This is a clock., and then they repeat me. As I introduce new words we go back and review the other words we've learned. Sometimes I choose one child to name an object, other times I just ask What's this? and see who answers me.

The other two concepts we worked on during lesson de (Creole for lesson 2) were colors and pronouns. Learning colors came very easily for the kids. Pronouns was a different story. It took me a long time to teach them the difference between I am ___. and You are___. And I even know the Creole for those phrases!

I can't tell you how much I already love working with these kids. They are so eager to learn that a couple of them have taken the initiative to write down all the words they've learned in a notebook. I think they are going to give me a run for my money this year!

Here's a video of one of the boys introducing himself.  Johnson is the oldest boy at Laboule, and I think he's going to be my best student there.


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Crazy Church

Most communities have at least one crazy church. In my neighborhood there is a crazy church just down the road from Willem and Beth. They meet on Thursdays, for almost the whole day. The women wear all white to church. They begin the day with nice singing, but by the end of the day they are chanting to very loud drums (which is generally associated with voodoo here). Beth told me a little about the church last week because I could hear them singing on the day I arrived. Just before dinner Lonise, one of the maids, came into the house and said the pastor of the crazy church had set a woman on fire. Apparently she was sick and went to the church for help or healing or something. The details are not clear, but supposedly pastor doused her in gasoline and set her on fire. Lonise saw the fire from Willem and Beth's house, and about 10 minutes later we heard lots of police sirens. Many, many people had gathered near the church. We could hear that there was some sort of commotion, but we can always hear noise so I didn't think much of it. I'm sure it was much like what happens if there is a police car in my neighborhood in the States: all the neighbors come out to watch what is happening. Anyway, by the time we got to the balcony to see for ourselves it was too dark to see anything more than the mass of people standing around near the church. The boys speculate that the woman, if she was still alive, was taken to the hospital and the pastor was likely taken to jail. I feel sick thinking about that poor woman.

This crazy church is in no way affiliated with MTM. Nor does it reflect mainstream Haitian culture. This is a very peculiar group of people and other Haitians view them at best as odd but now it's more likely they'll be viewed as a cult.

Madame Stephen's Funeral Part 2 (and my first Sunday at Gramothe Church)

If you missed the first part you can read it here.



The day of Madame Stephen's funeral was a long one. We loaded the truck with all the flowers, mugs, food, and other things around 8am on Sunday morning. Most of the truck bed was full of flowers. The other part had about 15 boxes of mugs. It was a very precarious load. Thankfully I rode in the cab with Willem and Barry. Two Haitians were given the job of riding in the back to make sure the mugs didn't fall on the flowers. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to the top.

During Sunday school I watered all the flowers and moved them to the cafeteria area. I also helped move some other things. Eventually it was time for church. I sat with Barry, who tricked me at one point during the service. One of the elders was introducing the pastor who was going to speak, but he kept looking in our direction. Barry leaned over and said, "Their talking about you." I was a little confused because Barry had already told me he didn't understand much Creole. Then before I had time to think about it, he said, "Stand up." I was freaking out and said, "They want me to stand up?!?!?!" and I started to stand up. Barry grabbed my arm and just started laughing. I'm already planning something for when he comes back in 2 weeks.

After church there was a lot of waiting around. Because the funeral was only an hour and half after church, we just stayed in Gramothe. I helped a lady named Mimos wash all the mugs for the funeral dinner. I also talked to Barry and Stephen (the missionaries' son) quite a bit. We waited around for the funeral home to bring Madame Stephen's body, and watched people as they gathered for the funeral. There were likely over 500 people at the service.

About a half hour before the service started people started going into the sanctuary. The casket was open, and many were saying their last goodbyes. Beth didn't want to go into the sanctuary until she had to, so we all waited outside until the pastor started the service. I am glad we didn't go in early. Every bench had about 3 more people than any American crowd would accommodate. The choir seating on stage was full, the walls were lined and even the aisles were full of people. We ended up standing against a wall, which was fine with me because I could see everything that happened.

The service started with a congregational hymn, which sounded familiar to me but I didn't know it. Then there was a prayer, a short piece from Barry on behalf of all Americans and Canadians, a song from the kids, the 23rd Psalm, two songs from the choir, a history of Madame Stephen's life from her youngest brother, two songs from the men's choir, and a message from Willem. Then there were some words from her older brother, another congregational hymn, and finally the benediction. Madame Stephen's childhood pastor served as the MC for the service, so spoke breifly between everything.

Part of Haitian culture is that there is wailing at funerals. A lady who runs an orphanage near Willem and Beth's house told me there are even professional wailers who can be hired! Anyway, the wailing was VERY loud before the service and I was glad that we weren't in the sanctuary yet. During the service there was some wailing, but not a lot. The people were very attentive to those who spoke. Generally the only wailing was during songs. Willem asked someone to sing a short song just before he spoke. I think it was a song that was meaningful to Madame Stephen. That's when the ladies let loose and the wailing really picked up. Two women ended up being carried out of the sanctuary because they were so out of control. When Willem took the mic again, he asked them to calm down and they did... until the end of the service. At the close of the service and as people were leaving there were a handful of women who were wailing their hearts out and mourning Madame Stephen's passing.  Overall, I'd say there weren't that many women wailing, just 10-15.

After the service most everyone went to the cemetery that's within walking distance to burry Madame Stephen. I did not follow them because I was busy transforming the sanctuary. Some men from the church moved the pews and we put 16 tables in the sanctuary. Then the youth group set the tables and prepared to serve a meal of pates (a small pastry filled with meat), bullion vyann poul (chicken soup), and soda. The people ended up coming back from the cemetery before we were finished setting the tables, so it was a little chaotic for a while. Eventually everyone got into a groove and we were able to serve everyone fairly quickly.

Overall, it was a very nice celebration of Madame Stephen's life.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Luxuries

Living in the Land of Luxury my entire life has caused me to take many things for granted. The following are just some of the things I have a renewed appreciation of.

  1. Deoderant
  2. Education
  3. My own vehicle to drive
  4. Clean drinking water
  5. A warm shower

Madame Stephen's Funeral Part 1

When Mountain Top Ministries opened the school in Gramothe, they committed to feeding each student a substantial meal at lunch knowing it could be the only one they had. The woman who headed up the feeding program, as I've heard it called, was Madame Stephen. She was a 30-something mom with two young kids attending the school and quickly became a trusted ministry partner. She was a dedicated Christian and served the children in the Gramothe school faithfully.

About two years ago Madame Stephen had a baby, but it died at a month old. Madame Stephen was not well herself and when she couldn't get better, she went to the hospital. She eventually learned that she had an incurable disease. After struggling for many months with this sickness, on Sunday September 5th she passed away at home.

Typically funerals here happen very soon after someone passes away because the bodies are kept at the home and they don't have the embalming or the refrigeration necessary to keep the body much longer than a day or two. However, Madame Stephen was a very important person, so her funeral needed to be put off a little bit for some planning. Her body was sent to a funeral home and her funeral was a week after she died.

In the days leading up the funeral, the family and friends just kind of hang out together, mourning their loss. I went up to the village on the Friday before her funeral with Willem and Barry (an MTM board member who came down for the funeral). We visited the home of Madame Stephen, where there were about 40 people hanging out, playing dominoes, and drinking coffee. Barry is a rock star in the village; everyone knows his name and wants to say hi. He visited with the people a little bit. I met Madame Stephen's husband and son very briefly. Then Willem wanted to show Barry some of the homes they've built recently. We toured Jean Pierre's new home. It has 3 or 4 rooms. Then we went a little further up in the village and toured another home.

Monday, September 13, 2010

First Day at Laboule

Today Beth took me to Laboule to meet the orphans I'll be working with this year. I was a little nervous because I don't speak Creole and the kids don't know any English. It's not really in my comfort zone. However, the kids were really excited that I'm teaching them English. They were eager to learn and repeated everything I said... including "Listen" and "Oh my goodness!" Today we worked on a greeting dialog:
       Hello. How are you?
       I'm fine, thank you. How are you?
       I'm fine, thanks. My name is ______. What's your name?
       My name is ________.

And they learned the following vocabulary:
       What's this?
       This is a ______.
       book
       pen
       pencil
       table
       desk
       chair
       teacher
       student

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Arrival

I arrived in Haiti at 7:45 am today after no sleep in the Miami airport. For the next week I'll be living at the guesthouse while the water pump at my house is fixed.

I spent the day with Beth--grocery shopping, chatting with friends, picking up the boys from school, and just talking about stuff. We also drove by the house where my apartment is, but we only saw the gate. It's gray. I probably won't get to see the inside until after Sunday. Johanes (who lives upstairs) comes back from the States on Sunday, and there is a funeral in Gramothe after church on Sunday. I think we'll (more likely they will) be busy preparing for the funeral service.

Right now the plan is that I'll go meet the kids at Laboule on Monday or Tuesday next week. I'm looking forward to catching up on sleep between now and then.

Sweetness

This message from a family at my church is just one of the awesome ways God has shown me how much I am loved and cared for by my ministry partners. Such sweetness from these precious little ones caused me to cry tears of thankfulness.

Britney-
Today is your big day! We looked on the map at how far you'll travel today and tomorrow. Then the kids and I talked about what you might be feeling today and prayed for you. Here is a message from each of the kids:
T (9)- "I hope that you get there quick and safely. I hope you have a good time there."
E (7)- "I prayed that you would teach good and that the kids would learn how to do what you teach. I hope you have a good time." E also prayed that you would remember that God is always with you.
L (5)- "I prayed that God would make you not be scared. I can send you some food if you get hungry." L loves that her VBS teacher is a missionary!
A (4)- She remembered that I was scared and sad before I went to Ukraine. She thought you may be feeling the same way and prayed that God would help you not be scared or sad. She also remembered that you had a friend helping at your garage sale and thought you might miss her while you were gone. She prayed that you and your friend wouldn't be lonely. It was very sweet and sincere!

Take care, Britney! We're thinking of you and praying for your traveling days!
P.

Ground Rules

Some friends felt it was necessary to give me the following rules before I left for Haiti:

  1. You WILL come home.
  2. Avoid the Haitian Sensation.
  3. If you meet a man, he is moving here to be with you not vice versa. See rule #1.
  4. You must come home for Christmas.
Does anyone else have other ground rules I should be aware of?

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mixed Emotions

I leave for Haiti tomorrow.


Tomorrow.


Do you know how crazy that is? It's almost unbelievable to me. It shouldn't be. My house is empty, my bags are packed, and I've said goodbye to all my friends. It doesn't get much more real than that.


But it still hasn't quite clicked in my mind. Going to Haiti still seems like something hoped for, something that might happen someday.


I hope I don't have a breakdown once I get there and it finally sinks in that I'm living in Haiti for a year.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Another Update: So much to do, so little time

Things on my list...

  • get typhoid and tetanus vaccines
  • change car insurance
  • return garage sale tables to church
  • finish packing up garage sale leftovers 
  • cancel cell phone service starting Sept. 9th
  • write thank yous to supporters
  • write or find a decent lease
  • rent U-haul for Monday
  • rent a storage unit
  • finish packing clothes
  • pack craft stuff
  • pack two clothes closets and the linen closet
  • send prayer card file to Miss Donna
  • return tubs to friends who donated garage sale items
  • call about student loans
  • cancel Internet
  • pack kitchen
  • pack decorations
  • pack remaining linens
  • empty fridge
New items for the list
  • pack toilettries
  • finish laundry and pack those clothes
  • transfer purses
  • wrap appliances in trash bags
  • clean microwave
  • take out the trash

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Update: So much to do, so little time

Things on my list...

  • get typhoid and tetanus vaccines
  • change car insurance
  • return garage sale tables to church
  • finish packing up garage sale leftovers 
  • cancel cell phone service starting Sept. 9th
  • write thank yous to supporters
  • write or find a decent lease
  • rent U-haul for Monday
  • rent a storage unit
  • finish packing clothes
  • pack craft stuff
  • pack two clothes closets and the linen closet
  • send prayer card file to Miss Donna
  • return tubs to friends who donated garage sale items
  • call about student loans
  • cancel Internet
  • pack kitchen
  • pack decorations
  • pack remaining linens
  • empty fridge

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

So much to do, so little time

Things on my list...

  • get typhoid and tetanus vaccines
  • change car insurance
  • return garage sale tables to church
  • finish packing up garage sale leftovers 
  • cancel cell phone service starting Sept. 9th
  • write thank yous to supporters
  • write or find a decent lease
  • rent U-haul for Monday
  • rent a storage unit
  • finish packing clothes
  • pack craft stuff
  • pack two clothes closets and the linen closet
  • send prayer card file to Miss Donna
  • return tubs to friends who donated garage sale items
  • call about student loans
  • cancel Internet
  • pack kitchen
  • pack decorations
  • pack remaining linens
  • empty fridge