Birthdays, Presents, and Solar Panels

What’s been happening at Second Mile since we last checked in? Well we’ve been busy! Jenn’s trying to polish off the last of the construction projects at the land while searching for parts and materials for the next step. 

It’s birthday week here in Haiti. I celebrated my 26th on March 21st. And Jenn is about to turn 25 on April 1st. Notice I said week. Yes... Jenn begins celebrating her birthday on March 25th. It’s no secret that she loves parties and birthday presents. More about that at the end of the post.  

aging gracefully, March 21 2013, 26 years!

We also have some big, exciting news to share about a big project.

This time we won’t make Jenn write about it. Right now her head’s spinning with numbers and calculations as it has been this entire month of March. This “big project” involves A LOT of “number crunching,” a serious thing I’ve learned to identify by the concentrated look on Jenn’s face and the way her eyes stare into Number Land (not a place I’m super familiar with...). 

I guess I can spill the beans already. 

The “big project” is power! Solar power! In just a few weeks we have an opportunity to have the Second Mile Haiti campus completely wired! It will happen in two stages. 

Try to stay with me. The technico-logical stuff is almost over I promise!...The first phase is the installations of all the electrical components (lights, outlets, switches and inverters). This phase also includes installation of batteries. These will power the system once they are charged by a diesel generator. Then in Phase 2 the solar panels will be installed on top of the recovery homes and will become our primary source of power. This can happen just as soon as we raise the funds and get the solar panels down to Haiti. 

Phew.. I just exhausted my very limited vocabulary. But that’s the basics. See Jenn for more details. 

If you read the newsletter (a green, gray, and white email that said March Newsletter), you might know that this opportunity is as cool as they come. The story is a longer one so I will try to be concise. To be honest, we hadn’t even been thinking about how to get electricity out at the property. It was one of those “we’ll think about it when we get there” kinds of things. Of course God’s timing is perfect and the opportunity to power-up came just when it was the very next step. We’re “there” at a place where electricity is one of the last big things we need before we open our doors.  

Now here’s what makes this whole thing well, kind of urgent. We have a team of skilled electricians and solar experts headed our way on April 6th! 

How’d we swing that? Well, we didn’t really swing anything. 

I-Tec (Powering Missions Worldwide) is a non-profit organization based out of PA. They travel to dozens of countries each year to help install and  maintain solar and electrical systems for other non-profits. When we contacted I-Tec at the beginning of March, they had been contacted just 10 minutes earlier by another organization in Cap Haitien, that needed help with their hospital’s solar system. 

Their need was an urgent one but our call helped clench the deal. To hear from two organizations in Haiti, located not 10 miles from each other, in the span of 10 minutes was too much of a God thing for the group to ignore. They did what they could to fit us both into their busy schedule. And we feel more than privileged to have their help. 

But April 6th is just around the corner! 13 days from today, I'm told.  The trip's nearness is the reason why Jenn’s head is exploding. Currently, she’s in the next room searching the internet for price comparisons on things like 4" square 1/2" raised cover for duplex receptacle. Yeah... we're just going to let her stay in the zone. And if she asks whether I read through any of the last 3 spreadsheets she sent me I am, most definitely, going to say "yes."  

jenn, checking light-switch prices in the DR

Not only is there a lot to prepare before the team arrives, but there’s a lot of money to raise! 

Despite the challenge, we can’t let this opportunity pass us by. When Bryan Wilson, a missionary pilot from Zambia, was here with my Dad a few weeks ago, he helped us get ready for the "big project." First, by facilitating the connection with I-Tec and then by doing the necessary ground measurements. He also helped us determine the amount of energy we will need when our facility is up and running. He and Jenn have been in communication with I-Tec so that when all is said and done we have an efficient and durable source of power (one where all the parts and pieces work together seamlessly...at least we hope!)

Blessed. There I said it. I used the word. We've been blessed by how everything is coming together! 

Our decision to go solar may or may not seem like an obvious one. In Haiti we can count on an average of 7 hours of sunlight per day. Without solar panels we would burn about $17 of diesel fuel per day. With solar panels, we won’t get anywhere close to that, and our savings in fuel cost mean that the panels will pay for themselves in 10 months! Hey maybe I have been listening after all... 

Just a few days ago Jenn received a final summary of the costs involved in this project. Boy am I glad that email finally arrived. Her total time pacing has decreased drastically since she’s got her hands on these numbers. 

If you’re a numbers person, here you have it. 

Electrical supplies (wire, lights, PVC conduit, etc) -------------------- $6,600

Inverters and associated equipment ---------------------------------------$6,600

Batteries and cables (i.e. 24 Trojan T 105)-------------------------------$4,500

Diesel Generator (11 KW)-----------------------------------------------------$9,500

5000 Watts of Solar Panels @$1.10 per watt----------------------------$5,500

Shipping to Haiti and clearing charges -----------------------------------$3,000

                                                                                                  Total $35,700

And then we received a donation of $20,000. $20,000!!! And the big number dropped to $15,700. 

Then I-Tec shared that their California supplier of solar panels was having a sale next week. Instead of paying $1.10 per watt, because of the sale we would pay just $0.35 per watt. 

Instead of spending $5,500 on solar panels we could spend just $1,750.

That drops the big number is down to $11,950!

So here’s the deal. If you are looking for a way to get involved, Jenn has given us specific instructions and numbers. 

Let's make this her best birthday yet. 

For the purpose of birthday presents we'll break this down.

We need 5,000 Watts of Solar Panels. Each watt is only 35 cents! How many can you give Jenn for her birthday? ;)

We also need 24 batteries at $140/battery. 

And if you want to really blow Jenn* away on her birthday we still need electrical stuff, like wire, at a total cost of $6,600.

wire

*your gift would mostly help malnourished babies and their moms and the ministry of Second Mile Haiti, not Jenn specifically, but since Jenn really likes moms and babies... any amount toward the solar power project would make her day! 

Thanks for reading this really long post! We hope you're just as excited as we are about this next step! To God be the glory. 

when 'purpose' depends on the lesson

It's 1:21 am and I certainly should not be blogging right now. Oh, the grammatical errors that will surely ensue! Truth is I think I drank coffee too late in the day (I blame the time-change) and as an almost 26-year-old I believe that I am no longer young enough to tolerate caffeine at any old time of day. It appears that blogging is what happens when the house is completely quiet and I can't hear a thing but my own thoughts. 

Initially I was just replying to an email but it quickly turned bloggish.

The email I was writing was an update about Kelinise. Kelinise is an 18-year-old with Type 1 Diabetes that has been in the mix for about a year now. We've written about her a few times, here and here. The sender had stayed current regarding our friend but had just re-read the blog post where I let it all out, so to speak, and wanted to know what sort of response I had gotten when I wrote that post, several months back. 

I believe she's not the only one who would love to know how this sweet girl is fairing. 

I wrote: Blogging is a funny thing. The night I wrote the post I knew we needed more support to be able to meet all of her needs but adding that to the blog post was more of an after thought. I wrote that post more quickly than I've written anything, before or since (usually it takes me awhile). But when writing about Kelinise the words just came because her situation is so moving. I am really grateful for the relationship I have with her. I consider it a huge privilege that I get to interact with her on this level and be the one that's there for her in sickness (i guess that's the nurse in me). But I agree with you. I'm starting to see more and more of what God is teaching me through her. And it has a lot to do with grace and faithfulness (His). 

She came over today. I had a few things for her, including some shirts my mom sent for me that were way too small (what size does she think I am?! Maybe it's my massive muscles that prevented me from wearing that blouse...I'd like to think so anyway...) and some protein powder. But I also just wanted to see her.

I had kind of gotten used to seeing her everyday when she was in the hospital for a week at the beginning of this month. It wasn't her blood sugar this time. She suffered through a night of vomiting and brought herself to the clinic the next day. In consultation, she may have mentioned to the doctor that she had seen blood and he had appropriately admitted her to the inpatient adult unit. Thankfully, all her lab results, including her blood sugar, were normal. I know this not because that information is freely shared with the patients or family, but because I snuck a peak in her chart when no one was watching... (let's keep that between you and me). She really did look terrible that first day. It was full blown dehydration (sunken eyes, parched skin, the whole bit). But by 7 am the next morning she looked 10% better than her normal self. IV fluids can have that affect on people. 

She continued to look 100% for the next 6 days. The doctors must have been extremely preoccupied with the rest of the medical and surgical patients because Kelinise and another diabetic comrade were left for days without any orders for discharge. Gosh, they are patient. 

For a week I made a daily appearance at the hospital. Not at 7 am as much. An in with the orderly and the Haitian practice of freely exchanging cell phone numbers meant that I could call anytime other than between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM (unit mopping time) and either of the hospital orderlies would pass their phone to the pit la (child). If she was doing okay, which she was, I could take my time. 

It's true, I could have left her with enough money to buy food for more than one day at a time but let's be honest, I like the girl. It's something special to have a spot next to her on that bed and sit there and, I'll use the word "chat," since gossip is frowned upon, with the candor of sisters who actually like each other. 

Sitting on patient beds, which by the way is not allowed, feels a lot like using the lavoratory in first class. It results in a harsh look from security which might be fine for some people, but is less tolerable for me, a person who finds rule-breaking uncomfortably painful. However, the security guards have grown soft on the matter of late and I've been taking advantage of it, for the good of the gossip. 

It totally throws the other patients. I watch them out of the corner of my eye. Some stare on with admiration and others just can't figure out how this little arrangement came about or what this little arrangement is. But they all like her. And they end up liking me as well. It's because I'm a soft spoken American and I speak Creole. At least I always get some points for that.

But back to why the other patients like Kelinise. They're encouraged by her. I believe seeing her manage, gives them strength. They see that she has no one by her bedside while they on the other hand have at least one if not three relatives at their beck and call. They need toothpaste? Relative #1 materializes with toothpaste in minutes. They need soup? Relative #2 buys the vegetables, cooks the soup and again... minutes later, materializes with a bowl of somethin'-somethin' that has precisely however much salt or bread or obscure ingredient the patient desires.

I'd say "I don't know how they do it!," but I do. They buy the vegetables from the vegetable vendors outside the hospital. They prepare the soup in an area alongside the hospital designated for that purpose and they serve the soup in serving dishes they've brought from home. You may see Haiti as disorganized but trust me, there's nothing more orderly than the rules and ways of hospitalized patients and their caretakers. There's order to most everything here. Here being Haiti... It just doesn't appear the way you're used to seeing it. The hospital might not be sterile but it certainly is structured.

Part of that structure is the gen moun, the "having someone."

The not having anyone? Kelinise bears it without blinking. She packs her own bag and straightens her own sheet and carries her IV bag with her to bathe herself and buy her medication. If she leaves home for a clinic visit but thinks her condition might warrant a hospital stay she buys a sliver of ice before leaving and washes out a plastic juice bottle to transport her insulin to the hospital, so that she has it at hand for her evening injection. To my friends with Type I Diabetes, that may sound like your normal. Of course, of course you would travel with insulin. But in Haiti.. if you are ill (excluding less socially acceptable conditions such as HIV) you have someone to do "the packing" and "the bringing" for you. 

Sometimes I'm her someone.   

But I'm so lame (permission to use the word). I tried to cook and bring her oatmeal like a true Haitian the morning after she was admitted but it was freezing cold by the time I made it to the hospital. I didn't put her through the torture of eating cold oatmeal complete with condensation dripping from the top of the tupperware (although, in admitting this I may be subjecting myself to condemnation from Jenn, the food police, whom I did not previously inform of this food-wasting infraction). Ok, maybe I don't know how they do it.. Boy did Myrlande the machan (food vendor) love me by the end of the week. 

Can I be honest and say that visiting the hospital was something of an escape? Visiting Kelinise everyday was a no-brainer. The hospital felt like home. There I know my purpose even without a job or a title. Even when my purpose is simply to arrive, to be there. I can fetch, and hand-hold, and small talk my way through an entire day and I never get confused. 

I sometimes get lost in this phase we're in right now with Second Mile Haiti. It's an organization that will one day be a ministry but is currently in the "building phase..." But sometimes I'm fine. Today, for example, I was fine. There was a goal: finish and send the newsletter. It was a pretty concrete task and we all (meaning Jenn and I) had decided it was kind of my job. So I didn't get lost today. 

But some days I have a hard time figuring out what is my role and what isn't. What does a nurse do with no patients? 

In Haiti as in ministry, you wear many hats. But when hat wearing is still somewhat theoretical (i.e. the ministry doesn't exist yet) daily duties are just a little more confusing, for me anyway. 

Some of you that know me well, knew me from my old job (a nurse of many kids), or understand what my future roll will be. You remind me that soon I'll be back in my element with little bodies to nurse and mothers to walk through the scary stuff. I'll be teaching and nurturing and empowering and I won't be one bit confused about it. 

Let's be clear, I'm not overly anxious to get there. I appreciate this phase and love it like I love a person. It's a brave new world and we're marching to the beat of faith. I am learning a lot in this third month of our second year as Second Mile Haiti. It's right where God has me and I have my heart bent to learn what he's teaching, i'm just job-title-less at times. 

Today, I did the only "nursing" thing I'll do for days maybe (unless of course Jenn asks for cough medicine through a syringe again... She's a weird one when she's sick but I am happy to oblige). I calculated the amount o carbohydrates in a scoop of protein powder and taught Kelinise how much she could take without causing her blood sugar to sky rocket. I mixed it up for her and made her drink it. She's quite capable of mixing and pouring but I did it this time to fulfill my need to "nurse." And she didn't mind. Then I had her step on the bathroom scale we have in our living room. We keep it there because our neighbors like to weigh in from time to time and that saves them the awkwardness of having to ask. I was happy I remembered to weigh her. The last time I mentioned anything about Kelinise she weighed 80 pounds. Not ideal for an 18 year old, not ideal. 

Today she weighed 93 lbs. She looked at me like the scale spoke English or something. I think she was just a little surprised to see such a sizable improvement. 

She's eating regularly. We have help with that. And she's living with her brother in a really healthy environment. He's a sweet kid (er..20 year old). I think he has some people in his life who notice the same thing about him that people notice about Kelinise. That is, he doesn't have anyone. And he shoulders it. He makes no excuses. He tries. 

Some professor of some class is letting him sit in on the lectures even though he hasn't paid any tuition. This is very generous and will help him when, at the end of the year, he makes another attempt to pass the government issued post-high school test that could lead to a certificate.  

It's complicated, their family. Sort of, I mean I could give you the basic run-down or you could refer to the older posts but basically, Mom had a stroke. Dad now lives with a woman who is anti- kids-from-wife #1. All the older siblings are busy trying to take care of themselves. Dad is busy trying to take care of the 6 younger siblings he had with wife #2. That leaves Kelinise with a chronic illness and Kelinos, her brother, with a bright future ahead of him and no means to pay for it, all by themselves, an hour's drive from any relative in a house that belonged to a sibling that has long since left Haiti. Yeah, I guess 'complicated' is the appropriate descriptor. 

So we dabble. We dabble in their lives and maybe it's dabbling. But in dabbling I'm loving and I sure am learning. 

God thank you for protecting and sustaining these two lives. You whisper to their spirits and I see them moving closer to you. Thank you! Richly bless them with spiritual gifts, sweet Jesus.

Kelinise and Kelinos. They are good kids, indeed. 

And I'm not lost, just learning something new. 

A sigh of relief

From my previous posts you could probably tell that this last month hasn’t been the easiest. Let’s just say I never planned for this month.Planning is something that God is teaching me a thing or two about. Over and over he has convicted me about  “my plans.” Over and over it has been evident that God wants me to find peace in His plans and His timing. Lately I find that I always laugh, I mean notice, when anyone mentions “my plan is to do this or my plan is to do that.” I guess its because the only thing I’m sure of these days is that there is no plan. Or rather that it’s a matter of being in his plan and not the other way around.  

We have been in negotiations to purchase the piece of land that currently holds the buildings we’ve built this past year for Second Mile Haiti for about a month now. The negotiating process has been draining and exhausting. I heard Dadou say many times that he was ready for everything to just be over and done with. I agreed, but it’s just not that simple. Over the past month I had to wrestle with two contradicting thoughts. 

1. I want everyone to know we are good stewards of the money that is given to us, thus I need to argue for the best possible price. 

And.. 

1. It’s all God’s money. Every nickel in our bank account, the cash in your pocket, and that spare change in the 5 gallon bucket sitting in your bathroom. (Wait, you don’t have one of those...?)  It all belongs to God. Let Him direct when and how much is used and for what purpose.

For weeks now, I had been sticking to my guns and fighting for every penny, knowing that whatever money I could save us in land negotiations could be well-spent elsewhere.  But I had to look at my motives. I was fighting to lower the price. But what if instead I should recognize that the money belongs to God and try to find peace in the fact that regardless of the price (big or small) if this land purchase was meant to be then God’s money would come flowing in. 

And that’s exactly what happened. It’s the one thing that I have seen happen repeatedly. When we’ve learned our lessons- when we’ve struggled and grown- when we’ve gained a thing or two from the trial and come out on the right path then and only then does God’s money come flowing in.

My final beef with the land owners had been over $3,000. I wanted that much removed from the total. They weren’t so inclined. We were at a standstill for the past two weeks because of that $3,000.

Yesterday morning I woke up, got out the computer, and checked the spreadsheet that shows a record of all the checks that have been sent for Second Mile Haiti. I noticed that we had received two different checks in the amounts of $2,000 and $1,000. I usually have a good grasp on money coming in, but these two were out of the ordinary. These checks were sent by donors I wasn’t even expecting. Funny thing is... 2,000 + 1,000 = 3,000. So there we had it. The extra money had come in. How cool is that?

God’s money had come in. 

Suddenly everything made sense and I finally felt at peace with the decision we were about to make. I called Dadou to talk through the terms of the sale (one final time) and then asked him to set up “the meeting.” 

He left around 11 AM and 30 mins later called to say that the owner and the Notary would be willing to meet at 2 PM. We were expecting to have to wait a day or two before agreeing on a time that would work with everyone’s schedules. But 2 PM miraculously worked for all 6 of us that needed to be in that meeting. Due to the tendency of people to be much more optimistic than realistic when setting a timeframe we actually started our meeting closer to 3:30. But there we were, all sitting around a table in the Notary’s house. It was an unreal feeling to be sitting down again in the same place we had sat twice before. First to lease the land and then again at our first attempt to sign the purchase agreement. I know Amy was holding her breath hoping that this time all would end well. If you look at her face in most of the pictures she looks mad. “I was just afraid to mess things up if I seemed too happy”  was her excuse for the scowls.   

Before we knew it, everything was finished. Everything suddenly became more real. I’m not sure I have ever signed anything more significant in my life than these land papers.

As we walked out of the house Dadou gave me a pat on the back and whispered a “good job” in English. We all let out a little sigh of a relief. Actually, we all let out a big sign of relief. It was finished. 

In the car driving home Amy told Dadou, “you don’t know how many people in the States have been praying for this.” He responded, “you don’t know how many Haitians have been praying for this too.”

We got back to the apartment and decided we needed to celebrate!

Amy whipped up some gluten free cookies and I cracked open a few Prestiges (local beer). Not sure there is a better way to celebrate around here.  

As we were eating our cookies and drinking a cold beer Dadou noticed a spider on my hand. It was a green spider. I had never seen a spider like this before! He told us that in Haiti when you have a green spider on you it means you have great fortune coming your way. I just sort of laughed and thought it was a little ironic that I just handed over the most money I have ever held in my life, and now it turns out we have great fortune coming our way.

Five minutes later Amy walks out to the balcony and shows us that there is a green spider on her too! I guess that means double the fortune! 

I don’t disagree with the spider. I think we are going to be continually blessed if we include God in our plans or better yet if we continue to follow His.

So what’s next? Well I am just sitting here on the balcony waiting for Dadou to get back from the construction store to finalize an estimate for what it will cost to finish the education building, security post, and the offices. And I’m feeling optimistic about the great fortune we have coming our way. Maybe it’s not a monetary fortune, but in terms of blessings, and experiences, and opportunities...I’d say there are great things just ahead. 

Important caption:

This post was edited a whole lot by Amy Syres. Thankful that she spent the last hour correcting all my grammatical errors and especially thankful that she can express my thoughts/feelings into words (yeah...we spend a lot of time together...).

Letter Part 2

I am so glad we have board members to keep us accountable! A few days ago I got the reminder email saying “Jenn, it’s been two weeks and you promised to send out an update!” I can’t believe time as passed by so quickly since I posted about “the letter.” If you have no idea what I’m talking about then free to read my previous post and that should catch you up. 

I am sure everyone is dying to know where we are at with the fundraising for the purchase of the land. I am excited to let everyone know that we have almost reached our goal! We set a goal of raising $18,000 and finding 10 new monthly supporters to commit to $100/month. We haven’t reached the $18,000, but we sure are close! We are $4,500 away from that goal. We also had 7 new supporters commit to donating monthly! 

So $4,500 and 3 monthly supporters left and we will be in good shape. We know it’s only a matter of God’s timing.

Since we haven’t settled the land negotiations we have tried really hard to stay away from the land. It’s not in our best interest to be working when the land owners understand that we are in standstill until the matter is settled. Weeks ago we stopped all work, only to be resumed when we finished the “deal.” As you can imagine not being out at the land leaves me feeling pretty antsy. I so badly want to finish the two projects we have underway right now, the education building and the shop. It’s hard to step foot on the land when there isn’t work going on. It feels so empty, and I have felt a little lost these last couple weeks. 

Our attempt to keep a low profile at the land was especially hard for us this past week. We were expecting our very first group of volunteers and we wanted them to have the full experience of working on the land with the Haitien guys who have been so invested in the buildings. The group would consist of three guys, one of them happened to be Amy’s dad. We had a ton of ideas for how we could use their experience and skills to continue to get the facility ready for use. But as the time got closer we were worried about the whole “land situation.” 

While living here in Haiti we’ve come to learn that there’s no use in getting too attached to your plans. You can think about things. You can prepare. And you can schedule. But you have to accept that plan A can turn into plan D in seconds flat. If you are someone that has to have everything planned out (I hate to break it to you) but maybe Haiti isn’t your thing. ;) Here, we worry less about the ideal situation and more about what God might want to teach us in flexibility and the ability to adjust to obstacles with grace. And we use the word “re-group” like it’s going out of style. 

We knew we wanted the guys to make 12 beds and shelves for the recovery homes. The decision to have a team do this project instead of a local carpenter was more about saving money than it was about the skill involved. In fact, Haitian wood craftsmen are so skilled in their field that we would have been hard pressed to find someone willing to design anything less than a bed fit for a king, compete with banisters and intricate engravings. We needed something simple and practical and easy to duplicate x 12. 

We were able to “re-group” and make do by having the guys work from the porch of our apartment. As soon as they got here they drew a quick sketch for the beds and Dadou and I headed off to the “home depot” around the corner. 

We stored all materials on our balcony, and the 2x4’s we stored on the side of our apartment. The guys used the power saw only when we had city power here at the complex. Well... that’s not entirely true. We might have gotten in trouble once or maybe three times because we ran the saw when the generator didn’t happen to be running. That’s okay though. When the power wasn’t available they used a hand saw. They even had Amy on drill duty. I think if we ever need any more beds we’ll be able to count on her to whip a few together. ;)

After 2 1/2 days, 12 beds were made. We stored 4 beds in our living room, and 8 beds were just chillin’ on our porch. It was quite a scene, but it worked. The guys made-do with what we had available and they did it with smiles on their faces. We couldn’t have asked for better guys to come down. They get the awards for flexibility, positivity, and patience. 

By Wednesday there was nothing left for these guys to do that could be done from our apartment.  The other projects we had planned was to build shelves, a desk, and a work station in the pharmacy. This was a struggle since we wanted to make use of their time and the fact that they were just plain hard and willing workers. So I caved and decided we would go ahead and do the pharmacy shelves, at the land.

We were out at the land from Wednesday thru Friday. We closed off our gates to the community, and didn’t let anyone inside. These three guys worked along side four Haitians that practically live at the land at the land anyways. In a day and a half everything in the pharmacy was finished. It’s was an exciting time for Amy especially as it was a project she has been looking forward to the most. Let’s not forget she has been storing over 50 containers of medical supplies in her room... that infringes on yoga practice just slightly. 

I have another bit of exciting news to share, but to be honest I think it’s going to require another blog post. I’ll give you a hint.. it has something to do with power, electricity, and solar panels. It’s a little too early to reveal.

So in conclusion this was a great week with great company. These guys were understanding about the sleeping accommodations (air mattresses) and the time it took to prepare our “healthy” meals. Patience is a virtue, with no microwave.  I didn’t even see one of them spit out the food despite it being mostly veggies and mostly healthy, “weird,” and straight from the market. If I might add, Amy’s an amazing cook and they were complementary. And I know Amy enjoyed showing her Dad and these friends what life is like in Haiti, for us and for our neighbors. 

Until we figure the land stuff out we will continue to just make-do. It won’t be much longer until we are back to having close to thirty guys sitting under the mango tree enjoying Youseline’s cooking. It won’t be much longer until all the kids will be back hanging around, waiting for their opportunity to help. It won’t be much longer until I’m making 5 or 6 supply trips a week. It won’t be much longer. It’s all in his timing.