The Rain is Getting Real Mold

Weather.  We can’t control it. South Dakota had snow and Florida’s had a hurricane (praying for Northern Florida, by the way!).  Meanwhile, in Haiti, we had an epic 2-weeks straight of rain.

Rain, so what, right?  Well, rain in Haiti makes everything shut down: no schools can operate, no business can be conducted.  And rain to this degree is devastating to those with inadequate housing.

We found ourselves running out of clothes (because, even if we run our washer, our clothes dryer – the sun – is out of commission for a while), getting stir crazy, and waging war on mold!

So the next time you all find yourself amid a rainy season in Haiti, keep these things in mind…

Things that Mold:

n  Hung-up Towels

n  Clothes (in Hamper and Folded and put away)

n  Bibles

n  Shoes: Burkenstocks, Rainbows, and even Jordans

n  5-dollar-bills

n  Doors

n  Composite Wood Drawers

n  Toothbrush Handles

n  Hats

n  Backpacks

n  Pillows

n  Wallets

n  Suitcases

n  And, yes, the inside of your washing machine

How to pass the time (and, yes, we did do all of these things):

n  Play Games

n  Watch TV Series on DVD and Netflix (popular among our group: Chuck, Parenthood, Brooklyn 99

n  Have birthday parties

n  Take naps

n  Become inventive on how to dry your clothes

n  Have dance parties

n  Stay in our PJs all day

n  Make new snacks such as peanut butter-toffee popcorn and cheesecake

n  Get SOME work done

n  Light some candles, listen to the rain, and realize how thankful we are that our roof is not leaking, our floors are not wet and muddied, and we are not sleeping on a damp bed or mattress – like so many of our neighbors here

But for now, the rain has passed.  We are on day three of no rain until night.  And we are grateful.

From SUNNY Haiti, until next time,

The Perissiens

You know that time when you haven't done laundry in forever, and... just to get by... you have to do a load of mostly unmentionables?  Yep, we definitely hit that point.  And this is how we tried to get those unmentionables dry (and, yep, that fan is on).  My family calls this the underwear baby mobile.