Mr. Spidy and the creepers who live with me

Every single time I step into our outdoor bathroom, a beautiful facility with charming shutters, 3 showers, and 3 potty stalls. It feels just like camping, but sadly there is no hot water. We signed up for adventure, so we are taking cold showers in the late afternoon when the sun warms up the water tanks by the Haitian sun… the water turns mildly cool. The Campbell family we are serving at Haiti Home of Hope are gracious and generous to allow us to come inside their home and take hot showers anytime we want, but taking the oath as family adventurers, only Zoie has chosen warm, soapy luxury. I can’t believe Hannah told us she loves the showers, it’s like taking a dip in the swimming pool (un-heated of course.) I did sneak inside the house one time, without Roger seeing me and took a hot shower, but had to laugh when the water tank ran out of water. I got a half-baked warm, really short shower. You have no idea how adventurous it is for me to take a cold shower and enter the lair of the spiders.

Yes, we have spiders of all sizes living in the bathroom. I’m not a fan of spiders, and will only tolerate watching Charlotte’s Web with Zoie without getting chills. I will never forget the time, Jennifer Campbell showed me a photo of Frita the massive tarantula that lives in our facility to tease me … that the best was yet to come. Well, we haven’t witnessed Frita in person, but we have a few large wood spiders that don’t bite humans, but look really scary. I was told THIS spider is a mommy that has hundreds of babies on her back, so if we try to kill her, all her babies will avenge her death and fly at us like a horror movie! I have warned everyone who enters our bathroom to leave Miss Spidy alone!! She likes to come near my cosmetic bag every night and I’m finally not screaming out when I see her … in fact, I’m talking to her saying things like, “OK, mommy spider, let’s make a deal, you stay where you are and I won’t squash you like a bug!” I guess bugs and adventures are all part of the deal, but it’s the beauty of watching Zoie and Hannah squeal in wonder when they see all kinds of new bugs and critters buzzing around our new home in Haiti that makes me smile. Even as I type, I can hear hundreds of different bugs croaking, tweeting, buzzing, and chirping in the night air. We love the lizards that sit on our walls (outside) and eat the mosquitoes when we sleep. God has made so many creative, beautiful creatures for us to enjoy and watch in wonder … as long as they keep off of my body, we’ll get along just great!

Bug Update: As soon as I wrote this post, I headed to the “potty” to take out my contacts for bed. I braved it alone, but much to my horror, when I reached down inside my cosmetic bag, my hand brushed against something prickly. When I peeked inside, I saw my nightmare come to life … a tarantula was wrapped around my contact case!! Have you ever seen a grown woman completely FREEK out?! I ran outside and screamed for Roger to save me! He wrestled the creature out of my bag and it was already dead. How long had he been dead in my bag? How many times did I reach in there and not see this hideous spider lurking in my personal items? We bagged the tarantula in a Ziploc to show him off to everyone the next day. Everyone looked surprised for a few seconds, then started laughing … a little too giddy. I found out instantly, that it was a staged scare. The spider “carcass” had been dead for months and was the bunt of many pranks! Well, they all got me good! The good news, the spider didn’t climb into my bag and die, the bad news, Danielle (the prankster) will pay dearly for her joke!! Can you help me come up with something really good to get her back? Hee hee

Today, we caught a baby rat!! The critters just keep getting better … and bigger!

Mission’s Support Update: We have raised 30% of our support goal. We still need 30 people to give $50 a month until September 2013. Invest in our family on the mission field … prayerfully consider a one – time gift or monthly contribution. Thank you for allowing us to be your hands and feet in Haiti, Nicaragua, and Ethiopia. Donations are tax-deductible.

• Online giving – click here for Simply Love Fund
• Paypal (option) OPERATION:HAITI- this button located on main page.
• Write a check- click here for Simply Love address.
• Sign up here for our weekly Simply Love e-newsletter!!