Too many possible titles to choose just one!

Nick and I have come up with so many good titles for this post that we just can't choose one!  Here are a few...

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*I've been wanting to get some exercise...but not like this...

*Taking our Moto for a walk

*I don't have a chain

*Nou pa gen chen

*I've been needing to fix that, I knew it was about to break

*At least we didn't run out of gas

*I would have rather ran out of gas

*Wow, should have worn different shoes

*She does this twice a day?

*Walking a few miles in her shoes

*This quick trip just got a whole lot longer

*Good thing we asked her to stay for 4 hours

*Really, none of the trucks are at COTP?

*Thats not how you left

*Weren't you riding that when you left?

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Ok, I could go on, but you get the point!!  And I'm sure from reading these you can kind of figure out what this post is going to be about!

Earlier this week Nick and I decided we were going to go check out Open Door, another mission near by because Nick had met one of their head guys at the airport and when we looked at their website we were really impressed.  (hint hint, look at their website, it's a good organization!!).  We didn't really know where they were, but Nick searched on google earth for a while and found out how to get there.  We could have gone the long round about way on the main road, OR we could take a much faster way there, however it would include us crossing not one but two rivers!!  How do you think we went, through the rivers of course!!

We made it there just fine, checked out the organization, which we were very impressed with and started heading home, thinking that we were only going to be gone for about 1.5 hours when we told our nanny 4!  We decided to time it and see how far away we were for them!

We were on the bank of the second river, getting ready to cross and I told Nick that it had only been 5 minutes since we left.  We were about 3/4ths of the way across the river when we heard a loud noise and the bike quit moving.  I hopped off as Nick informed me that the chain had broke.  His comment...

"Yup, I've been needing to replace that, I knew it was about to break!"

Really... you knew it was about to break and you took me on a ride into the middle of no where.  Great!!

Nick immediately called Rikerns to have him come get us, but Rikerns was in town with the red truck, and our white truck was gone as well.  In other words, no one could help us!

We were still about 5 miles or more away from home!!  YAY!!!  We pushed the bike to the edge of the river when all of a sudden we heard some guy whistle at us.  We were then swarmed by about 8 men and 9 children (all of which either were completely naked, or basically naked.  Those wearing shorts were so short that they really did NO good.  And I'm not just talking about the children, the men were the same).  They began looking at the moto and Nick asked if they could fix it and how much it would cost.  Everyone started laughing and became really excited because we spoke Creole!  They told us they would fix it for free and ran to one of the dump trucks that was there gathering sand and grabbed a small box of tools.  They tried working on it for several minuets, but didn't have the right size wrench, so Nick made them stop before they stripped the bolt.

Nick and I left the group and started walking towards home once again.  Let me clarify real quick that we were in the middle of no where, so there wasn't any real hope of finding someone with the right tools or with a new chain.  So we walked, Nick pushing the bike, me trailing behind him!  We walked for about a fourth of a mile before a truck came up beside us, and two of the guys who had been trying to help asked if we wanted them to pull us.  Of course we said yes, so I hoped in the cab with the men (these two were fully dressed!!) and Nick held on to a rope with one hand and steered the bike with his other.

I began talking to the men and told them that I work at an orphanage for babies.  He got really excited and asked if I live in Lagossette, to which I said I did.  He informed me that he was Manno's cousin, a guy that kind of works for us and runs Kid's Alive which I've talked about in the past.  Of all people who could have helped us, it had to be a relative of someone we know.

They pulled us for about 2 miles until we got to the main road.  There was a guy there who had some tools and was going to fix it, but then we realized that while we were going the chain had fallen off the handle even though it was wrapped a few times.  

And once again, we were walking cause our friends had to go the opposite direction.  At least now we were on a paved road, so it was a bit easier for Nick to push the bike.  We were still about 2 miles from home though!

For those of you who have been here, we were on the main road leading to Milot and we had to walk down that and then through the sugar cane short cut and home through Pomgrasia.

Along the way we were asked about a thousand times if we needed help.  I'm sure most people thought we had a flat tire and wanted to help fix that.  Each time we said, nou pa gen chen, we don't have a chain, and then the person who would offer would nod and drive off on their WORKING moto.  We must have gone through this about 100 times!  We made it almost all the way home when Rikerns showed up with the truck and we loaded the bike into the back and we finished the journey.  

We got back just as our 4 hours were up so luckily Milouse didn't have to stay any longer than what we had asked her to!  We each had a blister on our foot that became pretty bloody.  I guess we were both wearing the wrong shoes.  Neither of us were planning on walking at all!

This experience was kind of humbling in it's own way though.  One of our cooks lives out towards Milot  near where we were dropped off at the main road.  Each day she walks to and from work.  It's quite a distance and it really made me realize just how far she walks each day.  Walking is nothing new to Haitians.  For most, it's their only form of transportation.  We often have families that walk for hours that come to our gate looking for help.  I couldn't imagine doing that all the time, especially if I was carrying my child or something else heavy like we often see.  Or walking that far pushing a heavy bike like Nick had to do!!

I think I'm going to change my blog name from "common visions" to "the misfortunes of the Stolbergs."  Seems like that is the most common theme I write about eh? (yes Carla the eh is just for you!!)