Yesterday, I told you the story of Jonas, a “restavek slave child, working hard, in the heat of the day, with grown men.” After we rescued Jonas, we took him to our orphanage. Our doctor examined him, but it was difficult. Jonas was “scared to death!” We took him home to the orphanage to eat, but he had never sat at a table! We sent him to take a shower, and he was scared to death because the water was falling on him, “from inside!”

Jonas’s worst problem was learning how to hold a piece of chalk and to learn how to write on a blackboard! Even holding a pencil almost made him cry. He could hold a heavy “wou” (a heavy Haitian garden tool), but he could not hold a piece of chalk to write on the board! He could not hold a crayon to color, nor a pencil! It took him almost a year to learn this so that he could go to school.

Jonas still struggles in school, but he loves to work hard in our yard. He loves our two Rottweilers. He works better with adults, even more than with children. We all love Jonas! He is our “gift from God!” Thank you, partners.

Sherry