A Birthday Surprise

May 21 was Zachary's birthday.  Like any good birthday, it was full of surprises.  Zach got up early (4:30 am)  to work on a handout for Pentecostal Theology that he will be teaching on the 23rd.  The kids woke up early as usual (5:30 am).  There was a lot of pressure to get breakfast made, lunches prepared, and kids out the door.  We all piled into our grey Nissan Patrol, turned the key, and.... nothing (but a few weak cranks from the starter).  Zach tinkered awhile, eventually giving up and sent everyone to our 95 Toyota 4Runner.  Sharon turned the key and.......nothing.  Not even a groan from the starter.  Zach played around for a few minutes trying to disable the security system.  Still nothing.  By this time the kids were late to school.  Providentially, a neighbor who goes to the same school was late herself and gave the kids a ride.   After dismounting the two car batteries, we purchased two more.  Zach and Sharon faced a challenging day preparing for training sessions for the training events planned for Wednesday and Thursday and dealing with some problems at the office.  Sharon and Zach took an hour to go out for lunch because May 20 was our thirteenth wedding anniversary (we didn't have a babysitter to go out for our actual anniversary.  After finishing our training materials late in the afternoon, we went home to another surprise.  A large transparent bug was crawling across our floor.  Having never before seen a large transparent insect, we where taken aback.  What could it be?  We have tarantulas, millipedes, scorpions, and plenty of other creepy-crawlies--but nothing that resembled this creature.  Apparently, it was an albino cockroach!  Now everyone fights a constant battle against tropical pests in Haiti.  Moreover, no one wants to find a cockroach in their home.  But nothing is more disturbing than finding an albino cockroach crawling across one's floor.  While Zach was looking for more cockroaches, he discovered that a wood-boring beetle was destroying some of our kitchen furniture.  Despite these surprises, Zach had a nice evening with his family and received a new harmonica to practice with!      

Zach gives takes his best shot at cutting a birthday cake for hungry kids.  It doesn't get any easier as you age....