Harmabee - Day 2 - Sunday

We slept well and then the next morning it was up early (well, not really, but after our late night it sure felt early!) for the coffee meeting in the big tent. This is where all kinds of things were discussed: what would happen all week, the events, the speakers, going over a few rules etc.

After this the kids and parents all congregated for the Bike Safety School.The children had to pledge to follow the road rules. They then had to sign a paper stating they knew they would so many warnings, depending on age, followed by a 24 hour suspension, followed by the loss of their bike for a week.

Stop and look at intersections
Wear helmets
Don't ride on the grass
Don't park on the concrete by cabins
Ride on the right side of the road
Stop for pedestrians and cars

Trust me, I had a lot of explaining to do to get each and every one of these rules (and a few more) in to the heads of four children: 5, 5, 7, and 7!!

Pledging to Follow Rules

They were then issued their licenses, which were applied to the backs of their helmets.We headed out to check out the surrounding areas. There was much to do with a bike jumping area, with trails, a playground, and then streets all through this compound that is run by the United Church

The Kids at the Bike Jumps

Out on the main grass area there was a FUN ZONE set up for the day. This was five of those wonderful rented play structures.

Old Friendships From Mehaber Camp!

Because today was Sunday, there was a lot of freetime. The classes and lessons start on Monday. Our week will be full! There are drumming lessons, hip hop dance classes, and then lessons by the Miyanda girls. There are also art sessions, plus there are ladies who will do hair (beading, braiding, straightening etc). There are lots of activities planned for the youth.

After we had dinner, we headed to the main grass area. This week there is the World Cup Soccer Games going on. There are four teams:

Canada, Africa,USA, and Caribbean. If you are adopted then you can sign for the country you were adopted from. If you were not adopted then you sign for the country that your child came from. So Cassidy signed for Africa. Tonights game was 1.5 hours long and was Africa versus the Caribbean.


It has been a lot of fun getting to know different mums. There are so many to talk to that you don’t run out of people to talk to. My time has been very full just keeping on top of where my children are and going to functions.

I had a wonderful surprise when I arrived yesterday. I was looking for the corner store and as I was driving down a road I stopped to ask for directions from a lady. She was leaning over her trunk of her car, and as she turned around we both said, “HEY!”


It was the one person from my adoption seminar that I have kept in touch with! It was SO awesome to see her! She brought her little girl home from Haiti in December.

After the soccer game there was a Family “Jump Up”Dance. They played some fun music for a couple hours and everyone had a good time dancing. It was Caribbean Style Dance Carnival.


Savannah was simply amazing at the dancing. That girl has rhythm! She seriously does her own thing and you can feel and see the beat based on the moves that she chooses. I have had numerous people tell me that she can dance. I am going to do my best to get her to teach herself for the time being, since we don’t have anything for her in our town. It is apparent to me that she just needs some examples to follow. I noticed that when the Miyanda girls were dancing Savannah watched them and then followed their moves, and then when they stopped she moved on til she found an adult that was dancing and then began to learn from them.


There was more going on, but I was too busy to attend!The boys are still working on their memory work, fitting it in around their busy days. They are nearly at the end of their hard work, and it will really pay off when they get to spend a week at Bible camp this summer. This is a bigger function than Mehaber and much more detailed in its organization. I love Mehaber and can’t wait til next years camp, but this is wonderful in another way!
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