Kids to Kids Around the World

Each kid from Rachel's school that sent a pair of shoes wrote their
name on the bottom. The kids held up a sign with their own name
thanking the child in America for the shoes.

This week a team from Ohio came to deliver shoes to the kids we work with. When Rachel’s mom came back from her trip to Haiti, Rachel wanted to do something to help the kids she saw pictures of. For her birthday she asked for shoes for the kids of Haiti. In the past three years she has collected 2,500 pairs of shoes. With her mom, brother, and friend, Rachel came to us to give those shoes away. Her dream of collecting shoes is now a Non-Profit Organization, Kids to Kids around the world.

I got to join them as they gave shoes away at Agape school, Agape church, and Loving Hearts Home. It was defiantly a different experience being the one already here welcoming the missionaries. I’m glad I got to be a part of what they are doing.

They also brought backpacks with school
supplies for each child.

Early Mornings

"Some people associate Sunday morning with God. One of the things I associate with God is a sunrise." -Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts

The entire time I have been here in Haiti I have not once set an alarm to wake up in the morning. I have just woken up at 5; it’s not because of the noise or the sun shining in my window; somehow I wake up to spend time with God before the day starts.

This morning I woke up and was grabbing my Bible and journal when there was a knock on my door. This is very unusual especially at 5am. The only other time they have had to knock was around 7am one day when we were going to church and I didn’t know it. I opened the door and there stood Carline ready to go to Mirebalais. I quickly put on my skirt, put my laptop in my bag, and followed her out the door.

Let me back up a few days… we usually leave for Mirebalais after church on Sunday. So I packed my bag Saturday night. But yesterday, November 18^th, was a National Holiday. It was the anniversary of the Battle ofVertières, so there was no school. Sunday night Carline told me we would be going to Mirebalais around noon on Monday. Noon came and we couldn’t go because public transportation was taking the day off too. She didn’t tell me we would be leaving to get there before school started Tuesday morning but when I saw her at my door I knew.

As I was following her up the stairs, in the dark, to the street I thought about how I wouldn’t be starting my day reading the Bible and was worried how I could be ok. Then I thought, I get to see the sunrise! As we rode I worshiped God while watching the sunrise above the mountains and we got to Loving Hearts at 7am, an hour before school starts.

(Sorry I didn't take any pictures)





Worshiping Together

When the electricity comes on a night it is a celebration. The lights flicker once or twice and then stay on for several hours. We say, “Wé”, “Mesi, Jezi” and “Halleluiah.” Then we plug in our phones to charge and set up our chairs in front of the TV to see what is on for the night. But if it starts getting dark and the lights haven’t come on yet someone will get the oil lamp, light it, and set it on the table. Last night was one of those nights. We were sitting in the dining room with Ronika and Abed running around getting out energy before it was time for bed. Abed lifts his hands and says, “Halleluiah”. At least that’s what we think he says. He is only 16 months old. Asmene, his mom, starts singing “Broken Halleluiah”. Since it’s in English I join in, but neither of us know all the words so when we finish we look at Abed and he raises his hands and wants us to sing again. And again. And again.

As we were singing I was thinking how awesome it was to be worshiping God together. Because we are all God’s children. He doesn’t just love me because I came here. He doesn’t just love the ones who do all the right things and have all the right answers. He doesn’t just love the ones who have an eventful, redeeming story. He loves all of us. He loved us all before we did anything, before we had a story to tell. Sometimes having electricity can hinder these moments.  

Prayers: Because of your prayers I am able to sleep at night even though it is noisy, I am safe, I am healthy, I am learning Creole, I am willing and don't get too embarrassed when asked to do something out of my comfort zone, I am the closest I have ever been with God, and I have a desire to pray for others. Thank you.

Learning in School

At both schools now, Agape in PaP and Loving Hearts in Mirebalais, we have separated the kids into three classes. There are around 20 kids in Agape with six teachers, and 50 kids at Mirebalais with five teachers. I like that we have split the kids so there are not as many surrounding me and I can go faster with the older ones who are picking it up. I also like that there is routine in the day. Both schools start the day by raising the flag and singing the National Anthem.  

At Agape I start with the oldest kids; 2^nd through 4^th graders. They have already mastered colors, letters, and how to greet each other. We have worked on numbers up to 20, I write the day of the week and date on the chalkboard in English underneath where it is written in French, and I just started animals with them. Then I move to Kindergarten and 1^st graders. They know the words for the colors and can sing the alphabet song but don’t comprehend what the English word they are saying means.  After lunch and recess I work with the youngest kids; 3-5 year olds. They have the shortest attention span so try to switch up what I do when I see they are getting bored. I think they all understood numbers 1-10 this past week.

 In Mirebalais I start with the youngest kids. We have been working on the colors and I just started the alphabet. The middle and oldest kids know the alphabet now and can say 1-100 with help. This is the first year of school for a lot of the kids at Loving Hearts.

At first Carline told me what to teach the kids but now I am starting to plan what to teach next. This week I am going to try and teach the kids to make a sentence describing the color of an object. Ex. The hat is yellow.