Trusting God

Psalm 62:8 trust in him at all times ye people, pour out your heart before him.

During my time in Haiti I learned a little more about what it looks like to trust God in every situation. One Thursday night I read Acts 10 where Peter is called to Cornelis's house. He obeys God, goes and speaks. I felt like Peter. Just go with the flow because God says go. The next morning I was told we are going to church. I still don't know what was special about that day that we decided to have church. 

We sang, someone gave a message and, we read Psalm 104 and 37. In these chapters God says don't fret, trust him, he will provide everything. Later that evening when I was recording in my journal what had happened that day I wrote, "All I did today was worship. I have the best job." 

Around four months of being in Haiti I wrote this, "Because I have surrounded I have peace. I do have worries, but not that you [God] won't work everything out. I worry mostly about the outcome of everything you work out for your plan. But I have no other choice but to obey. It is the best way. And obeying right now means just going with it and trusting you will speak through me. The way you work is amusing to me. It's because it's the craziest way to do it that I know you are the one in control."

Saying Good-bye

I am getting on a plane tomorrow morning. I said good-bye to the kids in Mirebalais and they gave me pictures they drew. We had snacks and a party at Agape on Friday to say good-bye to the kids there. For my last time teaching all 25 of them crowded around me just like to first day of school, except this time they all knew the English words for the things I pointed to in the books. 

Some of the girls at church gave me hair clips. I said good-bye to the congregation and Martin translated for me. I told them how much I would miss them and how thankful I am for their kindness and generosity. The ladies from choir presenting me with a gift. I also received something from the youth group. This afternoon two of the guys from youth that I have become closest with, came over to say their good-byes. Martin and his family came over for dinner and we had a feast, including cake! 

This was under the best circumstances I could have had for being immersed in a culture. I had a month before school started to learn how things functioned around the house; like cooking and laundry. I was able to meet with some guys for language learning. Once school started I felt comfortable around the teachers because they were some of the ladies I lived with. I was able to understand the kids a little and not feel completely overwhelmed. I’m glad I was here for six months to see change take place. A couple of houses on my street were built. I was able to see Abed learn new things and Ronika become more comfortable playing with me.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I know it was because of your prayers that I had such a successful time here. I will be speaking at a few Sunday school classes and churches when I return. If you are available to sit and talk for 5 minutes or 50 I would love to share more with you in person if it’s possible. I am certainly not done processing everything God had taught me here. I plan on still posting more about Haiti and what I am going to do with my life when I get back home. 

Christmas in Haiti

Monday was the party at Agape for the school kids and the kids in the Sunday school class. We arrived early to decorate and when the kids were arriving we danced to music. Once everyone was there some of the kids went up front to perform a song or recite a poem. They have Christmas songs but I didn’t recognize any of them as being translated from English. Santa is Pere Noel (Father Christmas) here. After singing we had snacks and then presents. The child had each drawn a name at the beginning of December. Carline picked up each gift and the child who bought it went up front and said who it was for. That child came up and said thank you with a kiss on the cheek. This is a normal gesture. When we greet each other we shake hands and touch cheeks.

Tuesday we went to Mirebalis for the Christmas party at Loving Hearts. The kids were all dressed in their nicest clothes and excited to see us. After decorating we all sang songs and danced. Martin passed out the presents we brought and everyone played with their new toys until it was time to eat. We had a special dinner and got pop. We had to leave after that to get back for the youth party.

Since the first week I was here I have been hearing about this party on Christmas Eve that the youth throw. Lienka and I dressed in our nicest dresses (think Homecoming dance). We left the house around 9:30, which is usually when I am falling asleep, but I was excited. We arrived at church and were escorted to our seats. A group was already up front singing. The president welcomed everyone. Then a group performed a skit. It was the story of Ester so I knew what was going on. A group of girls did a dance. A couple of guys rapped and sang. The finale was a fashion show. The clothes were designed by some of the guys in the youth group. As the models/my friends walked down the runway the song “I’m a Barbie girl” played. These models didn’t just walk out turn around and walk back. They stopped several times to pose for pictures. Everyone was cheering. I’m so glad I got to be a part of it. The clothes were really well designed. I would wear some of them.

We had a meal of rice, chicken, and pasta. They set up a projector and we watched a movie. It was a Haitian made movie but I mostly understood what was going on. During the movie we had popcorn and later on cake. We got back home around 4:30am.

I had scheduled to Skype with my parents and sister at 7am Christmas morning so I decided to stay awake a little longer and sleep later. It was great to talk with them and see them opening presents. We had a good signal and the electricity stayed on so we could talk for a long time! After we said Good-bye I took a nap until 11am when I Skyped with more of my family!

Here on Christmas day it is a day of rest and that’s what we did. There was a Christmas program on TV and they were singing Christmas songs in English so I sang along. We had some visitors so I met more of the family. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

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.  

First day of school!

We had 12 children at school. School is in the church building. Everyone arrived and was talking at their tables excited to see each other again and start a new school year. We started the day by praying and singing songs to God. We split up the younger kids from the older ones. Carline and I took the four younger ones. We sang “Good Morning, How are you? Very well thank you, and you?” in French and English. Then we practiced shaking hands and using the phrase in a conversation. Carline sang some other songs with them as well.

After eating and recess all the kids come to one table and I taught them colors in English. There was a song in one of the books Carline has and she gave me legos to point to and ask what color each one was. The kids seemed to be understanding and not just repeating after me. We also sang the Good Morning song with the older kids and added, “What is your name? My name is…” and everyone went around the table to introduce themselves. The kids learned other things today from the other teachers; they aren’t just learning English. Overall it was a great first day of school!