How does he do that?

It rained all day yesterday, and it looks like it's going to do the same thing today. That's unusual for Haiti. Well, I can't really say that. It's the rainy season now and I've never lived here during this time. This is probably normal but it's different then what it has been. Our little school was under water this morning. It took us and hour and a half to sweep out all the water that was on the floor. When we finally got the kids inside I didn't really know what I should be teaching them. My day had been cut short because of the weather and lack of students. (some of my kids didn't want to walk in the rain to school). But being a missionary is all about staying on your toes, I guess. Work with what you got! I rounded up what kids I did have and I taught them the story of Noah and the Ark. Kind of seemed appropriate considering the circumstances. The kids were mesmerized by the story. It shocked me how interested they were. I fight for their attention everyday. They never want to listen to my English lessons! But then suddenly God's word is being taught and they're speechless. I've rarely ever seen my kids speechless. Honestly, I didn't think it was even possible. How does Jesus do that? He's so much more interesting then I am. Lucky for me he's on my side!!

Bahaha

So I’m eating dinner with an old Haitian man tonight and we had a little bit of confusion. He looks at me and says “I have some big problem”. Translation “Mwen genyen kek gwo pwoblem”

I thought he said “Mwen genyen tet gwo pwoblem”. Translation “I have a big head problem”.

I felt so bad for the guy. I told him, “Honey, I don’t think you have a big head. It’s normal size.”

Bahahah…. He was looking at me like I was a complete idiot. Finally, someone came in that spoke English and they straighten everything out for us. I still don’t know what his problem was though.

Cross cultural communication gives me nightmares! Help me Jesus!!!!!!

Obstacles and Opportunities

No school again today! We’ve been on Easter break forever!! Seriously, it’s been almost 2 and half weeks now. These people take Holidays every time the President sneezes, I think. They told me school starts tomorrow, after I woke up at 7:00 and got ready for work….lol

Before I came to Haiti my boss told me a million times “the most important characteristic to have as a missionary is adaptability!” He said it so much it got on my nerves. Now that I’ve lived here for awhile I realize why he was saying that. If you’re the type of person that gets bent out of shape if your schedule gets disrupted then you would never make it here. You can just go ahead and throw any schedule you have out the window as soon as you get off the plane. To say this place is unpredictable is an understatement. Its one thing about Haiti that drives me crazy, but it’s also something I love. I’ve begun to love waking up each morning not knowing what God has in store for me. I never know who God wants me to meet or where I’m going to end up. Once I finally let go and trusted God the uncertainties in my life looked more like adventures rather than obstacles. His plan for each one of my days is always better then what I expected anyway.

Next time you find your schedule has been completely disrupted don’t get frustrated. Try looking at it from a different perspective. What first looks like a road block may in fact be a detour to something better. 

Happy Easter!!

I’m finally back home in Peiti Goave, Haiti. I’ve been staying with a Haitian family in a little town about an hour away from here. No running water and very limited electricity for almost two weeks. I don’t know how people survive without showers!! How am I supposed to get all the shampoo out of my hair with only a small bucket of water? It’s impossible!!! I like living more among the people though. My Creole always improves drastically every time I go there. Living so simply is challenging but very rewarding. I had a lot of time to sit and think about what my next move is going to be. I know I have to work with children. I never realized how much I need children in my life until I went two weeks without any. I was so bored! I realized I do enjoy teaching. I just think I would be better teaching in a one on one setting.  I’ve also been wrestling with the idea of volunteering at a hospital. I don’t know what I could do but I’m sure they could use an extra pair of hands somewhere.

Honestly, I don’t have some big extravagant vision about changing this entire country. I never have. For some reason I’ve always felt that God was sending me here for one child. I don’t expect to develop a huge mission organization that feeds millions of people around the world. Thank God for the people that do that. Maybe I’m not giving myself enough credit, but all I want is to be a stepping stone for someone else. I want to lift a child up and then stand back and watch God use them in a mighty way. I doubt there is going to be any great novels written about my life. But at the end of the day, when my kids lay their heads down at night, they’ll know that there’s some crazy white lady that loves them and would move to the other side of the world to show them that. Achieving that much is enough for me….