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…. 

Lot's of Work!

I’m leaving for Lucson’s house today. Tomorrow we’ll be driving in to Port-au-Prince to pick up Cayla, Josh, and Eric from the airport. I’m so excited to spend the week with them!! I’m bringing ten boxes of rice with me so we can distribute it out to the people. I also bought 1000 doses of wormer medicine that we plan on giving the children. I just read a statistic that said 90% of Haitian children will suffer from intestinal worms at least one time in their life. That’s insane!!! And it’s completely unnecessary. It takes one little pill to cure that, and they’re not even expensive. So hopefully we can help some people on this trip. I’m really looking forward to being able to build new relationships with the people in Grand Goave while we’re working. People have to trust us before we can help them, so I’m really going to work hard at accomplishing that.

Please keep us in your prayers this week. Pray my friends have a safe flight here. I’ll keep you updated when I get back.

Next Year

It’s been 7 months now that I’ve lived in Haiti. In a way it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but it also feels like I’ve been here forever. Lately I’ve really been thinking about the future. With my summer break fast approaching I’m wondering what next year is going to bring. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I want to be here. But where at here? And what should I do while I’m here. Somehow teaching English for another year doesn’t seem like enough. I wouldn’t mind teaching English. I just don’t think I want to do it as a full time job. I want to have the freedom to other things too. And what about my living arrangements? Right now, the place that I’m staying feels like The Hilton. I have tile floors and running water. We have a generator here that gives us electricity now almost all day. It makes me question if I could/should handle something a little more difficult. I have the option of living more among the people. Paul wrote in the bible that we should become all things to all men so that we may save a few. I understand what he’s trying to say. If I want to help the Haitians; first I have to become one. But I also fully understand now how difficult that is. Every weekend I’ve been staying  in a town called Grand Goave. There is no running water, no electricity, and no privacy. The privacy thing is the hardest. All I have is a thin white sheet to hide behind while I use the bathroom. Lord help me if I ever get sick there. Every day we have to walk down the road to get water. We fill up buckets and then carry them back. I have a toilet but I have to pour water from a bucket into it to make it flush. I don’t know how I would do that if I was sick! And having stomach problems is just a way of life here. Also the food situation is scary too. Let’s just say Haitian kitchens are a health inspector’s nightmare.  I never cared about that kind of stuff when I first moved here, but I changed my mind a little after I got food poisoning a couple times. It sucks!!

All these things make me question whether or not I can survive getting closer with these people. But Paul’s words always echo in my ear; “we must become all things to all men”.

As hard as it is every time I visit Grand Goave I can’t wait to go back. My Creole gets better with every visit. I’m a little bit more relaxed too. If God is calling me there I know he’ll give me the strength to deal with the obstacles I’ll face. Trusting him, that’s the key. Trusting and obeying….. 

We need healing!

I was sitting in the teacher’s office yesterday and one of my students came in crying. I assumed he had got into a fight or he was in trouble for something, but he said he had a toothache.  We gave him some Tylenol and sent him back to class. Later when I left the office I saw him again standing outside the school. Huge tears were running down his face. He was leaning his head against the wall jerking back and forth in pain. I hadn’t realized how much pain he was in until then. It was terrible. I didn’t know what to do. There was nothing to do. Even if I had the money there isn’t any dentist in Haiti. I prayed for him. I prayed God would take the pain away. That he would give him comfort. I hope he’s better today. God has to heal him because I don’t think toothaches will heal by themselves. It will eventually get infected and after that who knows.

Please pray for this child. He was hurting so bad! The only option we can hope for is super natural healing. I have to give this one to God. It’s his only chance….