Dry Season

Right now Haiti is dusty. Very dusty.

The last time it rained was a few nights ago, but that was the first time for a few months, and with the intense heat all day long from the sun, Haiti has become quite a desert. The land that was green when I arrived in September is has gradually become a dusty, dirty, brown landscape. Even the trees that still have a little green left on them are so covered with dust that they look as dead as the rest of the plants around them.

Fortunately, my neighbour has a green thumb. Rachel who lives directly above me has turned our 'front yard' into quite a tropical paradise. So while the rest of the mountains suffer with no water, our garden thrives with daily showers and has the color to prove it. 

It's beautiful!

Unfortunately, I still do have to suffer the other 'side effects' of this season in Haiti. 

The dry season has produced a lifeless landscape, which has resulted in a lot of field forests, which has resulted in a lot of.... dare I say it, mice.

Yes, the mice have come. I thought my proactive choices of keeping all food in my airtight fridge and microwave would subdue the mouse population in my apartment, but they still feel a need to visit. Over the past week, there has been at least one mouse sighting per evening!

Fortunately, Hanna has been quite handy thus far. Although she doesn't kill them immediately, she does slow them down quite a bit which gives me time to call over someone brave enough to finish them off. I am trying to convince these brave ones that I am playing a part in the riddance process by screaming... I think it paralyzes them for a split second. Haha. 

Yes, I admit I am quite fearful of the little creatures, but slowly I am building up a tolerance to them... I don't really have much of a choice do I?

Well, I guess it's just another part of the true Haitian experience, and it could be worse. Fortunately the dry season has wiped out two of my previous challenges, mosquitos and a leaky ceiling, So I'll try to focus on those blessings. :) And hopefully the can of Mono bondage foam that Broc brought me will help the situation by closing up some wall holes.

Besides the mouse issue, this week has been absolutely AWESOME! On Thursday we took a trip to the beach and spent the majority of the day soaking up some glorious Haitian sunshine. The team workers truly deserved it, and the kids and I went along for the ride. Working in the Haiti heat is no picnic, but it pays off on beach day that is for sure! I still can't believe it when I hear about all of the snow you are getting back home... It's quite a different story over here!

On Monday there is a trip scheduled for Cabaret. We will walk through the market and visit 2 orphanages. I am looking forward to another outrip with the group. It's so fun to experience everything with Broc too!

Thanks again for all of your prayers surrounding my teaching. With the team here it's been a little challenging to plan - too many distractions, and in the next few months I have a lot of work to cover. I especially ask for prayer with my planning for Teagan. She has a lot tough science and math concepts that need to be mastered, and my concern isn't for her, it's for me! She is a very bright girl, and is progressing wonderfully, but some of the curriculum she is expected to learn in grade 7 is a little daunting for me to teach, especially when I have 2 other grades to cover. My teaching before Christmas got us through the basics, but now I have to face up to teaching things like ecosystems and earth plate tectonics and heat energy... Things that I don't completely understand myself. So I would really appreciate your prayers as Teagan and I navigate through this together. Pray that I will be okay with not knowing everything, and that I can serve as an adequate guide for Teagan. As I gather resources and try to put together projects that are both educational and enjoyable, it's often discouraging because I feel that she could learn so much more if I was more knowledgeable. But it just causes me to lean on the Lord and trust Him to help me plan and provide for what she needs. He is the Great Teacher and I know with Him in me, I can do greater things than I ever thought I was capable of.

With that being said, I guess I better tackle my planning for the next unit.... The Rebellion of 1837! Lord, give me courage!  

Family

The wait is over!

Canadian team #2 has arrived and already begun their work of building projects and clinic outreach all over the mission and villages in Haiti.

With this team also came Broc, my brother, and a few other familiar faces from home. 

When Broc unloaded all of his bags into my apartment last Wednesday I had such a warmth in my heart. Finally I was with family! It has been such a blast hanging out with him here in Haiti. On Saturday I travelled with him and his work crew to Cabaret where they had been building a home for one of the church ladies - Madame Monkel - who lost her home in the hurricane. It was hard work but the home is almost finished and will serve as a shelter for her seven children. You can see some pictures below of the work day...

Yesterday, Broc came to church with me and we sat with the village kids during the worship time, then we followed them out to kids church which has about 300+ kids. Quite an experience! After church we took a tap-tap to my favourite Haitian restaurant, Gwopapapou - which means Big Daddy Chicken! From there, we caught the bus full of team members and made our way to Tytoo Gardens, an orphanage in Simonette. It was an awesome day!

And on top of having just Broc here, there have been 49 other friends to keep me company too!

I can't even put into words how wonderful it has been to have some Canadian love around here. Everyone is so friendly and excited and it is contagious. It's amazing how easily I've been able to get to know people and really be a team with them even though we have never met. Most of them are complete strangers, and yet before I even ask them their name I feel like I can relate to them and understand them because we both have the same purpose in being here: To bring hope to Haiti.

That's what I think is so cool about the Christian walk. I love how we all have a common thread in what we believe, so no matter what we do or who we are, we are a body. Praying, singing and sharing during the devotional times at night is kind of like a little taste of heaven. Even though it's people from all walks of life coming together with their own story, we are all united by one overarching faith and hope. 

It's a family of God.

And it's not just Canadians, it's people all over the world. We all have a role to play in this journey and we are all called to join in. Not just here at the Mission of Hope, but all over the world. No person's part is less important than the other because we need each other. It's a privilege to be together with this extended family of brothers and sisters. Even the people in Haiti, despite the language and cultural barrier, I find myself connecting and understanding them in ways I can't even explain. All I know is that it comes from Jesus, who's whole life purpose was to bring love and unity to mankind. I see that happening here in Haiti everyday and it's such a blessing to me.

Even though I am so far from my relatives and friends, I am thankful for the way I can be spurred on and loved by this giant kingdom family.

PS~ I hope you like the new look for my blog.... I tried to coordinate it with the colors in my apartment! :)

Only in Haiti!

Over the past few months I've caught myself again and again saying 'only in Haiti!'

Last night I had another one of those moments, so I thought that I would share it with you. :)

The Friday night movie at the Hope House was postponed to Sunday night due to the funeral preparations, so last night all of us guesthouse-ers took the trek down the hill to spend the night under the stars with the most lovable kids in the world.

Laurens and Cheryl had to spend some time with the team leader coordinating the last few days of work, so I took the kids with me down on their ATV. As we drove down the hill, I could hear the engine of the quad start to choke, and eventually the whole thing stalled. We were out of gas. About halfway down the hill at that point, I wasn't really sure what to do. Walk back up for help? Abandon the ATV and keep walking down? The kids had another idea. They wanted to push it down the hill... and I gave in. With that they willingly hopped off and gave the ATV some help gaining momentum and we began our descent. At one point when we got going pretty good, I told the kids to jump back on and we laughed and enjoyed the thrill ride of coasting down the dusty slope. 

There I was on a dark January night in my shorts and tank top steering a gas-thirsty ATV down a mountain with my students... and loving every minute of it. 

Only in Haiti. :)

You are probably wondering what happened next. 

Well, the kids and I parked the ATV by the Hope House when we reached the bottom of the hill, expecting to walk up the hill at the end of the movie, and come back down to fill up the ATV in the morning. But kindly after hearing about our unique ride down, Rachel offered to give me a ride up so I could bring down gas and take the kids back up on the ATV at the end of the movie.

So I went back up with her to get gas, only for Laurens to tell me that the ATV had a reserve tank, so all I needed to do was flip the switch. The solution was easier than I thought! But of course, had I known that earlier, the kids and I would have missed out on our adventurous decline.

And who knows what adventures await?

Broc arrives on Wednesday and I am so thrilled to see him and the other familiar faces that are a part of the team.

I will warn you now that I probably won't be updating my blog quite as regularly while he is here, but stay tuned for more stories and pictures (from my new camera that he will be bringing! hooray!) coming up soon! 

Goodbye

We said goodbye.

On Saturday afternoon I rode down the hill with Rachel to the Hope House where we escorted the children to the church for the funeral. Before the service started, the children filed into their seats and then two by two walked up to the open casket where Rachel stood to say goodbye to their dear sister. It was heartbreaking as each child took an envelope up with them that enclosed a letter they had written to Maggie, and left it by her side. The younger children started going up to see her first, and about halfway through I went up with the girls sitting by me. After giving the girls a few moments to say goodbye, we walked back to our seats and one of the girls walking with me began to cry. She cried in my arms through the whole service. As the rest of the Hope House children came back to their seats and the service progressed, there were many more tears but I was amazed at the way that the children comforted each other. At one point in the service one of the older Hope House girls got up to read scripture and she broke down about halfway through. Without hardly needing a prompt, two of the boys instantly left their seats and went to the stage. One of the boys continued reading the passage, and the other boy with a solemn face put his arm around the girl and escorted her off of the stage.

One particularly memorable part of the service was when all of the children went on stage with one of the ladies from the worship team, Vena. Vena sang the verses for 'It is Well' and when she got to the chorus, all of the Hope House children echoed, "It is Well". It was heavenly. The funeral also included beautiful tributes by Rachel and Brad (director of the Mission).

After the service, we followed the casket out of the church and when it was loaded into a waiting car, we followed the car by foot for at least a kilometre to the cemetery. Even though it was a very sad journey, it was comforting to be together. As we walked down the long dusty road in the hot sun, none of the children complained or asked to be carried. They were content to simply hold hands and be together with the ones that they loved.

As Rachel read in her tribute, Maggie's life didn't start out very well (she was found abused and burned in a garbage dump), but it surely ended well. She had friends all over the world and 57 brothers and sisters sending her off to her eternal home. 

When we arrived back at the mission, Rachel had prepared cake and hot chocolate for the kids, and as the mommies got everything ready in the kitchen, the kids sat outside singing worship songs just like they had done on Friday evening. It was truly beautiful.

Now that the funeral is over, the children seem to be coping better, however please continue to lift up the Mission of Hope, Rachel, the mommies and the Hope House children in the days ahead.

Sing

It's been a very moving evening.

I just got back from the Hope House and I don't really know where to start, all I know is that so far this night has been one of the most memorable nights I've had in Haiti so far, and I know that I need to blog about it.

This afternoon Rachel mentioned to me that there would be a special time with the Hope House kids tonight before the funeral tomorrow. Kind of like a preparation for what will be coming. I didn't really know what to expect when I arrived, and I was trusting the Lord to help me comfort the children, despite my lacking language. When I arrived though, I was shocked at what I found. There were benches set up outside and all of the kids were sitting together and singing praise songs. As I entered some of the kids came up to greet me and led me over to the other children. Two of the boys had guitars that they were strumming, not on key, but one of the older boys was leading the songs from a seat in the back. He would begin singing a song and soon all of the kids would join in as loud and wholeheartedly as I've ever seen or heard.

If there is a song that would honour God the most, I think I just witnessed it, coming from the lips of these dear children.

Just days after losing their sister, time stood still as these children sang from the bottom of their hearts words like "I could sing of Your love forever" and "Saviour, He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save".

As I stood there in that moment with them under a crystal sky of stars, I felt the Lord there in such a present way. He was comforting His children and they were returning their praise. It was beautiful.

As the evening went on both Rachel and Madame Delva, who is the head mommy at the Hope House both shared and prepared the children for what to expect tomorrow. They walked through the program and told the children about what was to come, and also answered many of the questions that the children had.

Tomorrow will undoubtedly be hard, but there is hope because we will do it together. I am thankful for the blessing these children have been to me, and the amazing example of what it means to praise Jesus in the storm. Praising Him simply for who He is.

I go to bed tonight with their voices ringing in my mind and the memory of a beautiful girl who is singing along, and she is with her King.