Mwen Kontan Wè Ou

Friday afternoon I got to go down to the fishing village to have a meeting with the men and women. The women come for the first hour and the men come for the second hour. Dr. Kerry leads a discussion on whatever they need to talk about for coming events and practices their English. The men and women believe that teaching them English is the most beneficial thing because it will raise their status in the community and they can find better jobs and get paid more money. Dr. Kerry mentioned that they have been asking to learn English and how to write in Creole since he started the groups. Because of the lack of manpower (which is why we are here) he has been unable to really put a dent in their learning. They do know basic greetings and words that they use every day. They know how to say “Hello, my name is…, It’s nice to meet you”, the women know words that relate to cooking and the men know words that relate to fishing. The men and women are SO excited that we are here because every time we see them, we tell them we want them to help us with Creole and the always want help with English.

At the meeting today, the men requested that we start meeting to help them with writing and English. So we decided to start tomorrow…Saturday. A few of us girls were talking about how hard it would be to start a meeting like this the next day in America. We would probably need a couple weeks to plan since everyone would have plans on Saturday afternoon for the next 3-4 weeks. It made me smile to think about how simple things are here in Haiti. You want to learn English? Ok let’s start tomorrow! So simple. At 2 p.m. tomorrow the men are coming for an hour and the women are coming for an hour right after. I am so excited because I need to learn Creole and they need to learn English. It is a win win situation. I can see how God is going to further His kingdom through us women by just being available to these people in the fishing village as they watch us love on them and spend quality time with them building relationships. Relationships are the key. I may never see the fruit of my labor while I am here for these 9 months, but I am making an impact on these people and working in their hearts. Our greatest mission on Earth is to love other people and if I can do that then God will bring them to Him when they are ready.

God Moment: A man at the fishing village thanked us over and over again for spending time with them and offering to teach them to write, read, and speak English. They are all still in awe that we are here for an extended period of time to invest in them. They are so grateful for something that we can offer to them that only takes 2-3 hours a week. I am privileged to be able to give these men and women at the fishing village the most prized possession they will ever have, to read, write, and speak English.

Word/Phrase of the day:

Mwen kontan wè ou: It’s nice to see you.

The men and women have to introduce themselves in English at the meeting, “Hello, my name is …”. This is what we reply back to them in Creole. 

First Week as a Teacher!

I’m officially a teacher! I started school on Thursday and am so excited to get this school year started! I have a great group of middle school students, 7 in all (Shamma, Harry, Erwann, Stacy, Isrielle, Elisha, and Alex). They love each other and LOVE to talk! This is great except for Harry who talks ALL the time. I’m going to have to work on him. They are so interested in learning about science and math. The first two days went great because they are so involved and interested in what we are learning. I did a science experiment to help them understand how we use the scientific method. They loved it and I think they are learning! I am so excited to teach them this year. Friday in class I taught my middle schoolers about physical decay of rocks as in wind, water, and temperature. We talked about the erosion or rocks by all three physical things. They were amazed that sand on the beaches were actually tiny rocks that have been broken up by water, wind, and temperature. It seems so simple to us but I thought I was going to blow their minds! I knew at that moment that God was going to empower me to make this year so good for them. If I could give them one tidbit of valuable information every day and make it interesting to them, it will give these kids the chance to change Haiti for the better. They are the future of Haiti.

My three high schoolers are a different story. Luke is a senior who hasn’t been in school for almost a year. He just wants to get it done and get out! Jeff is here in Haiti as punishment because he got kicked out of two schools in the states. He doesn’t talk much. And then there is Woodiline who was with all the middle schoolers last year. She is the boss. She’s tried to tell me what’s up a couple times without prevail. They are all quiet and unresponsive. This might be because I am teaching 2 different subjects in math, Geometry and Pre-Algebra, and science, Biology and Chemistry or Physical Science (not sure yet). I’m working on ideas to try and get them more involved. It might be a long year for them if they sit and stare at me the whole class.

God Moment: I realized that I am a teacher. God gave me the talent to educate people, to give them knowledge that they will use for the rest of their lives. I have felt more fulfilled and accomplished in the past two days of school than I have since I got here 3 weeks ago.  It was a beautiful and special moment to know that I have the knowledge to teach these kids anything and everything I possibly can. And God keeps giving me opportunities to teach. Starting this Saturday, I get to work with the men and women at the fishing village teaching them writing and reading in Creole.

Word/Phrase of the day:

On Fridays we have a treat for the kids. It’s called sa pi bon. It is a flavored frozen popsicle that comes in a small plastic case. It comes in all different flavors like cherry, pineapple, coke, ect. Apparently at one time there was something before this one. Since this one now existed, this one is apparently better than that one and the name stuck. The kids loved it (and it literally costs 12 cents for one)!

Sa pi bon: better than that one

The Infamous 87

Since we got here The Reeve’s Family and the Byxby Family have been talking about the infamous 87. We’d been hearing it is the most beautiful beach that they had ever been to in Haiti. The problem is that although it is probably the most beautiful beach in Haiti, it is also the poorest area that we minister to. The place is called 87 because we turn at the 87 mile marker on the main road. It’s only about 5 minutes up the main road on the way to St. Marc. We turn off the road onto a dirt road and drive for 30 minutes on a very bumpy crazy road. No way would we be able to get there if the Reeve’s weren’t blessed with 2 large cars with 4-wheel drive. Primarily we went take a break from the Mission and get some time to relax. We also went to hand out food and see how the water was that we sent out the week before by water truck. This area has no access to water unless they want to walk the 30 minute drive to the end of the road. Are you kidding me? We found out that the water was leaking out of the cistern. Then we lined them all up in the tightest line I have ever seen and handed out food. We required them to all stay in line until we were finished to make sure that people weren’t getting more than one helping per family. After we finished the distribution, we headed on down to the beach. (Usually people have to pay the guards of the beach to use this private beach but since we minister to them through water and feeding them, we are allowed to use it for free.)

It was breathtaking. We had a little cove with cliffs on either side of us. Lined along the beach were almond trees to give us shade. We had smooth sand and clear water to snorkel in. We all enjoyed a wonderful relaxing day at the beach with fellowship and food. There was a local group of Haitians who were cooking conk. I had a try at it but I am pretty sure I won’t be having that again. I’m glad the Haitians made it so spicy because the texture was awful. It was a nice day to rejuvenate our souls before we start school on Thursday. It would have been even better if I hadn’t gotten fried. I’m going to look like a Haitian soon!

(Photo taken by Amber)

God Moment: Snorkeling in the warm clear water enjoying God’s creation of fish and sea animals less than 10 feet from the beach. What a treat that we can have days to be in awe of how God created everything in the world and revel in the differences from California to Haiti.

Song of the day: This is a song we sing with the kids before meals.

Bondye ca fè: God can do

tut bagay: everything

tut bagay: everything

tut bagay: everything

Bondye ca fè: God can do

tut bagay: everything

pour mwen : for me

Class Pets

I’m guessing that from the title you thought I was going to write about some student I have. Well, you’re wrong. When I talk about class pets, I’m talking about rats, all kinds of spiders (especially HUGE spiders…carrying sacs of babies), and a lizard. Let’s start with the rats. They apparently live in our building and can be seen running across the rafters during class. Great. Next I’ll talk about spiders. I don’t mind the little ones or the daddy long legs that are normally around. Those are no big deal. At school we have spiders that are over 6” across, fat and hairy. Now that is something I don’t want crawling around in my room. They also carry their baby eggs in a white sac below their bodies. I definitely don’t want tons of baby huge, fat, hairy spiders in my class.

Finally, there is a nice lizard that calls my room home. He lives in the bookshelf and loves watching me work. He’s an interesting guy because he can change colors to adapt to his surroundings. His color depends on if he is on a book or on the wood of the bookcase. 

On top of all the distracting class pets I will deal with every day, there is a church on the property next to us that seems to know no bounds for church time. They REALLY love the Lord. Last week, they had church four out of the five days we were at school. They started before we got there and went at least until lunch. This means that from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m.-12 p.m. they are worshiping their hearts out with intense singing and preaching with a microphone, guitar, drums, and keyboard. Don’t get me wrong I think it is great that they are having church and are so enthusiastic about it. I just have a feeling that it will be hard competing with the choir for the full part of my morning classes. Church hasn’t been going the past 3 days so we will see how it all really works out. I’m hoping for less church in the mornings so I don’t have to scream at my kids unless they are in trouble.

These are just some things I never considered would be an issue if I were teaching in the states.

God Moment: Taking the Mission kids to the beach on Tuesday morning. We have only been here for 11 days and the kids already trust us enough to take them into the ocean. This means a lot because most of the kids don’t know how to swim and some have only been to the beach 1-2 times in their lives.  God asks us to trust and believe like children  "And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 NIV

Word/Phrase of the Day: In any conversation…

Mesi: Thank you

Ou merite sa: You are worthy (worthy of me doing this for you)

How cool is that to be worthy enough for someone to feel that they can do something for us? I think the way we live life would be a lot different if we had this attitude.

I Am Spoiled

I am spoiled rotten. I thought that I would never ever say that I am spoiled in a 3^rd world country. Since arriving in Haiti, I have not made one meal for myself. We have Madame Remmann who cooks every single meal of the week.  I don’t clean my room, bathroom, or change my sheets. We have Rosandre who does that for us every day during the week. She even hangs our clothes once they are out of the washing machine. We just have to let her know there is a load in. We don’t take care of the kids, help with their food, or change their diapers. There are wonderful ladies who help with that at the Mission all the time. We have a driver who drives us everywhere we need to go. This is a good thing because NO ONE wants to drive here. It is crazy! Honking means you are passing/on the wrong side of the road (even in blind areas) and honks back mean don’t do it because I’m coming straight at you. Dago has unbelievable driving skills that we cherish every day we make the 20-30 minute drive to St. Marc. We are so lucky. Who would have thought that in a 3^rd world country we would do less cooking, housecleaning, childcare, laundry, and driving than living in the States. I’m not sure what I will do when I come back.

God Moment: At church today a nice young Haitian lady let me borrow her English bible to read. I thought it had come from someone in our group but when I asked who it was from, she took it back with a smile. My hope is that she is learning English. It was just so sweet of her to let me borrow it.

Word/Phrase of the day:

Mwen bezwen...dlo suple: I need....water please (something the kids at the mission ask all the time)

Maybe Some Background?

I realized that I should probably give everyone some background information so that my blog makes a little more sense and I don’t have to explain my living situation and who I am here with in detail every time I blog.

I live in Montrious (Mowee—that’s how you say it here in Haiti), Haiti. I arrived Sept. 2 and will be living here until May 15 with a break to see my family in December. We are about 1½ hours north from Port-au-Prince (I will be referring to it as Port) along the ocean and 20-30 minutes from St. Marc. I am working for New Vision Ministries which is run by Kerry and Joy Reeves, and their 9 kids, Logan, Megan, Luke, Jaycie, Josie, Judah, Jaxon, John-Patrick, and Justice. Check out their blog at the bottom of my page. They have been living in Haiti for the past 2 years and are doing an amazing job running 9 ministries at this time. That is why we are here to help!

They own a crush (one step up from an orphanage and people are able to adopt the kids) called The Mission that has 14 kids at it right now and also where all of us live. There are 8 girls total, 6 from Impact Santa Barbara (Me, Shala, Kelsea, Amber, Nikki, and Elise), 1 from North Carolina (Liz), and 1 from Guadalupe (Elisa). We make up a team of teachers and helpers for Kerry and Joy to run a more impactful ministry to the people of Haiti. There is also a couple, Stephen and Autumn Byxbe, who help take care of the kids and make sure the Mission runs smoothly while Kerry and Joy take care of all their kids. Hopefully this will help you and not confuse you even more!

Shala is doing office work for Kerry and helping him with the fishing village and creating jobs for the refuge women. Kelsea is helping with the Celebration Kids Club feeding program, helping Shala with anything she needs and working part time at the school as an administrator. Liz is helping Shala and Kelsea and taking pictures for our school’s yearbook. She is only here for 3 months. Now on to the teachers. We have a school in St. Marc that used to be ran by YWAM (Youth With A Mission). We took over the school this year because they couldn’t find any teachers to teach this year. Our school is called Liberty Academy. It is an English school but we are accepting basically anyone who would like to go to this school. Third grade is the cut-off for Creole speaking students but there are some exceptions. Joy is teaching kindergarten. Elise is teaching 1-2 grade, primarily reading and writing English. Amber is teaching 3-5 grade. Bring on the learning! Nikki, Elisa, and I are sharing the Jr. and High schoolers (6-12 grade). Nikki is teaching English and History, Elisa is teaching Bible and French, and I am teaching Mathematics and Science. We will teach curriculum Monday –Thursday and have extracurricular activities on Friday. Friday is also half day J.

On the weekends we will all be involved with outreach in any way possible. It could be helping at the fishing village, doing an eye clinic, building houses, running a camp for kids, ect. Basically whatever comes up we will do it. Everything is tough right now because we don’t know very much Creole and can’t really communicate with the Haitian people. We are learning as fast as we can but it doesn’t seem fast enough.

Please pray that Creole comes quickly so that we can communicate efficiently with the people and show them that we care and are interested in what they have to say.

God moment: i was coloring with the kids at the Mission. Alinda wanted me to color for her but I asked her to help me (ede mwen) and she did! It feels go to start speaking a little bit of Creole!

Word/Phrase of the Day:

Bonjou! Koman ou ye?:  Good Morning! How are you?

Mwen tre bien avek Jezi.: I am very good because of Jesus

The Heavens Opened Up

I haven’t felt like doing very much in the first week that I have been in Haiti because of heat, exhaustion, and feeling overwhelmed. I literally did what I had to do every day just to get by. On Thursday we had the day off and I slept most of the day. I was really struggling but then God brought a gift in the afternoon. It started to rain and then it poured. I now understand what it means when people say the heavens opened up and it poured. We had rain coming from every direction, a river down the road next to the Mission, and to top it off the second story of the Mission (where we live) started to flood in the hallway outside of our doors. We were panicked because we didn’t really know what to do. Kerry and Joy, and Steven and Autumn (a lovely couple who helps run the Mission since Kerry and Joy have so much on their plate) were in Port dropping people off at the airport. It was like we were in a hurricane! We closed all the windows and put towels in front of the rooms that were already flooded and started trying to get rid of the water any way possible. We ended up using a broom, bucket, and a welcome mat to push water down the stairs and throw it over the ledge. After about 20 minutes, we had removed most of the water from the hallway. We were happy, successful, and drenched from head to toe. This cooled us all down and began to turn my health around.

The second thing was something I learned in bible study on Thursday night. We had talked about what we had to give up to be here, how it was all in God’s plan for us, and how we need to be dead to ourselves. We are here on this earth for 1 purpose, to serve God. In order to serve God to the best of our abilities we have to be dead to ourselves. If we strive for this, we shouldn’t be easily offended. We should not care about what other people think or say about us because we are here to serve God. What an eye opener! I am not here to serve myself or have expectations of how the day will go. I am here to serve God however that might look, serving my roommates, our cook Madame Remann, the children, Kerry and Joy, Steven and Autumn, and the people of the village. God has control so give it to HIM!

God Moment: Waking up in the middle of the night without power (typically 2-4 times a night) without sweating! Waking up on Friday feeling like me again! I am a totally different person from the first 6 days of this adventure. It’s on now! Bring it on!

Word/Phrase of the day:

Mwen pa konnen: I don’t know (I say this more than anything else right now)