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.