Its mid November!!! Wow! Ive been here for four months now! I have settled in a routine(I say that very loosely:)) While most of you are trying to get used to the cooler weather we are still experiencing summer.
My family here and I went to the beach for the day. It was quite a journey but well worth it to see how much fun the girls had. I had no idea that for some of them it was their first time to the beach! They loved it! I love these girls so much!
We finished the first quarter at school a few weeks ago. The principal said to me "You're making an English exam right?" My response was new news to us both when I said "Absolutely!" I am guessing the exam wasn't as easy as the kids would have liked based on all the "Misses N-eee-cole m'pa konnen sa!"(I don't know this) They are very intelligent but were just a little intimidated by their test. While most of what we learn is conversational I am also working on them with reading and writing our conversations. I am working with teacher in the states and we are going to begin a PenPal program. The students are so excited and I really think it is encouraging them to learn. Teaching is hard work. I have so much more respect for teachers. There is so much to teaching, not only getting kids to retain the material but also teaching it in a way to keep them engaged and interested. We sing, jump around, play games and laugh a lot. Learning can be fun!
Here are the beautiful girls in my bible study! I love them. They are so sweet and give so much grace! We got to celebrate Junies birthday too!
One of my best friends from High School came to visit last month. We had an amazing time and she was the best guest I could ask for. She was so easy going and handled our adventures so well, always with a smile. She had a few extra adventures besides the normal Haiti one such as traveling through the Dominican Repbublic on a rainy night when neither of us spoke spanish hoping we were going in the right direction, finding tadpoles in her water and picking out chickens and preparing them for dinner that night! She was such joy to have and everyone here loved her! They kept asking if she was my sister.
Just making some brownie after school
My precious babies I see everyday enjoying some Sour Patch Kids for the first time
There was a team visiting to put on their annual women's conference. It was so neat to see the relationship this team had with the women here. Some members of the team have been coming for about ten years. It was so apparent that these relationships were the kind that only happen over long periods of investment, love, trust and respect. The women actually pick the content they wish to learn about at the next years conference. This conference was a beautiful example of really investing in people, seeing them as people not just a project.
One of the women on the team and her daughter met the student they sponsor and his family for the first time. This is always a really special moment. Imagine this...you have a family and a few children. You have the funds to send them to school because both parents are able to find work. Dad is working as a farmer. But then Dad gets sick. He cant work anymore because he's in the hospital. So much money is spent trying to help him but its just not enough, he dies. Mom is doing the best she can but her income just isn't enough to support the family especially after the hospital fees. School is approaching quickly but the funds just aren't there to pay for school. Each night the family prays for God to help, send some kind of relief. Other kids in the neighborhood are beginning to purchase their school supplies and have their uniforms made but not this family. The prayers continue. And then the news arrives! A sponsor has been found for the children in the family! Generosity from afar has changed their lives and helped provide light in a tough situation.
Now imagine this...You live in Beaufort, South Carolina. Your family is a mom, a dad, three kids and a dog. You're doing all you can to make ends meet. Things can be stressful at times but the kids have no idea because theres always food for dinner and the lights are on. You've been trying to save money for the kids college when the time comes and you've also decided to invest a good bit of money is some promising stock. Well then things changed a bit...you got laid off and are now trying to maintain a one salary household. You begin to dip into the "college" savings and it slowly begins to shrink. And then that promising stock...it plummets...its all gone. Your oldest is starting to fill out her college applications. How to tell her college money doesn't exist? What will you do? Is there another option besides all the loans? Her counselor tells her about a few generously sized private scholarships. Guess what...she gets them. She gets them all! She has enough money to go to school. Praise God!
Now you get the opportunity to meet the generous people who paid for your child's eduacation. They didn't know your child personally but because of the donor they get the educations they've dreamt of. How excited would you be to share your gratitude? The connections we can make as people is amazing. We have the opportunity to fill in the gap that others may be missing. Im not saying you need to sponsor a child or pay for someones college education, just remember to see people for who they really are and what they really need. Give an encouraging word, a kind smile, call that person thats been on your mind all day to check in on them, give away that beautiful scarf because you know how beautiful it will look on your friend. Its also not about giving because you have excess, just giving what you don't need. Give what you love, give the time you don't think you have, give generously and from your heart. Watch it change you only for the better.
LOVE WINS
