Day Three: Success!

6/13/2012 

Today was a very relaxing day. I spent most of the morning reading. Then showered and read some more. We had a Haitian lunch and then got prepared for teaching. This afternoon the thunder and lightening began. There was no rain in the forecast but...it was raining ‘cats and dogs!’ (I taught me students what raining cats and dogs meant this week...so once we got to class, they proudly announced, ‘Teacher! It’s raining cats and dogs!) 

On our 30 second walk from home to class, we got drenched. Everything was sopping. I have never seen so much rain come down for so long...about 20 minutes of dumping rain. It was actually really awesome! Part of me wanted to go and run around in it because it was so cool it felt amazing! The other part of me couldn’t help but think about the homes we visited on Sunday. Walls made out of scraps of tin and old clothing and roofs made out of tarps. The people in these homes were no doubt getting drenched. There is no way to keep the rain out and there is nothing they can do to dry their things off. Everything they own has been dumped on. This thought saddened me. Here I am thinking how awesome it is to experience a rainstorm like this, when the people on the other side of the wall are experiencing the opposite...how awful is this. And, it is something that happens regularly, especially in Hurricane season. I was incredibly humbled in this moment and am so very grateful that I never have to experience rain like this in a tarp covered home.

Class time started a bit late because of the rain. Most of my students showed up late drenched. And, it was hard to hear each other speak because of the rain beating on our tin roof. After awhile I decided we needed to get started anyways so I spoke as loudly as I could and we began. Again, the whole being flexible really comes into play here! We spent 2 hours working on Money....money vocabulary and sentence structure including numbers and money. Then we took some time to sing with Jamie’s class. Something about Haitians, they LOVE to sing. It’s a hobby of many of them and most of them have incredible voices. So, we spent some time singing today, something my students have been asking for all week. We sang, ‘Father, I Adore You,’ and the favorite little kid song, ‘Oh be Joyful, Oh be Jubilant...’ That was a hit and they wanted to sing it over and over again! It was beautiful hearing these amazing voices praising Jesus. Singing is something I might have us do more often! :) 

Tonight we had dinner then watched some tv and I went back to my room to read some more. It’s days like these, very relaxing, not much planned that make me love being in Haiti. The slower lifestyle. The not constant go, go, go. I need to get this done and this done and this. That doesn’t exist for my Haitian lifestyle. It might if I was here long-term but not now and I am basking in it! It’s hard to believe that we only have 9 more class periods before we are done. That’s just two weeks of classes. Crazy! 

Thank you for continuing to Pray for me and my journey here in Haiti. PRAISE God for a smooth transition into teaching. PRAISE God that He has kept me safe so far on this journey. PRAY that my classes continue to run smoothly and despite the language barrier, we can communicate. PRAY that I am open to being taught what God wants me to learn. 

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1