yon mwa

Happy one month in Haiti to me. I can hardly believe it’s been a whole month but in the same thought it almost feels like forever ago that I cried my way through the airport and left the states. A lot has happened in this short month, good and bad, new and not so new. I look back on my first week, sick, nervous excited and zero understanding of Creole. Today, I am not sick (praise God) I am still nervous excited (although mostly excited) e m’ap apren anpil Creole (and I’m learning a lot of Creole). My goals for my time here have slightly changed and some have yet to be met. This is a blog not my diary so I am not going to get into my personal goals for my time here. But it is good to stop and look back to see what I need to be more intentional about, areas I need to be focused in. I did manage to learn a little bit about myself about Jesus about Haiti. What I still don’t know YET is what exactly he wants me to do in Haiti but he tells me enough for each day so that is ok with me and probably as much as I can handle.

This month I learned that things aren’t always what/who they seem, that I am braver than I thought, that I won’t die without my daily comforts, that tarantulas don’t run rampant around Haiti- in fact I still have yet to see a live one-, that chickens do run rampant in Haiti, friendship can come in any package, a smile makes all the difference- I don’t mean that in a cheesy way, I mean it sincerely, that a small act of genuine kindness can be all it takes to spread His love especially in a place that is not used to it, God always always always provides and I will forever need him.

I am sure I have learned more, like I now know that mosquitoes in Haiti are impervious to bug spray and its only when the bathroom is a 2 minute outside walk away that your body will wake you up at 3 am to go to the bathroom, 4 nights in a row.

What’s in store for next month, I have no clue. I’m guessing a lot of sticky children, more English teaching, and lots of rice. Things I won’t want to eat when I get home: rice.

I have 3 ½ months left. It seems like a lot and a little. I want to make the most of it- to leave knowing I made an impact, that I am different, that the people I encountered are different. I came across some notes from one of Pastor Josh’s messages the other day. It said “transformed people transform people.” On the same page I had something Michael Woods said “If it is not done in love, it is done wrong.” Well there you go. I want to transform people and I want to do it in love. If I leave in June, I want to be able to say with confidence that both those hold true.

So that’s that. The internet was down at work today again but I was hardly bothered by it. I drank my hazelnut coffee (sigh of joy), taught the cleaning ladies English, played with Jamesley, got engaged to an 11 year old and have the ring to prove it, heard more Jesus English music on the radio, kissed sweet little Haitian babies and ate gummy bears. Successful day I would say.

Dinner tonight was delicious. My South African friend made chicken pie, not to be confused with chicken pot pie, creamy mashed potatoes, veggies and this amazing cream cheese peach dessert thing. I feel stuffed like I do after Thanksgiving.

Demen, mwen pra’ ale nann Greta pou travay anpil. And then it is the weekend ! Hooray! I think we are going to a beach near Gran Guave called Tiano. Its apparently beautiful, crystal clear waters etc. And I will be trying a new church and that is always fun. Pase bonwee tut moun e pase bon joune'!