These past few days have been full of
excitement and adventure. Monday was a normal school day for the children and
so while they were in class I was put to work in the library. Christian Light
was blessed to have over 1000 books donated and so I had the job to sort
through them. In the library there are different categories of books: children,
youth, adult, science, history, etc. Each category has a different colored
sticker so I went through each box and would sort through and put stickers on
the books and then put the books in their category. It was a tiring job but
every now and then a student would come in and help me. It was nice to have
children who were so eager to help… It may have had something to do with them
getting out of class but who knows. Every two and a half days I finished
categorizing all those books! I was so excited. Some of the books that were
found were in French or they were teacher workbooks/textbooks and so with those
I just put them in separate boxes. My next job for the next few days will be to
go through the French books and mark them and put them on a new shelf as a new
category for the library. With the workbooks and textbooks I have a shelf in
their office that I will need to put them on, but also organize and figure out
which ones are useful and which are not. So I will still be organizing books but it's a good thing organizing is something I enjoy and am good at :)
After the classes got out there were 4
students that Ms. Sherrie asked me to tutor for a little. Two of them
needed help with their alphabet and writing the letters and the other two
needed help spelling and reading. It has been challenging trying to see where I
should start or what I should do. I want to teach the children at least one
thing before I leave so I hope my tutoring for these kids will be helpful in
the end. It has been fun tutoring because when I go downstairs they are ready
to work. What I love about the students here is that they enjoy school and are
excited to learn. They hate when they miss school or when school is over and I
love that. It is just so refreshing, as a future teacher, to see children so
eager to learn.
This morning and Monday morning I got the
opportunity to help with the Baby Feeders Program out in the ravine. I was so
pumped to go because I hadn’t gone since my first trip here! I explained a
little bit what Baby Feeders is, but I am going to talk about it in more
detail. Ms. Sherrie found that after the earthquake a lot of the students
coming to her were malnourished, and she seemed to notice more learning
deficits with the malnutrition. What she decided was that for the students and
families who are not old enough to attend CLS, she would feed them each
morning; they would also get a peanut butter ball that contains protein, baby
formula, and vitamins that they need daily. She has already seen a rapid
improvement in schoolwork since she started this program. I was able to walk
through the ravine with the men that were in charge of Baby Feeders. We go to
three locations throughout the ravine and the families come up with plates or
bowls. The men in charge carry around two containers that have hard-boiled
eggs, bread with peanut butter, and a fruit that is in season. The kids come up
with their plates and they get their food, their peanut butter ball, and are
marked off the list that the men bring with them. It is such a good system and
is so cool to be outside of CLS. I love just walking around and saying
“Bonjour!” to the people I see. They love when we just say hey to them and
acknowledge them. A lot of the children in the ravine also love coming up to
you and just grabbing your hand; sometimes they walk with us and just hold your
hand while smiling at you. These kids are so precious and beautiful and I thank
God for them. These children have taught me how simple the love of God can be.
Just by saying hello, smiling and giving them hugs goes a long way for these
children. I am hoping to do the Baby Feeders Program 2 or 3 times a week. It is
fun seeing the same kids and having them recognize me from the other day. It is
also funny when they yell “BLANC!” which is white in Creole. It makes me laugh
because that is like their greeting to me. I’m just thinking, “yup, I’m white.
Hello to you too!” I usually just wave and say hello back to them. Haitians are
so funny and sweet all you have to do is try to get to know them or at least
acknowledge that you see them and care for them; even if all you do is wave or
say hello that can really go a long way.
Before dinner, I like to hang out with the
cooks that prepare dinner for the orphanage children. They do not know any
English, but it is fun to just sit and admire what they do. One or two of the
older girls from the orphanage are usually in there and so I ask them how to
say certain things. I try my best to talk to the cooks and its funny when they
laugh at me and have to correct me over and over again. But they have the most
generous hearts in the world. I usually just stand by the door, but they always
insist that I take their seat and sit down. They even let me try their food
sometimes or sneak me a piece of chicken… Which is definitely fine by me. One
of my goals while I am here this trip is to make better relationships with the
workers that work at CLS. I am always so attached to the children that I forget
them sometimes. I want to make an effort to build relationships with them
because they are just as important. The workers here are serving the Lord where
they know best: by being cooks, teachers, cleaners, mechanics, etc. Just how I
am serving the Lord by coming here on a mission trip, they are serving it in
other ways. I want them to know that what they are doing matters and without
them, CLS would not be the same. Without the cooks, the kids would go hungry;
without the mechanics, none of the machines or electricity would work; without
the cleaning ladies, the rooms would be destroyed. They have helped build
Christian Light and they need to know how much they are appreciated daily. This
goes for back at home too. I want to learn to make an effort to show my thanks
to everyone around me because without them a lot of things would not be the
same.
After dinner, I like to go to the girls’ room
and hang out in there. This is where the older girls usually hang out and so I
want to try and spend time with them as well. They LOVE the game Subway Surfer
on my phone so I let them take turns for about 30 minutes a night to play. It
is funny how into the game they get and how much alike they are to American
children back at home (I do the same thing with the kids I babysit back at
home). Before it gets dark I try to play with as many of the kids as I can.
They love just running around, playing on phones, and even playing with my
hair. I promised a few girls I would let them braid my whole head of hair
tonight… Not gonna lie I’m quite nervous about that haha. I don’t know how good
I’ll look but they’re excited. I brought nail polish and a small manicure set
and so I told them one night this week I will do their nails for them. The
older girls were so excited because they said they usually have to do their own
nails and end up messing up. It’s fun knowing I’ll be here a lot longer than I
have in the past because I know that I can spend so much more time with these
kids. Knowing that my relationship with each of them will grow so much over
these next 6 weeks.
God has shown me so much so far and it has
only been a few days. I can’t wait to see what else happens as my trip
continues. The children here have already been a blessing and I hope that
before I leave I maybe help them or lead them to God in some way. Love in the
most important thing to teach them. Not only to show them what love looks like,
but to make sure they know that they are loved by so many people and are especially
loved by God. He has such an amazing plan for each kid and they need to know
that. The Lord is going to use them to bring others close to him and so it is
their job to lift Him up in everything that they do. Please continue to pray
for these children and their love for Christ. It is amazing to see the things
they teach me daily about the Lord.
“We love because
he first loved us”
-1 John 4:19
