This trip has flow by so far and it’s crazy to think I only
have a month left. Yesterday I looked and realized it was June 4th
and I leave July 4th… I couldn’t believe it. Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday were normal school days for the students. Today and tomorrow,
however, are planning days for the teachers. These two days allow the teachers
to put in all the grades for their students and to have the report cards ready
for Monday. Monday will be the last day of school for them. It will only be a
half-day and it is basically the party day for the classes! I have asked a few
kids if they are excited that it is the last day of school and a lot of them
said no. Most of the kids love coming to school and enjoy learning throughout
the week. Also, they are fed breakfast and lunch at Christian Light, and they
may not get fed as much when there is no school. I know they will be sad to not
come to school, but it gives the teachers a break from teaching. Some of the
teachers also take classes over the summer and so it gives them that
opportunity as well. I just pray the kids have a safe summer and are refreshed
once school starts back again. Summer school starts in about three weeks and 6th
grade through 10th grade will be attending summer school. Last
summer it was the younger grades and Ms. Sherrie said she saw a massive
improvement with those students that came and so she wants the older grades to
have the same opportunity! I think it is just great that Christian Light has
summer school. It gives children an opportunity to expand their knowledge and
to grow more and more. 
There is a virus going around Haiti that they call
chikungunya. There is one family of mosquitos that has the virus, and so if a
mosquito that has it bites you then you’ll ultimately get it. Another nickname
for this virus is just “The Fever” because most have a very high fever of about
104 degrees. Other symptoms include swollen and painful joints and sometimes a
rash. It seems like a very painful and miserable virus that is spreading
quickly. But once you catch the sickness, you have it for about four to five
days and then you are less likely to get it again. A lot of the students and
teachers have gotten it, and so absences from school have dramatically
increased. With that many teachers being out, a few of us have helped by
sitting in some of the classes for the day. I was assigned to the 2nd
grade class Monday morning and when I walked in it was my class from last
summer!! I was so happy when they all yelled “Ms. Katy!” It was so nice to see
them, and even though I had seem them in the school before I had not been able
to talk to them much. They are still the sweet, but crazy, class from last
year. They asked if I was going to be their teacher this summer, but I didn’t
know how to tell them that they would not have summer school this summer. I just
told them we would have to see and tried to get class started. I was only in
there for a little while until the substitute teacher came in. After I left, I
was asked if I could help out in the 4 year old class. So my good friend,
Allex, and I were the teachers for that class. Allex was a big help and it was
funny seeing him as the teacher. Those kids were so precious. I recognized one
little boy and could not figure out how I knew him. Then after looking at my
pictures from my first trip to Haiti I remembered he was the boy I took a
picture of during the Baby Feeders Program. It was so neat to see to see him
grown up and in school! It made me see that all the kids I see daily will
someday grow up and come to school here as well. These kids have such a bright
future ahead of them and I cannot wait to see how the Lord uses them.
On Monday, Lindsey and I also went out with the Baby Feeders
Program to weigh the children in the program. Ms. Sherrie weighs the babies
once a month to make sure that the children are doing okay and are growing
correctly. It was sweet to see all the little babies around, but some of them
were not happy to be handed over to us. They would cry to their mommies, but
once we gave them back they felt so secure in their mom’s arms. That was so
precious to see just because you can see that a lot of these mothers are doing
everything they can to help their kids and keep them alive. They are really as
good of a mother as they can be and I love to see that. It is a great reminder
of how well some of our parents do and how much my parents love me. So Mom and
Dad when you see this thank you and I love you :) Most of the babies were at a
good range of how much they weighed the months before. It took a lot longer
having the weigh all the children and so by the time we were finished it was
very hot and I was very exhausted. I laid down for a quick nap when I got back
haha. The past few days haven’t been as busy or hectic. I have just kind of
gone where I am needed. A lot of the time it is in classrooms or with children.
So many of the children are sick and it is the most pitiful thing I have seen.
I hate seeing children so miserable and for the fever all you can take is
Tyenol. There is no other medicine and so most of the time you just have to
fight through the sickness and pray it’ll end soon. During school days whenever
the children I am with say they are not feeling well or don’t look well I don’t
even hesitate to bring them to Ms. Tammy or Mr. David to give them medicine.
This is also flu season for Haiti and so there are people with colds, flus, the
fever, etc. It is just full of sickness. Pray it will end soon and that
everyone will be okay. 
Yesterday we went up to the mountains for a meal. We stopped
at a hotel to see the view and it was crazy. First of all, the air up there was
just so clean and so thin. It didn’t feel like I was in Haiti anymore AND it
was as humid as it is back in Auburn. Second, looking down the mountain was
crazy just to see how green it was compared to the part of Port Au Prince I am
usually in. We went to eat at this restaurant called La Reserve and it was
really cool because we ate outside under the shade of trees. It felt like we
were in a rainforest almost. It was fun to just sit around and talk and get to
enough each other more. There was a group here from Huntsville, Alabama and a
year ago they put in an amazing water purification system here. Now each room
has their own faucet for clean water and the kids have clean water as well.
They are with a mission group called Mission FireFly and they have gone to 4
places including Haiti and Guatemala. Through Mission FireFly you can sponsor a
child from one of the 4 places. If you want to learn more about their mission
and what they do check out their website (www.missionfirefly.org) I am not the
best at explaining so you can see more about what they do there!
It is also rainy season here and so it has been cloudy or
rainy the past few days. It has been so nice at night because of the cool
weather. Yesterday and today were cloudy all day and so I am sitting here
enjoying the breeze and a cooler day. A cooler day here is basically just an
average summer day back at home, but it has been a great break from the hot and
sweaty weather. Today I was out in the yard talking to Wilna and she asked if I
wanted to help her wash her clothes. Of course I told her I would but I
embarrassingly had to tell her I had never really washed my clothes by hand.
She looked at me shocked and just couldn’t believe it. She asked what would I
do if my washer broke at home, and I told her that there were Laundromats we
could go to. She just laughed at me for not knowing how to wash clothes by
hand, but ended up teaching me how to do it. It really is a lot harder than it
looks to try and make sure each article of clothing is cleaned. And after you
wash it in soapy water you have to put it in another bucket to rinse out the
soap. After you rinse it you need to ring out the water and hang it to dry. We
don’t have a dryer here and so I am used to having to hang the clothes so that
wasn’t the hard part haha. But when I am sitting here thinking, it is crazy to
meet how a lot of people in the world do not even own a washer or dryer. I am
thankful enough to own both, but it makes me realize just how blessed I really
am. I have been blessed with a washer, which I thought was such a simple item.
I am grateful that Wilna showed me how she washes her clothes because it makes
me see that there are sooo many people who do the same and have to take time
out of their day in order to clean their clothes. 
During my trip here I have been reading the book Love
Does and Bob Goff, the author, has a story in each chapter. With each story
he ties it back to love and what God teaches us daily in our lives. I have
loved reading it because he tells the simplest stories and brings them back to
something for us to think about. Whether it is about friendships, God’s
unfailing love, our brokenness, etc. I really recommend anyone to read it! My
mom and I have both been reading it and each night we message each other and
talk about the chapter and what we think or what our favorite part was. Last
night the chapter talked about how God invites us to live life with Him; He
doesn’t push us or force us to be in a relationship with us, but He just wants
us to know that He loves us and wants to help us through life. It was such a great
chapter to read because it’s sometimes hard when I feel lonely or feel like I
am going through a hardship alone, but the truth is I am not. I will always
have God on my side. He is there through it all and wants to go through hard
parts of life. Isn’t a great feeling to know that the one who made you and I
wants to live life with each and every one of us?! He loves us so much and
cares about us and all we have to do is accept the invitation to participate in
life with Him. He doesn’t just choose the most powerful or the coolest people,
but he asks everyone… even us normal and broken people. It is so reassuring and
I am thankful for my Father who wants to be a part of my life and a part of
everyone’s life.
"Give your entire attention to what
God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about
what may or may not happen tomorrow.
God will help you deal with whatever
hard things come up when the time comes."
-Matthew 6:34
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