Jesus Be The Center

Friday afternoon I went with a group to do Baby Feeders. I’ve been trying to go regularly just because I like to see the people in the community and the children we feed. I also like going because it is a good walk to go on for about an hour of my day. It was a lot hotter than it has been for the past few days. With it being rain season, it has been extra cloudy and breezy during the day. But these last few days have been hot so we are getting back to the hot, hot weather of Haiti haha. When we were walking through one of the tent cities, I heard a radio coming from one of the tents. As we got closer I was beginning to hear the song and I thought I kind of recognized it. I realized that it was 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman and it made me so happy. It was at the chorus, which goes, “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O my sou. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I’ll worship Your holy name.” It seriously brought tears to my eyes because I thought about the fact that all the tents around that one tent could hear that song. Yes, they may not exactly know what the song is saying, but the Lord is surrounding them and watching over them. That was just a great reminder for me to know that He is looking after the people of Haiti. I pray each night that He takes care of them, but I needed that realization. Not only was He telling me that He was watching over the people, but He was watching over me as well. It was almost like he tapped me on the shoulder and said, “See I told you I’m always here. Don’t worry I’ve got you.” That moment made my day.

I got back from the ravine and hung out with the kids for most of the day. A lot of them are getting the fever and so Lindsey and Tammy have been the mommies and have been checking their temperatures and giving them medicine. I have gone with them some times to check on the kids as well. It always makes me so sad because they are absolutely miserable. I went to see Magdala yesterday and she just wanted something to cuddle with her. So I let her lay on me while I rubbed her back. With this virus there is really nothing else you can do but just love on the kids and try to make them a little more comfortable. So I have been doing that with a lot of the other kids as well. The two women that cook for the guests also were sick and so a few of us have been making the meals the past couple of nights. We are making a cake tonight so I am excited about that!! It has been fun cooking some, but we have a team here with about 18 people and so trying to make a meal for about 25 people that is still tasty has been a challenge. I praise the two that usually cook for us because they do such a great job. I also don’t see how the women who cook for the orphanage children and for the school can do it. I am amazed by how much they cook and how much the children enjoy it as well. It isn’t like it is just white rice and grilled chicken. They put a variety of vegetables together and stew them into a yummy sauce. I helped cook for the orphanage kids (but really all I did was put the vegetables together into the pot). But the women were so funny and were just laughing at me because I had no idea what I was doing. I had left for a little bit, but one of the kids came and got me and when I came in the women had made a plate for me. I was so surprised and excited because I had noticed how good the food smelled and how hungry I was. So I ate the plate and ate it fast. It was soooo good. The stewed vegetables had a good taste to them and the rice and beans were also so good. I was like how in the world can you make rice and vegetables taste as good as they made them taste? I am so thankful for all the cooks here. They do an amazing job to ensure that we are all fed and happy.

 

I’m also thankful for the entire staff that works here. They are part of the reason why Christian Light runs as well as it does. Without them it would not be as great as it is. There are women who clean the rooms each day and make the beds, and being in a small room it makes a huge difference to have a clean room rather than a messy room. There are also men who clean around the school daily as well. Having three dogs around means there is dog poo everywhere and they come early before school starts just to make sure all of that is clean before the kids get here. They also sweep and fix up the classrooms at the beginning of each day as well. Being here and being surrounded by all the workers has made me appreciate that little things that people do. It is the little things that make a big difference in how well things work out. So a lesson for me is to appreciate everyone working, including the people doing the small things around the town. For example, have you ever thought about what Auburn would look like if we didn’t have janitors at the schools? Or if at the university we didn’t have the workers who cleaned the dorms daily? Our town would be a wreck! I need to start thanking everyone for their work continually and show them that they are appreciated. They need to see that they are loved and needed!

Friday night the kids had a movie night and so the girls came up to me and said something very quietly. I couldn’t hear them so I told them to ask again and they whispered, “Can you make popcorn please?” and I just laughed. Of course I would make popcorn they didn’t need to whisper it. They had to help me a bit because I am just used to microwave popcorn; I didn’t know how to make it on the stove (another thing I am grateful that I learned). It took some work for us to get it going, and we made a small mess but it all worked out. Rosemika, Mislene, and Carmelle were my wonderful helpers. I greatly appreciated them because I would have burnt the popcorn if I made it by myself. We all went down to watch the movie, and I could not tell you what the movie was even about. I loved watching all the kids watching the movie. They were glued to it and to the popcorn. Some of the younger kids probably had no idea what was going on, but they still just watched and laughed when the older ones laughed.

Yesterday and today have been very relaxed days. We have been cooking and taking care of children. I have been helping take care of Jean Wilson a lot as well. He is the cutest little boy in the whole world. With a team of 12 women he is definitely getting lots of love. He is also so close to walking!! We all hold his hands while he walks around the kitchen to try and build up his strength to finally walk. It is funny how excited he gets about walking. It’s also funny see how fascinated he is by the little things. I gave him headphones the other day and he could not get over how long they were; he would just swing them around and laugh and it was the cutest thing. All the little kids here are so funny. I love seeing how interested they are by things, like my cell phone for example. We take so many pictures here because the kids love it. They love looking at them and showing their friends what they took. They also LOVE the games on it. Everyday they come to me and say “MY TURNNNN” and I have to make sure every kid gets a turn with the game and they each play one turn so that its fair. This whole process takes about an hour and then after that they yell “LET IT GO” and so I have to play “Let It Go” the Demi Lovato version. They are obsessed with it and all sing it as loud as they can. It is probably one of the funniest things. Some of the older girls even asked if I would write down the lyrics for them and so I did and now they know every word to the song. Its great haha. Tomorrow is the day for the parties in the classes because it is the last day of school for the kids! They get out at noon and there are goodie bags being made for each student and cookies!! YUM! 

Tutoring will be more intense once school is out, especially for the younger orphanage kids since they will not have summer school this summer. I am excited to get to work more individually with students and help them improve a lot more in their school work because it will pay off in the end! There are some bright students that go to school here and they have an amazing future ahead of them. I am grateful that I get the opportunity to just hang out with them and get to know them. I only have 4 more weeks left here! I am excited to see what happens over these next few weeks. The Lord has blessed me and taught me so much in the time I have been here.

"The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing."

-Zephaniah 3:17