Lord with all my heart, I worship You

The past few days have flown by for me. Thursday afternoon Joann, Cathy and I were able to sew curtains for the guest room for the guys! It was fun for me because my Grandma Olson taught me to sew a few years ago and so I kind of knew what to do. There are 5 windows in the guys’ room and so it took quite a while for us to sew all the curtains, but by the end of it we were getting the hang of it. The curtains look so good now in the room! We were so excited when we put them up and showed them off to everyone. Sometime this week I am going to try to make curtains for the girls’ room now, so we will see how that goes! Joann and Cathy are also from Alabama so it was fun having them around. They were great company and truly showed me what the love of Christ looked like. From the beginning they were always so welcoming to me and so kind. They made sure that I was doing okay or helped me if I needed anything. They were like my second mamas here and we did a lot together. They just left today and I am very sad they are gone, but I know I will definitely see them again in the future!

Friday we had the Rustavic group come and learn to sew something. There are some parents who do not have the money to feed or provide for their children, and so what happens is there are people who say that if they give them their child they will provide food and education for the children. And so to keep their kids alive the parents agree. What sometimes happens, however, is that these kids basically become slaves. These children are Rustavics. They do all the chores around the house and if they do not finish they may not eat or may not get to go to school that day. There are some children who are not in bad situations, but there are ones that go through a brutal and abusive life there. There is an organization that helps to free the Rustavics and try and help them live on their own. Christian Light has some of them come in the morning and some that come in the afternoon. Joann, Cathy and I taught the afternoon class. We taught the kids how to make bags of their own. At first we only had two girls come in, but by the end we had about 7 or 8 children. They were really excited to learn, but it was kind of difficult because they did not know any English. That became very frustrating for us just because we realized sewing is hard to teach when you can’t understand each other. So, we called one of the girls from the orphanage over to help translate for us. The class was crazy and overwhelming, but by the end of it each student had a bag of their own. It was very cool to see them light up when they sewed something and we praised them. I realized that they probably didn’t get a lot of appraisal where they lived so I tried to praise them whenever I could. I am going to teach another class of Rustavics this week as well. I think we may be doing bracelets so that they can learn to make them from simple fabric and marbles, and they could learn to make money from making bracelets. I am very nervous about how this class will go so please please pray for the class and me! I hope the students get something out it what I teach them.

The kids had movie night Friday and I had brought the movie “Frozen” with me and so they were all excited to see it. They watched it two times back-to-back… and now they won’t stop singing “Let It Go”. It is so funny because now they make me play it on my phone for them as they sing along. They all love to sing and it is so sweet to me. I am not much of a singer and so I like to listen to the kids sing. Last night the adults here went to eat out because Micah and Rachel are leaving Monday. They have been here for over a year now and definitely made an impact here on everyone they surrounded and the children especially. They are expecting their first child and so they will be going home to get ready for their baby to come! Everyone is going to miss them dearly; the Lord has used them so much while they have been here, and I know that they will continue to let God shine through them daily.

Yesterday a few of us went along with Edmund to go to Love a Child. Love a child donates rice, beans, potato mix, etc. so a lot of different ministries in Haiti, and Christian Light is one of them. I road in the back of the truck there and back and the trip was so cool. We were driving through the city at first and seeing the different stores, markets and buildings was cool. The buildings here are so colorful and decorated and I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. The people all around the cities were interesting as well. They were all doing their own thing, but when you see one and wave they immediately smile and wave back. I love seeing the people here smile, because at first it really surprises you. They have an almost scowling look on their face but as soon as they give you a smile it is like their whole face lights up. The kids were especially cute when they smiled. I’ve grown to absolutely love smiles; they are all so unique and beautiful. Each person has their own one and I just love what smiling does to a person. For me, when I smile or laugh it just instantly lifts up my mood, and when I see others smile it brings me joy as well. I would almost rather see others’ smiles first then my smile simply because I know they are happy when they are. I try and make it my mission to get all the kids here to be happy or at least to smile.

When we got to Love a Child we waited in a room until they were ready for us and while we waited they had food and drinks for us. I got a piece of chocolate cake, which was so yummy, and inhaled that cake haha. I haven’t really had many sweets since I’ve been here so that definitely pleased my appetite. Once it was our turn we pulled our truck around and they began loading the back. I was so shocked by how many boxes there were. It was so neat to see that all of those things were being donated to Christian Light! When all of the boxes were loaded I saw that there was just enough room for the three of us to squeeze in the back with them. It must have been funny to see us driving down the road with three ladies in the back and boxes that take up ¾ of the room back there. On the way back I got a better look at all of the scenery that was around us; we were surrounded by mountains, fields and the ocean. It was a breathtaking view to see where the mountains and the ocean meet. We stop at a place to pick up a few packages where we saw that flip-flops were being given! When we got back to Christian Light the kids were so excited for new shoes, and they each got to pick a pair! They did not want to take off those shoes for a while.

Today we all got ready for church and were on the way when suddenly… we realized we had a flat tire. We had to pull over and see what the deal was. The women got to sit in the shade and spectate while the men tried to fix the tire. Some Haitian men cam by and helped us out too. They were so kind and helpful to us. About 45 minutes later we were ready to continue to head to church. Although we were late, we still made it just in time for the message and I was glad we were still able to make it. After church we came back and just have been hanging around. It’s fun to just lie around and be lazy with the kids on Sunday (even though it is more like running around for them). I was also able to Skype with my friend, Megan, and my parents later on! Megan will be joining me in three weeks and I am so excited for her to be here! My other friend, Kathleen, will be here in 4 weeks as well! Pray for them because this will be their first trip to Haiti. I know they will love it just as much as I do. I was so happy to be able to talk to my parents a little bit today. I like that I was able to see them as well, since this will be the longest I have been away from home after all six weeks. I do get homesick every now and then, but being so busy helps keep my mind off of it. AND the kids definitely help keep me in a good mood. It is easy to be happy and cheerful after hanging out with them some.

God has shown me so much in this first week. I have learned to have more patience with the little ones. It is easy to forget that they are much younger and may not know as much as I do. I would get frustrated easily, but would just have to close my eyes and pray to God to help me be patient. Patience is definitely key when being a teacher, so this will help me when I am a teacher in the future! I still see what all I take for granted while being here. The people here have so little and yet they are happier than I could ever imagine. You can just see the Lord shine through so many people here and I love it. I love how the Lord has helped me become more thankful for everything. For example, today I was thankful for shade as we waited for the flat tire to be fixed; I was thankful to the nice breeze that has been here today; I am thankful for technology for giving me the opportunity to talk to loved ones; I am thankful for a simple laugh from one of the kids. I have become so much more thankful for all that the Lord has given me because He has truly blessed me. It has only been a week since I have been here, but I know my God will continue to help me grow and become more of a Christ-like image. I want God to shine through me to everyone and for everyone to know that our Lord is mighty and He is just an awesome God. My Father provides so much for me and I will always be thankful for Him.

“You will seek me and find me 
when you seek me with all your heart.”

-Jeremiah 29:13