Today in my Jesus Calling book it talked about learning to laugh at yourself. Even with you make mistakes or embarrass yourself, laughing things off is a good way to find the joy and positives in everything you do! One of my favorite parts of todays page said "Laughter lightens your load and lifts your heart into heavenly places" and I just love that because it is so true. Laughter brightens your day and makes you not worry so much about the little things. God is in control and we don't need to worry about what He is doing in our lives. All we need to think about is being joyous in the presence of The Lord. After reading this it immediately made me think of the kids here in Haiti. They don't let the small things bother their days. They just laugh and run around with no care in the world. Their laughs can be heard throughout the entire compound and it's just great to hear. Another part of today's topic that made me think of the kids was when it said "Your laughter rises to heaven and blends with angelic melodies of praise." How perfect does that sound? All the laughs the kids make and we make ourselves are being heard throughout Heaven. It makes me happy to picture everyone up in Heaven, including God, looking down and singing along with our laughters. I made sure that today I would laugh and smile as much as possible today. I tried to just be a kid again and not let anything bother me. It's crazy how one small change in our attitude can change our whole day completely. I could see God's love shining through their joy.
The VBS continued today and will continue tomorrow for the last day. I can tell the kids are really enjoying the three day break from classes. They love doing fun activities, singing songs, and playing around all day. For me, I feel that for some of these kids, this is their only time for them to be children for the day. When they are at home they may have to do chores and run errands for the family, but when they are here they don't have that kind of stuff to do. They are able to just be kids. They can run around, play with other kids, and laugh as much as they want to. The kids in Haiti are just like the kids in America, but some of them may have to grow up a little faster than most children. It's nice for me to see them enjoying school so much in the summer. If I were them I wouldn't be too thrilled, but they want to come to summer school. They ask me and make sure we are still having school the next day for them to attend. I just love seeing that much interest in attending class. It makes my heart happy.
After school I was able to go to a good friend of mine's house for the afternoon. His name is Allex, and he is 14 years old. Allex first became known through my dad. When my dad first came to Haiti, Allex was his translator in the clinics they would hold. I remember my dad telling so many stories of Allex when he came home from Haiti. I was so eager to meet him and when I finally did last December, I knew this was a kind of friendship that would last forever. Allex has the biggest heart and just wants to love on people. He cares for you and wants to get to know you more. He is also a ladies man, which cracks me up. I remember him telling me and 4 other girls we could all be his girlfriends. I was girlfriend #4. My dad and I were able to get to know Allex a lot better in December and we kept up with him all the time and still do. When we got back from Haiti in December we had talked about sponsoring Allex with Christian Light School. We went on their website (which I am going to talk more about in a little) and found the page to sponsor a child. So not only do we keep up with Allex, but we help support his schooling and medical needs. It is great to know that our money is being put to helping a personal friend. When I was getting ready for Haiti, the thought crossed my mind to maybe meet Allex's family. So when I got down here I asked him about it and he was eager to get me to come meet his family. I talked to Mrs. Beverly, the summer school principle, and we were able to work it out to where I could go to his house today. So Beverly, Allex, me and two older students headed out to Allex's house. I was excited, but also nervous. I just had no idea what to except or if his family would even be excited to meet me. I was overthinking everything (as usual) but just prayed and tried to calm myself down during the trip there. 
Let me just say that the walk from Christian Light to Allex's house was not a short or easy trip. It took us about 30 minutes and I was just in awe at the fact that Allex had to do this every day, twice a day. It made me think of all the other kids that come to Christian Light and how far they all have to travel in order to make it to school. I will never take driving to school for granted ever again. When we got to his house we were all worn out and so he pulled out chairs for us all to sit in. We walked into his house and it was just a one room house with a bed, closet, table, tv and cabinet. When I asked Allex how many people lived with him he said it was him, his grandmother, his two older brothers, and his younger sister. So there are 5 people living in one room, with one bed. And to think I get my own room and my own queen bed. It definitely makes me feel a lot more blessed than I would ever imagine. I saw something small walk across the floor and looked down to a small cat. I am a big cat lover so I picked up the cat and it played with me and loved on me so much. Playing with the cat really calmed my nerves to meeting the family so I was glad to have it in my lap haha. 
Allex's grandma walked in and I thought she was the cutest thing ever. She just had the most genuine smile and her eyes lit up when she saw us all there. I noticed her wearing an Auburn hat and when I asked Allex he said it was the hat my dad had given him; that made my heart melt. We met with his grandma and later we met one of his older brothers as well. They were both so sweet, and even went to go buys us all cold cokes for us to cool down from our long journey. I gravitated towards Allex's grandma. She just reminded me so much of my grandma. She never cared about herself, only how the others were feeling. She made sure we each had a seat, a coke, and even gave me and Mrs. Beverly a wash cloth to wipe off our sweaty faces. She was so kind and full of God's love it was hard for me not to tear up. I noticed she had the room decorated with cute stuffed animals, and I told Allex to tell her how much I liked all the animals. She smiled at me, and then looked in her cabinet and pulled one out and handed it to me. I was confused at first, but then Allex told me she wanted to give me one. I definitely teared up right then. Here is this sweet little lady who has barely anything of her own, and yet she gave me one of her things. The generosity throughout the house was so overwhelming and I just couldn't get over it. They didn't have much, but they gave back as much as they could. That is God being shown through their actions. When it was time to leave I got a picture with Allex and his grandma and told them I would print it out and send it with my dad to give to them. His grandma appreciated that so much, just because they really don't have any pictures of themselves. I gave her a huge hug and told her thank you over and over again. She said something to me in Creole and when I asked Allex what she said, he told me she said "I hope to see you again" and I knew right then I would make it a point to visit her every time I was here in Haiti. She opened up her home to us for a short time, and I could never fully thank her for all the generosity she gave me. Allex even decided to walk back with us because he wanted to make sure we got there safely. That means Allex did the 30 minute walk not once, not twice, but three times in one day. He is such a caring person and you can really see God shining through him. I cannot wait to see the Godly man he becomes as he gets older. God blessed me with the friendship I have with Allex. He is like a little brother to me, and we even call each other our Haitian brother and American sister to each other haha. I thank God every day for putting Allex in my life. He is such an inspiring young man who I know will bring Haiti out from the darkness and into the light of The Lord.
(This is the stuffed animal Allex's grandma gave to me)
I thought that at the end of this post I would put the link of Christian Light School's website. I know there are people reading my blog that may not really know much about the actual organization. So below I will put the link and you can go and see what the school is about, Ms. Sherrie (who runs the own school/orphanage) and what all you can do if you'd like to give back to the school.
"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with song of joy.
Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'"
Psalm 126:2
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