Week #4&5

Well folks, I'm done with week 5 here in Haiti! I kept pushing back doing the blog last week,so I'll try to talk about both weeks here :p Haiti has definitely been winning my heart over lately. I am feeling so comfortable here and love it; it feels pretty much natural, which is crazy!! It's definitely beginning to get into the summer heat, which is not so exciting, but, all part of the adventure!  As I've passed my halfway point, I'm beginning to get sad that I will have to leave this place. Seven weeks seemed like such a long time arriving here, but it now doesn't seem like enough! It's gone by so fast, and keeps going by faster, and I just want it to slow down the next couple weeks!

Some highs from the past two weeks:
-I definitely feel that there's been a turnaround in preschool! The kids are used to having me in the classroom. There have been less behavior problems overall and the kids are great! We've done some fun activities that went even better than I planned and I am really enjoying it!
-ELLA HAD KITTENS!! :) :) This was definitely a top highlight! Jenna and I even guessed when she was going to have them.  Five wonderful kittens, who now have their eyes open! We probably watch them for at least 45 minutes every day. :)
-Jenna and I went stargazing on the roof and talked about life. I love stargazing! We even saw the brightest shooting star I've ever seen, and it had such a long tail. It's definitely been a blessing to have such an awesome person to live with, and we can definitely be real with each other.
-I watched Despicable Me with the Grace House. It was so fun to see the Haitian kids' reactions to the show and watching them dance and giggle!
-We got a new admit, an adorable 22 month old girl. I'm excited to see her get more comfortable with everyone here and her smile!
-We all watched the USA vs Ghana World Cup game together, and it was fun to see everyone cheering for the same team! The volunteers also has peanut butter filled pretzels, which were amazing :)
-Jenna had a friend from the community come over, and it was fun to listen to her talk to Jenna in creole and pick up on phrases (occasionally joining in), as well as talking in English. It was cool to learn from her a little more about the culture. She had never seen a redhead before and we showed her one, but she said she didn't like it :p She also said that she doesn't like super blonde hair, but she liked mine haha. We were able to look at things on Pinterest and have small girl talk :) We also talked about dating a bit, and I learned that different families have different rules as to when you start dating. For example, in her family you don't start dating until you're 18.
-We made a delicious dinner dish of quinoa, veggies, almonds, and craisens.  It was SO good! Jenna's not only letting me stay with her, but I also get cooking lessons! ;)
-The normal preschool teacher here, Tori, returned and it's been fun getting to know her!
-I went to the Citadel! Oh my goodness, it was beautiful. If you don't know what it is, look it up, seriously. It's the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere that the leader in 1820, Henry Christophe, built when Haiti gained independence from the French, just in case they tried to fight back.  We rode horses up the mountain, which was really cool, and I had never ridden a horse before.
-We've celebrated four birthdays in the past two weeks for the kids, which is so fun to see their happiness and excitement, and watching them eat the cake :)
-After about a week and a half of our showers and sinks not working, they were all fixed and we can shower again in our own house!! :)
-We played ultimate frisbee with a volunteer group.
-I was able to skype my family a couple times, which has been great! I'm so thankful for the ability to see my family.
-A volunteer group threw the adults a pizza party, which was delicious! Some of us played dutch blitz afterwards, and Kirk and I kicked butt second round! :)
-Jenna and I had a mini getaway yesterday and laid on the hammocks at the beach for an hour, which was SO relaxing after a busy week!!
-We had ice cream yesterday! I had a corn flavored ice cream bar, which was actually really yummy! It tastes like the corn based cereals.

On the down side, I did have my first decent injury. :/ While playing ultimate frisbee on Wednesday, I ran into a hole and sprained my ankle. The first couple days it was pretty swollen and painful, but it's going down now! I was able to have my first crutches experience, and we have a child's size boot here that I've been using to get around in :p I appreciate everyone's prayers for a quick recovery! I really am not a fan of having the attention on me because I was the lucky one to find the hole, but everyone here has been so caring and helpful! It's uncomfortable for me, but I've gotten a taste of what it feels like to be served through this experience, rather than being the one serving.

The past couple weeks I've really been thinking about what I do when I go home. Do I share stories with everyone I see? Do I stop spending my money on the unnecessary things in life? Do I start sending money to the wonderful organization here that has special place in my heart? Do I start planning my next trip back? I know someone can't give me the answer, but I wish someone could :p. All I know is I'm not ready to leave. This place is a home to me, and these people have become very important to me. I love seeing these kids light up when they see you with arms wide open, hearing their giggles, hearing them say your name with excitement, and watching them grow and heal.

I think coming into this trip, I thought this would be a way for me to learn how to trust God completely, because I had to.  I didn't know anyone, know the language, know the culture, know what I was going to do, and was completely out of my comfort level.  However,  sometimes I feel like I'm still trying to hold into that small piece that I control, even here.  Learning how to give your whole life to Christ isn't easy.  Thinking about what God has next for me in His plan is something I definitely have been praying about consistently and trusting He will show me what He wants next. Does He want me to come back here? Does He want me in an inner city setting? Does He want me to do something more missional and community based? I don't know, but what I do know is I can trust God has a plan far greater than anything I can try to create.

God is so present and so active here.  I see it in the people here. They are some of the most selfless people I've met.  They care so much about the children and people here, being involved in the community, building the community up.  And have fun with it. They have true joy while working here, even over the smallest things.  I look up to a lot of the long term staff that's here.  I see God in the joy of the children, the nannies, the children on the streets waving as you drive by, and the beauty of Haiti itself.  This place is pretty great :)

Prayer requests I have:
-Quick healing for my sprained ankle.
-Safety of the volunteers traveling back home today and coming here.
-Easing my heart and mind due to the fact that I have two weeks left.  I am very sad to leave and wish I could stay longer.
-Good health for the volunteers and long-term staff.
-Those here caught in the voodoo religion would find Christ and turn away from their old ways.
-We would be able to find a nurse that would be willing to stay for a couple weeks here.
-Safety and comfort for the Haitians here that do not have enough food for their families or a place to call home.