Teaching as always is preoccupying much of my time here. One of the things I’ve really enjoyed doing is helping the teachers find new creative ways to teach. A particular problem area for our primary students has been reading notes on the staff. As you can see I found a fun way to teach and review this topic!
The following week, we had tests to see how we were doing. This little girl’s reaction to the test was probably my favorite; as I handed it to her she sighed and said, “Oh Bondye.” (Translation: Oh God) Glad to see that God is being called on to help in all areas of our life. To say the least, we still need a little more review on music reading!
Also in the world of teaching, our marching band is really coming along. The students have learned all the basic commands and just this last week they marched while playing for the first time! We are still working on keeping straight lines and remembering to always start with our left foot. However, they are catching on quickly and are quite enthusiastic about it!
Back at St. Jacques, I was asked to give the message during the English service. It was the third Sunday of Lent and I focused on part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. In that reading, he says, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.” These words were a bit of comfort as everyday comes with its own set of challenges, especially in the life of a missionary. Apparently, I did a decent job that morning because I was asked to do the message again this coming Sunday. As always, God has a great way of using us in the world in ways we might not have anticipated!
The other excitement from these past few weeks have been hosting several different guests. A group of musicians from Boston and New York came down to Haiti to provide lessons and master classes to the Holy Trinity music students. Two of the visitors were also featured on our last concert this past weekend. Along with these visiting musicians, I also had my own personal guest from Virginia, Jennifer Green (good friend and mentor) come down for a few days. One of the things I loved about having everyone here was realizing how much I’ve learned! Offering insights on how to live here, acting as a translator at times, and just getting to show off the parts of Haiti I’ve come to love so much.
My favorite part was getting to introduce Jennifer to my Haitian family. It was in those moments that I realized how blessed I am with the deep friendships I have made here. And this has to be one of my favorite pictures from my time spent here thus far: my Haitian big sisters, one of my American big sisters, and me....one big happy family!
Finally for this blog post a huge thank you to the sponsors from these past weeks Amanda Matthieson, John-Henry and Nicholas-Ryan Herrington, Martha, Wilburn, Holt, Michael, and Sarah Roberson, and Eleanor Monahan and Richard Stephenson. Thank you also to this week's sponsors Rebecca, Webster, Rosa, Evelyn, and George Gibson. It was also really fantastic to talk to the Christ Church Youth Group and the Adult Sunday School Class via Skype. Thank you everyone for the support and love!
