Luxuries

Living in the Land of Luxury my entire life has caused me to take many things for granted. The following are just some of the things I have a renewed appreciation of.

1. Deoderant
2. Education
3. My own vehicle to drive
4. Clean drinking water
5. A warm shower

Madame Stephen's Funeral Part 1

When Mountain Top Ministries opened the school in Gramothe, they committed to feeding each student a substantial meal at lunch knowing it could be the only one they had. The woman who headed up the feeding program, as I've heard it called, was Madame Stephen. She was a 30-something mom with two young kids attending the school and quickly became a trusted ministry partner. She was a dedicated Christian and served the children in the Gramothe school faithfully.

About two years ago Madame Stephen had a baby, but it died at a month old. Madame Stephen was not well herself and when she couldn't get better, she went to the hospital. She eventually learned that she had an incurable disease. After struggling for many months with this sickness, on Sunday September 5th she passed away at home.

Typically funerals here happen very soon after someone passes away because the bodies are kept at the home and they don't have the embalming or the refrigeration necessary to keep the body much longer than a day or two. However, Madame Stephen was a very important person, so her funeral needed to be put off a little bit for some planning. Her body was sent to a funeral home and her funeral was a week after she died.

In the days leading up the funeral, the family and friends just kind of hang out together, mourning their loss. I went up to the village on the Friday before her funeral with Willem and Barry (an MTM board member who came down for the funeral). We visited the home of Madame Stephen, where there were about 40 people hanging out, playing dominoes, and drinking coffee. Barry is a rock star in the village; everyone knows his name and wants to say hi. He visited with the people a little bit. I met Madame Stephen's husband and son very briefly. Then Willem wanted to show Barry some of the homes they've built recently. We toured Jean Pierre's new home. It has 3 or 4 rooms. Then we went a little further up in the village and toured another home.

First Day at Laboule

Today Beth took me to Laboule to meet the orphans I'll be working with this year. I was a little nervous because I don't speak Creole and the kids don't know any English. It's not really in my comfort zone. However, the kids were really excited that I'm teaching them English. They were eager to learn and repeated everything I said... including "Listen" and "Oh my goodness!" Today we worked on a greeting dialog:
       Hello. How are you?
       I'm fine, thank you. How are you?
       I'm fine, thanks. My name is ______. What's your name?
       My name is ________.

And they learned the following vocabulary:
       What's this?
       This is a ______.
       book
       pen
       pencil
       table
       desk
       chair
       teacher
       student

Arrival

I arrived in Haiti at 7:45 am today after no sleep in the Miami airport. For the next week I'll be living at the guesthouse while the water pump at my house is fixed.

I spent the day with Beth--grocery shopping, chatting with friends, picking up the boys from school, and just talking about stuff. We also drove by the house where my apartment is, but we only saw the gate. It's gray. I probably won't get to see the inside until after Sunday. Johanes (who lives upstairs) comes back from the States on Sunday, and there is a funeral in Gramothe after church on Sunday. I think we'll (more likely they will) be busy preparing for the funeral service.

Right now the plan is that I'll go meet the kids at Laboule on Monday or Tuesday next week. I'm looking forward to catching up on sleep between now and then.

Sweetness

This message from a family at my church is just one of the awesome ways God has shown me how much I am loved and cared for by my ministry partners. Such sweetness from these precious little ones caused me to cry tears of thankfulness.

Britney-
Today is your big day! We looked on the map at how far you'll travel today and tomorrow. Then the kids and I talked about what you might be feeling today and prayed for you. Here is a message from each of the kids:
T (9)- "I hope that you get there quick and safely. I hope you have a good time there."
E (7)- "I prayed that you would teach good and that the kids would learn how to do what you teach. I hope you have a good time." E also prayed that you would remember that God is always with you.
L (5)- "I prayed that God would make you not be scared. I can send you some food if you get hungry." L loves that her VBS teacher is a missionary!
A (4)- She remembered that I was scared and sad before I went to Ukraine. She thought you may be feeling the same way and prayed that God would help you not be scared or sad. She also remembered that you had a friend helping at your garage sale and thought you might miss her while you were gone. She prayed that you and your friend wouldn't be lonely. It was very sweet and sincere!

Take care, Britney! We're thinking of you and praying for your traveling days!

P.

Ground Rules

Some friends felt it was necessary to give me the following rules before I left for Haiti:

1. You WILL come home.
2. Avoid the Haitian Sensation.
3. If you meet a man, he is moving here to be with you not vice versa. See rule #1.
4. You must come home for Christmas.

Does anyone else have other ground rules I should be aware of?

Mixed Emotions

I leave for Haiti tomorrow.


Tomorrow.


Do you know how crazy that is? It's almost unbelievable to me. It shouldn't be. My house is empty, my bags are packed, and I've said goodbye to all my friends. It doesn't get much more real than that.


But it still hasn't quite clicked in my mind. Going to Haiti still seems like something hoped for, something that might happen someday.


I hope I don't have a breakdown once I get there and it finally sinks in that I'm living in Haiti for a year.

Another Update: So much to do, so little time

Things on my list...

• get typhoid and tetanus vaccines
• change car insurance
• return garage sale tables to church
• finish packing up garage sale leftovers 
• cancel cell phone service starting Sept. 9th
• write thank yous to supporters
• write or find a decent lease
• rent U-haul for Monday
• rent a storage unit
• finish packing clothes
• pack craft stuff
• pack two clothes closets and the linen closet
• send prayer card file to Miss Donna
• return tubs to friends who donated garage sale items
• call about student loans
• cancel Internet
• pack kitchen
• pack decorations
• pack remaining linens
• empty fridge

New items for the list

• pack toilettries
• finish laundry and pack those clothes
• transfer purses
• wrap appliances in trash bags
• clean microwave
• take out the trash

Update: So much to do, so little time

Things on my list...

• get typhoid and tetanus vaccines
• change car insurance
• return garage sale tables to church
• finish packing up garage sale leftovers 
• cancel cell phone service starting Sept. 9th
• write thank yous to supporters
• write or find a decent lease
• rent U-haul for Monday
• rent a storage unit
• finish packing clothes
• pack craft stuff
• pack two clothes closets and the linen closet
• send prayer card file to Miss Donna
• return tubs to friends who donated garage sale items
• call about student loans
• cancel Internet
• pack kitchen
• pack decorations
• pack remaining linens
• empty fridge

So much to do, so little time

Things on my list...

• get typhoid and tetanus vaccines
• change car insurance
• return garage sale tables to church
• finish packing up garage sale leftovers 
• cancel cell phone service starting Sept. 9th
• write thank yous to supporters
• write or find a decent lease
• rent U-haul for Monday
• rent a storage unit
• finish packing clothes
• pack craft stuff
• pack two clothes closets and the linen closet
• send prayer card file to Miss Donna
• return tubs to friends who donated garage sale items
• call about student loans
• cancel Internet
• pack kitchen
• pack decorations
• pack remaining linens
• empty fridge