Reasons

One of the best parts about coming back to CLS is getting to reconnect with these kiddos year after year. Today I was feeling a little under the weather so I tried to take it easy.  I settled in the sewing room and worked on a little craft project with Carmelle.  She is one of the most helpful and kind children I've ever met, and so when I asked her if she wanted to help, she responded with entusiasm.

We set to work folding paper cranes to make room decorations.  Some of them we will give as gifts to the long term American teachers to help make their rooms a little more colorful and inviting.  Others we will give to the kids to decorate their rooms at the new house.

It was fun just sitting there folding paper and listening to encouraging music with Carmelle.  When the song 10,000 Reasons came on, she started singing along. 

Bless the Lord

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up

It's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

You're rich in love and You're slow to anger

Your name is great and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

10,000 reasons for my heart to find

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

10,000 years and then forever more

What an example of sincere faith in this eleven year old girl who has been orphaned, survived a major flood and earthquake, and encountered countless other hardships in her life.  My time here seems like a perfect opportunity to remember some of those countless reasons to hold tightly to the God who loves us.

I'm thankful for these first few days of flexibility in the schedule so that I can reconnect with these children.  On Monday summer school starts and the days will be full of teacher training and meetings with the Haitian teaching staff.  Forgive me if my posts become less regular as the days become more full.  Thank you for following along on this path with me!  Love in Christ, Jessie

Bed

There are about 30 children who are currently living in the school building at Christian Light.  After the earthquake in 2010, the house that the children had been living in was destroyed and they started camping out on the land where construction had begun on the school building.  The orphanage kids have been shuffled from classroom to classroom as the school building has expanded.  Always the hope has been that they would have a home of their own.  Last week the papers were signed to rent a house just a few doors down from the school.  It will be a bit of a tight fit, but the house is beautiful and has a huge yard space for the kids to play in.

There is a team from Kansas who is working with the children to construct bunk beds for the new house.  Today I got to help with painting.  The bright colors are so fitting for the Haitian culture.  It is exciting to see the beds moving in and anticipate the first time in more than four years that all the children in the orphanage will be living together in a proper home.

There are so many church groups staying here that we don't have enough beds.  Tonight a crew of us girls will be camping out in hammocks on the roof.  What a fun way to connect with new sisters in Christ and enjoy a memorable night in Haiti!  

So as night falls I'm thankful for a place to lay my head and praying that you all would have a restful night!  Love in Christ, Jessie

Names

Names hold significance.  I've often wondered how parents pick a name for their child.  How much of our identities are bound up in the names we are given when we are newborns?  

Stepping out of the truck yesterday and having the kids gather around and shout out "Miss Jessica!" made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved.  Being able to talk with them, remember their stories, and catch up on a year of life is a rich blessing. Here are just a few of the beloved names from today...

Kevenson came to Christian Light Children's Home after being cared for at a nearby missionary's home that specializes in caring for sick and malnourished infants.  Only a few years later, Kevenson is thriving in so many ways.  Today he "helped" me do some work in the sewing room.  Sorry for the blurry pictures, he was busy scooting around the room on a wheelie chair...

Miselene really did help with sewing.  As we sewed, she was sweet and shy talking about her school experience this year.  She was in the "late bloomers" class, which is full of the students who have come to CLS with an inconsistent schooling history.  In this class the students have a modified curriculum and extra support.  From the conversation today, it sounds like Miselene is doing well because she is going into the mainstream third grade classroom next year.  We had good times taking some silly "selfies" in the middle of our sewing project.

Octaline, who is Miselene's older sister, joined us in the afternoon after spending a long morning cleaning the new home for the orphanage.  She came in and sat right down at the sewing machine, eager to get to work.  Over the past three summers I have watched Octaline grow into a beautiful young woman, each year more committed to her Lord and serving those around her in very practical ways.  

Knowing the friends at CLS by name is meaningful.  Having them know me by name moves my heart in a unique way. Is it the level of familiarity?  Or maybe it's the feeling of belonging and acceptance?  To be known and called by name holds some kind of special significance.

This Easter I went to a sunrise service with a dear friend. The gathering was small and the service was brief in the cold of rural New Hampshire in early spring.  During the service, the pastor had us read the account of the resurrection from John 20...

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.  They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."  

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, 

but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

The pastor noted that it wasn't until Jesus called her by name that Mary recognized Him.  What an amazing and awe-inspiring thought, that the Lord of the universe calls us by name.  What a beautiful reminder of God's sovereignty, that He knows us intimately and cares for us deeply, whether we are a school teacher from rural New Hampshire or an orphaned child from Port au Prince.  

Thank you for your continued prayers and for following along with me on this adventure in Haiti!  

Love in Christ, Jessie

Arriving

Just a quick post to let you all know that I've arrived safely in Port au Prince.  Sweet reunions with some dear friends...

Seeing these kiddos again brought tears to my eyes.  I'm looking forward to loving on them for the next three weeks.

I'm also very much looking forward to worshipping and serving with Beverly.  This is our fourth summer together in Haiti.  What an encouraging sister in the faith!

Thanks to you all for your prayers and words of encouragement over the past few days.  I'm going to bed now, thankful to be back in Haiti, and feeling very blessed that I get to share this experience with you all!  Much love in Christ, Jessie

Identity

I'm all (or mostly) packed up and ready for tomorrow's early trip to Haiti.  I have a long checklist of things to bring with me including some very important documents.  To travel internationally you have to have some kind of identification.  In traveling to Haiti I carry my U.S. Passport as well as other forms of identification.  Without these papers I would have a much harder time of travel and certainly wouldn't make it very far.

I've been thinking a lot about identity over the past few weeks.  Who exactly am I?  I have this tendency to find my identity in the circumstances and people that are in my life.  I am a teacher, a friend, a sister, a daughter, an auntie... But these titles don't really define me.  Lately I've been feeling more defined by my failures.  Walking around with the identity of "failure" isn't exactly a God-honoring place to be.  So I ask, who am I?  What is the one and ultimate identity that completely explains and defines who I am?  I think the only answer that is truly complete, that can bring ultimate satisfaction and purpose is that I am a child of God, a sinner saved by grace, an heir with Christ, and a member of His body.  In this identity I find such amazing freedom and hope and love and grace.  

So tomorrow morning when the officers at customs ask me for my identification, I will happily hand them my passport and other papers, but in my heart and mind, I'll be holding onto the Lord who loves me and who gives me my ultimate identity through His sacrifice.