Morning

Busy days are expected at Christian Light School.  I have found that the early morning is when I can find some (relative) quiet and time for reflection.  

This summer I am an instructor in the summer teacher institute for about 30 Haitian teachers. What a blessing it is to work with these friends and colleagues again! The union we have as brothers and sisters in Christ isn't impacted by cultural differences, and it's exciting to share a common vision as Christian educators.  This first week of teacher training has gone by so quickly!  I'm praying that this time together will encourage these extraordinary teachers and provide them with strategies to help their teaching become more effective.

We start teacher training each morning before 7:00 with a snack.  Then Mr. Richard, the Bible teacher, leads us in a devotional.  Following this the primary and secondary teacher groups rotate through working with Ms. Sherrie on science instruction and creative writing with me.  In the afternoons the Haitian teachers work in small groups on English reading.  I spend the late afternoons and evenings playing with the kids in the orphanage.  

At the end of a long day, I go to sleep looking forward to the coming morning.

I always love the early morning hours.  These moments are a chance God gives to make a fresh start, to be renewed in my faith, to remember His goodness, and to refocus on the call to love those He puts in my path.  So regardless of what comes today, I'm thankful for this sunrise, for this morning that God gave to me, and for the opportunity to spend a few quiet moments reflecting on Him in the midst of the busyness.  Thank you for taking time out of your day to follow along on this journey with me!  Love in Christ, Jessie

T.I.H.

A few summers ago after experiencing some of the unique qualities of life in Haiti, we came up with a quick phrase to help us explain all of those happenings that didn't fit our prior life experiences.  "This is Haiti" quickly was shortened to "T.I.H."  You could hear the refrain many times during the day as we experienced so many things beyond our realm of exposure.  These past few days we have had quite a few "T.I.H." moments...

I've been sleeping in the hammock on the roof the past few nights due to more overcrowding in the visitors' rooms.  Sunday night was complete with smoke from a local garbage burning, distant gun-shots, and multiple noisy church services including one that started up at about 3:00 A.M.  Thankfully the Lord allowed me to wake up refreshed and ready for the first day of summer school.  Here's a picture of J.W. playing in the hammock.

This afternoon, I walked into the market to buy mangoes with Patrick, who is one of the teachers at CLS. Normally a walk through the small side streets of Port au Prince means people pointing and calling out to me as an obvious foreigner.  The two of us walked through the market and purchased 20 mangoes out of the back of a truck.  Tonight I'll cut them up to serve for a snack during teacher training tomorrow.

Jovenel and I sat together this evening and just sang praise songs for about an hour.  I don't know many other 11 year old boys who are so excited to get copies of the lyrics of praise and worship songs.

A mouse joined me in the shower yesterday. I think that's all I need to say about that...

We paused teacher training yesterday to get the score of the World Cup game.  Apparently some of our teachers are major Argentina fans.  Needless to say, there were some very happy people by the end of the afternoon when Argentina walked away with a win!  Here we are on the roof with the big kids watching the U.S. team playing.

In all these T.I.H. experiences I am being reminded of my need to rely on the Lord, in both big and small things.  Whenever I'm in Haiti, I'm confronted with my selfishness and desire for comfort and an easy life.  I am also brought face to face with the amazing, grace-filled truth that Jesus did in fact come to bring a new, full, and deep life.  I am so thankful for this experience, including the open-air markets, the precious children, the amazing Haitian teacher colleagues, the city-wide love of soccer, and even the laughter with new friends that comes after meeting the rodents (some of unusual size).

Thank you for taking time to let me share this experience with you.  What a blessing it is to know that I am a part of such a loving family and community of believers!  Your thoughtful words and prayers are a continual encouragement to me!  Love in Christ, Jessie

Instead

Jean Wilson has stolen my heart. He is the newest addition to the children's home and is just the sweetest little guy.  At 13 months old, Jean Wilson (J.W.) came to CLS as a malnourished and sickly infant.  Over these past months he has grown and is now a happy and healthy little boy.  The hope is that his mom, who lives in the nearby ravine, will be able to take him home some day soon.  Until that time comes, J.W. is safe, cared for, and so very loved.  It is a blessing to see the way all of these children are cared for.  As children they have survived some of the greatest of pains, rejections, and losses known to the human experience, but this is not the end of their stories.  Instead of being rejected, they are cherished.  Instead of feeling pain, they are showered with loved.  Instead of being forgotten, they are cared for.  And above all, they are taught about the God who made them and loves them and gave Himself for them.  

So while J.W. is sleeping soundly beside me, I am praying that God would bless him and protect him.  As I pray for my students in New Hampshire and the children at my home church,  I'm also praying that each of these children at CLS would be taught the name of Jesus and grow to know and believe the good news of His sacrifice on our behalf.