Throughout Haiti and What Melissa Found There

"The time has come," the walrus said,
"to talk of many things...

of shoes
So I didn't finish everything on my Haiti Truck-It List... so I decided to change it into a Haiti Bucket List.  In other words, just because I haven't seen Steven walk yet, I will someday.  Therefore, "see Steven walk by himself" is officially on my new Haiti Bucket List

I have, however, seen a lot of improvement.  Some of it is physical.  Steven is already walking much better then the first time he tried.  He especially walks better when he is wearing his shoes!  But some of his improvements are mental.  Whereas he used to tire and give up easily, now he asks me to walk with him.  I even caught him walking around holding onto a wheelchair by himself once!

I nearly started crying when I was holding him today.  He knows I'm leaving, so he latched on and told me I couldn't go.  How old does a kid have to be to be able to sit on your lap in a plane?...

and ships
Oh, nothing makes me feel more like a pirate than sailing to Tortuga--expect maybe sailing at camp with Nikita, Dominic, and Sarah...  Anyway, my most recent sail out to Tortuga made me feel more like Peter than a pirate.  The waves were so crazy I really did half expect Jesus to come strolling across the water telling them to calm themselves down!

I only got to see Wencha a couple of times this summer, and her mother even less often, which makes me sad.  But the girl's definitely growing up without me... I wish I could have seen her one more time, but I will see you again someday.

and ceiling wax
Okay, okay, so I know that the original poem actually says "sealing wax..." but come on... It's punny!

How could I forget the new ceiling on the church in Berger?  That is still one of my favorite moments this summer.  We planned for a new tarp, and God gave us a new ceiling altogether.  Praise God for plans gone wrong!

of cabbages
I haven't talked much about Aquaponics this summer... in fact, I may have not mentioned it at all since last summer!  So for the newbees, here's Aquaponics in a nutshell: Fish in big tanks poo, poo fertilizes water, seeds float on water--BAM--vegetables without soil.

Last year I kept you updated on the progress of this greenhouse being built.  This summer, it was finished being built, but just wasn't being run yet.  We are in the beginning processes of  starting it up though!  We have fish food (which I helped carry down Haitian-style, if you can imagine that...) and are waiting for fish.

Eventually, we will be able to grow all sorts of vegetables that don't even normally grow in Haiti.  You know what this means, right?  Lettuce in our salads instead of cabbage!

Okay, okay, so maybe there are more exciting things about this than lettuce in a salad... but you get the point.

and Kings
There's really only one King worth talking about here, and I think you can take a wild guess who I'm referring to.  It seems to me that a lot of Haitians look down on themselves for being poor.  They won't come into church because they don't have the "right clothes."  They won't pose for a picture because they're "dirty."

What a blessing it has been this summer to remind them that we are all sons and daughters of the King--that makes us royalty!  Sometimes even I need that reminder...

and why the sea is boiling hot
There are not too many things in this world worse than spending a whole day sweating in Haiti and looking forward to the beach, and then jumping in to boiling hot water.  Opposite of refreshing.

I remember, though, all those crazy hikes we did and jumping into the Infinity Pool.  Now that was refreshing.  I will never ever get sick of the beauty of Haiti.

and whether pigs have wings!"
"When pigs fly."

That's what people say when something is impossible.  Well, I'm happy to say, ladies and gentleboys, that pigs have been flying today!

Wednesday, I left for Beauchamp to check out a couple of communities in the area.  The best way to describe how it went would be something like this: Satan really really really didn't want me to go.  God really really really could care less about what Satan wanted.

The plan was to spend all day Thursday looking at two different villages and then leaving this morning.  But it rained Wednesday, and the second community (Viewjoupa) is high up in the mountains.  So that got scratched.  So we went to Savoyard and checked it out.  Super great community.  And then our four-wheeler broke down.  It turned out that Atrel was not much further and the mission hasn't even checked it out yet.  So we got some motos (Satan: 0, God:1) and I got to see two communities yesterday anyway.  (Satan: 0, God: 2)

By this time, I considered myself pretty done.  We can't see Viewjoupa.  Too far, up a mountain, too muddy, etc.  But Odinas, the Haitian who runs Beauchamp, said we could see it in the morning.  *Spoiler: here's where the pigs start to fly.  So this morning, we woke up, packed breakfast, and headed up the mountain.  When taking a moto up a mountain with bad roads... let's just say we both did a whole lot of praying.  Don't worry... if it really wasn't safe, I had to get off and walk up the mountain to meet him at the top.  I did a lot of climbing this morning.

So we're going and going.  The moto breaks down more than once, but always starts back up again.  (Satan: 0, God: 4)  And we get lost.  In the mountains.  Of Haiti.  Just when I was about to give up and suggest we just go home, Odinas points to a man and says, "That is the pastor of Viewjoupa."  And then, all of a sudden, pigs flew! (Satan: 0, God: 5)

Long story short, we got to Viewjoupa safely, against all odds, and I fell in love with a third Haitian community.  Oh yeah, and God beat Satan five to zip.

Creole Lesson:
Amen!
Hey, some words are just universal.

PS Ten points to whomever knows the book reference of this post.  No Google-cheating!

Flying home tomorrow!

Church Squared

Church Service #1

I went to church in Port de Paix this past Sunday because a friend of my group was preaching there.  I ended up sitting next to a side "door," which basically looked like a big open window a foot from the ground.  I was having a hard time focusing on the service because two girls were standing outside that open door watching me.  So I kept watching them.

I wanted to invite them in so badly, but I was torn.  Would the people get offended or annoyed that I let those dirty children into the church?  Would they think less of me for ignoring the sermon?  So I just waved at them from my seat and they smiled and pointed at me.

Finally, I couldn't ignore God punching me in the shoulder... so I stood up and sat on the window frame.  I motioned for them to come sit with me and one girl finally did, Tabina.  So I took out my Creole children's Bible and started to read to her.  The other girl, her cousin Nitchy, still wouldn't come near.  She would shake her head and point to her clothes.

By this time, another younger girl joined us at the window, Fondline.  I broke my communion cracker in four pieces and gave one to each of them and saved one for myself.  "Nou manje sa paske Jezi te mouri pou nou," I told them.  "We eat this because Jesus died for us."

Eventually, we graduated from the window to the narthex.  I climbed out the window/door and walked hand in hand with the girls to the front of the church.  (This was Attempt #2 of getting them in the narthex, by the way.  They weren't having it at first...)  Now Fondline's brother Lendz had joined us.  Nitchy was standing outside the door, and the other three were sitting with me inside the church, reading the children's Bible.

At the end of the service, I wanted a picture with my four new friends.  Tabina, Fondline, and Lendz jumped right in, but Nitchy kept saying no.  "Mwen sal."  I'm dirty.  I asked and asked, told her she wasn't dirty--she was beautiful.  But finally I just took a picture with the others.  Pretty bummed, I started to head for the bus to leave when Nitchy came running.  She wanted a picture.  Stay tuned for the beautiful picture of Tabina, Fondline, Lendz, and, of course, beautiful Nitchy.  :)

Church Service #2:

On Saturday, my group all went to the small two-cell jail in St. Louis to visit the prisoners and bring them some food.  The prisoners wanted us to come back, but the group was only going to be here for Sunday and Monday.  We don't usually visit on Sundays, and Monday we were planning on Tortuga.  So we asked permission to hold a church service for them.

Sure enough, God set it all up for us to come in at 2:00, not long after returning from Port de Paix, and hold service at the jail.  We sang some hymns, and they sang some for us.  We shared communion (bread leftover from lunch and red Tampico).  We prayed.  We shared a message.  Each of the nine people also got a New Testament Bible, which they started reading right away.

I have to say... it was a pretty beautiful service.  No lights.  No sound system.  No fancy lyric slideshows.  No interpretive dance.  No pews.  No air conditioning.  Just two cells, some leftover food, a Bible, and God.

Prie:
My group also went to the brothel on Saturday.  I usually like to take the kids aside and read to them while the others do a devotional with the women.  So we all went outside.  For whatever reason, the young kids weren't as interested... But two of the older girls, maybe 10 or 11, were listening.  I asked them if I could pray for them, and I found out that Matilda's parents both died in the earthquake (she's now living with her cousins) and Jennica's father has also died.  Please pray for both of these sweet girls!

Loue:
A couple of weeks ago, I met a girl named Nandy, who has special needs.  I blogged about her, asking for your prayers as we tried to get her into our outreach program.  Today I was able to take a couple of the Miriam Center workers with me to find her house.  (Sidenote: I found the house!  This is a big deal seeing as when they asked me where it was I said "Well... it's by the shore, but the road is paved... we passed a carpenter!")  Anyway, praise God that we not only re-found her, but also found out that she has a sister with special needs also: Sabrina.  The mother, who is a widow, was told to come to the mission for more information about the programs.  Yay!


Creole Lesson:
Most of the time during a Haitian service, I will know the tune to their songs, but often won't know the words to sing.  This Sunday, I was lucky enough to be sitting next to someone with a songbook who shared with me.  Here was the chorus:

Briye pou Jezi kote ou ye.
Shine for Jesus wherever you are.

Whether it's at a church window or a jail or a brothel or a house by the shore past the carpenter!  Shine for Jesus wherever you are!

X Marks the Spot

I love the market.

And for awhile I didn't know why.  It's busy and crowded and dirty and smelly.  People get frustrated with the blancs blocking the path, then beg for us to buy from them.  We get overpriced.  It's hot.  The money is confusing.

And yet, I love the market.

I finally figured out why!  A couple of the interns and staff went with Melonnie to the big market for some vegetables.  She mostly wanted green bell peppers, along with some other things.  I have never since bell peppers in the market before, so I was a little doubtful... "They are hard to find... Keep an eye out."

And that's where the fun begins!  I began searching every stand, looking for bell peppers.  In the meantime, I would get excited over other rare treats, like pineapples (giant ones!) or variety packs of cookies.  We searched and searched in vain.  No bell peppers.

In the States, I would have been annoyed.  "You don't have bell peppers?!  Are there some in the back?"  In a world of WalMart it's hard to imagine not having exactly what you want available to you at all times.

But none of us were annoyed.  Bummed, but content.  I climbed back into the tap-tap saying, "Sorry, Mel... That was fun!"  And that's when I realized that it was the trill of the chase.  Shopping in Haiti is like going on a treasure hunt.  You are looking for that one rare treasure--the prize.  If I saw pineapples every time I came to the market, they would no longer be a treasure.  I would pass right by without a second glance.  But I don't.

It doesn't matter so much that you find what you're looking for... but that you search.  It's always different, ever-changing.  What will be at the market today?

I feel like there are tons of "lessons" I could pull out of this little story for you... but I won't.  I'll let you take from it what you will, or nothing at all.  It's just some food for thought.  (Bahaha, get it?)

Prie:
Last couple of days for WWW Camp!  I love all of you!  Have fun and love campers for me!

Also, I'd love to be rid of this cough/sore throat.  : /

Loue:
I get to see everyone soon!  I love you guys!

Creole Lesson:
"Paske, kote riches ou ye, se la ke ou ye tou." -Matye 6:21
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -Matthew 6:21

I'll probably delete this later...

Okay, friends, here's the deal:

No, I haven't found a way to watch the Olympics here yet.

No, I DO NOT WANT ANY SPOILERS.

ESPECIALLY not for the girls gymnastics team.  I want to watch us cream China with my own two eyes.  PLEASE don't tell me what is happening.  I will cry.

Depressed and Deprived in Haiti,
Melissa

PS I already got the "Ryan Lochte creamed Michael Phelps" spoiler.  Literally jumped on a table in celebration.

Extreme Makeover: Haiti Edition

A common first impression upon arriving in Haiti (my own included) is "I can't believe how much trash is around!"  There's no garbage man to take the trash to the dump, and there definitely aren't $200 littering fines.  People throw their trash in the streets, on the beach, in the water, wherever they are.  I often have to resist the urge to start picking it all up like some unorthodox community service worker--as Jason Mraz would say: "It's like picking up trash in dresses!"

Something strange happened to me this past week, though, while I was at Beauchamp.  We were walking down the path to the soccer field one day when I saw a styrofoam take-out box.  My first thought wasn't, "Ugh, trash on the road again."  It wasn't even, "Styrofoam never decomposes!  Ah!"  My first thought, I kid you not, was, "That would make a great sail for a toy boat!"  We kept walking and soon I saw a whole trash bag hanging off a cactus.  "That would be perfect for making kites!"  I thought.

(Look on my Dropbox page to see some sweet examples of these cools toys: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2tll4qpjbq9d1us/9R9t95DDnz)

Somehow during my time here, my perspective has shifted.  I stopped seeing disgusting trash and started seeing the potential for something beautiful.  The same Jason Mraz song might call this a "Beautiful Mess."  

Isn't this how God sees us?  A beautiful mess.  We are so messed up... so dirty.  And yet in God's eyes, we are beautiful treasures. He makes beautiful things out of us, just as Haitian children make beautiful things out of garbage.

There are lots of ways you can make something beautiful out of something ugly.  I call this "Extreme Makeover: Haiti Edition!"  Here are some before and after snapshots of makeovers this week.

Before: sand and rocks
After: a delicious beach picnic

I was playing with some kids at the Anse a Foleur beach last week and thought it would be funny to put a small rock on one kid's head.  "Chapo!" I said.  "Hat!"  The kids thought this was hilarious and began giving me and each other "chapos."  From there, we turned sand into rice and beans, shells into plantains, seaweed into spaghetti, and ocean water into juice.  It was quite the feast.

Before: a concrete classroom with wooden benches
After: a stage

So after the church filled up, there were still some kids on Tortuga who didn't fit

inside.  So my group decided to improvise a little... We took the extra kids into

the schoolhouse: a concrete building, empty besides some wooden benches.

There they picked out some future actors from the crowd to perform Daniel and

the Lions' Den.  Super cute.  And the kids that would have been left outside the

gate still got to hear a message.

Before: an awkward situation
After: a beautiful ongoing relationship

So we tried out something new at Beauchamp this week... something different.  "Community Meals" they called it.  Basically Odinas (the director at Beauchamp) chose some families he knew in the area.  The mission provided the food, and each family cooked the meal and hosted us for lunch.  At first the idea sounded awesome!...

It was awkward.  We walked in and the woman seemed uncomfortable.  There were five of us: three group members, a translator, and myself.  There were four plates.  She told us we could serve ourselves and then left.  Well... this is not what we had in mind.

We asked her to come join us.  The point was to eat WITH the family, get to know them, etc.  So she came in awkwardly and watched us eat.  I tried to start some conversation, but she was shy... When we finished eating, we passed our plates over for them to reuse.  I didn't give up.

I kept talking to her and learned a bit about her family.  She told us she had seven kids, and when we asked their ages, she said 12-14.  We looked at each other... seven kids in two years?  So we asked.  It turns out that this woman had taken in orphans along with her own kids.  A woman who only had enough plates to feed four people at a time took in extra kids.

It turns out that her oldest adopted kid is 20 and going into his junior year of high school.  When I asked, she responded, "He wants to be a doctor but, of course, no opportunities."  This started a whole converstaion about possibilities to help him out.  I made it clear that I wan't making promises, but that I would talk to some people.  I got to talk to the group there who are partnered with Beauchamp (Neighbors Project) and also John and Christi about how he can apply for the House of Moses.  Please being praying for opportunities to open up for Dalson!

The next day in Beauchamp, we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do... Some people wanted to do hut to huts and some wanted to check out the market.  We decided to do both: get groceries from the market and take them to our Communitiy Meals family.

So we got to see our famliy again.  We thanked them again for lunch the day before and gave them some food.  Then we prayed with them.  Rosadette and Shelda have both had miscarriages (the latter not even looking old enough to have a baby at all...).  Please pray for these women and this famliy that I have grown to love.

Thank you God for turning the original awkwardness into a beautiful new relationship.

Before: a wall and a kid who "can't walk"
After: Date Night!

The wall outside the Miriam Center was painted white so that they can project movies on it now (without a blue tinge...).  So it was movie night downstairs!  I went with my date, Steven, who shared his popcorn with me and held my hand.  When Elf finished, we danced to the credits music.  First, I carried him and we swayed... later he put his feet down, and I held him up as he danced.

Sorry, Max.  I may have found a new dance partner.  He's my little "sweetheart," as they say in ASL.

Prie:
I've been trying to be intentional about writing down specific names to pray for and help.  You've already heard about Dalson, Rosadette, and Shelda.  Here are some other people I met doing groceries ministries:

-Nandy: a girl with special needs that we are trying to get into our outreach program

-Odalus Olondieu: a man with one blind eye we are trying to get onto the eye surgery team list

Please pray for them by name!

Loue:
There is a Christian-run hospital in Beauchamp!  I didn't know it existed before... A girl had a bad asthma attack while we were there, and they were amazing.  We are being taken care of over here.  No worries.  :)

Creole Lesson:
The Basics
Koman ou rele?: What is your name?
Ki laj ou?: How old are you?

The Answers:
"I don't know my last name."
"I don't know how old I am."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised... but these were some responses to our questions when we were working on sponsorship pictures at the orphanage.

You make beautiful things.
You make beautiful things out of the dust.
You make beautiful things.
You make beautiful things out of us.

Saying "Yes" to Eyedroppers

"Sometimes working in a Third World country makes me feel like I am emptying the ocean with an eyedropper." -Katie Davis, Kisses from Katie

Katie Davis moved to Uganda and started her own non-profit organization right after she graduated high school.  How? She "simply said yes" to God.

This week I learned how to say "yes" to God.  I learned to let go of the "hows" and the "whys" and the "maybe laters" and just say "yes."  And because of that, God took all my plans and turned them upside down.  He said, "You think that's good?  How about this?..." And then continued to open more and more doors to more and more opportunities.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This past Wednesday, I got to finally visit the House of Moses again with everything moved in.  Do you remember John and Christi and their work with teenagers?  Well, they had us (the interns) over for lunch at their beautiful new house, all moved in.  They always ask questions like, "What had God been doing in your life this summer?"  or "What has God been teaching you?"  So I got to tell them all about working with the Neighbors Project groups and how God has been truly making the program grow in my heart more and more and more.

Sometimes it really does feel like emptying the ocean with an eyedropper... but how do you say no to that?  God is holding my hand every step of the way, clearing a path for me to follow his plans for me.  And if those plans include an eyedropper, then so be it.  It'll be the adventure of a lifetime!

Here are some random cool things that happened this week:
-Some of us interns went on a hike again.  Not a crazy 8-hour hike, but a good one all the same.  We went to what we call the "Infinity Pool."  I'll get the picture up on my Dropbox ASAP because it's BEAUTIFUL.

-On Friday, I got some friends to help me teach the Deaf community English.  I've talked about this before, but that was when Mary was still here.  She was the intern who was fluent in sign.  This was the first time I tried to teach the class without her.  It was interesting and a little out of all of our comfort zones, but it was pretty good.

Prie:
There's a boy in the Miriam Center  I've fallen in love with this summer.  His name is Steven, and he understands both English and Creole but uses sign to communicate.  He doesn't talk well and doesn't have full control over his arms.  He also can't walk... yet.  He's eight years old and still crawls on his knees awkwardly to get around.


I want Steven to walk.  So badly.  To be completely honest, I usually don't have much faith when it comes to healing.  I put my trust in medicine.  "Sure we can pray over her, but if she doesn't take those meds, too, she won't get better."  I would never tell someone, "God will heal you."  What if He doesn't?  But for some reason, I couldn't stop telling Steven, "One day, you are going to walk."


So I begin helping him practice.  But above all, I began praying.  A lot.  Begging God to give his legs the strength to walk.  Will you join me?

Loue:
Neighbors Project... It's happening guys!

Creole Lesson:
"Ba'm bo!"
Every time I say this to Steven, he gets embarrassed and yells "No!"
Every time, though, he relents.  And gives me a kiss on the cheek.
I love that kid.
"Give me a kiss!"

PS Sorry this post was super vague... but I feel like I should wait to tell you the more specific details in person!

"I believe there is only one truly courageous thing we can do with our lives: to love unconditionally." -Katie Davis, Kisses from Katie
(Max, this one reminded me of you.  Love is not a college major!)  :)

"Come further in! Come further up!" -Aslan

I feel like not much has happened and yet everything has happened since I last blogged.  So I guess I'll give you the highlights as appetizers to the main dish.

3
Tortuga!  Got to see my buddy!  That always makes me happy.  :)

2
Melonnie, a full-time missionary here, focuses a lot of her ministry in the brothels here.  She gets to know the girls, and the men, and does Bibles studies with them.  Being the princess that she is, Melonnie likes to end her Bible studies series with a "Princess Party."  Basically, they do crafts (like decorating tiaras) and eat snacks and talk about how they are daughters of the King. They are loved just as they are.  They are princesses.


Long story short, I got to go to a Princess Party, and guess which princess was there?  My sister!  Teshmidrine.  Two of my favorite girls in two days.  I'm a lucky girl.

1
We have these awesome ladies that cook for us every day of the week, all three meals.  The interns had been talking for awhile about how we wanted to do something nice for them, like cook for them for a change.  Well, one of the short-term trippers apparently had the same thought and asked that a collection be taken up to take them out to eat.

So on Saturday, we gave the ladies the day off. We made random food for ourselves (including pizza for dinner.  Yum.), and ordered out for them.  They came in around noon, and We got to serve them lunch and take their pictures.  We even made a super fun photo booth for them--which I'm pretty sure convinced them that we are crazy.  :P

Blast off!
Okay, you ready for this?  I totally climbed to the top of a mountain.  TOP OF A MOUNTAIN.  Pretty dang sure it was the coolest thing I've ever done.  

We started by following the stream up the mountain.  There were waterfalls and little pools and caves and huge rocks and waterfalls INSIDE caves (that was cool).

And we just kept going.  Further up!  Further in!  We never stopped long enough to get tired.  We were determined to get to the top.  And of course, me being me, I never let the guys help me.  I scaled a dang mountain by myself!

The way home was a little rougher.  Skipping the details, let's just say that after 8 hours of hiking, I was pretty sore... (It may or may not still hurt to go up and down stairs...)

Prie:
I didn't get to see Wencha's mom at Tortuga because she was at a friend's funeral.  Please pray for her and her friend's family.

Loue:
During our crazy mountain hike, we decided that there was no way we could return the same way we came... So we had to find an alternate route home.  We ended up following a woman who said she was going to St. Louis.  She was carrying plantains on her head and was probably going to the market.  She told us that she walks that far every day.  Not only did she keep us from getting lost, but she took us on the safest and easiest path.

Creole:
Okay, funny story.  You ready?

One of the interpreters one day made a comment to me in Creole that I didn't understand at first.  Finally, after he repeated a couple of times, I realized he was saying, "How are you so beautiful?"

I laughed and responded, "Paske Bondye te fe mwen!"  ("Because God made me!")
He answered, "But God made me, too, and I'm ugly!"


I paused... How do you respond to that?  So I smiled, shrugged, and said,
"Se lavi!"  "That's life!"

Bahaha!  All of the Haitians sitting around bust out laughing!  I think I've reached a new level when I can be funny in Creole.  :)


*NOTE: I asked my mom to post new pictures on Facebook!  Check them out!


“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.... Come further up, come further in!” -The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis

From Tarps to Tin

If you want something to start at 3:00, you had better tell people to show up at 2:00.  Why?  Because people here run on Haitian Time.  This means that no one has a watch, so they show up whenever they want.

Thus is my thinking as I talk to Jackinson, back in St. Louis, on the phone... again... with a another new change in plans for our little lean-to church:

"The new tarp you bought for the roof is too small.  Can we get three more to sew together?"
"Actually, can you just by one bigger one?"
"On second thought, how much does tin roofing cost?"
"Wait!  Not 45 sheets, just 40!"
"Don't leave the shop yet!  Did you get nails?"

All of this back and forth calling happened within the hour, and before lunchtime, there are the tin roofing sheets and nails dropped off and ready to go.  Wow.  Everything we need is here before lunch?  Well, don't get your hopes up, Melissa.  We got lucky this once.  But how long before they even start the actual construction?

The answer came soon after lunchtime when three Haitian men were hired and started a roof.  Long story short, within 24 hours, the church in Berger had a new tin roof over it.  No more muddy church services!  That was the fastest moving Haitian project I've ever seen.

Man plans.  God laughs.  It was frustrating to find out that the tarp we bought was not going to work.  But God had other, better plans and now we have a real roof!  Just as God turned water into wine, He turned tarps into tin.  Here are some other "Tarp to Tin" moments from the past few days:

T2T
My group started off by just wanting to do a program for the kids, but soon discovered that ther are so many forgotten "genres" of people, if you will.  (Excuse the book lingo...)  So we made a list of the types of people that we wanted to focus on this week.

Friday, while the roof drama was going on, we worked with the teenagers.  Before lunch we hung out with the guys, and let me tell you--the Human Knot game with Haitian teenagers is pretty dang hilarious.  (They cheated a little bit, but we let it slide... We were pretty tangled up--literally.)  After that, we talked about working together and how a rope of three cords isn't easily broken.  It was like Haitian youth group!  (Made me miss COEO just a bit... PS Heard you had fun at camp!  Love you guys!)

Anyway, after lunch we hung with the girl teenagers.  We played a yarn game where one person starts with a ball of yarn and says something about themselves.  I said, "My favorite color is green."  Then I had to pass the ball, while holding onto the string, to someone else that had that in common with me--someone else who likes green.  It continues until you have made a web of connections between everyone in the group.  It was pretty cool to see everything that we had in common with them.


On Saturday, we focused on women.  It was originally single mothers, but we ended up inviting a couple more in because not many came.  Not surprisingly, a lot of the women said that they get lonely a lot, so we encouraged them to continue to come together like this and keep each other company and grow.  Maybe they can even start their own Bible study... one of the women was the pastor's wife, after all!

Today our goal was to focus on couples, married or not.  We chose today for that group because another group was doing a marriage seminar at 4.  So we brought the pastor and his wife and some other Berger folks along for the ride.

We planned a small little children's program, and God expanded it to reach so many more people!

T2T
Earlier in the week, as we walked around Berger, we found several different medical needs within the community.  Not having anyone medical on our team, we began to just write down problems we saw and names.  "Maybe we can grab a couple of medical people and have a clinic?"

Well, this idea turned our 8 person group into a 20 person group!  Doctors, nurses, and medical students came to help, along with some extra people who just wanted to help run the clinic, pray, or even just paint the nails of the ladies who were waiting.  It was quite the shindig.  We gave out 98 numbers and took shifts for lunch to see them all, plus some extra people that we let in without numbers (especially those whose names we had already written down earlier in the week).  That number also doesn't include mothers with four kids that went in together with one number.  Let's just say, lots of people were seen!

T2T
My group brought several buckets and filters to give to families in Berger.  You put the water in the bucket and pour it out through the filter... pretty cool.  Anyway, our translator, Ulrick, really wanted one for the family that he is staying with.  So we went to the pastor to ask him how many families we were giving buckets to.  He had a list of 12 names.  We had 13 buckets.


Needless to say, we got to visit Ulrick's friends and bring them a filter bucket.


T2T
Instead of a 10 minute call home, I got a hour long Skype call.  Love you, Mommy and Papa and Nick!


Prie
Gilbert is a boy who lives in the Miriam Center, although he is not mentally disabled at all.  In fact, he
s super smart.  He can understand and speak both English and Creole and is learning to write French.  He is 12-years-old and comes up to about my waist, walking awkwardly on club feet.


A couple of days ago, I found out that he couldn't read in Creole, so I asked him if he would like me to teach him.  So the other day, I went down to find him and saw that he had been crying, but he wouldn't tell me why.  Eventually I found out that he had been able to call his mother and found out that she was sick.  We're currently trying to plan out a day for him to go see his mother, but in the mean time, please be praying for him and his mother.


(PS The next day, he was up for reading lessons.  Boy catches on fast, let me tell you!)


Loue:
Whoop whoop!  Roof for church!


Creole:
Okay, so when was the last time you were reading your Bible and something you read totally blew your mind?  It had been awhile for me... so let me share with you my new favorite verse:

Romans 6:17-18

"17 In the past you were slaves of sin--sin controlled you.  But thank God, you fully obeyed the things that you were taught.  18 You were made free from sin, and now you are slaves to goodness."

Whoa!  Slaves of goodness!?  Does that not blow your mind?!  What does that even mean?  What do you think, audience?

Anyway, I was supposed to do devos the next morning.  For devos we are supposed to pick a Haitian proverb to share and a Bible verse to go with it.  Well, I was so excited about this verse that I did the opposite: I picked a verse and found a proverb to go with it.  I searched the entire proverb book until I found this:

"Chanje met chanje metye."
"Change masters; change trades."

Sin isn't our master anymore, so neither is sin what we do.  Change trades!  Goodness is your master.  Go do good.

Have you had any Tarp to Tin moments this week?  I'd love to hear about them!
-Melissa

Over the River and Through the Woods

Over the river and through the woods...
to Berger (bare-jzay) we go!


Quite literally, my group drives straight through the St. Louis river and through some woods to get to Berger everyday for their Neighbors Project.


Into the church...
where one wall was shared with the pastor's house and the other three were tarps pulled around bamboo poles.  The tarp roof tried in vain to keep rain off of the dirt floor, resulting in more than one muddy Sunday. Boards were laid across cinder blocks like a rickety bridge--these were the pews.


This was the atmosphere of our first meeting with Pastor Agenour in Berger.  My Neighbors Project group came in with practically no plans, so our first day in Berger (Wednesday) was spent talking to the pastor about how he has been doing and what his dreams and needs and concerns are for the church.  From there, we made a plan for the week, which lucky you get to hear about in bits and pieces.  :)

Under the tree...
you'd find a group of kids sitting cross-legged, staring up at the crazy blan who's trying to speak Creole.


Today, Thursday, I was put out of my comfort zone a little bit... My group wanted to do a Bible lesson with the kids about growing strong in God.  We talked about splitting them up into two groups, but we only had one interpreter.  "Melissa, why don't you take the second group?  You speak enough Creole..."  *insert 'are you crazy' face here*  But I went.  We were going to tell the story of Jesus using a cloth that changes colors when you flip it inside out--black represents sin, red is Jesus' blood, white is our sins cleaned, gold is the streets in Heaven, and green is growing with God.  The pastor came with me, but he wasn't comfortable using the little cloth as a teaching tool, so I told the story in my broken Creole to all the kids.  I'm not going to lie, it was a little scary.  Sometimes they got it.  Sometimes they looked at me like "Who is this crazy blan butchering our language?"  But when I explained the basics, the pastor took over.  When we switched groups, the pastor felt comfortable teaching the whole lesson by himself.  It was beautiful to watch him take ownership over what may grow into a strong children's ministry.


Prie:
In the arms of nurse...
falls a woman, collapsed from her own uncontrollable sobs.  Lisa holds her tightly as the woman cries out in Creole, "That's my baby girl!  That's my baby girl!"

Though I wasn't there to witness the scene, Lisa told the story pretty vividly.  A woman had noticed some strange injuries and bruises on her 9-year-old daughter's lower half... After bringing the girl to the mission's clinic, it was discovered that she had been raped.  A 9-year-old girl.  Please be in prayer for both the mother and daughter... All we can give is prayer, but God can heal hearts.

Loue:
Through the back door...
of the church, you can see a flag.  It's red and waving in the neighbor's yard.  From the pew in the church, you can see the Voodoo flag marking it's territory.

Pastor Agenour told us that the Voodoo priest has been complaining.  Ever since the church was built, business has been bad.  So he's moving.

Ironic, isn't it?  That just earlier in the day, we told our interpreter: "Would you ask the pastor, what kids of jobs are available in Berger?"  And it took him a minute to be able to answer because he was laughing so hard.  At the pure ridiculousness of the question.  Ironic that now we are praising God for the lack of "business" someone else is having...

Creole Lesson:
In the home of the broken...
where woman feel trapped into a life of selling their bodies and children don't know who their father is, I met my sister.

While some groups were talking to the women at the brothel, I found myself having a conversation with two of the little girls there.  I found out that they were 7 and 8 years old, the older was Speranda and the younger Techmigine.  They were sisters, with the mother at the brothel and two different fathers.  I continued to talk to them as we were leaving.  One of the older girls, who had noticed us talking, pointed at Speranda and then me and said, "Ou sanble li!"

"You look like her!"

I laughed.  I couldn't help it.  Excuse me?  I look like an 8-year-old Haitian girl?  I looked down at Speranda, and then at the other girl and smiled as I said, "Li se mwen."  "She's my sister."

They're not so different after all, you know?

I'll follow You into the homes of the broken.
I'll follow You into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God.
I'll follow You into the world.

Proud to be an American

Well, I promised I'd tell everyone about my first Neighbors Project experience, so here it goes, I guess!  I don't want to go into too many gory details, but let's just say that last week was not as great as I was expecting.


For anyone that has ever considered coming to Haiti (I know I make it sound like a Caribbean vacation...), here are some things you should not expect:

-perfect plumbing
-endless water
-working vehicles
-electricity

Some people have what I call the AEC, or the American Entitlement Complex.  In other words, "I'm an American, therefore, I deserve this this and this."  In Mountains Beyond Mountains, the author tells a story of when Dr. Paul Farmer met another young American doctor in Haiti and had the following conversation after finding out the young doctor was leaving:

Paul Farmer: Isn't it going to be hard to leave?

Young Doctor: Are you kidding?  There's no electricity here.  It's just brutal here."

PF: "But aren't you worried about not being able to forget all this?  There's so much disease here."

YD: "No.  I'm American, and I'm going home."

Later, Farmer asked himself, "What does that mean, 'I'm an American'?  For some people, it means "I am the rich white person here to lavish gifts upon you poor people with nothing... But, by God, there better be water for me to shower tonight!"


For me, it means "God has given me much, so much is expected of me."

That being said, I don't regret my time at La Baie, even though it was horribly difficult.  I see both good and not-so-good examples of ministry, both of which I can learn from.  And I did!

Anyway, the weekend after groups left was fairly eventful.  One of the interns had a birthday, so we all ate lunch at the Mountain Breeze, which is a beautiful hotel.  After that, we each caught a moto to the beach--check that off the Truck-It List!

Sunday was mostly spent recuperating.  (That's code for taking a two-hour nap.)  But Sunday evening I was given the amazing opportunity to Skype with Max!  We got to talk for a whole hour, and I got to translate when one of my Haitian friends peeked over and said he was cute in Creole.  :)

Prie
New groups are coming in five minutes!  Literally!  Please pray that everyone comes in safely and we have an awesome week!

Loue
After my rough week in La Baie, another group on campus decided to wash the feet of the kitchen ladies, so I helped them get everything they needed.  Little did I know that they were going to wash mine as well.  After a hard week, you have no idea how much it means for someone to be willing to scrub three days worth of deet of your feet and massage your back.  Thanks.

Creole Lesson:
"Moun yo bay anpil, y'ap mande l anpil tou." Lik 12:48b
"People who have been given much, much is asked of them also." Luke 12:48

Or, as Uncle Ben said, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Love ya!
Melissa

Creole for Dummies

I basically spent this whole week working on my Creole.  I will be fluent.  I will.  Life goal.  It’s not on my Truck-It List because I don’t think it will happen this summer, but it will happen.  Anyway, I’ve had teachers of all different shapes and sizes this week:

-The kids are usually my favorite to learn from.  Partly because they’re so dang cute, and I just like hanging out with them (surprise, surprise), and partly because they’re easier to understand.  They usually speak slower and have smaller vocabularies, so I can keep up with what they’re saying.

-Then you have Ruth and her cousins… little punks.  Okay, just kidding.  I love them to death.  Ruth is about ten and was staying out at La Baie with us to visit her aunt.  They found out I spoke some Creole and decided to only talk to me in it one night when we were hanging out—even though almost all of them spoke English, too.  Whenever they say something too fast, I always say “Two vit!”  “Too fast!”  So Ruth though it’d be funny to make fun of me by saying the sentence one syllable at a time as if I were dumb.  I hit her in the head.  She laughed.  Little punk.

-My interpreters and the driver this week also tried to only talk to me in Creole.  They definitely speak too fast… But I got used to it a little bit.  Sometimes I would say something like, “Hey, Amos, can you help me put this kite together?”  And he would answer, “Can you ask me in Creole?”

Hedwing, the other interpreter, decided he would teach me through songs.  I learned a Haitian dance called Kompa, which is kind of a slow dance--really easy.  He taught me a couple of other reggae-ish type dances and in return I showed him the basic swing dance moves and a salsa-ish dance step.  (The latter worked much better with Puerto Rican music than the former, FYI…) He wrote down the names of some of the Haitian artists we listened to so I can iTunes it up.  Seriously good music.

-But the prize for the best teacher of the week goes to Maxem, the headmaster at the school in Augustine.  First of all, he doesn’t know any English, so he couldn’t cheat and tell me what he said.  Instead, he would slow down (not making fun, like Ruth) or he would write it down for me.  I learned a ton.  I also gave him my email address, so I could have a Haitian penpal to practice with!

Usually, I do a single Creole lesson, but seeing as I've been learning so much, I'll throw a couple at you this time.

I picked my Neighbors Project group up from the airport last week.  While I was waiting for the plane to come in, I met a really nice Haitian guy who had a shoe-washing stool set-up.  He knew a little English and I know a little Creole, so we managed to have a nice conversation.  Somehow we ended up on the subject of my future in Haiti and how it's all still pretty blurry at this point.  His response:

“Bondye konn tout bagay.”

At first, I didn't understand... I asked him to repeat it for me.  And then I got it:

“God knows everything.”

Words of wisdom from a shoe-cleaner.  And some freshly-cleaned TOMS.

Last blog, I wrote about the proverb "There are mountains beyond mountains," but I forgot to say why.  I just finished a book called Mountains Beyond Mountains, an amazing non-fiction true story about a doctor in Haiti named Paul Farmer.  Here are some stories from the book:

When asked how a God who loves us could "permit such great misery," the Haitians answered: “Bondye konn bay, men li pa konn separe.”

“God gives but doesn't share."

Farmer translated this as "God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he's not the one who's supposed to divvy up the loot."  That charge was laid on us."  Some of the things I've seen here... you have no idea.  I've had the same thoughts at times: Why, God?  Maybe the Haitians are right.  Maybe it's up to us to makes things right, to make God's Kingdom come.

One story told of a pregnant woman who came to a hospital (not Farmer's) with malaria.  The woman needed blood and couldn't afford it, so she was denied.  In tears, her sister cried out: “Tout moun se moun!”  Literally "All people are people” or as the author translated, “We’re all human beings."  A simple obvious statement, with great impact.

What people are we ignoring?  All people are people.

Haiti Truck-It List Cont.

-learn how to make a kite

-ride/drive a moto (Love you, Papa.  Being safe.)

-go to a Haitian dance club

-go to the movies

-watch a birth

buying something from market without help-check

carrying something on head without my hands-in progress

Prie

Please being praying for my future plans in Haiti.  Bondye konn tout bagay!

Loue

I've been learning so much about the Neighbors Project this week!  I will tell you about it on my blog on Saturday.   So many ideas swirling in my head!  Get ready for something huge, DeBary!

-Ti Blan

More Than Meets the Eye

Five and a half hours later, we arrive at the Mole!  First thing we did was get stuffed to bursting with great Haitian food and then we were shipped off to the beach.

WOW.  Beautiful.
Sinclair, one of the interns, found a reef a little further out and called out for us to come see it.  Of course, I brought my scuba mask and snorkel along for the ride.  At first I was thinking, "I can't tread water for too long... I'll take a look and then swim back."  I ended up staying out there for about 45 minutes.

Yes, you read that correctly.  45 MINUTES.  People reading this who don't know me too well are thinking, "So?..."  But my family is probably laughing in disbelief right now.  But it's true!  I, Melissa, can officially tread water for long periods of time without panicking because my feet don't touch.

And boy, was it worth it!  The reef seriously was beautiful!  Coral, fish of every size and color, little caves for them to swim in and out of... amazing.  When we went back out Sunday, we even got to see this really cool shipwreck (not any farther out, don't worry).  I felt like I was in Finding Nemo--complete with overprotective father.  ;)

(PS I accidentally told this story to Papa on Father's Day and regretted it the moment it came out of my mouth.  I figured since I already blurted to him, it'd be safe to blog about.  Papa, sorry for worrying you on Father's Day!  I promise I'm being safe.  We weren't out too far, and we were in a group.  Love you!)

After church on Sunday, we had another Survivor: Haiti challenge.  The task: sandcastles.  One of the things we were being judged on was creativity, so I thought it would be interesting to do a drip castle--which apparently no one had heard of before.  (Is that a Cuban thing, too?  Like hot sauce in spaghetti?)  Anyway, it turned out pretty cool.  We made a drip spiral staircase all the way to the tip, a moat, and a really cool bridge made of sticks.

At one point, Kelsey, from the other team, came over and started watching us.  It made me nervous the way she was looking at our castle, so I yelled out, "Spy!  Spy!"  She said, "You know... this looks a lot cooler than I thought it would."  At first, I was a little offended, but really it was a compliment.  From far away, a drip castle really does look stupid, but when you get closer, you see the details: the spiraling towers, the arches, the walls--all made drop by drop.

It was more than meets the eye.  Just like when we looked at the water, all we saw was blue.  It took the effort of looking deeper to realize the beauty that was just below our feet.  Maybe it's a lot like Haiti, too.  Maybe all the Haitians need is someone who will not just look or stare, but really see them.  To look past the first glance and and see the beautiful details of each distinct person.

Prie:
First of all, thank you so much CUMC for praying for me and the Haitian people.  I felt it!
Second, Melonnie is the leader of the interns, and she's sick.  Again.  Girl is seriously always sick.  We kinda of need her and love her, so healing would be great!

Loue:
Tomorrow my new group comes in and *drumroll* it's a Neighbors Project group!  Whoo!  I will be spending a week in La Baie and going to Augustine each day for all sorts of fun activities.  This group was one of the first Neighbors Projects ever started, so it should be really interesting to see what type of relationship has been built.  I can't wait to tell you all about it.  (By the way, I don't know if I'll be able to blog while I'm there.  If you go a week without hearing from me, I promise I'm not dead!)

Creole lesson:
Deye mon gen mon.
Beyond mountains there are mountains.
The Haitian proverb book I have interprets this as meaning "There's a hidden meaning to what is being said."
Here's how I see it:
We don't have mountains in Florida.  If you look out across a field, you see the horizon. In Haiti, you would see a mountain.  It completely blocks the view.  So really you have two choices: (1) either assume that there is or is not another mountain on the other side or (2) go check it out for yourself.  Haiti is more than meets the eye.

Love from the beautiful mountains of Haiti,
Melissa

His Joy Comes with the Morning

There are lots of sounds in Haiti... It's not uncommon to wake up to a symphony roosters, donkeys, flies, dogs, music, people.  We all joke that walking down the street in the morning is like the opening song in Beauty and the Beast: "Bonjour!  Bonjour!  Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour!"  Music blares on motos, people bargain over prices in the market, kids yell out blan!  And singing.  Lots of singing.  Everyone seems to be singing all the time.

But never in all my time in Haiti have I heard a sound like I heard today.  It was a sound that will be etched into my memory forever, that will haunt my dreams.  The screaming cries of a woman whose husband died in our clinics this morning.  The sound continued to echo in my ears so loudly--even after I pulled myself away--that I had to clamp my hands over my ears to be able to hear the still soft voice trying to calm me.

I don't know her name.  I never even saw her face.  But I heard her anguish and will never forget.  Please pray for her.  Please.

I'm writing early because we leave for the Mole tomorrow.  It's a 7.5 hour trip each way, and we'll come back Monday.  Pray for safe travels!

Happy Father's Day, Papa!

Melissa

Surprises in All Shapes and Sizes

So my first English grammar class was on Wednesday... I usually invite a bunch of Americans to English class, but I guess I was kind of nervous about teaching myself so I didn't invite anyone.  A lot of good that did me... There was one American per Haitian there.  It worked out amazing, though.  They got to do a bunch of group work and everyone really seemed to like it, so it went well!  Yay!

Today, I had a nice little surprise... I found out I was teaching grammar to the beginning class today at 4.  I found out at 4:15.  Ha!  Let's just say I did a little bit of improvising.  I think it was good, though.  I've b een having a great time teaching the classes.

So, I thought that five books would be enough for the summer, but I'm already halfway through my second one, and I started with the longest ones.  Go figure.  Currently I'm reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and it's amazing.  (Mommy, I know you HATED the beginning.  I did, too.  But it definitely gets better.)  Anyway, it's basically the story of the man in the Bible who marries a prostitute and loves her unconditionally even though she continuously leaves him for her old life.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about how much God's love is like that.  As I started to read the book, I thought, "What is she doing?!"  But then I kept going and she started to seem more and more like me.  Screw up screw up screw up, and yet God still chases after me.

Love recklessly, guys!  Like God loves us.  :)

Prie:
Well, the skies have opened up over Haiti, which means two things:
1) I have to sleep inside the dorm.  Ptth.
2) The groups leaving on the bus tomorrow for Port-au-Prince have a looooong day ahead of them.  Please pray that their trip home is safe!

Loue:
Christi and John are officially moving into the House of Moses this weekend!  Yay!  They are so excited about it!

Creole Lesson:
Mwen te konnen ou anvan menm mwen te ba ou lavi nan vant manman ou. -Jeremi 1:5a
I knew ou before I gave you life in your mother's womb. -Jeremiah 1:5a

So, I'm kind of working on starting a new ministry-ish type thing.  We have a birthing center on campus, and I thought it would be fun to throw baby showers for the moms!  I spent all morning making decorations and gift bags and such.  Each mom will get a picture of themselves with their baby and a foam frame to put it in and decorate with stickers.  The above verse will be written on the back.  We haven't thrown a shower yet, but I'll let you know when!  I'm super excited!  :)

Love you all,
Melissa

PS I would love some emails... What's going on in the States?

The Tribe Has Spoken

Before I start, a quick shout out to all of the counselors at Warren W. Willis UM Camp!  This is week one, so their first group of campers came in yesterday.  Whoop!  Totally missing all of you guys, and I'm praying for you and your campers.  Love you!

Ya Win Some
I did [almost] all my laundry on Sunday!  (How did I last so long you ask?  Pure stubborn determination, laziness, and lots of skirts.)

The owls from the post office finally made it through customs!  (Love you, Max.)

Every year, the kids at a local high school do a fundraiser for their end-of-the-year party where they sell tickets to a soccer game: NWHCM v. the high schoolers.  And I played!  And we won!  Whoop!  (7-4)

Monday was Bonneau day for the Miriam Center.  We took them on a field trip to the playground.  It was tons of fun but tiring like crazy...

Teaching the Gran Moun (old people) the Cupid Shuffle.  'Nuff said.

So... Apparently I'm the official grammar teacher for the adult English classes on Wednesdays... Surprise!  Nehum, the teacher, asked me if I would help out, so I said sure, I'd love to.  Little did I know he was going to introduce me to the class as the new grammar teacher and go over curriculum with me!  Well.  Sweet.  Now they all call me "Tee-cher Mahleesah."  Love it.  (Wish me luck tomorrow!)

Ya Lose Some
The week I finally do my laundry... that's when it decides to rain daily.  Soggy clean clothes.  Boo.

Nothing says, "Take out that player!" like a 5-foot-tall girl, right?  Apparently so because during the soccer game, I got knocked down twice.  The first time was an accident... the second time I felt a palm to the back.  Now I have a quarter-sized spot on my left need that's missing some skin... Yum.  I must say, it's nice that I still haven't gotten sick yet, but the injury's have been a bit much this year... :P

    other intern (after seeing my wound): Wow.  That looks gross.
    me: Yeah, I know.  I hope it scars.  It'll make a great story.  I won't even have to make anything up!"

(PS If you know me well, this goes without saying, but I got right back up and kept playing.  And he got yellow-carded, so ha!)

We had our first immunity challenge for Survivor Haiti on Sunday, and the Gween Gwoblins lost.  :(  It's okay, though, because we voted off a girl that's leaving on Friday anyway.  She ceremoniously chugged a bottle of water, some of which was kindly dumped on my head by the other team.
Oh, well.  The tribe has spoken

Prie: Today, I went to the House of Hope with a couple of different teams.  If you don't remember, that is the short-term orphanage for mostly severely malnourished kids.  I got to meet a woman who was there with a little boy, Kevinson, her grandson.  He was skinny as a boy and would cry any time she left him.  After his mother (the woman's daughter) had another baby, she gave Kevinson to the grandmother to take care of him.  Unfortunately, the grandmother doesn't have the money to feed him.  Please pray for healing, not just for the boy but his grandmother also.  She could barely talk to us because of the tears in her eyes.

Loue: This one has a happier ending, promise.  There was a baby boy that was left at the mission yesterday by his mother.  He was special needs and clearly malnourished and abandoned.  Unfortunately the Miriam Center is already so over-crowded that there was no way we could take him in also and properly care for him.  Stephanie, who works in the Miriam Center, went with the boy (I wish we knew his name) and a Haitian staff all over the place to try to a somewhere that would take him in.  Finally, they found a beautiful place owned by nuns that welcomed him.  Not only are we sure they will take good care of the boy, but they have also offered to help us in our mission's time of need.  Please pray for Baby Boy this week...

Creole: "Ole ole!  Ole ole!"
Haha, jk.  This isn't actually Creole, as you've probably noticed.  However, it is apparently what Haitians yell/sing out at soccer games when something good happens.  Who the heck knows what it means... they just get really excited about soccer, I guess.

Anpil Petit! (Tortuga, Jorge, Miriam Center, and Graduation)

Well, hey there, America.

To be completely honest, I don't have a whole lot to say today... Yesterday was orientation and tours and whatnot.  Not much... My group is the "miscellaneous" group, which basically means that they can plug in wherever they want.  AKA, I can plug in just about wherever I want.  Sweet.  (Crossing my fingers for more  English classes!)

Today I actually spent with someone else's group because their intern was sick.  Tortuga!  Whoop!  My fav.  They did a pretty cute little Bible story about Abraham and sang the Father Abraham song in English and in Creole, which was fun.  Then we played all sorts of dancing and singing games- like Little Sally Walker, except Creole versions.  We also taught them how to play Freeze Tag with all the Blancs being It.  Oh my gosh.  So funny.  They were running away from us screaming!  Ha!  Hilarious.

I was playing with a girl in the water later (wearing my water shoes, no worries there) and she knew that I was friends with Wencha.  Apparently this is grounds to totally mess with my head... I told her that I hadn't see yet, and the girl told me that she had died.  It wasn't until I was marching out of the water to go find her that the girl said she was just joking.  Not funny, girl.  Not.  Funny.  I was sad that Wencha wasn't around, but no worries. I talked to her sister and she's fine.

After a late lunch, I did grocery ministries with a small group.  One house we went to was a man and his ten kids.  He said he was married, but his wife wasn't there.  We were invited inside where he immediately found chairs for us to sit in and wouldn't let us talk until everyone was comfortably seated.  It was cute.  When we left, he gave us each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Being Cuban, I'm used to that, but I don't think I've ever seen a Haitian man do that.  It was really sweet.

Prie
When we asked him how we could pray for him, the man that we gave groceries to, Jorge said that he had diabetes and was running out of medicine.  Please keep him and his family in your prayers!

Also, there are now 47 kids in the Miriam Center and let's just say there's not enough staff or room for that many... Autumn and Stephanie have been working like crazy to keep it running.  Please pray for them and the kids!

Loue
37 preschoolers graduate tomorrow!  Whoop!  :)

Creole Lesson:
Papa Abraham gen anpil petit!
Father Abraham has a lot of kids!

Sung to the tune of "Father Abraham."  :)

Forgive, Don't Forget

PIZZA for lunch Wednesday.  God is good.  My Survivor team won a challenge and that was our reward.  Ah, victory is sweet.  Oh should I say, cheesy?


And then I almost lost a really good friend.  After the pizza party, Kelsey and I went out to hang out with Weslyn and Wilsen again.  I learned something new...  We were walking around when I stepped on something sharp.  It went through my sandal, barely, but not my skin.  Wilsen grabbed my shoe and kept making fun of me saying my shoe was no good.  I was tired of standing on one foot and so, thinking it would be funny, grabbed my shoe and hit him on the head with it.  Well, little did I know that that is just as bad as flicking someone off here in Haiti.  He stomps off and doesn't come back.  I felt terrible.  Finally, he returns but he says he's still mad at me.
Me: "Can't you forgive me?  I didn't mean it."  
Wilsen: "No.  I can't forget."
Me: "Well, you don't have to forget.  Forgiving isn't the same as forgetting."
Wilsen: "Then what is forgiving?"
*silence*
I said it meant not being mad anymore at me anymore, even though it still hurt your feelings.
I feel like there's a better definition than that, though... Any suggestions?


Wednesday night, all the interns went out to eat at this fancy restaurant called The Breeze, right over the water.  I had fried lobster, plaintains, beans and rice, and even a little goat (Which tastes like beef jerky, FYI).  :)


Today was just a long waiting day.  Our first groups are coming in.  All morning was spent painting and painting and painting, and then after lunch I went with Mary to teach English to the deaf community.  (Mary is interning specifically with the deaf school.  She's fluent in ASL.) Man, is it a different experience teaching someone a language they can't hear or speak... But very interesting.


The first small group came in right before dinner and the rest of them will come in sometime late tonight.  Now, I'm off to enjoy Autumn's birthday party down at the Miriam Center.  (She's on full-time staff at the Miriam Center.)  Cake, cookies, lots of kids, and Enchanted.  Good times.


My Haiti Truck-it List
(and Creole lesson)
(AKA things I want to do before I truck-it on outta here)


Apre mwen ale a lakay, mwen vle...
Before I go home, I want


-to carry something on my head without using my hands
-to ride a donkey
-to make my own grenadia juice
-to take a waterfall shower (in my bathing suit)
-to buy something in the market without the help of an interpreter


Bye, everyone!
Melissa

From the Mountains to the Valleys

Well, it's been an interesting couple of days of ups and downs...

/\mountain/\
Yesterday, I went to the market with some of the interns for some random shopping, and we ran into my friend Ifozya!  Remember her?  It was ironic because I was planning on going to see her after the market anyway!  She looked good.  It was really nice to see her.  I'll keep you posted.  :)

\/valley\/
After the market, I decided I should probably go get the sea urchins spikes out of my feet...  I got them yesterday and didn't even know they were there until the morning.  They didn't even hurt, so I didn't think it would be a big deal but OH LORD ALMIGHTY WORST DAY OF MY LIFE.  Long story short, I had four in my feet total, got several numbing shots PER spike (which probably hurt more than them taking them out without them), and then got dizzy and threw up from pure pain.  Horrible.  The end.  Quick shout out to the three girls that came with me, talked to me during it, and let me squeeze the life out of their hands...

/\mountain/\
For dinner, I got invited to the house of a Haitian friend of ours, Weslyn.  She wanted to make dinner for some friends, so Kelly, Kelsey, Logan, and I all went over.  It was adorable... she had popcorn out for an appetizer and served all of us before herself.  Some other Haitian friends were there, so it was quite the party.  Food, music, dancing, the whole bit.  The longer I sat in her humble little room, the more I realized something.  When you first get to Haiti, you think, "Wow.  They have nothing."  But when you stay long enough you think, "Wow.  We have WAY too much."

\/valley\/
Keep checking in for details of my computer's funeral.

/\mountain/\
Lots of teaching today!  I spent the morning helping out in the preschool.  It was fun but confirmed my desire to teach older grades.  I found out that Jamantha, Ifozya's daughter, is in the preschool.  Later, I went to help out with the deaf school.  Some of the students got sick and the teacher, my friend Fedner, had to take them to the doctor.  Mary, the intern working in the deaf school, was left to work with them, so I was helping with my limited signing and French skills.  The school system is very different and the students are very behind, but it was still a lot of fun.  After lunch I hung out with a boy from the Miriam's Center named Steven, or Stevie Wonder, as I lovingly call him.  (Not that I have favorites, but he's my favorite.)  Anyway, he doesn't walk and he can't talk (though he's not deaf), so he's learning sign.  I was carrying him around and ended up inventing a game I called Word Hunt.  I would point to a word and he would fingerspell it.  Then he would sign me the color or even the name of the object, like water.  I even taught him a new word: milk.  Kid is smart.  Seriously.

Prie
Chirsti and John are two fairly new missionaries we have here.  They were supposed to be our spiritual "mommy and daddy" for the summer, but they were called to something even greater.  They are currently in the works of created The House of Moses, which will be located in a beautiful two-story home off-campus. Their whole family plus 12 of the teenaged orphans from our programs will be moving in.  It will be a transitional stage for the students while they finish high school and look for internships and jobs.  Starting this up will be very expenisive.  Please pray that God will provide for them!

Loue
Not only did John reach his goal by his birthday, but he got even more than he asked for!  Niason, Jim, and their family are going to get one heck of a house!  Thanks everyone.  :)

Creole:
Ak po ko ou ou vini, ak po ko ou ou prale.
With your skin you came.  With your skin you will leave.

This is the proverb I have chosen to do my devo on.  Any suggestions for some Bible verses to go with it?
Guys, seriously.  We have way too much.  And we won't have any of it when we leave this earth.  What's really important in your life?

Love ya,
Melissa