Don't Worry...Be Happy

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This last month has been filled with lots of new adventures, experiences, and more learning. It's been an exciting month. God is constantly showing Himself faithful. He is also continuing to show me that He has a plan and His plan is not always the plan I pictured or imagined for myself. 
I've been hanging out at an orphanage in town.
This is sweet Wilmine.

Over the last month, the kiddos have continued to blow my mind with their hard work. They continue to push through the challenges that I place in front of them and grow deeper in their knowledge of reading, math, writing, and many other things. My heart beams with pride for their hard work. We've done some fun projects over the last few weeks in science. We also held our very own version of a food competition. The kids had to create a recipe for something covered in chocolate. Once they wrote their draft, they were paired with an adult who tried to create their dessert. If something in their writing wasn't quite clear or didn't make sense or they completely forgot a step, they used this opportunity to fix up their writing. Desserts were prepared and then presented anonymously to four judges. Our guest judges gave points in each category -- taste, presentation, and creativity. Each kid ended up winning a different category! We also announced to the overall winner. It was SO much fun! I love when we're able to change things up a little bit from our normal routine. I have some fun ideas prepared for the spring too! (Hint: It involves economics and tacos!)

One of my other new adventures has been going to Haitian church on Sunday mornings. I've been spending a lot of time with one of my Haitian friends and he invited me to church. So, for the last three weeks I have attended church, complete with Sunday School. Ya'll, I have to say...it's been a little bit intimidating. It's all in Creole (We also sing some songs in French, which is a total challenge since my French level = 0.) and I totally got put on the spot in Sunday school a couple of weeks ago. (Don't worry, I survived...but it was WAY out of my comfort zone.) I've memorized several verses in Creole and each week my level of understanding increases. In fact, I took something away from our service last week and it's stuck with me...

Pa chaje tet ou....plis ou chaje tet ou se plis tet chaje w'ap gen.

Because we always
need a Moses picture :)
What in the world does that mean? Chaje means worry. Tet means head. So, it's essentially saying "Don't worry your head." Tet chaje is an expression which we use in Creole that basically means your confused, crazy, overwhelmed, or out-of-control in a sense. Overall, it's saying, the more you worry your head, the crazier/more overwhelmed/out of sorts you will become. We talk all the time about how we shouldn't worry and that worrying doesn't add anything to our life. I had never thought about how in that worry, we make ourselves kind of crazy. Over and over through the sermon, the pastor kept saying, "pa chaje tet ou." We don't have to worry about ANYTHING because our God is POWERFUL. He sees all. He knows all. He has a plan. His plan is better than my plan. 

So, pa chaje tet ou. 

God has been unexpectedly working in my life in a way that I never imagined. It's taken me some time to get on board, because it's not what I pictured. But, because it's God's plan...it's beautiful and far better than anything I could have done or chosen on my own. It means potentially big things for my future. (I realize this is very vague, but because I'm still figuring things out...I'm not quite ready to share specifics.) 

In all, I'm trying not to worry my head. I'm trying to enjoy the process and the blessing that God has given me and I challenge you to do the same. Pa chaje tet ou. Enjoy the moment. We'll make ourselves crazy if we don't. 

More kiddos from the orphanage and
my sweet friend Wood.
BonJean was all smiles this night.

Sweet friends, I will be home to visit in less than a month and I can't wait! Hopefully I won't turn into an ice cube! It's 75 degrees here at night right now and I'm bundled up in pants and long-sleeves. Weather, please be kind!

Pa chaje tet ou.

With love,
Caitlin

Chloe made rocks out of crayons!
Not pictured: Chloe testing minerals for identification.






Finished Products
Chloe: Chocolate Flower Rice Krispies
Micah: Brownie Cake Pop
Jude: Chocolate Drizzled Kabob
Overall Winner: Jude

Judges Deliberation

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