Long Time No See

Made waffles with some boys
that hang around the village.

FAMILY!! 

Wow! These last two months have flown by! Our weeks have been jam packed with travel, adventure, guests, and catching up. This has been caused me a brief blogging hiatus, but I'm back at it and ready to go.

December was a month filled with love, rejuvenation, rest, and family. I spent three weeks in the states over Christmas. It was a much needed break from life and such a blessing to spend time with family. This trip was a little weird because I wasn't as busy as I normally am when I travel home. I had a lot of time to sit and relax, which was just what I needed! It was wonderful to be home over the holidays and to be apart of the annual Campbell meat wrapping party on the farm. I was also able to get my passport renewed which was a spot of anxiety (hoping that it would show up in time for me to come back to Haiti!).

My grandma sharing her story with the preschool class.

I'm not entirely sure what happened to the month of January. The weeks absolutely flew by. The first week I was still in the states. I came back on January 7th with my grandma, Pat. She was here for 8 days to hang out and adventure with me. We spent a day organizing some old school curriculum, unpacking all the goods that I brought back, and she was able to share a flannelboard story at the school in town where I sometimes go and hang out (when I'm not teaching school!). She even took a moto ride! Half way through her time here, our January team came so she was able to participate in some of the activities with them like mobile medical clinics, kid's program and a community walk. Then we went to the beach for a night! (I need to get my tan back...it's fading!) It was great to have her here and I know she enjoyed her second Haitian experience as much as she enjoyed the first!

My grandma sharing her story with the rest of the school.

When the team and my grandma left, my normal routine started to finally fall back into place. We started school back up again and I have also started back up with my English classes. We had taken a "vacans" or a vacation from classes during the fall. My classes had started to dwindle and those that I had weren't very serious about what I was doing, so I needed to rethink my strategy, because English is something that people are always asking for. I know it's valued. I made a few changes to how I was operating. I started charging a small fee each month of 150 goudes (about $2.25). This served a couple purposes. 1) It preserves the dignity of the students in my class by allowing them to invest something. This also helps to make sure that the people that I have are serious about learning. 2) This cost goes towards covering the cost of a workbook so that after each class, they can complete practice exercises at home. I limited the number of students in my class to keep it from getting out of control and each student had to sign a contract with me. We're off the ground and rolling, and so far it's been a pretty great experience.

Having a more "formal" English class is giving the opportunity to experience some of the hardships and tough decisions that come with dealing with Haitians in a business and relational sense. I've had to have some tough conversations already, and I'm sure there will be more to come. Far outweighing that though is the opportunity I have to build relationship and share God's love. In addition to the curriculum that I am teaching, we are learning the song, "It Is Well" in English. They sing this song in Creole so I thought it would be fun for them to learn it in English as well. I look forward to the opportunities I will have to teach them a valuable skill and hopefully introduce them to a valuable God.

The SheWolf Pack. My stateside tribe of ladies.

To add to all of the craziness that was the month of January, we also dealt with loss and grief. A few days after I came back to Haiti, we got a call from MariLourde and Matthias (one of the ladies that works for us and her husband who also works in the Village where I live) that their son was very sick and Luke and Julie needed to come and check on him. Upon arrival, Julie knew that Odelson, the little boy, needed to go to the hospital immediately. While the formal test for diagnosis could not be done here, Odelson was being treated for meningitis. Odelson was fighting for his life and he was very sick.

About three days after Odelson was admitted to the hospital his birth mother (MariLourde and Matthias took him in when he was six months old), came and wanted to remove Odelson and take him to the "boku" or witch doctor. We did everything we could, but unfortunately this was unable to be stopped and the mother took Odelson out of the hospital. MariLourde and Matthias received a call a couple days letter that Odelson had passed away.

Odelson

This is the second child I have personally known that has passed away in my time here. It's a rough thing to watch and to experience. To see the grief and the pain these parents are stricken with after losing a child, watching them grieve their losses...it's tough. The good news is, WE HAVE A SAVIOR. These kids are dancing on streets of gold and in the arms of Jesus. We serve a BIG God that will see these parents through their grief, strengthen them to push through, and give them a peace that only He can provide. My God is good. While it doesn't make things easy, it does provide comfort.

"When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2

BonJean...just a cutie to end our post with!

This is my prayer for you sweet friends. If your heart is overwhelmed, (I know mine has been the last couple of weeks) lean on Jesus. He is our rock and our redeemer. He makes all things new. Let him cover you in love. He's the only one that can.

Please know that your continued love and support means the world to me!

Much love,
Caitlin