Cati Goes to Haiti

If you've been reading my blog posts, chances are none of you will be surprised to hear that I'm staying for another year (at least) in Haiti! Read my recent update letter to get caught up on my work and my plans for the future.... Friends, Family, and Followers... It’s crazy to think that just over two years ago, I made the decision to move to Haiti and serve as a homeschool teacher. The last two years have been an adventure to say the least, and I just know that there’s more to come. In case you hadn’t guessed it…I’m staying in Haiti another year! This last school year has been filled with lots of learning, growth, projects, and fun. I was able to spice up the curriculum a little bit (perks of being the teacher and the principal and the superintendent and the curriculum director all in one!) this year. We had food competitions for writing, we studied different countries, and had a legitimate food truck (well, bus) to learn about economics. The kids continue to bl...

My fella :) God's always at work, but to get there you're going to need a little history.... In short, I found a fella. The running joke in my family right now is that I had to go all the way to Haiti to find someone, but you know -- God works in unexpected ways. Some of you might have been noticing Wood in pictures my last couple of blog posts and on social media. I hadn't really shared much about our relationship because well, it's our relationship. BUT God's been working in our lives and I want to share part of that with you. (with his permission of course!) More about Wood later, but I want to get into what we've been learning. This last week Wood had an interview at the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince. He was applying for a visitor's visa to come visit the States with me this summer. For reasons that I won't get into, Wood being granted a visa was highly unlikely. However, we know that we serve a BIG God and if he wanted Wood to have a vi...

Misunderstandings happen a lot. They happen when you live in a foreign country and you don't understand certain cultural differences. They happen when you speak a foreign language and misinterpret what is being said (or say the wrong thing). They happen when you deal with people and you don't communicate well. My life has incurred many misunderstandings lately.  My first misunderstanding covers cultural and language struggles. Daylight Savings Time. Y'all...daylight savings time is the worst thing ever in a country that runs on the sun. It messes everything up. In order to account for the time change, the time of things just changes so that it's still happening at the same time during the day. For instance, church does not start at 8 anymore, it starts at 9. But even changing the time of things doesn't really help! Daylight Savings...we don't get it. This is the third daylight savings change I have lived in Haiti for. This is the first one that has affe...

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 s...

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 qu...

Isn't he the cutest? Don't mind the mouth full of food...he was SOOO happy this particular morning and was laughing at EVERYTHING! I know it's been a little bit over a month since I got a new post out. It's been quite hectic around here lately. We have a lot of new and exciting things going on around Hope Community Project. Click here to read more about the three big things that we have going on as an organization.  In my own personal life, God continues to be at work shaping, molding, and stretching me. For the last several months I have felt like I've had almost a "driving" word for the month and this month is no different. September and October have been filled with GRACE and PATIENCE.  God continues to put me in situations where I'm learning how to handle raw, real emotions in the face of conflict, homesickness, and new endeavors. The struggle is real, but God is present. I know I've said it before, but there is so much beauty in th...

The last time we talked, I was in the middle of a study on Colossians and in the midst of long-suffering. Today, I'm going to share some more truths I've taken out of Colossians and how they apply to the place I sit now ... grace and peace. Like most long-suffering, it was for a time and has begun to pass. [That's not to say there won't be long-suffering ever again in my future.] It's no secret I've been working through some conflict and was working to find the best way through it. I'm on to the next piece of my processing and that is grace and peace. Does that mean all of my conflict is completely resolved and no longer an issue? No...but it does mean that I'm making steps towards the closure that I need on the situation.  Over the last few weeks, I've been able to rely on the Lord to guide me in my next steps and to let Him lavish peace on me...regardless of how the situation turned out -- because God doesn't always work it out like we ...