At the coco-cabana!

It was another brutally hot day today. We were all dressed up and off to church with the FMSC food, the relief bags we put together earlier this morning and a blow-pop for everyone worshipping at Marie’s church today. We all broke a sweat before we even got there! The temporary church structure and the benches constructed by the previous teams are incredible. What was even more incredible was experiencing the service itself. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best, and even though we were there for more than 2 hours and we were hot and uncomfortable, every person there was worshipping with their whole hearts. Every voice could be heard! The singing and praising was all in Creole, but it was nothing short of inspirational even though we didn’t know what they were saying. As if that wasn’t enough, we went into the room the girls were in for Sunday School and they sang songs to us including Alleluia, Praise Ye the Lord, Lord I Lift Your Name on High and Here I am to Worship. They sang some English and the rest Creole, but their voices were like hearing angels sing no matter what language they used.
Needless to say, a change of clothes was in order after church. After a quick lunch of mac&cheese we were getting things ready for our first ESL (English as a Second Language) lesson when a few of us were stricken with tummy issues. Being the troopers we are, we went on as planned. We grouped the girls by age and started the lessons that Renee planned terrifically. The focus was on learning letters A through G. I was with some of the littlest girls and I lost a couple of them to the battle against nap time, but overall it went beautifully with all the girls. We were only able to get through part of the lesson because their one meal of the day was ready. We were going to get back to it after they ate, but a storm rolled in and put an end to that idea. On a good note, Patty got to visit the Coco-Cabana which none of us were lucky enough to experience.
We had a great dinner thanks to Gina! Rice, beans, and chicken along with a nice cold Prestige hit the spot. We sat around the table talking about our thoughts on the ESL experience and how we will approach it again tomorrow with colors and shapes.
Each night we have great conversations and also recount the many blessings we received throughout the day. It is remarkable to be here with a group of women of different ages, different stories, different reasons for being here, but each with a heart for Jesus and the desire to be His hands and feet here in Haiti. We are learning and appreciating each other’s God given gifts pretty quickly and are creating bonds no other experience could. We start and end each day in prayer together to keep us focused on God’s will and plan for us here. It is easy to become distracted and frustrated by the sights and experiences here, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that this is a God-sized situation and He is in control, we just need to follow Him and we can rest assured that we are doing what we should be doing in His name.
We have had power only because Marie has been running the generator for us, which we are grateful for! Having the fans is a luxury after spending the day in the heat. Another thing I didn’t ever think I would say is that I look forward to my bucket shower! I have to agree with Patty…when in Haiti…
Jessica

happy mom's day to us!

Another sunny morning has arrived - and as we wipe our brow we are thankful. We climbed out of bed when the rooster crowed the 8,754 time. While a few formed an assembly line and made toiletry bags to distribute to the people at church - others made pancakes to jump start our need to supply energy for the day. We totally forgot it was Mother's Day until Jim sent an email wishing us a great day. There is no shortage of children to love - so we will be able to do what we do best in honor of the day. NO ONE can ever replace the love we have for our own children at home who each of us miss.

While we have had so many laughs, which we really should journal, our chats about our "walk" wi
th Him is what feeds us. Isn't it funny how we think others have it all together, only to be reminded we are all stummbling goof balls, trying to find our way. We are in the process of taking our "bucket baths" and putting on our "church dresses." We are going to begin our first lesson of ESL this afternoon and are excited to see how it is received by the girls. I would say we are definitely in the "swing" of Haiti and everyone is adapting like true missionaries.

Cathy shared this morning that after Marie said last night that Bush, Clinton nor Obama have brought any notable change, she kept hearing over and over in her mind, "If not us, who?" What do we do from here?

Patty