Acronyms Gallore: MUPANAH, HDC, FREM, OK!

As usual with each group, we headed to the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien first thing Monday morning, followed by the monument square across the street. On our way out of downtown, we went past the Notre Dame Cathedral Ruins...some of my students should remember this from a book we read during our weather unit when we did our storm/natural disaster projects! The tents in front are still used as homes for many people/families. They've built a new cathedral in the same area, but it's not nearly as magnificent as the original. From what we understand, this cathedral will remain in ruins as a monument.

We went to Haiti Design Co-op for lunch and a tour and proceeded on to FREM Orphanage. The kids there are doing SO MUCH BETTER! [Praise the Lord!!] They were full of so much energy when we got there, greeting us at the gate, screaming with so much excitement! We took in some rubber bracelets, coloring supplies, and little crafts. They loved it. My favorite thing is to hug, hold, love on, and TICKLE...their smiles and giggles are priceless and will be forever etched into my memory. One of the women in this week's group (Mo) captured the sweetest candid snapshot of me with Lovinsky...wifi has been weak lately, so her email won't go through, but she said she will resend it once they land in Miami on Friday...and I will definitely post it once I receive it! In the mean time, here are some gems I captured!

Tuesday we started our morning with a devotion from John. The topic was "decisions". He talked about how we have many important decisions to make each day...seven imparticular, the most important being: Whom will I serve? [Joshua 24:21-24] The other six include the decision to:
1. Rejoice & be glad. [Psalm 118:24]
2. Draw close to God. [James 4:8]
3. Use our mouths/words to please God. [Psalm 19:14]
4. Shake off the things that hinder and ensnare me. [Hebrews 12:1]
5. Be joyful and thankful. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]
6. Present our lives as a holy & living sacrifice. [Romans 12:1]

After devotion we packed up the canter and headed to the OK. After a tour and worshipping with the Men's Discipleship Program, we split up into teams. One team varnished the ceiling that another group installed a couple of weeks ago (inside the Women's Education Center), another team loaded up the canter full of scrap metal and took it to the scrapyard/recycling center, and the third group organized donations and supplies...LOTS of them! We went through suitcase, after suitcase, after suitcase...dufflebag, after dufflebag, after dufflebag. We were able to pack some "goody bags" for the women at the prison (including toiletries, bibles, candy, etc.) and put together 125 book bags full of school supplies for Vacation Bible School out in Corail next week!


Today (Wednesday) we had another morning devotion with John. Beth was supposed to come but they had a hospital transport in the middle of the night and she didn't get home until around 7AM. The topic today was: Your position determines your condition.
Some tidbits that stood out to me include:
"God is constantly on the move. I cannot stay where I am and follow God at the same time; responding requires movement." ~Margaret Feinberg
"We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but frankly we won't if we're too afraid to try." ~Beth Moore

After devotion we headed to the OK. I stayed back at the OK with the men while the ladies headed to the women's prison. The men were working on various projects while I continued to organize school supplies and donations. It felt good to finally finish! Apparently the ladies had quite the experience/adventure...Frank said it took them almost 3 hours to get to the prison and once they got there they weren't able to get in because of some surprise inspection that was going on. Traffic was so jammed up because the President was in Petionville and there was a large parade/celebration going on! They had to kill some time (about an hour) until they could get into the prison, so they got out of the canter and got to observe/partipate in the event, about 20 yards from the President! By the time the ladies got back to the OK it was past 3PM (and they hadn't eaten lunch yet!).

We packed up and headed to the public park. We spent some time there passing out pates and bags of water. Some of the team played basketball against some local Haitians. Others of us who are...ahem...not so talented in the "hoops" department...hung out in the bleachers, watching them play and spending time with the community! It was such a neat experience! I met a deaf Haitian man named Jean and we were able to have quite a long conversation. He was VERY patient with my basic ASL skills and was so thrilled that I was able to communicate with him!

After the park we headed to Pizza Amour for dinner and came back to the Guest House. I showered and am currently sitting on the upstairs porch typing away. I'm exhausted and ready for a good night's rest!

Weekend Recap & Video

FRIDAY
Friday morning was pretty relaxing (for me)...the team headed for the airport at 5AM for a 7AM flight...only to find out that the plane would take off without them...or any other passengers for that matter! They ended up camping out at the airport for almost 13 hours! The last few members of the group just arrived home THIS afternoon (Sunday). Ugh. I'm hoping their time in Haiti helped them a bit with flexibility! :)

Twoubadou Band

Friday afternoon Sarah (from Rebuild Globally/Deux Mains Designs) came to pick me up from the Guest House. We ran some errands and picked up materials for the Deux Mains celebration. The party was so much fun! MyaBel catered the event and there was even a twoubadou band! Watch a short video clip of the band here: https://youtu.be/_2LdB_LU2cw
My favorite food item was definitely the nan tout sos (passion fruit and ginger sauce) on a piece of smashed/fried breadfruit (see pictures below). So delicious!!

SATURDAY
Saturday morning I slept in a little, ate a little, painted [some book shelves] a little, and napped a little all before the new team came in! Then it was back to the hustle of welcoming a new team and helping them to get situated. After dinner & devotion time I was exhausted and was in bed before 9! I guess this was my day of catching up on sleep!

SUNDAY
Today we went back to Valley of Hope church in the village of Chambon. It's so neat getting to see the kids again and having some recognize me! We went to the "White River" as usual and played soccer with the kids. We got to spend some time after lunch asking questions and chatting with the Principal of the school, Evans (who filled in as pastor today). The school has grown from an original 30 kids to 250 now! Their teachers make $3,500 per YEAR (harsh perspective check). And after a group member asked about books for kids, Evans was super excited to tell us about his library that he stored in his new office. We got to visit his new office and when I saw the "library" my heart just sank. This "library" that he was so excited about was literally two shelves on a tall book shelf with picture books on it. All of the books were in English or French, but had been "translated"...AKA someone had gone through and typed the Creole translation and taped it on each page of the book, either above or below the English/French words. As a teacher this killed me. It really hit home...and to think that I was bummed about only having 4-6 book bins with me each week while teaching at Elevation this past fall/winter...those were ALL the books they had. He even told us that he shares them with other teachers/schools in the village. He has so little, but yet he is still willing to share. Wow.

VIDEO
Here is an amazing video from last Thursday at the orphanage we visited: https://youtu.be/quenceXdWxw (thank you Veronica!)
These are some of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard!! The area they are singing in was a nice little outdoor classroom area at one time, but within the past month or so the tarps have been damaged by strong winds. :(

Wednesday & Thursday

On Wednesday we headed up the mountain to Baptist Haiti Mission (read more here: http://www.bhm.org/). We visited the bakery, museum, "zoo", and gift shop/restaurant. 

We ate lunch at BHM...and our view wasn't too shabby! :)

From there, we heading up to The Overlook. From here you can see all of Port au Prince! I love coming up here for many reasons...one of the most obvious is the beauty! Another is to understand that it is really not that big of a city (geographically speaking), but when you're in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, in hours of traffic...it sure seems much bigger!  

 This view really puts it into perspective! You can see the Caribbean on the left all the way to Lake Azuei on the far right! 

On the way back down the mountain we got a sneak peak at one of the beautiful, colorful villages!

We stopped at The Apparent Project on our way back to the Guest House and got to see the gift shop and enjoy a refreshing smoothie! The Apparent Project (AP) offers opportunities for Haitians to be able to provide for themselves and their families, empowering them to rise up out of poverty and keep their families together, to avoid relinquishing their children to orphanages. AP helps with distribution and sales of handmade products created from discarded materials (like cereal boxes and oil drums). Here is an amazing video that gives you a little peak inside AP: https://player.vimeo.com/video/161863916

On Thursday we headed north to Titanyen. We passed the mass grave site from the 2010 earthquake. They are turning it into a garden-type memorial. 

There is a wall around it now and they are erecting a monument in the middle. On the walls of the second photograph there is a dedication and the names of many of the donors.    

We headed to Barrett & Carrie Todd's new house. They founded the Sport Disciple program, an international, multi-sport, Christian Discipleship program that raises a new generation of selfless Christian leaders to reach the nations for Christ through sports. Here is a video in which Barrett explains the program (https://youtu.be/n8i7cPkNK1w?list=UU7sVEF3tfK1NeZb4NZkOosQ)

...since this video was created, the soccer fields are up and running! The season starts in July!   

 We "suffered" a little at their new home, swimming and enjoying the view while we waited for a delicious Haitian lunch of chicken, rice & beans, sauce, and smashed/fried plantains. Yum!

From the Todd's house we headed to Rosie's for some refreshing ice cream, smoothies, and mocha frapps and shopped a bit in the boutique (https://kaylagrooters.com/rosies/).

Our last stop of the day before heading back to the Guest House was at a new orphanage the Todd's learned about through their Sport Disciple program. It was quite an experience. Unlike many other orphanages, there is not a wall around the land/compound. The kiddos broke my heart and touched it more than words can express. I hope to post some more pictures soon...but I'm waiting on some women from the group to share them with me via dropbox or email!

Sunday-Tuesday

On Sunday we went to the village of Chambon for church. Service was very short since Pastor Maxeau was not there (he was preaching at another location that day). After church we played soccer and played with bubbles with the kids. Some of the ladies painted the women's fingernails too! Then we loaded up the canter with a bunch of the village kids and headed to the river bed. We played in the "river" for a bit and then headed back to the church to eat lunch. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone and had chips and cookies as well. This picture is one of my favorites...after we spend time with the kids from this village church and eat lunch, they always want all the empty water bottles! They will reuse them and fill them from the wells and streams!
After we left there, we headed to Lake Azuei. It's a beautiful brackish lake (water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not more than seawater) that lies in both Haiti and the DR. There are American crocodiles in it, though no one really knows how they got there!

We left Lake Azuei go head to VOL for an afternoon treat - frozen coffee! Mmmm! We got back to the Guest House rather early, got to rest a bit, and I got a lot of reading done!

On Monday we went to Haiti Design Co-op and got to use indigo dye! We got to create our own version of a "tie-dye" placemat and helped dye some shirts/dresses for the shop. We also went to Deux Mains Designs (REBUILD Globally). I included a link to the online store in a previous post, but here is the REBUILD website that tells the full story of how Julie started this company after the earthquake and includes a lot of pictures: http://rebuildglobally.org/ We washed up back at the Guest House and headed to Pizza Amour for dinner...traffic wasn't quite so bad this time...taking us only 15-20 minutes instead of 2 1/2 hours!

On Tuesday we started the day by going over to the Livesay's house for a baptism! After the baptism, we went to the OK and painted/washed walls/cleaned two of the apartments there. We had a traditional Haitian lunch with accra again (my favorite!). We also found some keneps on the trees back by the Women's Education Center. Keneps are small fruits with tough green skins. Inside the skin is a tart/tangy pulp covering a large seed. They are kind of slimy but I love them! The texture reminds me of a gooey eyeball! We decided they were like nature's Candy Warheads.

We also went up to the school in Corail for some of the team members to meet their sponsored children! Heartline has a sponsorship program that supports children in three different school locations: Corail, Cite Soleil, and Chambon.

We came back to the Guest House for dinner and Julie and Sarah (from Rebuild Globally) joined us!

Tegay's Place, Graduation, Pizza Amour & Errands

Yesterday morning we went to Frank's friend Tegay's place on the water (in the bay). On the way we stopped at the Olympic Training Center. It's a beautiful facility! 500 kids participate in an after school program there Monday-Friday. Saturdays are open to the public. 100 of the best athletes are given the opportunity to live on the campus full time, attend school, eat, and train! Tegay has a little house where he lives with his 9 kids. We got to meet and love on his kids, along with some others from the community/village. We brought juice and cookies for them...which were a big hit, as usual! The water was B-E-A-Utiful! We got to go out on one of Tegay's boats and found a red starfish in the water! We also found a sea cucumber...what a squishy,slimy, unusual creature! We got to walk the beach and play in the water with some of the little ones as well.

We headed back to the Guest House to cook out for lunch. After that we headed over to the OK for the Women's Education Center graduation ceremony. It was advertised to start at 2:30 but didn't start until closer to 4:15-4:30 or so...they were waiting for the sound system and speakers to arrive...and that truck didn't even pull in until about 4! The decorations and women's outfits were beautiful. The colors this year were royal blue and white.

We left the ceremony at 5 to head over to Pizza Amour for dinner but got stuck in traffic for nearly 2 1/2 hours. We arrived at Pizza Amour and shared pizza, salad, sourdough bread and pesto, and chocolate cake. Yum!

I'm including a short video of driving through a small market on our way to Tegay's place. The main road we turn onto is paved (which is rare). There are about 4,000 km of roads in Haiti...but only about 1,100 of those are paved (that's only like 25%). The rest are bumpy dirt/rock roads with pot holes and drainage ditches that small cars could fall into...all of this makes traveling over 15 miles per hour rather difficult. The only reason traffic seems to be smooth in the video is because we are heading away from Port au Prince. Eventually I will upload some video footage of driving in the dense traffic of PAP! The file was too large to upload to this blog page, so I'm including a link to it: https://youtu.be/M0tqBB38qDc

Everyone packed up and headed back to Colorado today (well, for the most part). There was a mother and son from Charlotte and another woman from Florida. This group was so much fun and so gracious! We got up early to take them to the airport. We pulled out of the driveway just after 5AM! After dropping them at the airport we came back to the Guest House for breakfast. Then John and 'P' (Pierre) came over and asked if I wanted to tag along with them for the day, so of course I said yes! We loaded up all the chairs from the graduation ceremony and headed to the tire place to fix the tire on the canter (because we stopped on the way to the OK, but they were not open yet). Once we got the tire fixed and dropped the 144 rental chairs off (which was an event in and of itself...it was the parable of the lost chair, but we found it at last!), we headed to Corail to one of Heartline's sponsorship schools to drop off another 70 chairs for their graduation ceremony tomorrow. The road to get back into this village is unlike one I've seen anywhere else. You literally cannot go more than 5 mph and must follow the "smoothest" path possible. Easier said than done! Running those few errands took us from 7AM-2PM (a little different than back home)! It was great to spend some time with John and 'P' though! I got to learn a lot from 'P' sitting up front in the canter. We stopped and got some drinks/snacks to hold us over along the way. I got to try John's favorite Haitian potato chips...they reminded me of kettle cooked chips back home, but extra greasy! :) 'P' stopped along the road and got some fresh sugar cane for us...it was very interesting and something I had been wanting to try! I didn't realize you don't just eat it...you chew it/suck the juices/sugar out of it and spit it out. I also had a chicken pate from the bakery!

Once we got back from running all over PAP and the surrounding areas, I took a shower and laid down for a little rest. Didn't get to sleep much because of the heat, but it felt nice to lay down for a bit. We are getting ready to eat some dinner soon and then head back to the airport to pick up the next group!

Love, love, love!
Sarah/Ms. Poling

Light & Peace Orphanage, Haiti Design Co-op, Deux Main, and FREM

*I've included a subscription link to the right of this blog page! This makes it easier to keep track of my posts. You just type your email into the box by the orange envelope, hit "subscribe", then check your email for confirmation. In that email you will have to click on a link to confirm your subscription. You should be redirected to a confirmation page after clicking on the link.
From then on, anytime I post, it should come straight to your email inbox! :)

This morning we headed off to the Light & Peace orphanage. Pastor Ronald, a 5th generation Haitian pastor, runs this orphanage with his wife. There are 50 children. There were many children already at this orphanage when the earthquake struck, but many more came because their parents were killed in the earthquake. The house actually split and had a very large chasm in the middle of the dining room floor. Most of the second floor and the roop collapsed during the earthquake. Since then the floors have been fixed and a new roof has been put on, but the children really only use the bottom/main floor of the house. Above is a picture of where some of the children sleep...they do not sleep here because there are not enough rooms or beds inside. The bedrooms are very clean and spacious inside the house. The children who sleep out here are too afraid to sleep inside a house because they fear another earthquake will come and they saw the first-hand devestation. It breaks my heart!

We took juice, beef pates (pronounced pa-tays), and cookies (bon bons). We took toys, cards, beach balls, and more! We played soccer, volleyball, frisbee, and even had a hair braiding party! The kids range in age from three years old to teenagers. Most of the kids were at school during the morning, but we eventually went to the school to visit and gave them a ride back to the compound. These children were SO well behaved and SO sweet. I'm including some pictures from our time together.

It was really neat to visit the other children at school! We got to see where they learn and meet them all in their adorable little uniforms. They are so sweet. They came right up to use and shook our hands, hugged us, or gave us a kiss on the cheek (a common Haitian greeting). After hanging out with them at the school for a bit, we ALL (and I mean ALL...18 of us + Pastor Ron and his wife + 30ish students) headed back to the compound! Here are some more pictures from our adventure!

Once we left there to head for lunch, we ran into this...a very common sight in the streets of Port au Prince! Busy, busy, busy and CROWDED streets!

We toured and learned the history of Haiti Design Co-op (a for-profit organization that employs Haitians to do leather work, jewelry making, and sewing), had mango/banana smoothies, iced mocha coffees, tacos, and cinnamon bites! Mmmmm! You can learn more about HDC here: http://haitidesigncoop.org/ We left there to head over to Deux Main (where they make sandals out of genuine leather and scrap tire walls!) to get a tour, learn the history, and shop a little...it's always good to support the local Haitian businesses! :) You can learn more about Deux Mains here: http://deuxmains.com/

After leaving there, we headed back to FREM orphanage, which nearly broke my heart in half. Many of the children there are very very sick (just since seeing them a few days ago). They could REALLY use your prayers. We brought them the same goodies (juice, pates, cookies) that we brought the first orphanage, but many of them weren't interested in eating much at all. Many had fevers and just wanted to be held and loved on. PLEASE pray for these sweet babies! This is one of those times I want to put them all on a plane and take them to a US doctor with me! :( My heart is heavy tonight, but trusting that God will provide and will heal them!

I think that's all for now...sleep well!

Love,

Sarah/Ms. Poling

Add Carpentry to My Resume!

Both yesterday and today we spent some time at the OK Corral (the same property the Heartline Academy school house is on, where I taught last summer). It was nice to be back...felt like home! Being at the OK brings a whole different kind of dirty though! Here is the street view of the gate to get into the OK. 

Oh, and I can't forget to tell you about a special addition since last summer...John (the founder of Heartline Ministries) now has a donkey named Yolanda that Beth (his wife) got him for his birthday! Yolanda is seriously the coolest donkey I have ever met. I'm including a [not so great] photo of us. Every time we would try to take a picture, she would try to kiss me or eat my hair! This was the best of the 10 photos taken! 

We split up into a “carpentry” team and a painting team for our work at the OK. For some reason, they allowed me on the "carpentry" team (clearly they don't know me very well!). When I volunteered...I thought I would be...maybe...umm…making a craft out of 2x4’s?! Well, we walked back to the Women's Education Center and found out we were installing a CEILING. So, I watched a little, listened to some wise guys, and got to work! We knocked it out and it looks pretty good! Anything in Haiti comes with its fair share of obstacles...but we stayed the course! I sweated just as much (if not more) than I do during hot yoga (which totally means I get to count it as my workout for the day, right?!)! I got to use power tools like saws and nail guns…but that’s not even the most impressive part…trying to stand on Haitian-macguyvered ladders takes some serious skill! One of the ladders was literally hooked together with two wires. But, no one fell, so that's good. Also, when the power goes out, that can make installing a ceiling pretty tricky, so that's when you take a lunch break! 

Yesterday we had Haitian spaghetti for lunch which includes spaghetti noodles, peppers, onions, hot dogs, and ketchup! I know, it sounds weird, or maybe even gross…but the ketchup is Haitian ketchup which is sweet and balances the spiciness of the peppers! I enjoy it! I just don't quite understand why it is served for breakfast some places! Today we had chicken with red sauce, rice and beans, and accra (my FAVORITE Haitian food!). Accra is a root that grows kind of like a potato. It is then shredded up and mixed with spices and herbs and deep fried to look like a fat french fry (sort of). Dipped in the red sauce and paired with some avocado = yum! 

Yesterday afternoon we went to the Tin Market. Such a neat place! I got to go a few times last summer, so I felt much more comfortable/confident this time around. I worked my bartering skills and got an angel my mom requested, a Christmas tree Megan requested, and a fun surprise for my classroom!! 

The past two mornings we have had wonderful devotion times with John (yesterday) and Beth (today). John focused on the power of influencing/helping/supporting/feeding/loving ONE person. He shared a quote of Mother Teresa's: "If you can't feed 100, feed ONE." This is so true! Sometimes I think we get overwhelmed by how many people in the world are suffering so we don't do anything at all. If everyone was able to help one other person, our entire world would be so much better off! Beth focused on not judging. Each of us has opinions on things...but sometimes many times we form an opinion or make a judgment on things we do not have all the facts on. She encouraged us to be learners while in Haiti, quick to listen and slow to speak. After devotion time we packed up the truck and headed to the women’s prison in Petionville. We brought the women bread, spent some time worshipping with them, and prayed with them. What an eye opening experience!

I'm including one last picture that one of the team members sent me...because it is a visual representation of how my heart feels here! 

  

Haiti History & FREM Orphanage

Yesterday we went to the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien (MUPANAH), a museum featuring the heroes of the independence of Haiti and the Haitian history and culture. It was absolutely FASCINATING. The next time a team goes back I will have to take a pen and notebook. My mind was overwhelmed with all of the facts and history!

After the MUPANAH (which was an awesome break from the heat since it had A/C) we headed across the street to Champ de Mars, a monument square in the central historic area of Port au Prince, comparable to our Washington D.C. This area includes (or used to include) the capital building, the parliament building, the Supreme Court building, a hospital, and the Presidential Palace. After the earthquake of January 2010, most buildings were damaged or destroyed, specifically the Presidential Palace which collapsed.  

I'm including some pictures and facts below!

This is a statue of Toussaint L'Ouverture, a former slave who escaped and became the leader of the "freedom fighters" during the slave rebellion. He was one of the best known leaders of the Haitian Revolution, helping to turn the most prosperous slave colony of the time into the first free society to reject race as the basis of social ranking.

The picture above is called "Neg Maron". It is a slave, blowing a conch shell, while holding a machete in his other hand with a broken chain and handcuff. This is a symbol of slavery and freedom. The conch shell was used to call escaped slaves to gather while in hiding; the machete was used to fight off the French, and was used to cut down sugar cane; and the broken chains symbolize slaves breaking free from bondage and reclaiming their freedom.

Our tour guides were Luke and Billy Bob (pictured with the "Neg Maron" statue above). They actually LIVED in this monument square following the earthquake. The section was turned into a tent city for several thousand Haitians whose homes were damaged in the earthquake. The specific place that Luke and Billy Bob lived with their families was under the tree pictured above with the red flowers.

Above is the Supreme Court building!

This monument was built by President Aristid in 2004 to commemorate the bicentennial of Haiti's independence. There are 200 steps to represent each year of freedom!

After leaving this area, we went to lunch at VOL, a restaurant connected to the Stop & Go (grocery store) located near the airport. It is literally located at the end of the airport runway. We sat upstairs near a wall of windows and got to see planes taking off. It was so neat!

After lunch we headed to the FREM Orphanage. The group currently here from Denver, CO found out about this orphanage a few years ago, learning they had no food and water. The kids were suffering from malnourishment along with other symptoms of other physical and mental symptoms that go hand in hand with lack of basic food and water. They decided to partner with another church out of Tennessee to support this orphanage. Three years later, these kids are much healthier and happier! There are 32 children here. We spent about 2 hours with them yesterday, loving on them, holding them, and playing with them.    

 They looooooove selfies and sunglasses! :)

 

 

 Showing off some dance moves (some of which look similar to parts of the Whip & Nae Nae)!

Singing the ABC's!

 Here is Dawinski...with some of the best dance moves and the best smile in Haiti! :)

First Morning

Good morning friends!

I got in around 3:00 Haiti time (4:00 US time) but didn't get out of the airport until after 4:30! I was worried my bags weren't coming, but they finally showed up! The airport was MUCH calmer than the last two times I went. They actually had two luggage belts running! I got to the Guest House and walked upstairs to find NICK!

Nick was the Guest House driver when I was here last year. We spent a lot of time together at the OK Corral, driving around (sometimes getting in accidents...oops!), at the Guest House, at home church, or other Heartline gatherings. He is down for the week with a group from his church in Colorado.

The team got back around 5:45 or 6 and we all sat down for dinner...lasagna! After dinner we had a devotion time and were prompted by the question, "How can you carry out Jesus' vision?" Some deep conversations came from that! We talked about his vision and how it was not to build up churches, but to make disciples of all people! We talked about how it seems so much easier to hop on a plane and come to a place like Haiti to share Jesus' love, but we can't talk to our neighbors or coworkers about it. It seems easier to be forced out of our comfort zone in a third world country than it does to get off of our couches. We are always afraid of judgment from others. Here, no one really knows us or how we live our lives! Good stuff...still processing those thoughts!

After dinner I went on the balcony and read for a bit while the others were taking turns showering and getting ready for bed. I finished the book Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott. That sure was a different kind of read, but I loved it! After showering and lathering up with essential oils, I laid down for bed. Here's the room I'm staying in...
There are 12 bunk beds and each one has a fan and a mosquito net. Last year I never had a mosquito net, so that took a little getting used to! It doesn't seem to be as hot here as it was last year, but it also rained a bit and cooled off (so thankful for that!). I woke up around 5 this morning to the change in fan speeds...something I totally forgot about! When the power switches from EDH (the electric of Haiti) to a generator, the fan speeds and sounds change.
I'm currently having a cup of coffee sitting beside this guy...do any of you recognize him?? He read us a book called Verdi (his last name!). It's FRANK! (I told him to smile and this is the face I got...no wonder he fit right in when he visited my classroom!)

Before I go out for the day, I must introduce you to Jack and Nelson...the Guest House dogs...I know how much my students will love that there are dogs here! They were regular visitors in our classroom during Friend of the Week celebrations!

The black one is Jack and the brown one is Nelson. They are a little lazy/tired this morning, hanging out in the shade!



Have a MARVELOUS Monday!
Love always,
Sarah/Ms. Poling