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!
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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!
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!
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!
❤️
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