Clara and me at church on SundayWOW!! Another week in Haiti has flown by and I've honestly lost track... it seems like it was just yesterday that the Hope House kids were running up to the truck to greet me upon my arrival.
English classes were very successful this week. My youngest classes now know the days of the week, months of the year and numbers to 100; along with many fun English songs that we practice during class and then sing together at movie nights. My oldest class is really getting into the book Holes, and after reading on Wednesday, the kids wouldn't get out of their chairs... they wanted to read more and sat there until I agreed to "just one more chapter." The mommies are now having small conversations in English with eachother during class and are excited after class to teach me some Creole.
Volleyball at the Hope House is starting to get pretty competative and I LOVE it! Of course, time spent playing with the little ones is very carefree. We will bump and set across the net and I love watching the kids jump for joy when the ball goes in the right direction. But when the older kids step on the court, it's time to get serious! Just like any regular game, there's arguing over bad calls, cheering during exciting points, and even a little bit of light-hearted smack-talking. I am so glad that the children are loving this sport in which I have invested so much of my time throughout my life. Even with a language barrier, I am constantly finding more common interests that strengthen my relationship with each child.
_______________________
While most of my time is spent with the wonderful children at the Hope House, I do go out into town a few times a week and it is always a reminder that while the kids I am teaching are so joyful and thankful for how they live, right outside the walls of the Mission of Hope, a nation is still writhing from disaster.
Just last weekend
, I was taken on a trip into Port au Prince to visit some of the other hospitals in Haiti. On our way, we stopped at the mass graves right outside the village of Titanyen where it has been said that 100,000 people are buried. Although it is a very powerful place to visit, it did not quite hit me that so much heartache was buried here until I looked down to see the skull of a child laying carelessly next to my feet with its vertebrae and ribs scattered a few feet away. What a sad reminder of how many people were tossed there, without a proper burial, because the death toll was so overwhelmingly high. Visiting the hospitals was another reality-check for me and the smell of death is a memory I will never forget. It is something that I smelled upon arriving at both hospitals in Port au Prince and was almost too overwhelming to stand when I walked through the morgues. I could not believe that people were strewn across the streets outside the morgue, fresh out of a surgery that was done in a room without a ceiling.
So many amazing things are happening in this nation. Although it is hard to see that there is still so much suffering happening today, it is definitely a motivation that the work happening here is not in vain. Going out into the villages makes me thank God even more that the amazing children at the Hope House are giving the opportunity to thrive in an environment where they are given nutrition, education and an opportunity to build a relationship with Christ. I truly believe that these kids will be the leaders of the next generation here in Haiti.
English classes were very successful this week. My youngest classes now know the days of the week, months of the year and numbers to 100; along with many fun English songs that we practice during class and then sing together at movie nights. My oldest class is really getting into the book Holes, and after reading on Wednesday, the kids wouldn't get out of their chairs... they wanted to read more and sat there until I agreed to "just one more chapter." The mommies are now having small conversations in English with eachother during class and are excited after class to teach me some Creole.
Volleyball at the Hope House is starting to get pretty competative and I LOVE it! Of course, time spent playing with the little ones is very carefree. We will bump and set across the net and I love watching the kids jump for joy when the ball goes in the right direction. But when the older kids step on the court, it's time to get serious! Just like any regular game, there's arguing over bad calls, cheering during exciting points, and even a little bit of light-hearted smack-talking. I am so glad that the children are loving this sport in which I have invested so much of my time throughout my life. Even with a language barrier, I am constantly finding more common interests that strengthen my relationship with each child.
_______________________
While most of my time is spent with the wonderful children at the Hope House, I do go out into town a few times a week and it is always a reminder that while the kids I am teaching are so joyful and thankful for how they live, right outside the walls of the Mission of Hope, a nation is still writhing from disaster.
Just last weekend
, I was taken on a trip into Port au Prince to visit some of the other hospitals in Haiti. On our way, we stopped at the mass graves right outside the village of Titanyen where it has been said that 100,000 people are buried. Although it is a very powerful place to visit, it did not quite hit me that so much heartache was buried here until I looked down to see the skull of a child laying carelessly next to my feet with its vertebrae and ribs scattered a few feet away. What a sad reminder of how many people were tossed there, without a proper burial, because the death toll was so overwhelmingly high. Visiting the hospitals was another reality-check for me and the smell of death is a memory I will never forget. It is something that I smelled upon arriving at both hospitals in Port au Prince and was almost too overwhelming to stand when I walked through the morgues. I could not believe that people were strewn across the streets outside the morgue, fresh out of a surgery that was done in a room without a ceiling.So many amazing things are happening in this nation. Although it is hard to see that there is still so much suffering happening today, it is definitely a motivation that the work happening here is not in vain. Going out into the villages makes me thank God even more that the amazing children at the Hope House are giving the opportunity to thrive in an environment where they are given nutrition, education and an opportunity to build a relationship with Christ. I truly believe that these kids will be the leaders of the next generation here in Haiti.
Wilner, Macline, Mansado, Samuel and Thamara-
Some of the beautiful Hope House kids
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