A Speedbump During English

Cracks being fixed at the guest house-->

Today was my first time experiencing a substantial aftershock here in Haiti. For me, it is simply a weird feeling, like I've lost my balance or feel dizzy for an extended period of time; but for all of the children at the Hope House, it is a reminder of the fear, panic and distruction that was experienced on January 12.

The first one came at 1 this morning, which was around a 4.0 on the Richter scale but luckily, many people slept right through it. The second one came around lunchtime when the children were in school and the third, unfortunately, came during my first English class of the day with the children around 2:20pm. Praise the Lord, my class was busy running and jumping around, singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" so they did not feel the aftershock; but sadly, the story was not the same for the rest of the children. I had the youngest kids in class with me while the older ones were busy changing out of their uniforms from school. They all

rushed out of the Hope House, panicked, while the older ones screamed to the younger kids to get out during this 4.4 aftershock.

This was a wakeup call for me; helping me understand that even though these children portray so much joy and happiness on a daily basis, they are still crippled by the fear of another earthquake and constantly have to live with the reality that it could happen again. While we tried to go back to our normal English classes, it was hard to even get the children to enter a classroom comfortably and shutting the door was definitely out of the question. I personally have no problem with modifying my classes to make the children feel more comfortable. I just pray (and hope you will pray as well) that they will be able to gradually find peace and safety here. I pray for a day that they won't have to worry about a building falling on them and won't have to always check to make sure there's a quick exit. It was crushing to listen to Jean-Marc, a 16-year-old boy at the Hope House tell me that if there is a bad aftershock while he is in school, he will surely die because his classroom is farthest from the stairs. It breaks my heart that this is the reality for these children but I am also thankful that through all of their struggling, they are able to find joy in the Lord and be a wittness even to me.

Jean Marc and Jacqueson right before the aftershock

I thank all of you who have continued to read my blog and pray for this nation. Today helped me realize just how much help and prayer these people still need. Even though we drift farther away from the day of the earthquake, these people are still hurting and asking for our help.