Research is boring, right?

I just want to say quickly, I love teaching. To see my students hungry eyes light up when a concept finally clicks, may be one of the most rewarding exciting experiences I've had. Today in one of my English classes, we talked about research for 45 minutes.

That sounds so boring, doesn't it? But it wasn't boring at all. My students were firing questions at me faster than I could answer them. They wanted to know, how can I narrow my topic when I like every topic? "The poor, for example, is a very important topic everywhere in the world," one of my students said. He wanted to know how he can choose just one topic to write about.

Then another student asked the very basic question, "How can I find information in a book?" It sounds so basic, but we then spent several minutes talking about looking at the title of the book, the table of contents, and the index. We talked about scanning and key words and bold headings.

And every eye was on me, every hand eagerly scribbling notes.

What a huge privilege it is for me to teach here!

Looking Haitian

The other day Merline and her sister stayed over to watch a movie. In the morning I was telling them that sometime, I want to get my hair braided. Well before breakfast was over sometime had arrived. Merline's little sister braided my hair in about forty-five minutes. When it was all over, I looked like this. Finished product-->

I loved it....I had to take it out after only 3 days because I went swimming and couldn't get the salt out of my hair. But for a few days, I looked quite Haitian.

Leader

A few nights each week, after the workers have left and the sun has started to set, I go running around the perimeter of the mission compound. It’s a short track, but 5 to 10 laps gives me enough time to relax, digest the day, and get a little exercise in the process. Normally running is a time of solitude for me. But last week, my time of solitude quickly turned into a game when 3 little kids joined me for my jog.

The three little ones were sitting outside waiting for their mothers to finish the day’s work when they smiled at me passing by. The oldest one, who’d seen me running before began to run beside me, so I asked him if he wanted to race. He said yes and ran along side me, but we never set a finish line so the race continued for half a lap.

Soon his little sister and brother (maybe 6 and 5 years old) followed his example, and began running behind us. We must have looked pretty funny, the four of us running along in a line like little ducks. I laugh now just thinking about it—a 23 year old, a 10 year old and 2 kindergarten aged kids.

Since I had their full attention, I decided to make a game of it, and told the oldest boy “Ou lide. Nou swiv ou.” I think that means, “You leader. We follow you.” It must have been close enough because he started running in front. After a bit we picked another leader and went on like this. Of course I led them over logs and around a swing-set and under tree branches, but the little ones just ran straight and hard, as if they were finishing some army exercise.

In fact it reminded me of a running drill we did in high school. I think it’s called an Indian run. Anyway a whole team runs in a line and the last person runs to the front of the line, when she’s there, the new last person runs to the front, when she’s there the new last person does the same until you’ve finished running the assigned distance.

Anyway, the kids stuck with me for a good ten or fifteen minutes until their mothers came out. I don’t know if they felt like they had to keep playing or if they really were having fun. But as they left I told them, “Thanks for running with me,” and they got the biggest cutest smiles on their faces. Doing Indian running drills with Haitian kids may be one of my favorite little gifts God’s given me. :)

(I wrote this a while back, but haven't had a chance to publish it until tonight)

A quick Creole story

Last week my friend invited me to go to youth group with her. Just before we left she told me they could make me go up front and ask me to share a little bit. So I tried to think through what I might say. When we got there, sure enough, they asked me to share. They started to invite my friend to come with me to translate, but she said in Creole, "Oh no, she doesn't need me. She speaks Creole." I was terrified!

Despite my fear, I managed to go up and give a quick Creole introduction and a little testimony of how God brought me here. My language must not have been too bad because they asked me to share a meditation next week! Though I don't totally understand what they mean when they say meditation, I do know they'd like me to talk for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you could, pray for me as I prepare. Pray that I would know what to share and that God would help me as I write it out and translate it ahead of time. From what I could see, and what my friend has told me, the youth group is a tough crowd. They often talk amongst themselves during the lesson, and many of them don’t have a great attitude toward church in general.

I’m excited for the chance to share with them because I’ve been watching them in church each Sunday and have wanted to see them come to know God in a real way that excites them. But I am a littel intimidated to speak to a tough crowd in a new language.

feeling victorious

This past month I was 1 of 2 missionaries on the mission station in La Gonave. When I first arrived there were 8 missionaries here, but with injuries, maternity leave, fundraising, and the end of a term, all but two of us had outside obligations. I had only been in the country two and a half months when everyone had to leave, which may sound intimidating.

But actually, it was a neat rite of passage for me because I had to learn everything like: where the stores are located, what to do when I need a doctor, how to run a guest house, how to cook anything and everything from scratch (I make a mean potatoe soup), how drive a four-wheeler, how to speak Creole, how to catch a rat, what to do when the water filter breaks, how to fight a Haitian cough, how to have healthy boundaries, and how to graciously handle other people's needs. And I had to do it all with little advice or guidance from anyone except God. It was kind of cool because at times I knew my choice was cower in my house and cry or take a risk and conquer.

Tomorrow some of the other missionaries will be returning...Wohoo! And by September we will be back up to 7 missionaries. Though I'm excited, I wanted to take a minute just to mention how thankful I am for the past month. I'm feeling pretty victorious.

1100 Words -- The Equivalent of Chinese Literacy

In my 11th grade world cultures book, I read that to become literate in Chinese, students needed to memorize 1100 characters. So, being the goal-oriented girl that I am, I decided that if I could memorize 1100 Creole words, maybe I could speak Creole by the end of the summer.

Starting in May, I decided to learn 75 new word each week until September. Finding 75 new words each week has been kind of fun because I have to get creative about where I get these words. If I'm sick, I memorize words like stomach ache, diarrhea, and cramps (all important words in Haiti). If I go to the market, I learn vegetable words, money words, and phrases like "you ask for too much."

This week I will pass the halfway mark (wohoo!), adding 75 new words to my current 546 to make a total of 621. Whew! But I'm starting to find that memorization and conversation are not enough.

Though I'm understanding and speaking more Creole, I still can't put all my little words together to make coherent Creole thoughts. To help with this, I will spend 1 month in Port Au Prince studying intensively.

I'll leave this Saturday, and while I'm there, I will keep working toward my goal of 1100 words. But I will also work on a new goal of leaving Creole infancy for the equivalent of Chinese literacy. :)

(You could pray for me as I study. That I can learn quickly, that I connect well with my teacher, and that God gives my brain supernatural ability to think in my new language.)

The Big Vision

I walked into Haiti, hoping I would get to teach a couple of English classes here and there. But just a month after arriving, I found out what a great a vision I was falling into. I discovered it one afternoon while I was talking with another missionary. She was showing me English curriculum and mentioned in passing, "Well you know about the university and everything, right?"

University? I had no idea. So I asked, "What university?"

That's when Joy began to tell me all about the Haitian Wesleyan Church's vision for an English speaking university. A few years ago, the leaders of the church told Dan Irvine (Joy's husband) that they wanted to begin an English speaking university that would offer degrees in Business, Agriculture, and Nursing.

They explained that they wanted the school to be in English because if students got their degrees in English instead of French, they would have more opportunities to pursue master's programs in the States or elsewhere. English-speaking students would also have access to more resources which are written in English, and the university could invite professors from the States and other English-speaking countries to teach.

But there was one problem. Before they could begin this university, they would need a class of students ready to study in English. So three years ago, Joy began the process of teaching professional men and women English with the hope that one day they may be able to attend an English speaking university in Haiti.

And that's where I come in. This year, I'll get to teach Joy's most advanced students writing. This is one of the last skills they'll need for further education. As I teach the mechanics and grammar of writing, another missionary is hoping to begin teaching computer. And eventually, by working together, our students will be writing word-processed documents, researching online, and even sending articles to foreign magazines for publication...At least that's the big vision. :)