Dead Mice, Benjamin Button, and High Fives!

It has been a BUSY couple of weeks here in Sonlightville.  School is back into the swing of things, and I am officially teaching without Cara, I miss her!  I LOVE teaching these students and interacting with them, I just miss her she is a wonderful person to be around.  But to update y’all on my first week, it went as well as I think a first week could go.  No major mishaps to report.  (I did have a dead mouse in Kindergarten the first day, no big deal.)  Both classes were strangely quiet, which made me nervous.  Yea, that is completely done away with by now.

I am fully a relational leader.  I want to know you as an individual, connect, nurture and influence you in that way.  The silence made me uncomfortable, I thought great these students aren’t going to trust me to be their teacher, and think I am a goof.  Well, thankfully God created a moment (thanks to Evenson) that broke the silence last week and in High School, we laughed together.  Thank goodness!  From that moment on, the awkwardness of learning each other had been broken.

In Kindergarten, it happened during recess.  Rood Kendy fell on the concrete and started to bleed.  I helped him up, he cried into my stomach for a little bit as I hugged him, then we went into the classroom, hand in hand, to clean up and get a band-aid.  And my window to love those little ones became wide open.  Ahh gratitude!

Now I must recall Saturday, the 14^th:

Alarm set for 7:30 to get work done.  Wake up 6:30 ready to go, so I go to the kitchen table for some Bible/BSF/Bible Study time.  9:00 shower and get ready to go down town to get a Haitian cell phone.  9:15 go to my chair to put on my make-up.  9:15:30 GASP, there is a dead mouse next to my chair, in my bedroom.  9:16 sweep up dead mouse and dump in the sewage line that lines my house.  10:30 get my Haitian cell phone!  1:00 BAKE all kinds of goodies, the juniors and seniors are coming over for a movie.  2:00 they show up, what movie do they pick?  Benjamin Button.  Do I cry in front of them and embarrass myself?  Yes.  5:30 students leave and time to clean up.  5:32 kill massive roach on kitchen floor.  6:30 go out to dinner with Alexa and Megan.  Taxi ride home, I think my driver was drunk because it felt like the moped was going to fall over any second, and he looked to the left instead of straight ahead.  9:00 work on my quilt, and watch Big Bang Theory (holy moly do I love Sheldon!) with Megan.  All in all, it was an AMAZING day.

Today we went to the House of Hope.  The hospital here that has an orphanage connected to it. It.  Is.  My.  Favorite.  I just love those kids.  So many are sick, malnourished, I just want to hold them, feed them, give them a nice warm bubble bath and play games.  A little boy showed me his silly bands.  After about 2 minutes of facial expressions, I got my to-do list out for the day, turned it over, drew a circle and we played a half, miniature-sized game of cornhole where he tried to get his silly band to land in said circle.  This attracted another little boy and a couple of girls.  We then moved on to a circle drawn on the wall, with trying to toss a bouncy ball inside of it.  Anytime anyone made it….HIGH FIVE!  Heart is currently melting just recollecting it.  I love it, something so simple, something I cannot keep count of how many times a day I give them, but a high five and a young little boy or girl beams.  God is good.

My Birthday was the best yet.  I received a lot of sweet messages and e-mails, thanks so much!!!  The juniors and seniors sang to me right as class was starting.  The kindergartners had a sign waiting on my desk, and Norma made my favorite cake yellow with chocolate icing…YUM!  Only thing missing was a phone call from my Dad and Grandma, that’s the hardest part about being here.  I miss my Dad talks.  A bunch of us got together to watch a movie recommended by Thom.  I cannot believe that was my Birthday movie.  Unless you want to feel confused, sad, twisted all at the same time, do not watch Dances in the Dark.  (Just kidding Thom!) 

(But really, don’t watch it.)

Hey guess what, I love you very much and miss you!  Pictures to come, I took some in Kindergarten today!

To God be the Glory!