A Busy Week

Family and Friends,

Day 83 of our Haiti Adventure!

To follow up on the post about John, the decision was made that he will finish out the school year in the orphanage and then return to live with his mother this coming summer.  We will continue to pray that this is the best arrangement for him and the transition will go smoothly.

Yesterday the team from New Life Reformed, Sioux Center, headed back to the US. They had a good week down here working on a variety of projects. There are too many memories to mention right now, but two projects come to mind that will undoubtedly have a lasting impact. First of all the men worked hard on building a roof for one of our new orphanage buildings. After watching the whole process the main contractor in this community told us he was very impressed and plans to use the design on future projects. That was a nice compliment for the guys. Also, many of the team members, mostly women, set up and staffed the new preschool for the week. We are hoping the Haitian teachers will catch on to the vision and be able to effectively utilize (and not destroy, steal, or sell) all the new learning tools in the classroom.


Yesterday was also Alexandra's 4th birthday, and we had a fun time celebrating. Special thanks to Alcester Baptist Church, who sent us a couple of pizza kits, complete with crust mix and sauce and Parmesan cheese. We were also able to score some pepperoni and mozzarella cheese from the nearby city of Les Cayes. To top it all off we made cupcakes! It was a nice little celebration. The kids also had a tea time in the clubhouse with fruit snacks and lemonade. Alexandra probably had “Happy Birthday” sung to her about twenty times, so she was happy and worn out by the end of the day. In the morning she was a little concerned that she wasn't really four yet, because she didn't seem any bigger. We assured her that getting bigger would take some time.

Another big change this week was my (Cory) new teaching schedule. I had the chance to actually substitute teach at the local high school on four different days of the week. I taught English class for 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. It was a lot of fun. They aren't paying me or anything, so I figure I can do whatever I want to help them learn without fear of being fired. We read simple books for children in English, composed stories, sang songs, and laughed a lot. They taught me some Creole, too. The classes were a lot of fun, and I think the students appreciated not being beaten by the teacher! I also had the chance to help our friend Chelo start a new English school in a nearby village. It is another good chance for me to practice teaching and possibly recruit future students for the Bible School.

We found ourselves a little bit overwhelmed by the number of people in the yard this week. We had an extra 20 Americans to host, and whenever Mike and Pam (Mission Haiti Directors) are here the locals get a little rambunctious. There were usually several dozen of them waiting at the gate or in the yard throughout the day. People and bags and tools were stacked on Lynn's wheelchair ramps, which adds to the stress. It always feels a little awkward when you have to sit down in the middle of a crowd of hungry people to eat your lunch or read your Bible.

Mike and Pam had some good conversations and meetings this week with some of the Haitian staff and us. We decided to scale back some of the things we are doing, because they aren't getting the results we are hoping for. It was really refreshing. We also decided to set up an office in the community for people to come and receive the different items for the sponsor program such as shoes, backpacks, medication, etc... Imagine 1600 different students and their families coming to your house at any hour of any day to get that stuff. That won't be as much of a problem anymore.

So we are looking forward to a quiet week before the next team comes.  
 
May God bless your adventure today and this week!
 
-The Grimm Family Adventurers