First time having oreo cheesecake cookies!!
I love my kids so much they are the cutest little things on this planet. I'm so thankful to God that I get to spend every day with them. So so thankful. I love it here more than words can say.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Today we did that art project where you color the paper with different color crayons and then color over them in black and then you get a paper clip and scratch off designs and it shows the color underneath. The kids really liked it they thought it was so cool. But I should've told them to draw with a paper underneath because a lot of them got their desks dirty with black crayons, but my helpers Mme Johnny and Miss Illianise are amazing and helped clean it up so quickly.
And also today all my kids did really well on their tests, especially reading! Because on the last few tests a lot of them would forget simple things like starting sentence with capital letter and ending with a period, but on this test I think none of them forgot except one, but still that's awesome. And their just all so smart in math and I'm so so so proud of them. :)
Then we finished Cars and started Ice Age during movie time.
And at recess we played with hula hoops that we got, and the kids really like them.
And then afterschool I went with Rose to her house, and she has two older twin sisters that go to Sonlight, their so sweet and cute just like Rose. :) And Rose's mom is so so nice. They bought me juice and her mom made me this amazing drink. It was mashed up banana, milk, sugar and some other yummy spices and stuff, it tasted amazing. You drink it warm. It was like if banana bread mix was in the form of a drink, it was just so good. And then she let me take home a jar full of this really yummy coconut snack that is like shredded coconut but it tastes sweet and is crunchy, its hecka good!
While I was there we watched part of Matilda on their laptop, it was in French and had Spanish subtitles haha, but we just watched it for a little bit and then I played kickball with them in their front yard. It wasn't a large front yard or anything, but we made it work and had a lot of fun. And it was less tiring to play since it was in a small space and you didn't have to run as much, so I liked that haha
Then I read part of our next reading story with Rose. And they invited me back over tomorrow for spaghetti breakfast, so I'm excited about that.
Yesterday, Thursday, I played soccer, when I play I'm always on Wawens and Marc's team. And I always try to steal the ball from Christopher, he is the best soccer player in our class I think, so its always hard for me to steal the ball from him. I almost made a goal, but didn't haha, but Marc made a goal!
And afterschool I played basketball with Woodkimley, it was really fun haha but I am horrible at it. Like to warm up I just shot baskets and out of probably a good 50 shots I made like 8 haha. And it was a little embarrassing because I stand out more because of my skin, so more people saw how bad I was haha, but I still had so much fun because I love playing basketball even though I am very bad at it. And then I tried to do lay ups. And then we played 2 on 2 game and I actually made 2 baskets during the game which I am super proud of myself for. We played against Algeorge, who is in 8th grade and on the basketball team at Sonlight, and this other guy who I don't know his name. We lost. But we lost 8 to 12, which isn't that bad. And then Woodkimley and Algeorge played another game and I watched, and while I was watching, I met two other girls at the basketball court and they were very nice and we tried to shoot baskets (on the other side of the court) and when I made it they clapped for me, it was sweet. They tried to talk to me in Kreyol, but I couldn't really understand, but I was able to tell them I was a second grade teacher in Kreyol. So that's something at least. I can't wait until I know enough to actually have a conversation with people, that will be awesome.
And then on Wednesday we had Kreyol lessons with Phoebe, Samantha's aide, and that was good. I was able to understand some of the questions she asked me and answer back so that was cool. But I still have so so much to learn. And Samantha and I went on a walk/run up to the cross with the pretty view.
And also today all my kids did really well on their tests, especially reading! Because on the last few tests a lot of them would forget simple things like starting sentence with capital letter and ending with a period, but on this test I think none of them forgot except one, but still that's awesome. And their just all so smart in math and I'm so so so proud of them. :)
Then we finished Cars and started Ice Age during movie time.
And at recess we played with hula hoops that we got, and the kids really like them.
And then afterschool I went with Rose to her house, and she has two older twin sisters that go to Sonlight, their so sweet and cute just like Rose. :) And Rose's mom is so so nice. They bought me juice and her mom made me this amazing drink. It was mashed up banana, milk, sugar and some other yummy spices and stuff, it tasted amazing. You drink it warm. It was like if banana bread mix was in the form of a drink, it was just so good. And then she let me take home a jar full of this really yummy coconut snack that is like shredded coconut but it tastes sweet and is crunchy, its hecka good!
While I was there we watched part of Matilda on their laptop, it was in French and had Spanish subtitles haha, but we just watched it for a little bit and then I played kickball with them in their front yard. It wasn't a large front yard or anything, but we made it work and had a lot of fun. And it was less tiring to play since it was in a small space and you didn't have to run as much, so I liked that haha
Then I read part of our next reading story with Rose. And they invited me back over tomorrow for spaghetti breakfast, so I'm excited about that.
Yesterday, Thursday, I played soccer, when I play I'm always on Wawens and Marc's team. And I always try to steal the ball from Christopher, he is the best soccer player in our class I think, so its always hard for me to steal the ball from him. I almost made a goal, but didn't haha, but Marc made a goal!
And afterschool I played basketball with Woodkimley, it was really fun haha but I am horrible at it. Like to warm up I just shot baskets and out of probably a good 50 shots I made like 8 haha. And it was a little embarrassing because I stand out more because of my skin, so more people saw how bad I was haha, but I still had so much fun because I love playing basketball even though I am very bad at it. And then I tried to do lay ups. And then we played 2 on 2 game and I actually made 2 baskets during the game which I am super proud of myself for. We played against Algeorge, who is in 8th grade and on the basketball team at Sonlight, and this other guy who I don't know his name. We lost. But we lost 8 to 12, which isn't that bad. And then Woodkimley and Algeorge played another game and I watched, and while I was watching, I met two other girls at the basketball court and they were very nice and we tried to shoot baskets (on the other side of the court) and when I made it they clapped for me, it was sweet. They tried to talk to me in Kreyol, but I couldn't really understand, but I was able to tell them I was a second grade teacher in Kreyol. So that's something at least. I can't wait until I know enough to actually have a conversation with people, that will be awesome.
And then on Wednesday we had Kreyol lessons with Phoebe, Samantha's aide, and that was good. I was able to understand some of the questions she asked me and answer back so that was cool. But I still have so so much to learn. And Samantha and I went on a walk/run up to the cross with the pretty view.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Yesterday I found out that I was doing todays devotion. Because every morning at 7:30 am all the teachers and assistants meet and have a 5ish minute devotion before school. And so I just shared part of my testimony with them. :)
Every morning we start class with a journal question and today's was, What is your favorite recess games? And a lot of kids were like, the swings, or hide and seek, or the teeter totter. And then I walk over to Junior and he wrote, my favorite recess game is making the girls mad. hahaha He makes me laugh.
Almost every day he'll tell me word for word "Miss Sarah, I have a problem" And then he'll tell me his problem for the day. Today it was a little cut on his thumb that he wanted a band aid for, it wasn't a bad cut or bleeding or anything and he probably didn't really need a band aid, but I gave him one anyway haha.
Also today in Math they were absolutely perfect. It was amazing. My amazing helpers Miss Illianise and Mme Jonny started helping me with points (because they are in teams and can earn/lose points depending on their behavior) and so they were much better at taking away points when they misbehaved and because of that they would behave so much better to get points back. It was amazing . And then we made chicken masks because in science were learning about animals, like chickens. That was crazy. But fun. They were all clucking like chickens and being super cute and silly
And then afterschool I had bible study with my girls. We went over Philippians 2 and then did prayer requests. And Katiana prayed for us all, and when she prayed for me, I wanted to tear up because I've just known her for so long and hearing her pray to God was beautiful.
And when they heard I was only staying in Haiti one year they were sad and they told me I need to take seven suitcases with me when I leave so I can take them all home with me haha.
And then I taught them how to fold origami hearts because I love teaching people that
And then yesterday afterschool I went to Leisa's house. I helped her and Dayanne read our reading story. It was really good to read it one on one with them because then I could see what kind of words they struggled with and could help correct them. Then we went over our spelling words. And then we played. There were a few other kids there, one of them was Emmanuela
she was the first kid I met when I came to Haiti for the first time, when I was in eigth grade. And she was in kindergarten. And now she is in fourth grade! I had a picture of us together on my facebook of me and her back then and I showed it to her, at first she didn't believe it was her haha She is really sweet and cute.
So then with the kids I played duck duck goose, red rover, and hide and seek. And then I showed them snapchat filters for their first time seeing them and their reactions to what it did to their face was priceless, they loved it. :) And then I also showed the I love Waffle book that my mom made to the kids and they loved that too
Every morning we start class with a journal question and today's was, What is your favorite recess games? And a lot of kids were like, the swings, or hide and seek, or the teeter totter. And then I walk over to Junior and he wrote, my favorite recess game is making the girls mad. hahaha He makes me laugh.
Almost every day he'll tell me word for word "Miss Sarah, I have a problem" And then he'll tell me his problem for the day. Today it was a little cut on his thumb that he wanted a band aid for, it wasn't a bad cut or bleeding or anything and he probably didn't really need a band aid, but I gave him one anyway haha.
Also today in Math they were absolutely perfect. It was amazing. My amazing helpers Miss Illianise and Mme Jonny started helping me with points (because they are in teams and can earn/lose points depending on their behavior) and so they were much better at taking away points when they misbehaved and because of that they would behave so much better to get points back. It was amazing . And then we made chicken masks because in science were learning about animals, like chickens. That was crazy. But fun. They were all clucking like chickens and being super cute and silly
And then afterschool I had bible study with my girls. We went over Philippians 2 and then did prayer requests. And Katiana prayed for us all, and when she prayed for me, I wanted to tear up because I've just known her for so long and hearing her pray to God was beautiful.
And when they heard I was only staying in Haiti one year they were sad and they told me I need to take seven suitcases with me when I leave so I can take them all home with me haha.
And then I taught them how to fold origami hearts because I love teaching people that
And then yesterday afterschool I went to Leisa's house. I helped her and Dayanne read our reading story. It was really good to read it one on one with them because then I could see what kind of words they struggled with and could help correct them. Then we went over our spelling words. And then we played. There were a few other kids there, one of them was Emmanuela
she was the first kid I met when I came to Haiti for the first time, when I was in eigth grade. And she was in kindergarten. And now she is in fourth grade! I had a picture of us together on my facebook of me and her back then and I showed it to her, at first she didn't believe it was her haha She is really sweet and cute.
So then with the kids I played duck duck goose, red rover, and hide and seek. And then I showed them snapchat filters for their first time seeing them and their reactions to what it did to their face was priceless, they loved it. :) And then I also showed the I love Waffle book that my mom made to the kids and they loved that too
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Yesterday morning I got Haitian spaghetti, which is a common breakfast food here, with Samantha, Katiana, and Sophiana. It was so good. It has noodles, sauce, and then peanuts, bananas, avocados, beets, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and most people (except me haha) have it with chicken too. It sounds so different than American spaghetti but I thought it was really good, I especially liked the banana, peanuts, and avocado in it! haha
And I woked in my classroom for awhile and got ready for Monday through Thursday again. Feels so good to get it all done before the week starts.
And then we had dinner and Katie's house. And I got to play with her dog, Hugo. He is an adorable Rottweiler. He is so so sweet and cute and cuddly. I miss having all my dogs, so I love petting and playing with him. :)
And then today I taught Sunday school, for 1st and 2nd grade for two teachers who were out of town this weekend, but it didn't go very well because there were just 3 boys who would not listen to me at all :( So that made it hard. But I talked to them about the armor of God and we dressed one of the kids up Ruth, and that was fun. I obviously didn't have real armor stuff, so she wore a hat for the helmet, and rainboots for the shoes and other silly stuff like that haha
And I woked in my classroom for awhile and got ready for Monday through Thursday again. Feels so good to get it all done before the week starts.
And then we had dinner and Katie's house. And I got to play with her dog, Hugo. He is an adorable Rottweiler. He is so so sweet and cute and cuddly. I miss having all my dogs, so I love petting and playing with him. :)
And then today I taught Sunday school, for 1st and 2nd grade for two teachers who were out of town this weekend, but it didn't go very well because there were just 3 boys who would not listen to me at all :( So that made it hard. But I talked to them about the armor of God and we dressed one of the kids up Ruth, and that was fun. I obviously didn't have real armor stuff, so she wore a hat for the helmet, and rainboots for the shoes and other silly stuff like that haha
And then after that I went to church. I always love the worship so much. But I wish I could know what they are preaching about. I miss hearing messages at church a lot, and I can't wait until I'm good enough at Creole so I can understand what they are teaching at church. If anyone who takes notes at church reads this, you should send me a picture of them through Facebook! Because I really miss hearing the messages at church. And it's harder to even like watch online sermons because you can't watch videos here really because it uses too much of the internet. But yeah send me your church notes!! :)
Friday, September 23, 2016
Today one of my kids, Leisa told another kid in class, "Miss Sarah is my mom" haha she is so cute. I've already been to her house, and she told me she wants me to come again and play with her haha so I'll probably go sometime next week :)
And at recess today and all the girls were laying around me and some were braiding my hair and others were tickling my ears with a long piece of grass, because I started tickling their ears with it the other day, so today they got me back! haha But it was so fun. They are so cute! I have the best job in the world.
And then at the end of the day Love-Santia gave me a big hug and then she frowned at me and said "I will miss you Saturday and Sunday". It was so sweet haha.
And then yesterday was awesome. After school we went to the House of Hope Hospital/ Orphanage. First we prayed with every patient in the hospital and it's heart breaking to go into the hospital. I got to pray for a very sweet woman who only had one leg, but when she saw us she smiled so beautifully. I can't remember her name unfortunately, but you can pray for her too. :) And then we gave bags of water to everyone in the hospital because here they mainly sell water in these little bags instead of plastic bottles.
Then we went to the orphanage and that was fun to see all the precious kids. Cindy brought coloring books and chalk for them to play with, which they loved! The kids are so sweet. They liked playing tic tac toe with the chalk. I can't wait to go back. :)
And at recess today and all the girls were laying around me and some were braiding my hair and others were tickling my ears with a long piece of grass, because I started tickling their ears with it the other day, so today they got me back! haha But it was so fun. They are so cute! I have the best job in the world.
And then at the end of the day Love-Santia gave me a big hug and then she frowned at me and said "I will miss you Saturday and Sunday". It was so sweet haha.
And then yesterday was awesome. After school we went to the House of Hope Hospital/ Orphanage. First we prayed with every patient in the hospital and it's heart breaking to go into the hospital. I got to pray for a very sweet woman who only had one leg, but when she saw us she smiled so beautifully. I can't remember her name unfortunately, but you can pray for her too. :) And then we gave bags of water to everyone in the hospital because here they mainly sell water in these little bags instead of plastic bottles.
Then we went to the orphanage and that was fun to see all the precious kids. Cindy brought coloring books and chalk for them to play with, which they loved! The kids are so sweet. They liked playing tic tac toe with the chalk. I can't wait to go back. :)
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Today was awesome! One of my favorite days so far.
So the church that is visiting this week brought a set of white boards, mini markers, and cute mini erasers! I was so thrilled. And the kids LOVE them! And it makes them so much more engaged during math time or whenever we use them, its awesome!
And today was Sephora's birthday and her mom made these amazing homemade cupcakes for us all, they were so so good.
And also the visitor in my classroom, Kathy, helped with doing a short reading test with my students so I can get a feel with how they are all doing with reading, so I'm really glad she was able to do that for me.
And then after school I got to go to La Coupe with Cindy, the church that is visiting here, and some of the senior boys and I loved going there. I loved it so much because there were just so many kids to play with and they all wanted to hold my hand and they are just too cute for words. :) And its crazy how many kids there were because the senior boys just went around the neighborhood for maybe 5 minutes to tell kids to come, and then there were literally like 50 kids in this tiny building ready to play and sing and learn about God. And the senior boys did church songs with them which was fun and then the church visiting did a little skit for them that was about Zacchaeus, it was cute, and one of the 12th graders translated it to Creole for the kids. And then we separated all the kids into two groups because there were so many and we played Simon says with them, it took them awhile to get it but towards the end they started to get better haha. And I just loved all the little kids, they just smile at you and want you to hold their hand, they're so sweet.
And I just felt so happy that I get to stay this time. Because I am always just here for a week and have to leave which makes it harder to build relationships with the people here. But this time I get to stay. This time I get to go see those kids again and hopefully learn more Creole soon so I can actually talk with them at some point. And I am so happy about that. I don't know how I will leave all the people here at the end of the year, but that's a long time away and right now I am just very glad to be here and so grateful to God that He gave me this opportunity.
And then yesterday I had my girls bible study. We did the SOAP thing (it stand for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer) with Philippians 1 like we did at Flipt. It was good, except I forgot to remind them to bring their bibles! So we just all chose the same verse to write, which was Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" And then after that we just shared prayer requests with one another so we can pray for each other throughout the week. And then we made chocolate chip cookies and they turned out really good, they're good bakers! We made 30 cookies and they were gone in like 3 minutes haha
But I had fun with them, they are a sweet group of girls and I also showed them my room and the millions of photos of Atticus that I have hanging up haha They all thought he is so cute.
I'm excited for where this year takes us. Pray that we can always be Christ centered and honor Him through our time together.
Monday, September 19, 2016
This week we have visitors at the school, its so weird for me to not be a visitor this time but the teacher. But I have a very nice lady in my classroom who also is a teacher, I think she said she taught kindergarten for like 26 years! And so she helped me with our sponsorship craft. We had the kids go out one at a time with her and she painted their hand and then they pressed it onto construction paper and tomorrow they're going to glue a little heart onto their handprint. And today they wrote cute letters to their sponsor. And I got more letters from my kids that are so sweet. One girl, Marie Stephane wrote to me a note that said "Dear Sarah, I love you. You great mom." hahahaa it was so cute! I love her.
Then afterschool we went downtown and we found butter! Which usually you can't find here I think, so I bought some to make cookies with (because I have been using margarine, but butter is much better)
And then went for a run up to the cross, which is this beautiful cross made out of stones that overlooks a beautiful view of Haiti, it's so pretty, you can see the ocean and everything. :)
And then today I got two letters from my mom!!!! I was so happy when I saw them in my mailbox. ) She sent me letters and also pictures that I already taped to the walls in my room. :)
And baby said my name again today and my mom sent me a recording of him saying it! :) SO cute! ♥♥
Then afterschool we went downtown and we found butter! Which usually you can't find here I think, so I bought some to make cookies with (because I have been using margarine, but butter is much better)
And then went for a run up to the cross, which is this beautiful cross made out of stones that overlooks a beautiful view of Haiti, it's so pretty, you can see the ocean and everything. :)
And then today I got two letters from my mom!!!! I was so happy when I saw them in my mailbox. ) She sent me letters and also pictures that I already taped to the walls in my room. :)
And baby said my name again today and my mom sent me a recording of him saying it! :) SO cute! ♥♥
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Today I was able to plan for Monday through Thursday of this week!! Up until now, I was only able to be a day ahead. It feels great to be almost a whole week ahead! :)
And this week we have visitors, so I will have another lady in my class helping which will be really nice :)
And I got to see my kids all beautifully dressed up again for church today, they are so cute. All my girls brought cute little sunglasses to wear too, they are adorable! :)
And this week we have visitors, so I will have another lady in my class helping which will be really nice :)
And I got to see my kids all beautifully dressed up again for church today, they are so cute. All my girls brought cute little sunglasses to wear too, they are adorable! :)
2 days ago (Friday) I finally got my kids to be the perfect quiet noise level but to do it had to take away a point from each team (because they were being so loud before that) but after I did that and they saw, they were so quiet. So during that quiet time I gave each team hecka points just so they could hopefully understand this is the noise level I want it to always be.
Afterschool I went to one of my student's houses, Leisa, and they actually have electricity and a TV in their house so we watched Alvin and the Chipmunks there haha it was fun. And there was this adorable baby there who was so cute and he always wanted to be held, if you set him on the ground he'd cry, he always had to be held. And he loves to wack people with his hands and he's just almost a year old, he's a silly baby.
And then on Saturday I went to the pool here with some other families. And it is absolutely beautiful, it is right next to the ocean and just is really pretty.
Then I got to Face time my family through facebook for baby's birthday party. I was so happy to see everyone there. I miss baby so much and can't believe he'll be one in 4 days!!!
Then I worked in my classroom, I am all ready for Monday and almost all ready for Tuesday. And today I hope to be ready for Wednesday and Thursday because the last few weeks I've only been prepared a day ahead, but if I can do it all now I know it will make things so much easier for me throughout the week. :)
Oh also on Friday one of my students told me she was sad because her brother was sick and I got to pray with her during class for her brother. After we prayed, she looked happy. You can be praying for Saborah's brother too. And I just thought it was so cool that I go to a school where I can pray with my students and have my students come up and pray for snack and teach them about the Bible.
Afterschool I went to one of my student's houses, Leisa, and they actually have electricity and a TV in their house so we watched Alvin and the Chipmunks there haha it was fun. And there was this adorable baby there who was so cute and he always wanted to be held, if you set him on the ground he'd cry, he always had to be held. And he loves to wack people with his hands and he's just almost a year old, he's a silly baby.
And then on Saturday I went to the pool here with some other families. And it is absolutely beautiful, it is right next to the ocean and just is really pretty.
Then I got to Face time my family through facebook for baby's birthday party. I was so happy to see everyone there. I miss baby so much and can't believe he'll be one in 4 days!!!
Then I worked in my classroom, I am all ready for Monday and almost all ready for Tuesday. And today I hope to be ready for Wednesday and Thursday because the last few weeks I've only been prepared a day ahead, but if I can do it all now I know it will make things so much easier for me throughout the week. :)
Oh also on Friday one of my students told me she was sad because her brother was sick and I got to pray with her during class for her brother. After we prayed, she looked happy. You can be praying for Saborah's brother too. And I just thought it was so cool that I go to a school where I can pray with my students and have my students come up and pray for snack and teach them about the Bible.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Today was good. I still have so much to learn with how to be a better teacher, and make things more fun and creative.
During class today I got 3 different notes from my kids that said they loved me ♥♥♥ It was very sweet. I'm so grateful for them. Even when I feel inadequate or not good enough with teaching they remind me that love conquers all. And even more than what they learn this year, the most important thing I can give them is God's love.
Then afterschool I walked with my student, Kishi, to her house. She lives pretty far from the school, it was a nice walk though and she held my hand the whole way. And Benji came with us to her house. Then at her house I got to meet her mom and dad and her 5 siblings. They were all so sweet and cute. And her little brothers were so shy and cute. They would peek their head around this wall to look at me and every time I made eye contact with them they'd laugh and laugh and hide behind the wall. And then they'd slowly peek their head out to look at me again and then when I'd see them they'd laugh so much and hide again. They were so sweet.
After going to Ketsia's house yesterday, so many more of my students want me to go to their house too. So I'm excited about that and getting to meet all the families of my kids. :)
During class today I got 3 different notes from my kids that said they loved me ♥♥♥ It was very sweet. I'm so grateful for them. Even when I feel inadequate or not good enough with teaching they remind me that love conquers all. And even more than what they learn this year, the most important thing I can give them is God's love.
Then afterschool I walked with my student, Kishi, to her house. She lives pretty far from the school, it was a nice walk though and she held my hand the whole way. And Benji came with us to her house. Then at her house I got to meet her mom and dad and her 5 siblings. They were all so sweet and cute. And her little brothers were so shy and cute. They would peek their head around this wall to look at me and every time I made eye contact with them they'd laugh and laugh and hide behind the wall. And then they'd slowly peek their head out to look at me again and then when I'd see them they'd laugh so much and hide again. They were so sweet.
After going to Ketsia's house yesterday, so many more of my students want me to go to their house too. So I'm excited about that and getting to meet all the families of my kids. :)
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Today was awesome. Afterschool I got to visit one of my students homes, Ketsia, she is absolutely adorable. I got to walk home with her and her sweet brother Bonard. I love Bonard so much too! He is in sixth grade at sonlight. And I got to meet her mom and dad, they are so so nice. And her Dad spoke English so I could talk to him and he told me that he prayed for me everyday. That was the sweetest thing ever, I was humbled that he had been doing that. And then they showed me this tree in their front yard, I don't know the English word but I think in Creole it's something like zamma (I'm sure that I'm spelling it very incorrectly haha) but it has these I don't what you'd call them maybe a type of nut. But you can eat the outside peel and then you can crack them open and there is this liitle whit part inside that you can eat too, it was good. Their mom went on the second story of their house with a stick to knock some out of the tree for me to eat haha. And their Dad went and bought me juice and biscuits. And the juice was actually this cream soda but it sort of tasted like apple pie to me which probably sounds weird but it was good and the biscuits were so yummy too. And I just loved meeting Ketsia's family. And I loved talking to Bonard. Him and Ketsia each have a chicken and I got to hold their chickens, I held both at the same time! I've never held a chicken before haha so that was fun. That was a great experience, her family is so kind. :)
And then after that I went to the boy we sponsor, Timothe's house. I love Timothe so much. He is already in tenth grade, when I fisr met him he was in fifth grade. And so I got to go see his mom and sisters, they are such an amazing family. And I got to see Emmanuel, the baby who was abandoned by his mother right after he was born and Timothe's family took him in to raise him. He is going to be 2 years old in October, and he can walk now. I remember seeing him when he was only a few days old, he has grown so much and is doing so well. Praise God. <3
And then went for a run/walk with Samantha (my awesome roommate and the 7th grade teacher) and Susan (the amazing 3rd grade teacher) and Riley (Susan's sweet daughter). It was a really nice run, you could see the ocean a lot which is so so beautiful. I love living right next to the water. :) But its funny because no one really runs for fun or for exercise in Haiti, so when we do, like everyone is already staring at you because of our skin color, but then when your running it just attracts more attention. Which I don't like. But its just something you have to get used to living here because no matter where you go here, if you are white or lighter skin toned, people will be staring at you because you stand out so much haha. And then on our run, we ran to this restaurant called La Breeze and we didn'teat there or anything but we just walked inside and there is also a swimming pool there which is right next to the ocean that we looked at, its so pretty.
And then I went to work in my classroom.
And I ate cereal with powdered milk for the first time. It was not bad. But you just probably wouldn't want to drink the milk in the bowl after you finish the cereal. And the milk actually tastes fine when you have it with the cereal. I ate it with Cinnamon toast crunch. It was amazing.
And yesterday I had the first Bible study with my 7th grade girls. They are all very sweet. For the first one I just talked about my favorite verse with them and then we watched a movie (Enchanted), but next week we will have a real Bible study haha
And then after that I went to the boy we sponsor, Timothe's house. I love Timothe so much. He is already in tenth grade, when I fisr met him he was in fifth grade. And so I got to go see his mom and sisters, they are such an amazing family. And I got to see Emmanuel, the baby who was abandoned by his mother right after he was born and Timothe's family took him in to raise him. He is going to be 2 years old in October, and he can walk now. I remember seeing him when he was only a few days old, he has grown so much and is doing so well. Praise God. <3
And then went for a run/walk with Samantha (my awesome roommate and the 7th grade teacher) and Susan (the amazing 3rd grade teacher) and Riley (Susan's sweet daughter). It was a really nice run, you could see the ocean a lot which is so so beautiful. I love living right next to the water. :) But its funny because no one really runs for fun or for exercise in Haiti, so when we do, like everyone is already staring at you because of our skin color, but then when your running it just attracts more attention. Which I don't like. But its just something you have to get used to living here because no matter where you go here, if you are white or lighter skin toned, people will be staring at you because you stand out so much haha. And then on our run, we ran to this restaurant called La Breeze and we didn'teat there or anything but we just walked inside and there is also a swimming pool there which is right next to the ocean that we looked at, its so pretty.
And then I went to work in my classroom.
And I ate cereal with powdered milk for the first time. It was not bad. But you just probably wouldn't want to drink the milk in the bowl after you finish the cereal. And the milk actually tastes fine when you have it with the cereal. I ate it with Cinnamon toast crunch. It was amazing.
And yesterday I had the first Bible study with my 7th grade girls. They are all very sweet. For the first one I just talked about my favorite verse with them and then we watched a movie (Enchanted), but next week we will have a real Bible study haha
Monday, September 12, 2016
Today was good. The kids were a lot better than on Friday! They are still a little chatty, so I may have to try to be more strict still (because I wasn't strict at all today like I planned to be haha) . But we'll see. Also Cindy was better today, thank you for praying! :)
Today at recess I played soccer with some of the boys, it was fun. :)
And today Miss Illianise brought me a present of like 10 fresh bananas! haha she's so sweet! :) And today at recess she told me I was a very good teacher. And that meant so so much to me because I really have no idea how I'm doing and feel like I'm not good a lot, but the fact that she said that and she's been helping in second grade for at least 8 years or more, meant so much.
And then I got to give my class the snickerdoodles I made and only 2 of my kids had had a snickerdoodle before! They all liked them :)
And Leisa lost a tooth! And a lot of other kids have very wiggly teeth.
And then after school I put a lot of grades in my grade book and got ready for tomorrow.
And at home I always listen to Never going back, and Simple Gospel, and Head to the Heart, and No longer Slaves (all songs we sing at Flipt) their my favorite songs we sing. Sometimes they make me tear up, just a teensy bit, because their such beautiful songs and they remind me so much of Flipt.
And now I am starting to feel a stomach ache coming and wonder if its because I ate mac and cheese that expired last year for dinner tonight haha, but I didn't think it actually goes bad unless you open it. But I may have been wrong haha
Love you all <3
Today at recess I played soccer with some of the boys, it was fun. :)
And today Miss Illianise brought me a present of like 10 fresh bananas! haha she's so sweet! :) And today at recess she told me I was a very good teacher. And that meant so so much to me because I really have no idea how I'm doing and feel like I'm not good a lot, but the fact that she said that and she's been helping in second grade for at least 8 years or more, meant so much.
And then I got to give my class the snickerdoodles I made and only 2 of my kids had had a snickerdoodle before! They all liked them :)
And Leisa lost a tooth! And a lot of other kids have very wiggly teeth.
And then after school I put a lot of grades in my grade book and got ready for tomorrow.
And at home I always listen to Never going back, and Simple Gospel, and Head to the Heart, and No longer Slaves (all songs we sing at Flipt) their my favorite songs we sing. Sometimes they make me tear up, just a teensy bit, because their such beautiful songs and they remind me so much of Flipt.
And now I am starting to feel a stomach ache coming and wonder if its because I ate mac and cheese that expired last year for dinner tonight haha, but I didn't think it actually goes bad unless you open it. But I may have been wrong haha
Love you all <3
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Please pray for Cindy, the amazing lady who has helped me so much since I got here, today she has had a head ache all day and just not been feeling well.
Also thank you for praying for Conrad, he seems all better today, it looked like his rash was all gone! They think it was the laundry detergent they had been using that caused it.
Also today I helped in Sunday school with the first through third graders which was fun. They're super cute. And a lot of my kids were there too so it was fun to see them all dressed up for church.
And I made snickerdoodles to give to my class tomorrow! :) They don't taste quite as good as the ones I make at home because butter isn't a thing here, so you have to use margarine, but they are still yummy.
And then I taped up a ton of letters all around my room from my family and friends so now wherever I look in my room I am encouraged. :)
And Sophiana is starting school tomorrow which I'm very happy about, I hope it goes well for her at the new school.
And Katiana sang at church today! But I missed it because I was in Sunday school so that w too bad. But she said she will be singing again not this Sunday but the next, so I'll just make sure I watch her then.
Also thank you for praying for Conrad, he seems all better today, it looked like his rash was all gone! They think it was the laundry detergent they had been using that caused it.
Also today I helped in Sunday school with the first through third graders which was fun. They're super cute. And a lot of my kids were there too so it was fun to see them all dressed up for church.
And I made snickerdoodles to give to my class tomorrow! :) They don't taste quite as good as the ones I make at home because butter isn't a thing here, so you have to use margarine, but they are still yummy.
And then I taped up a ton of letters all around my room from my family and friends so now wherever I look in my room I am encouraged. :)
And Sophiana is starting school tomorrow which I'm very happy about, I hope it goes well for her at the new school.
And Katiana sang at church today! But I missed it because I was in Sunday school so that w too bad. But she said she will be singing again not this Sunday but the next, so I'll just make sure I watch her then.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Today I planned out my school day for Monday. And hopefully tomorrow I can plan some more days so I'll be more ahead. And then today we also went to Witchy & Widloveson &Woodkimley & Walkem's family restaurant that is so yummy. Today we had rice and beans, but if you go earlier in the morning they have Haitian spaghetti which Woodkimley told me it has Chicken, banana, peanuts, tomatoes, beats, avocados, carrots, and onions. So I'll have to try that next time minus the chicken. And then I worked more for school, as a teacher, you can never run out of things to do! you just have to decide whats most important and make sure you get those things done. And then after that I went to Ryan and Catherine's house and they made us (Samantha, Katie, and I) yummy food. The potatoes they made were amazing! And even more amazing was that they made strawberry ice cream!!! It was sooooo delicious, and ice cream is sort of rare in Haiti I think, so I was so grateful they would share with us! :) And then we watched the Tom Hanks movie, The Terminal, such a good movie. And I got to play with Conrad, their year and a half old baby. He is so precious. I love him so much, Please, be praying for him! He has hives/ some sort of rash, but it seemed like from when we first got there compared to when we left he did get a little less red I think. But I got to sit with him for part of the movie and he just love throwing things like DVD cases onto the ground. He had so much fun throwing them and then picking them up just to throw them again or he'd open and close them. He is so adorable. I love him so much.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Today was a rough day for teaching. The kids would just not be quiet for me and it made the day so much harder and not as fun because I'd constantly have to get them to be quiet, but then they'd only stay quiet for a little bit. So I think I have to start being more strict, because I'm not very strict at all right now and I don't want to be strict but I think I have to at least until they learn to behave better so it won't be like this every day. Cause they're such good kids, but they're super chit chatty and it can make it hard to teach and makes me loose my voice when I have to talk over them all day.
But on Fridays we watch movies in the afternoon. So during the movie they were very good and quiet! they were really into it, we finished Zootopia and then started this Tom & Jerry movie. And they LOVE Tom and Jerry haha
Then afterschool I got to walk with Katiana to her home and visit her Mom and little sister Laura and older sister Dayana and I love her mom so much! She is so sweet and she was so happy to see me and I was so thrilled to see her too. I missed her so much. I am so glad that I get to stay in Haiti this time and be able to see Katiana and her family so much more than before. And then Sophiana her other sister who I love with all my heart got retained too many times at Sonlight so she was not able to go back this year, which was really sad to hear. But Katiana said the other day that they don't know if Sophiana will go to school because they can't afford it, so I asked her how much it costs and its only 1,000 Gourdes (or $15 US dollars) a month so I told her I will pay for it. But it is just sad to think about how a lot of kids in Haiti can't afford to go to school, even though its only 15 dollars a month.
And I also got to ride a taxi (aka moped) with Katiana to downtown, and that was fun I always love riding the taxi's. :) We went downtown because one of the boys in my class James got a hole in his nice school shoes and he was devastated and so I told him I'd get him a new pair. And Katiana was so great at bargaining with the people at the market to get a good price. She did great! haha
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Today was great. My heart is so full of love for my kids.
Last night I baked cookies here in Haiti! They turned out pretty good. :)
On Tuesday in Bible time at school we played a game where you write a Bible verse word by word on index cards and then the kids mix them up and have to put them back in order. And then today we played that same game again and after playing it one time, we erased the verse off the board to see if they could do it by memory and almost every student did! They are amazing. And then some kids said it from memory in front of the class. I'm so proud of them. It was romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"
And then before snack we pray. And its so precious, I'll say who wants to pray for snack today, and all their hands shoot up and they're all saying "Me, me, me!" "I want to pray!" and usually a lot of times at other places, no one wants to be the one to pray, but all of them want so bad to be the one to pray for snack. I think we'll have to make more prayer times throughout the day because they love getting up and praying so much.
And then I love recess so much. Today we played hide and seek tag. And so someone will be it and we all run and hide and then when they find you, you have to run to a new spot before they get you. And I love it and all the girls want to hold my hand and run and hide with me. I wish I had more hands for them to hold haha. And then every day after recess some of the girls bring me little pink flowers that they picked. They are so so sweet.
And then today we played different games where they would try to answer the math flashcard the fastest, or write the spelling word the fastest on the board. They love those kinds of games.
They are a good bunch of kiddos. I love them sooooo much.
Last night I baked cookies here in Haiti! They turned out pretty good. :)
On Tuesday in Bible time at school we played a game where you write a Bible verse word by word on index cards and then the kids mix them up and have to put them back in order. And then today we played that same game again and after playing it one time, we erased the verse off the board to see if they could do it by memory and almost every student did! They are amazing. And then some kids said it from memory in front of the class. I'm so proud of them. It was romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"
And then before snack we pray. And its so precious, I'll say who wants to pray for snack today, and all their hands shoot up and they're all saying "Me, me, me!" "I want to pray!" and usually a lot of times at other places, no one wants to be the one to pray, but all of them want so bad to be the one to pray for snack. I think we'll have to make more prayer times throughout the day because they love getting up and praying so much.
And then I love recess so much. Today we played hide and seek tag. And so someone will be it and we all run and hide and then when they find you, you have to run to a new spot before they get you. And I love it and all the girls want to hold my hand and run and hide with me. I wish I had more hands for them to hold haha. And then every day after recess some of the girls bring me little pink flowers that they picked. They are so so sweet.
And then today we played different games where they would try to answer the math flashcard the fastest, or write the spelling word the fastest on the board. They love those kinds of games.
They are a good bunch of kiddos. I love them sooooo much.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Address: Before I only included the letter address and not the package address because I thought I had to pay $5 per pound, but that is only if the packages are flown in, if they are mailed to the boat I won't have to pay at all per pound. So if anyone wanted to know the package address here it is :)
Package Address:
Sonlight Ministries/Name of Missionary or Student
3280-55A Tamiami Trail #190
Port Charlotte, FL 33952
NOTE: No plastic tubs, please!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)