Movin' On Up!

I'm FINALLY moving tomorrow!! I found out right before I left that I would be moving onto the school's campus. I've been back for almost 3 weeks, and I am just now finally getting to move, and boy am I excited!

Reasons:
1) I get to hang out with this girl more often.
And her hubby, and the Hendricks and the Kilpatricks and all the other fun people that live on campus. I'm so excited to be surrounded by people that are dealing with a lot of the same things that I am dealing with. First year teaching in a foreign country where you know hardly anyone. I can't wait to share in our experiences as we go through this journey together.

2) I no longer have to spend up to 3 hours per day in a car. Make that a bumpy car. Today on the ride home I was thinking that the car ride very much seems like an uncomfortable roller coaster, except there is no fun drop to get your adrenaline going. You only get the uncomfortable bouncing around.

3) More time to build relationships with students. Since I will live a mere 50 steps away from my classroom, I won't have to worry about rushing to get home, or keeping the driver waiting while I finish a conversation. Better relationships means hopefully more opportunities to share the gospel, which I am STOKED about!

I'm sure there are other reasons, but my head is clouded with excitement of finally being there.

In other news: Yesterday I posted about hoping for a smile from ear to ear on my "how do I feel picture of the day." I'm not going say anything about it, I'm just going to post it and you can see for yourself.


>KB

Latest Musings

Sweet smiling girl.

Where have I been you ask? Behind a desk. I know, I know. That is NO excuse for not blogging. I feel so bad because so much has happened, but I have been so busy grading papers, and making tests, that I have been so cruel to my lovely readers. But I’m back! And not only do I have a blog for you, but also PICTURES!! Now, who doesn’t love a good picture?

So last time I blogged was about Melissa Hope. I am excited to tell you that she is still a huge part of my life and I spend every single day with her. It pains me to spend time at school because I’m not with her. I’m pretty sure it’s true love between us. She has finally gotten most of her paperwork done (passport and visa) and should be heading to the Dominican Republic in about 2 weeks to undergo heart surgery. Once she is recovered, then she should start to grow like a weed!

It is so challenging to be her mom right now. I have so much going on that sometimes I wonder if I’m capable of taking care of this small child. It is so neat to see her pick up on the things that I do. She puckers her lips and makes kissy faces, and she now clasps her hands. She is growing so much and I’m privileged to be in her life. But that doesn’t make it easy. Many days I feel like I’m not doing a good job, or that I shouldn’t be in charge of a life, but God has a reason, and I’m clinging to that. It is also comforting to know that once my time is up with her, she is going to a GREAT home. I have met the people that are adopting her, and Melissa will have the best life she could ever dream of. Will it be hard to let go of her, yes, but I’m comforted to know that she will be in GREAT hands and I will have nothing to worry about for her well being.

My beautiful home!

Everyone does keep asking me if I am adopting her. I would like to say yes. Every ounce of me would love to have this baby forever and watch her grow mentally and physically. There are a couple of things that deter me from doing that. One is that Haitian law states that you must be 35 and married for at least 10 years in order to adopt from this country. So legally, it would never be possible. I do know a couple that is thinking about having their parents adopt a child then signing over the papers. So it is possible. But that brings me to my next point. I’m 22 and single. There is no way that I could support a baby. Melissa would not have the life that she deserves, and I know that. Plus, she is going to a great home, so I have no worries when it comes to her. She will always be a part of me, and I of her. So no, I am not adopting her, but she is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Ever.

So, now I want to tell you all about school! Today I am actually at a parent teacher conference. I have to be here for six hours, and I basically just wait for the parents to come see me. I have three unsatisfactory behavior grades, and that is no fun, but they are going pretty well so far.

The sun!! It's so bright!

In the morning I aid 5^th grade. They are so much fun! Apparently, they have some behavior issues at recess, but their teacher, Tiffany Nash, really has them under control! They respect her and really like her, and she is a wonderful teacher to get to observe everyday and learn from. The students have been reading James and the Giant Peach. I have never read that book, but I am getting to listen to them discuss the book, and it is so interesting. They really enjoy reading and have been really responsive to the things they have to do for their discussion groups. I have also been grading a lot of their papers, and occasionally help a child read or do some math. They are such a fun class, and I have really enjoyed being a part of their lives.

Also in the morning, I aid 6^th grade. This grade is an interesting grade. They seem to have a lot more behavior issues than the 5^th grade. Their teacher, Kristie Mattenley, is awesome and really gives the kids a chance express themselves through many different avenues. They really struggle with dirty jokes and cursing more than anything. I was really shocked to hear some of the things that come out of their mouths. Kristie is definitely handling it well. Usually in that class I help with Science, Social Studies, and drama. They are sweet kids and really like to learn.

Then, I teach 11^th grade American Literature. I never in my life thought I would ever teach American Literature. Mr. Chopson (my literature teacher in high school) would be so proud of me! This class is a first year teacher’s DREAM! They participate, they all have A’s and B’s, and they are so much fun to teach. Right now we are reading To Kill A Mockingbird, which is one of my absolute favorite books of all time!

I then aid some more, and eat lunch, and aid some more. Haha! My schedule is so undefined!

Last period I teach grade 10 English. The focus of that class is mostly to develop writing skills and read novels. Currently, we are reading Pride and Prejudice, which is another one of my favorite books. This class is extremely hard to teach. They are often loud and rambunctious, and it is really hard to get anything done. Behavior grades just went out, so hopefully they will realize that their behavior is unacceptable and they will do better.

My favorite picture of us at the beach.

Teaching is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work! I have decided though, that this is something I could do for the rest of my life. Something I WANT to do for the rest of my life. I enjoy planning my lessons and helping kids understand something they think is impossible. I definitely want to go to grad school and get my Master’s in English so that I can teach English at the high school level.

What's up homie?!

So yeah, that’s school. Here are some other things that have happened. I’m just doing bullet points because I’m too lazy to type out full paragraphs J

I saw my first dead person. Morbid, I know. But that saddest part of that is when we drove past, the police officers that were “on the case” were standing nearby getting their shoes shined. It made me so mad.

I also was almost involved in another Haitian wreck. I was in one on my birthday, but this one was much worse. The guy passed us and his throttle got stuck and he cut us off and smacked into a wall. We were lucky to not hit him.

I got to drive! Michelle taught me how to drive a stick and I got to drive for a few minutes. I’m really terrible at it.

I got to watch the UT-Alabama and the Titans-Eagles games this week. Oh, how I’ve missed football.

The school is starting discipleship groups this week, and I will have 5-10 girls in my group and we will get to do a book study or something. I’m still praying about it.

We went to the beach the other day. It was so fun and relaxing. Melissa quite enjoyed the water. There are pictures scattered throughout this blog.

Things have been going pretty well. There are always going to be bad days. I have had my share of them, but overall, my time in Haiti is well worth the craziness. I feel like I’m impacting the people and that is one of the best feelings ever. I miss my family and my friends like CRAZY, but I know it is only seven and a half weeks until I’m reunited with the ones I love.

Thank you for your prayers, and I hope you are being blessed daily just as I am. I love all of you!

>k

My first two days in a place that feels like home!

Today is my second full day in Haiti. I am having such an amazing time. It is extremely hot here, and that will wear any person out, so I start to lose energy around 1 or 2, but I’ve been doing just fine!

Yesterday was my 22 birthday. Yup, I’m totally old. Woke up this morning feeling my age haha! But yesterday was definitely filled with lots of fun adventures. We woke up around seven and got ready for the day. We then headed out to Children of Hope Orphanage and Hospice to play with the kids. I visited this orphanage back in October and fell in love with it then, and going back yesterday just reminded me of how much I do that those kids!

We played with the kids for a few hours. I fell in love with this boy named Israel. He is probably 6 or 7 and we played with a beach ball and volleyed it back and forth. I haven’t seen a child’s face light up that much in such a long time. It was so fun just to love him and hang out with him.

After a little while, we got in the car to go back to the house. It is definitely a bumpy ride, so we were all hanging on for deal life in the truck. We had stopped and all of the sudden someone RAMMED us! We had 4 people in the bed of the truck and they were definitely shaken up! Everyone was fine, but it took two hours to swap information and figure out what needed to be done. After that we were finally on our way back to the house.

But of course, we had to make another stop. We went to the market to get some snacks. Since it was my birthday, I decided it was ok to eat an entire Toblerone, and that is exactly what I did. It was absolutely delicious. Some girls we were with were on the hunt for Dr. Pepper. The first market didn’t have any, so we went to another market, which took about another hour. By the time we got home, it was time to eat dinner! Oh, and we did find Dr. Pepper, and they bought 15 of them!

We got home and we went down to eat dinner. We have spaghetti and meatballs and salad! It was so delicious! As I was about to start filling my plate, Greg turned around and showed me this BEAUTIFUL cake that he had bought for my birthday and everyone sang. I started to tear up, but held in back. It was so awesome for them to think of me. And this cake was amazing! It was from a French bakery in Petionville, which is about 20 minutes from our house. And it tasted delicious too!

As a matter of fact, I just ate another piece, and it is still delicious!

After dinner we came back up to the house and I skyped with my sister, then Adam West and John Mark, who sang me an AWESOME birthday song. It is so good to still be able to see familiar faces while I’m here.

Today was an excellent day as well. We had to wake up super early to head to the orphanage. Rozlynn was a young girl that had been at the orphanage for a really long time and she was more of a caretaker than an orphan. She died on Monday, and her funeral was today. We went there early this morning so that we could take care of the kids while all of the workers went to the funeral. As soon as we got there, we were swarmed by children. Automatically, Israel, the young boy that I played “beach volleyball” with wanted to play again, so we started playing.

A few minutes later, a boy named Lookins wanted to play basketball, so me, him, Rivaldo and Kinsley played 2 on 2. The basketball goal was a small tin round thing that is nothing like an American basketball goal. But, apparently, I’m not too shabby. Me and Rivaldo won the first game, and tied the second game. It was so fun, but definitely wore me out. Dashna is another young girl that I played with today. She hit her head on a bench and we bonded through that experience.

Now we are back home and all very exhausted. I just wanted to let you guys know what I was doing! It is raining right now, so the Internet went out, and I’m not sure when it will go back on, so this might be a little delayed because of the rain.

I appreciate all of your prayers, and know that they are what is getting me through the days. The work is hard, but totally worth every bit of effort put in. Just know that I am doing great, and the Lord is working in this place! I love each and every one of you!

My Haitian Paradise!

I cannot even begin to explain how amazing Haiti was. I'm going to try to recall everything that went on because it was such an awesome experience!

On Wednesday morning, very early, we woke up and went to the airport and boarded a plane to Atlanta. We arrived safely in Atlanta, and I even got to fly first class! Lots of pretzels and SunChips! So we land in Atlanta and immediately board the plane to Miami. We spent the night in Miami because we wouldn't have been able to make an earlier flight to Haiti. It was also Michelle's birthday, so we rented a convertible and drove around Miami and went into South Beach and walked up and down the strip. It was really fun, even though I was really tired for some reason.

The next morning we woke up and went to the airport and got on the plane to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As soon as we landed we headed outside and tons of men in red caps came barreling towards us speaking a language that I thoroughly did not understand. We met with pastor Jude, and his wife, pastor Joenemed, and a few other people. We had to rent a car, so we stood outside in the 100 degree weather until we got the car. While we were waiting, I got to play with Pastor Jude's grandson, Isaiah, who is the CUTEST little boy ever! This is him.

When we got the car, we found out that one of the tires was bad so we had to go to the Avis office and get the tire changed. Being the nice woman she is, Pastor Jude's wife, Yanick let me sit in the front seat. Bad idea. They drive like CRAZY in Haiti. There are no traffic rules, you just go and honk your horn and hope you don't anymore. Those of you that know me know that I have a weak stomach, so I was having to keep it all in. Once we got the car fixed, we went to the grocery and it was really exciting. It was just like being back in America. We bought a few things for the hotel, but I of course always pack a ton of food with me because I don't want to starve, being the picky eater that I am! After the grocery, we went to the Karibe, which is this amazing hotel. It's kind of sad because the hotel is so nice, and you step out on the front porch and remember the poverty and destruction of the country. For some reason, I was more tired than I've ever been in my life. We had planned on taking a short nap before getting up for dinner. We checked into the hotel around 3:20, and by 3:30 I was crawled in the bed asleep. Michelle came in around 7:30 and asked me if I wanted to eat some dinner, but I was so tired that I just wanted to stay in bed. I ended up sleeping until 8 o'clock the next morning. Unfortunately, this was a common theme among the week, but I tried to stay strong and remember what I was there to do. We woke up Friday morning and ate breakfast at our wonderful hotel, then headed out for the day. Pastor Jude and Yanick came to our hotel and we went to this place run by American missionaries to see if they were available to house the group that was going down the next week. It was a beautiful place, and it ended up working out great for the group the next week.

After we went to that place we went to a baby orphanage. It was a 5 story building with a playground on the roof. They had so many young children, and we didn't get to stay for long but here a few pictures of some of the kids we saw.

This is the playground on the roof

Sweet child

He cried the whole time

After we left the orphanage we drove around the streets and it really made me realize how much need this country is in. Here a few pictures of what goes on in the streets of Haiti.

This is a dip on the side of the road where water should be flowing through, but it's completely filled with trash.

These trucks are called tap-taps. They are like taxi's but they pile as many people in there as they can to take them where they need to go. They drive like crazy and you have to honk to let them know you are right beside them so they don't run over you! It's so scary!

This is where my days get completely mixed up. I remember everything that happened but I have no idea as to what order they happened in. Haha.

One night we went out to eat in a Haitian restaurant with Greg's friend, Anne McDonald. She's an awesome young lady. She works at Gheskio, which is the first medical center in the world exclusively dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS. She has been all over the world, but has been living in Haiti for a few months. Her story is awesome, and she gives all the glory to God.

One morning we met with Joan, who works with the Restavek Foundation. There are 300,000 children in Haiti living as Restevek, which is a child slave. Joan and her husband talked to us about what they do, and it was very powerful. This quote from the Web site sums up the Restevek Foundation and what they exist to do.

"The Restavek Foundation exists to bring an end to child slavery in Haiti. We're here because we believe that a broken system can be fixed. We believe that education and love will replace the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that comes from ignorance. And we believe that if we give these children a voice, we can give them hope for a better future."

While we were there, we also went to an orphanage that was far away, up a mountain, and down some pretty rough roads. We even saw a pay phone hanging on a tree! I wish I could find the picture of it, but its no where to be found. Bobby runs the orphanage and he houses 15 kids ranging in age. They are so adorable. They loved having their picture taken! Here's a few of those sweet sweet children!

My favorite little girl ever! I want to adopt her SO bad. She is precious.

This is her brother. He's funny too. He was playing with a little truck and he accidently knocked the wheels off of it, and when I put them back on he was so excited. Talk about super cute. I'll adopt him too.

For some reason this little boy loved having this sticker on his head. He was hilarious and was trying to put it on my head! He was super sweet!

This little girl loved having her picture taken too. I would love to adopt her too.

The last place we went was in the middle of the dessert. For real... We went up a mountain on these bumpy roads, then drove on sandy gravel for about 20 minutes before we reached this village. We pulled up and there were only a few people out. All of the sudden, a ton of people came running out. We were SURROUNDED by tons of little children. They live amongst cactus and things that can rip your skin apart. I got scraped by a couple of these things, but they are so accustomed to it that they have no idea that they are living in these conditions. No one ever visits them, they have no running water, barely any food, and struggle to stay alive. Most of them were naked and without shoes. It was probably the most powerful thing I've ever seen in my life. I literally wanted to pitch a tent and stay right there and tell them of the Savior's love and everything that He is and that if they drink of His living water they will never thirst again. But sadly, we had to leave. My heart is still in that village, and one day, I will be there. I was flipping through my pictures and you can just see the sorrow on their faces. I wish I was there right now. My friend just came in and was talking to me and I couldn't help but smile while I was talking because I'm writing this blog and remembering all the awesome times I had there. Hopefully he doesn't think I'm too weird. Haha. I just know that my heart is with them, and one day I will be with them too. Here's a bunch of pictures from that village that warm my heart every time I see them.

They have no shoes, so their feet are often dirty and scarred.

These three faces tell so many stories of what these girls have gone through.

This little boy is SO cute! He was standing on the side and was never noticed, but he caught my eye. What I wouldn't give to take him home!

I love this because it really shows the sadness this little girl has.

I love this picture. This little girl just wants attention and to be loved.

The girl in the red LOVED having her picture taken. Model in training?

We were walking down this rocky and cactus-y path with all the kids.

This is no where near the whole group, but it was impossible to get all of them in one shot.

Sunday morning we went to an English speaking church, and let me tell you, it was some awesome worship. The Haitian girls sitting behind us were singing their hearts out to the Lord, and His presence was definitely among us. It was actually Anne's church, who I talked about earlier. It was really really great. We then went to Pastor Jude and Yanick's house to eat a traditional Haitian meal, and for those of you who know me, know that it was a bit of a struggle. We had goat, 3 types of fried vegetables, rice, salad, macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, and some other Haitian coleslaw type dish. Sooooo it was definitely a struggle. I didn't want to be rude so I had lots of rice, some macaroni and cheese, and pasta salad. The rice and macaroni and cheese were extremely spicy! I ate as much as I could, but it was definitely hard to keep eating. I don't normally eat any types of pasta salad, so that was a little nerve racking to eat, but I got it all down. Sunday night we just stayed and relaxed down at the hotel bar and learned some Creole from some of the waiter's. I'm pretty much a pro now. Ha! I did pick up the language pretty quickly, so I think I could definitely adjust to a longer stay there.

I'm sure I've left out so much of our stay in Haiti. I learned so much about my self, and I've never questioned myself so much in my life. Those kids that I met and played with broke my heart. I want them to feel LOVE, real love. I can't help but be sad to think about how they live, and how I live my life. I don't always do the things I need to do. But, I'm living my life for the Lord, and following where he leads me.

So where do I go now?

I've been praying and meditating and be still and quiet, and honestly, I can't say that I know. What I would love to do is this: In May, when I graduate from the University of Tennessee, I would love to spend some time in the States in cities like Seattle, Chicago, Portland, and a few others doing ministry work and preparing myself for what could come next. I would then like to spend some time out of the states, not permanently though. I want to go to the Philippines for sure, Uganda, Chile, Belize, and China. Who knows though. I just want to follow wherever the Lord leads me.

I'm definitely having to learn about obedience right now. It's a hard lesson to learn, but I'm doing everything I can to listen to the Lord and do His work. I know He has big plans for me. I'm going to leave this blog with some awesome pictures of Haiti. I'll write again soon!

This is the road to the dessert village.

I love the mountains in the background. God is so good.

This is the beach. They have the beach, dessert, and mountains in Haiti.

This is on the plane to Haiti. Me, Michelle, Greg

Precious Moses!