Then she’ll ask for some syrup with it..
And that is all we have gotten up to so far. And by “we” I mean Caridad and I. Caridad is a 10 year old girl who is extremely behind academically. It has taken us two days to learn those 12 words.. “It” being one of the words I had to put on a flashcard for her. She’s no stroll in the park to teach either, she’s sassy, spunky, and a bit odd at times..my kind of kid…
We start summer school here at 9.. If it was up to me I’d keep it going till 3pm..the kids here are lacking serious comprehension and higher order thinking skills. I thought the education system in America was pretty bad…but actually some of the tools I learned to teach reading are doing wonders here with the kids… So it does work..(But having one on one time and no pressure of standardized testing helps tremendously too)
I’m falling for this magical Canaan Orphanage more and more each day. My team and I are learning to be a part of their community here and serve in any way that we can. And also learning how to live in a team community. Our personalities are all quite different, and it’s a challenge and an encouragement to know that we can call each other out on the good and bad we see in each other. It really is a great thing to do…honesty isn’t always easy, but it’s pretty cool. I want to challenge you to it too. Try the Oreo method. Start with encouraging someone, then let them know the deal, then end with more encouragement… It will bring more healing and less hating… More life and less lies… More character and less cruelty.
More grace and less gossiping..
Well in my written attempt to bring you into the Canaan Orphanage, let me run through some random happenings throughout the day..
Waking up at 6am scratching about 5 new mosquito bites every morning (even with a mosquito net and bug spray on)
Hearing the sound of the Haitian girls singing worship songs in Creole in the morning..then throughout the afternoon and evening renditions of “Jesus take the Wheel”, some Akon song, Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, and English worship songs like “Holy, Holy, Holy” (they have beautiful voices btw)
Walking up to the top of the hill and seeing the breathtaking view of the mountains, ocean, and clouds.
Trying to survive between the hours of 12 and 3 because of the intense heat.
Playing around on the piano with the Haitian boys as they show me the song demos on the Yamaha, and challenging them to hit the high Hallelujah’s on the mozart or bach song.
“Mari, what’s wrong?” “Something bit me on my face… Oh my gosh, there’s a mouse in my bed!” She got it out quietly at about 2am and knocked right back out… And I was too tired to search for it…just went back to bed..
Killing random insects on my face, neck, legs, laptop… Yea..goodtimes
Seriously…what’s not to love about this magical place!! It totally rocks!
Agenda: Love,
Bethsaida
