Crazy Creole Chaos

Alex and Lauren practicing English with Haitian students at Bon Berger (Good Shepherd)

CHAOS! Nothing horrific happened today, only the will of God changed what WE wanted to happen. We had exciting and lively circumstances through our first day with the students at Bon Berger. We arrived on time to the school and saw many changes. One big improvement to bless the school is the addition of an administrative team. The team, without our knowledge, had their own plans on how the day was going to go. We rolled with the adjustments and learned to stay flexible with the challenges. Another major improvement to the school was seen in the completion of the third floor of classrooms. A bonus to the third floor was not only more rooms, but a library with the banner that was presented as a gift from us last year. Mrs. Isbell greeted the entire school in French and introduced all of us to the kids. We passed out the notecards, handwritten by the POPCS high school students last year. Then we broke up into groups and played the Name Game. Long story short, the Americans had to speak in Creole and the Haitians had to speak in English. This game was a chaotic way to learn more than sixty Haitians students' names at one time. But it was fun and all had a great laugh. The next game we played was Ninja. If you don't know what that game is, well you should. We can explain that game to you one-on-one. Even with all the chaos, this game created a relaxed atmosphere to deepen our growing bonds with the students. We had lunch consisting of rice and beans. Of course it was delicious! We got to enjoy this meal with the students in their new cafeteria room. After lunch we did a free for all. Some POP students braided hair, made bracelets, played the cup staking game, painted nails, and just talked. It was a great time to enjoy the company of international peers. Some of the advance English speaking students got to spend a hour with Mrs. Isbell to practice the language. Mr. Weiss worked on his solar cooking. We made cooked pasta in two hours! Hudson had the biggest smile on his face because he got to help in creating the solar cooker which was made from a card board box and foil. Mr. Weiss also did his teacher training. He said it went really well. We were all exhausted, but sad to leave the kids. Mr. Littlejohn or (Peitijean)  led our night time devotions. He did a fab job. No, really he spoke with great words of wisdom and reminded us all of the real reason why we are all on this trip. He spoke about Haitians and Americans are different in many ways, but we have Jesus as the one thing that connects us all. We had a great prayer that was led by Courtney and finished by Karlie. Chaos was the word of the day. So when we pray, God loves to remind us that he controls our chaos. He sent the LARGEST MOTH IN THE WORLD to come and interrupt our prayer. It was a great reminder for all of us and all of you back in America. We love you all and wish you a happy, chaotic day tomorrow.
With love,
Madelyn and Courtney :)