Yesterday

"Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. She is my chosen one, and I am pleased with her. I have put my spirit upon her."

~Isaiah 42:1~

Yesterday was an interesting day. And, by interesting I mean good, bad, ugly, beautiful, hard, and rewarding.

We (Mathilde and I) woke up around 7:00 am to the sound of the rooster outside our window. I was exhausted and needed some strong coffee to get me going.

Good: I turned my quote book to find Isaiah 42:1 smiling back at me (above verse)

Frustrating: Around 8:00 am, I went down to breakfast to find (once again) nothing on the table for us. The concept of being on time for school does not really exist here in Leogane. The school starts at 9:00am, and noone makes it on time. So, Mathilde and I waited and finally at 9:15am we find breakfast...no coffee, but a big plate of spaghetti. I'm still exhausted.


Tiring: The kids were out of control yesterday. I feel more like a babysitter sometimes than a teacher. We have about 20 3yr olds...and about 20 kids who can somewhat write (5-12 yr olds). It's an incredibly hard group to control because of the diverse ages and levels, the summer fever, and the lack of help from the other teachers. Mathilde and I sweat like crazy at school...we are running...we are somewhat yelling...we are running out of ideas...we are frustrated.

Sad: Yesterday, 3 of the teachers sat around while Mathilde was teaching and talked about her and laughed. No...they didn't help control the wild 3 yr olds...No, they didn't offer to help. They laughed at her.

Exhausting: Once again, someone came up to me and asked me if there was something wrong with my nose...what kind of question is that? I asked her if there was something wrong with her nose...Then we both just awkwardly stared at each other.

Relieving: After class, Mathilde and I went up to our room to cry and laugh and vent and cry some more. It's so frustrating sometimes.

Disappointing: While up in our room, I fell asleep...Mathilde overheard a conversation about me and her. They were talking about how Mathilde and I always want coffee in the morning. Man, I am seriously not having a good day.

Adventurous: Azure (who works at the Filariosis House) came to pick me and Mathilde up to show us the house adn their project in Leogane. The house was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates and is incredibly out of place. It's a huge white mansion next to the impoverished market. It's an incredly ironic view. I definitely felt the American Exceptionalism/ City of a Hill concept standing in the house.

Sad: On the walk back from the Filarisis house, there was a group of guys who started yelling...and by yelling, I mean screaming...at me in English... "WHITE! WHITE! ARE YOU STUPID!!? WHITE!!? STUPID!!!" I just kept walking and ignored them...but, it just hurts to have a people group you adore so much sometimes show so much anger towards you. And, I know these guys were just bored and weren't being directly mean at me. But, it still hurts my feelings when someone screams racist things at me while I'm walking down the street.

Thought-provoking: So, Mathilde and I ate dinner/lunch at 4:00pm...It was fish. Now, the fish here is very funky tasting...so on fish days Mathilde and I just eat a little bit...because after meals of fish...let's just say Mathilde, me and the bathroom become pretty good friends... Well...at dinner/lunch. I was just feeling really down about the whole day. Am I making any difference here? What am I doing? How can you ever feel at home in a place that daily reminds you that you are not at home. Me and God spent some time together after dinner...I just cried and prayed...And, I fell asleep with God. For the first time, I actually worshiped God through rest. Wow. What a beautiful concept.

Uplifting: So, I eventually woke up and read Isaiah 42: 1 again.

"Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. She is my chosen one, and I am pleased with her. I have put my spirit upon her."

Well, after 6:00pm, God definitely strengthed me. And, I was in much need of some serious strenghening. I mean, I really needed a good solid workout strengthening every single muscle.

Funny: Makendy, John, Mathilde, and I all ended up on the upper balcony. John was playing a drum and Makendy was singing. And, for about an hour we just sang and laughed and danced. I just kept thinking about how much I love this crazy Haitian boy, Makendy. He has such a beautiful energy to him. And, John is such an incredibly servant-hearted person. He is a Christian and he is always so excited to talk about Bondye (God in Creole). I just laughed and wanted to cry because it was such a beautiful hour.

Relaxing: Our friend, Stesha, who just left this morning for the USA. (She worked at the St Croix hospital for about 6 weeks here in Leogane) came over to the house adn we all went over to Au Bon Cafe to have our favorite drink!!! Lait Fouetee! These are wonderful! Whipped milk with strawberries! Ronald (a security guard at the hospital), Gesley (a dance instructor in Leogane), Stesha, Mathilde, Makendy, John, me, and the workers of Au Bon Cafe all hung out for the next few hours. We laughed and told jokes. John brought in a radio and we all ended up dancing Compa! Compa is the Haitian dance! It was such a nice treat from such a frustrating day.

About midnight, we went to bed. I can't believe all the emotions that I felt today.

But, looking back at my days here in Leogane, that is often how the days have been. God gives me a challenge, I barely survive it, He saves me, I cry, I laugh, and then He gives me something to think about.

Man, God is so good.

Lyrics I'm Humming:

If I Could Just Sit With You a While