steadiness

My time in Seguin is coming to a close.

Thinking about leaving so soon makes me a little sad. When I think of Haiti, I immediately think of Seguin. It's definitely my comfort zone.

The long awaited plan: I'll be spending an extended weekend in Jacmel with Nick and Gwenn at Joy in Hope and then traveling to Titanyen to volunteer with Mission of Hope. This makes me laugh because this one simple sentence took two weeks to figure out. I definitely let myself become way too overwhelmed planning my last week in Haiti. Unsuccessful plans...failed options... missing phone numbers... lack of internet and phone service...no way to get from point A to point B... I let the stress get to me. It would get to anyone, but I'm still not proud of how I let it overwhelm me.

My devotional for today was a perfectly timed reminder. Figured I'd share:

"I am training you in my steadiness. Too many things interrupt your awareness of me. I know you live in a world of sight and sound, but you must not be a slave to those stimuli. Awareness of me can continue in all circumstances. No matter what happens. This is steadiness I desire for you.

Don't let unexpected events throw you off course. Rather, respond calmly and confidently, remembering that I am with you. As soon as something grabs your attention, talk with me about it. Thus, I share in your joys and problems. I help you cope with whatever is before you. This is the way of peace."

Philippians 4:4-8

Love, Janae

a sunday in seguin

Sundays are my favorite.

Sundays are for going to church, being surrounded by friends, going out to lunch, taking long naps, and taking time to enjoy beautiful weather.

Sundays are the same here.
Things seem to slow down.

We went to church this morning at the school I've been talking about. Church back home seems just plain rushed when you compare it to the three hour service we were a part of this morning. After about 4 sermons and 3 sessions of worship, we were asked to stand up, introduce ourselves, and sing a song for them. Rachel, one of the girls staying at the Clinic to build latrines, led us in singing "Amazing Grace." The energy and unhindered worship is an incredible thing to witness and be a part of. Our unsure glances turned into smiling...our smiling turned into clapping...our clapping turned into dancing. Their joy is contagious.

We've spent today napping, reading, and watching movies. All wonderful things.

2 of the girls that have been part of

my life for the past week. Liz

on the left and Lynae on the right.

Romans 12:12  "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"

Love, Janae

"this is the day the Lord has made"

My time in Seguin has been spent...
  - bringing supplies to the new Cholera Treatment Center
  - collecting data from charts at the CTC
  - hiking around the community to gather data for a public health project
  - cleaning and assembling buckets for water filtration systems to be passed out in the community
  - learning as much Creole as humanly possible (it involved much impatience and much laughter)
  - playing outside with the kids
  - watching Liz try and dread her hair

Kyle's public health project has us hiking around the community, assessing water and sanitation needs. (Yesterday we hiked about 6 miles, so my legs are not liking me right now!) Questions range from where they get their water to whether or not they use a latrine. Liz and I go off on our own most days with a translator, which is forcing us to learn Creole. I'm feeling 10x more comfortable with the language...yet frustrated and impatient at the same time, wanting to be fluent. I'm learning more and more Creole by the minute though. I'm learning dozens of new words a day, memorizing helpful phrases, and can get the gist of a majority of conversations around me. Every once in a while, of course, a funny mistake is made that sends both Haitians and Americans into hysterics.

A couple things struck me today:

1. The people here are so welcoming. We are the ones stopping them in their day and in their work to ask questions...questions they probably find silly and a little pointless. Yet, at almost every home, we were offered a chair to sit, vegetables to bring back to the clinic, or an offer to sit and talk. They have so little, yet what they do have, they are willing and wanting to share with strangers.

2. The people here are so grateful. Before Liz and I went out into the community today, our first task was to run an errand with our translator. We ended up at the same school I visited last January (Clayton took us to deliver boxes of school supplies for each of the kids. Dargelia, one of the teachers there, remembered me. She was so full of joy and appreciation. I managed to tell her in Creole that I remembered her as well, and that one of my favorite memories from my last visit was hearing the children sing songs. They sang "this is the day that the Lord has made," a childhood favorite of mine. Delighted I remembered, she led me inside, stopped class, and had them stand up and sing to me again. It was one of those beautiful moments you plan to store away forever.

They have my heart.