Whatever comes to mind, whenever

(Sorry about not posting this sooner. It’s been a crazy week and a half!)

Today we “finished” the school. We didn’t have enough paint to put some final coats on some walls, but it still looks a lot better than it did before. We tried to put back all of the classroom furniture as best we could, as well as mopping without wasting water. After everything, the school looks pretty good, and I can’t wait for the students and the children to finally see it. It’s basically our Christmas present to them.

This is one of the finished classrooms. It's awesome to think that children are learning there right now!

On the way back up the “mountain,” Jeff gave us some suckers he had brought with him (or “sucreats” in Creole), to give to the people we saw on the way back. We gave them to adults and children alike, and both were equally excited. One time, I gave three suckers to three little children who were peeking out of the door of their house. At first, they yelled “Blanc! Blanc!” and were hesitant to come out, but  once they saw the suckers, they excitedly emerged and ran up the little ledge to me. It was the sweetest thing.

After waiting for the Tap-Tap to arrive, we went to the Baptist Mission in Kenscoff for lunch. It was the first “American” food we had eaten in almost a week, but I wasn’t as excited as most. I enjoy Haitian cuisine! Following lunch was our time of shopping/bartering. When we got home around three, we were able to get some nap time in before our all-night New Years celebration.

And let me tell you, Haitians really know how to party! We got to the church around 8:00PM and didn’t leave until 5:00AM. We danced and sang and jumped and shouted – the way that people who have experienced the amazing grace of God can dance! We sang the same songs and lines of songs for about 10 minutes, but it didn’t get old.

Before we went into the church we were able to meet the boys. I’m sos happy that we got to see them before the celebration, because I wouldn’t have been able to recognize who was who! The sanctuary was filled with Haitian children of all ages, so the boys just blended in with the others (except for the ones that we had already and had painted with).

The songs were all in Creole or French, of course, but some of them were adapted from English, so we were able to sing along somewhat.

Of course we had to take a group picture after finishing the school. Here's the whole gang!

Some of the boys sang in a choir “Shout to the Lord” in Creole, which was incredibly touching. And then all of the boys from the Home sang together in a choir. And then, we as a group sang together, which was…interesting. We didn’t have much time to prepare, so it was a little choppy, but it was still fun to do, and I think the Haitian church members enjoyed it as well.

By the end of the night, a lot of us were falling asleep, but it was still worth it, because we prayed for the first 30 minutes of the New Year – how the beginning of a year should begin. And after the initial prayer, we did a count down, Haitian style. The song got progressively more and more exciting, until we started counting down to the New Year in French. And after the count down ended, everyone went crazy and danced all over the place. The Haitians were so accepting of our presence and came over to us and danced with us as well. it was awesome!

There was a presentation to the church about cholera. I’m so glad that this church is able to help their congregation spiritually and physically as well. The presentation educated the people on cholera and its symptoms, as well as how to avoid contracting the disease.

At around 4:00AM, the pumpkin soup was brought out and served to everyone Haitian style: organized chaos! Most of the attendees brought their own bowls and spoons to eat with, and we were provided with plastic cups and spoons. Most of our group didn’t eat much of the soup because they either didn’t care fot it, or because it was 4:00AM and having such a hardy meal at such an early hour didn’t seem appealing . Our Tap-Tap driver didn’t show, so we had to split up. The girls rode with Jean-Alix and the “men” rode with Shalmai (who Hope had built a house for) in his dump truck. It was about 40 degrees outside, surprisingly, so those who rod ein the back were quite chilly. I rode in the cab because my allergies were acting up for some reason. When we got home we all went straight to bed and slept until noon. What a great way to start the New Year!