Turkey and Technology

Technology can be awesome. Like when I’m in Haiti for Thanksgiving but I can FaceTime with my family in Indiana. Or when I’m not feeling great and just want to relax. I can turn my kindle on and watch a few episodes of Criminal Minds on Netflix. Technology can also be extremely frustrating, like when I’m trying to look on Pinterest for ideas on how to teach summarizing to third graders and my kindle shuts down randomly. Or when I’ve sat down and typed out a whole post for the blog (cough cough, this one.... been ready since December 2!) , but for some reason Google Chrome won’t stinking work for weeks, forcing me to wait.  Some days, technology is my best friend; sometimes, my mortal enemy.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment and share what I’m thankful for this year. First, I’m thankful for my family. They are so supportive of my decision to move to Haiti. We talk almost every day, which is more than I talked to them the last two years of college. This move has made me appreciate them so much more. I’m thankful that they’re giving up part of their Christmas break to come visit me so I don’t have to be alone for the holidays. I’m thankful that I can tell them a need that the orphanage has and before I know it, they’re hosting a packing party with our friends to raise the support and supplies that are needed. Man, my family is amazing. I’m thankful for my friends who have also supported and encouraged me. I was so worried that when I left, people would forget Tme. They would say goodbye and then move on with their lives. I’m so happy to say that’s not the case. Stephanie, my best friend in the world, texts me every day. I’m FaceTiming with my dear friend, Makenzie, tonight. Others send encouraging texts and Facebook messages. Even more of you encourage me with your prayers. Again, when I present a need, my friends amaze me by rallying together to provide for the need. I am so blessed by you guys! I love that I am constantly being encouraged by you, even when you don’t know it. I’m being 100% honest when I say this- I would not be able to do this without you. Lastly, I’m thankful to be in Haiti. This is my dream. Even though sometimes things are tough here, I’m thankful God has allowed this for my life! It’s easily one of the hardest things I’ve done and not a day goes by that I don’t think of what I’ve left behind. However, when I think about what I’m doing here and what has been done in me, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I know without a doubt this is what I was meant to do. When I focus on that fact, it makes the days a little easier.

Thanksgiving here was actually a lot of fun! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect since it’s not celebrated by Haitians. Would we have a Thanksgiving break? Would we have any sort of special dinner or would it just be another day? Ms. Sherrie decided to cancel school for Thanksgiving Day, since we have several American teachers and staff who would like to celebrate. The pastor of the church we attend, Pastor Dan, and his wife, Liz, invited us over to their house for a Thanksgiving meal with some other Americans from the church. We were all asked to bring a side dish to share with everyone; I made caramel pie! Our group showed up at Pastor Dan’s house pretty unsure of what to expect. We walked into the kitchen to find a feast! Jen and I went first in the line and were very conservative with our helpings of food. After everyone (about 30 people) went through, we went back to see if there was anything left. Imagine our delight to find that it looked like nothing had even been taken! (I’m still partly convinced that the Pastor borrowed some house elves from Hogwarts to help.) We helped ourselves to more turkey, sweet potato casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and salad. It was the most I’ve eaten at one time since coming to Haiti. I was absolutely stuffed. After dinner and dessert we relaxed poolside, allowing our food comas to take over entirely. At about 6:30, we returned home where everyone went to skype their families. I loved seeing everyone! We laughed and joked around and only a few tears fell. It was nice that technology actually decided to work so that I could see my family!!

Guys, I’m sorry I’m so bad at blogging. I have the best of intentions! Things just get busy here and I forget to write about everything I’m doing. Then when I get an hour or so with nothing to do, blogging is one of the last things I think to do. It seems like I write blog posts in my head every night as I’m falling asleep, but by morning I have so many things on my to do list that I forget what I planned to say. Please forgive me and be patient with me! I have a whole list of stories I want to share: my trip to the Dominican Republic, the Christmas program, my room switch (again!), driving in Haiti, and progress reports for all my kids. Thankfully, I have a two week Christmas vacation! It is my goal to share these stories, and many more, with you over the break. Stay tuned everyone :) 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Foreign

In my hand, I have a pitit, wonn gourd. It’s pretty important. Do you want it? No? But come on, it’s the most important thing you will ever receive in your lifetime! Wait, you don’t understand what it is? Come on, I already told you. It’s pitit, it’s wonn. Let’s see, it’s jaun. It’s a gourd. It’s priceless; literally the most important thing in your whole life if you accept it. Just accept it!

This is how I imagine the Gospel to sound to the children of Haiti. Full of words like grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness that they have never heard of, much less experienced. Yet still we come to Haiti with the Gospel message, with the big words, with our trainings on the four spiritual laws and all our fancy Gospel sharing tools. We march in knowing we only have one week to make an eternal difference. We share the best news that we’ve ever been given with the people of a foreign country and encourage them to accept it during our time in their country. But have we ever stopped to think about how foreign some of the concepts we are preaching actually are? For the child who gets beat because they lose 5 gourds (the equivalent of about 9 cents), can they truly understand the concepts of grace and forgiveness? Can a woman with five children from five men understand what unconditional love means? It’s hard enough for me, a middle class American citizen from a loving, Christian home to completely understand such huge concepts. I have experienced grace, forgiveness, mercy and unconditional love from my amazing parents, from my youth leaders, and from my best friend on a near daily basis.

It’s like me telling you to accept the small, round, yellow coin that I was offering you at the beginning of this post. You had no idea what the words I was using meant! You just knew that I thought it was important, but did this make the object I was trying to hand to you any more important or valuable in your mind? Most likely not. You might have just accepted it to please me, because I thought it was so valuable.

I guess what I’m trying to do in this blog post is to help everyone understand my role as a long term missionary. I’ve been in Haiti for 3 months and I have not verbally shared the Gospel once. I realized this a few weeks ago and was deeply upset. What was I doing here if not presenting the Gospel?? Wasn’t that what missionaries were supposed to do? Go out every day and share the most amazing news to anyone and everyone who would listen?  Over the course of my worrying and apologizing to God for failing as a missionary, I felt like God was smiling and chuckling at me. Not in a mean way of course, but in the way a parent might when their child is fretting over something unnecessarily. I stopped and tried to figure out why God might be doing that. Then it hit me! I HAVE been sharing the Gospel every day. I share it in my classroom when I hug every student as they enter. I share it when I give students an extra chance to turn in late homework. I share it when a child is on my last nerves and I don’t hit them like they’re expecting because that’s what every other teacher has done. How can I expect my children to understand the concept of unconditional love from God when they have never experienced unconditional love from a human? Being at the orphanage, they do receive love and hugs and kisses, but with two people in charge of 35 children, they don’t receive as much as they need. It’s not the fault of the house parents, who do their absolute very best, but the fault of the situation in Haiti. My job here is to love these kids, to teach them to forgive someone who stole their crayon, to apologize and repent for bad deeds and to help them experience some of the foreign concepts of the Gospel message so that when the short term teams come and share that important message they can truly understand.

If gave you the small, round, yellow coin I was describing to you, how much more likely would you be to accept it?

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Grocery Store and God's Presence

It’s finally hit. I’ve reached the “I’ll write about that tomorrow” phase. Tomorrow comes and I’m worn out from a ridiculous day at school, we have a surprise grocery trip, or my mind is in a thousand other places and I forget. Tomorrow seems to never come. As a result, I have several stories that I want to tell, but I don’t want to write a novel. I’ll try to keep each story brief, but you know how I can sometimes get longwinded!

A few weeks ago, two of my students were on green all week long, which means they receive a reward of an apple for me. Miss Katelyn, the house mother at the orphanage, has decided to reward the kids for their great work as well by taking them to the grocery store with us if they stay on green all week. Pame, age 14, and J.J., age 7, loaded into the big blue truck with us as we set off for DeliMart. I wish my eyes could take pictures for everyone to see; I couldn’t get a good one with my phone because the ride was too bumpy. But man… J.J’s face. It was absolutely priceless. Here was a seven year old child whose face reflected my own on my first ride into town in Haiti. Think of a child entering Disney for the first time and you’ll have a good idea of J.J’s face riding in a big blue truck down a bumpy road in his own country. It was so sweet, yet incredibly sad to see him point at all the motorcycles, cars, street vendors, and small shops. The excitement in his eyes was nothing compared to the moment we walked into the grocery store and saw Christmas trees lining the entrance. I thought he might pass out! Though Pame is not as easy to read as J.J., I could tell he was just as excited. I let Pame push my cart since J.J. was pushing Miss Katelyn’s. She had promised each of the boys a treat- they could get something to eat and something to drink. Of course, both boys went wild when they saw they could buy their very own apples! “Miss Katelyn, I want some apples!! Miss Katelyn! Look at all the apples!” Finally, the boys got their very own apples and some juice and it was time for the adults to do their shopping. Before we split up, I heard J.J. jumping up and down, yelling “LOOK AT ALL THE PIZZAS!!” I didn’t even care that all the other store patrons were staring, his joy was contagious.

Pame came with me, and just as one would expect, was full of questions. Can you imagine being 14 years old and never seeing the inside of a grocery before? “Miss Brittany, what are these stickers for?” (Those stickers tell us the prices.) “Miss Brittany, what do these numbers mean??” (The numbers tell us how much to pay.) The rest of the trip was spent with him trying to put everything we passed in my cart and me trying to explain to him that a) I didn’t need all that food, and b) I did not have enough money to pay for it all. I now know why 99% of mothers in grocery stores look so frazzled and how it’s possible to wind up paying $40 and not have anything to make an actual meal. Pame helped me put all my items on the conveyer belt (“What’s that Miss Brittany?” “What happens now??”) Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katelyn and J.J. putting their groceries on the belt to pay. She reached in the cart to put his apples on the conveyor belt, J.J. suddenly wilted and started to pitch a fit. “Noooo! Don’t give away my apples, I want them!” The poor kid didn’t understand that he had to put his apples up there so Miss Katelyn could pay for them. It was difficult to contain my giggles as I watched the scene unfold. What a fun and eventful trip to the store! I’m looking forward to more of the children accompanying us!

Now on to the next story… which I’ve forgotten! Darn it! Well, I’ll skip it and try to remember and include it in the next post. Moving on to this week. There has been some intense spiritual warfare occurring at CLS lately. I feel like every day we’re being beaten down with different problems that arise. I won’t go into detail with the problems, but I would like to ask for prayer for everyone here as well as the ministry itself. Monday was a particular struggle for me. Out of the seven children in my classroom, one puked, one peed his pants, one spent 15 minutes screaming for absolutely no reason, and one was sent to the principal’s office. All before 11:00. I was about 10 minutes away from a meltdown myself. After a quick break for my sanity, I walked back into the classroom to talk to Magdala about why she was sent to the principal’s office. I was able to take her into an empty classroom next to mine where I could keep an eye on my other students as well. She started off very angry. Her arms were crossed and she wouldn’t look me in the eye or even speak. By asking yes and no questions, I was able to get her to open up about what was going on. She had woken up late and was rushed to get ready, missing breakfast. At the end of our conversation, her anger had completely dissolved, the arms uncrossed and she melted into my arms sobbing. It was as if all her strength for the day had been put into being angry and when we broke through the reason why she was angry it disappeared, leaving her exhausted and vulnerable. I asked her if she knew that there was someone who could help her have a better day. She pointed to herself and then to me. I shook my head. “God can help you have a better day, if you ask. Would you like to ask Him to help you?” She nodded but wanted me to pray because she was crying too hard. I don’t ever want to forget that moment. I thank God for putting me in that moment and allowing me to pray for a young girl who was having a rough day. I thank Him for turning her day around and ending her day with a smile. I thank Him for using both my bad day and Magdala’s bad day to point us toward Him. It was much needed!

I have so many more stories to share and pictures that I want to post. However, internet here is quite annoying and it takes several hours to insert pictures onto a blog post and organize them. I’ll do my best to write again soon! The last story for tonight is a recent one. Yesterday was another rough day with the children and I was absolutely exhausted. We desperately needed to go to the grocery store, so I drug myself out of bed and tried to put on a good attitude. We piled into the blue truck; Travis and I in the cab and Ashleigh and Cathy in the back cage. We stopped by the orphanage to pick up Jenn, who wasn’t quite ready yet. We parked the truck to wait. A Mack dump truck came up the street towards us. Let me emphasize again….we were parked! The dump truck tried to pass us but didn’t do a great job of estimating how much room he would need. He caught the side of our truck and drug us to the middle of the road while simultaneously pinning us between the concrete wall and his dump truck. I have never seen two people (Cathy and Ashleigh) move so quickly to get out of the back of our truck! The driver’s side door was pinned shut and the trucks were stuck at such an angle that neither could move in attempt to get unstuck. Thankfully, school was just letting out and there were about 30 high school boys walking our direction. Pastor Lenny was able to organize the boys and lift the blue truck up and away from the dump truck. I was doubtful that anything would actually happen when they tried, but the boys surprised me! It was a crazy experience but there are many reasons to be thankful- the dump truck was not going fast, no one was hurt, and the damage was superficial. It’s funny that after all the driving we do down unfinished roads and crazy intersections with no traffic rules that our first accident would happen while we were parked! After last night’s small accident, we are all extra thankful for God’s protection in this country we call home!

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Christmas!!

Christmas is just two months away. Sitting in my room in shorts and a tshirt, sweating in the 90 degree weather, it doesn’t feel like that should be possible. But it is! I’ve got lots of mixed feelings about Christmas this year. On the one hand, I get to be with my family and I’m so excited that I don’t have to be alone on this holiday. On the other hand, I can’t help but to think of the kiddos in the children’s home. Not my kiddos. Not my seven that I get the privilege to teach each week, I know that they’re going to have a good Christmas. A team recently came and left beach balls, plastic golf clubs, flip-flops and more. They will wake up on Christmas morning and experience the joy of opening toys from Santa and spend the rest of the day destroying… I mean, playing with… those toys :) It’s the older kids that I worry about.

Like so many before me, when I first entered the children’s home I was drawn straight to the youngest inhabitants. I hugged and kissed and laughed and played with all the five, six, and seven year olds. It took me a month before I spoke to the teenagers, longer to learn their names, and it’s just now getting to the point where they will call out to say hello to me. It took nearly three months for me to feel comfortable talking to them, to joke with them, to remember their names. I’m ashamed by this. Unfortunately, it happens to these teenagers all too often. Everyone wants to see the little kids, to take their pictures, to laugh with them….while the older ones watch.

And now we’ve come to the reason that I worry about them. So many Americans hear the words ‘children’s home’ and think that the kids living there are 12 and younger. But that’s only about half of the children living there! In reality, there are kids as old as 20 living at the house! What will their Christmas look like? Will they have anything donated by Americans for them to open on Christmas morning? I’m sure that Katelyn and Lackis (the house parents) will provide something for these kids to open, but will it look like what the little kids have? I’m afraid it won’t… and I’m not okay with that.

Can you help? Has God blessed you with unexpected extra money this month? Will you receive a nice Christmas bonus this December? Is there any way you could cut out the pumpkin spice lattes and the peppermint hot chocolates? Listen, I love Starbucks just as much as all of you other typical white girls out there and I know how big of a sacrifice it would be to cut this out! I miss Starbucks so badly and there are days when… wait, off topic! Sorry! Back to the kids. I just want them to be able to open something they were hoping for on Christmas morning. Not clothes that don’t fit or a plastic golf club.

It’s because of your generosity that I am in Haiti right now. You! People I know and love, and even some people I have never met have donated money to send me to do God’s work in Haiti. I don’t know if you guys know this, but I am fully funded. I have been meaning to put a Facebook post out there to let everyone know that the $10,000 that I needed to live in Haiti for a year has been raised. Thank you so much! It was such a lofty goal that I didn’t think would be met by December, let alone by October! I want to thank you for your obedience to God and your willingness to donate your money to help support me. If I could, I want to push for a little more. Could we raise $1,000 more? That money would go 100% to the teenagers at the children’s home to help them have a good Christmas. This money would buy them new clothes that fit, new shoes that match and don’t have the soles worn out of them. It would buy nail polish, soccer balls, headphones, movies… Please pray about this request.

This is heavy on my heart today because of a conversation I had with Katelyn on the way to church this morning. I asked why none of the older girls were coming to church with us today. She frowned and told me that they didn’t have clothes. I kinda rolled my eyes, because as a girl, I say that all the time. “I literally have nothing to wear today…”  but that usually happens when I’m staring at a closet full of clothes and nothing jumps out at me. Katelyn said, “No seriously, they each only have one nice dress to wear to church. They wear the same dress every week and they’re tired of it. They’re embarrassed to wear the same thing every week and see their friends there.” It breaks my heart, friends. In a culture where we rarely wear the same thing twice in one month, these girls are wearing the same things every week because our mission can’t afford to buy them anything new and all the clothes that get donated are for the younger children. As I was coming back from church, I saw one of our teenage boys standing outside the gate barefoot. I asked him why he didn’t go to church with everyone and he stared at his feet and said he didn’t have shoes to wear. His shoes just broke and he wasn’t allowed to go to church. Guys, these teenagers need Jesus. They need to know there is hope for them and that someone loves them more than anything else in this world. They need to know they are redeemed and they are priceless jewels to our King. But they are being kept from church due to something so simple as shoes and dresses.

If you would like to help, please contact me at brittany.gilbreat@gmail.com. A friend and I are in the process of organizing a shoe and dress drive to collect items that these teenagers need. My parents are coming to visit in December and they will be bringing some items with them as well. However, if you would like to donate money, that would be amazing!! Since I’m here, it’s hard to get money to me. Please make checks out to Tammy or Michael Gilbreath. They will deposit the money into my account and I will give everything we collect to Miss Katelyn and Mr. Lackis (the house parents) so that they can go buy presents for the teenagers. My goal is $1,000! I know my God is an amazing God and that He will do more than we can ask for or even imagine! I also know you and I know that you guys amazed me with your giving once before. Let’s do this together! :)

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Tears and Teachings

Every Monday morning, I start the morning by singing with my students and then teaching a short Bible story, and the kids are given their memory verse for the week. This week, I taught them the B-I-B-L-E song, and then oepened a children's devotional. Now, being the excellent planner I am, I had not sat down beforehand to figure out which lesson I wanted to teach. (hahaha, sarcasm) I quickly found one that I thought would be quick and easy- the title was "Does Jesus Cry?" I asked the students about times that they have been sad to help them relate before I told them the story found in Luke 11. Jesus's good friend Lazarus had just died and Jesus, being fully man and fully God, wept. It's the shortest verse in the Bible, and I wanted my students to memorize it. Luke 11:35, Jesus wept. We talked about how crying when you're sad is completely okay. Jesus never sinned, not one single time. He cried when He was heartbroken that His friend died. Since my kiddos are from the Children's home, a lot of them have never been taught how to deal with emotions. When they cry, they're often laughed at by the other kids and don't ever get to talk about what made them upset. They try to hide their tears and be tough. It's really sad, and I want them to know that if Jesus cried, it's completely, 100% okay for them to cry.

Fast forward to Wednesday. I woke up in the middle of the night with a crazy stomach ache. I spent the majority of the morning in the bathroom... well, I'll spare you the details. Anyways, I'm so completely rundown and exhausted. When you're sick, you just want your mom. I'm convinced that this is true no matter how old you get. On top of being sick, we had no power, which means no fans and no wifi, no movies to keep you entertained. It sounds so "American" to get frustrated about those things, but when you've been sick and are running a low grade fever, a fan is an absolute necessity. At about 6:00, my mom texts me to tell me that a family friend has suddenly passed away. Tom Broyles was my basketball coach's husband, and a wonderful man. He always was encouraging me to keep practicing and even after I graduated high school he would still find me to ask how college was going. He was such a positive man and it was very upsetting to hear of his death. And to be honest, it scared me. I was worried for my family, for my parents and brother as they went about their daily lives. What if something were to happen to them suddenly, just as it did to Mr. Broyles? What if I couldn't make it home in time to say goodbye? Add these worries on top of my tough day of not feeling well and missing home.... let's just say I was a wreck. I managed to walk up to the children's home to talk to one of my good friends down here, Ashlie Will, without crying. As soon as I entered the gate and saw all the kiddos running at me, I lost it. One of my little girls, Magdala jumped into my arms and as I held her, the tears flooded down my face. She looked at me with wide eyes, "Miss Brittany, why are you crying??" I hurriedly put her down and ran upstairs because I hate to have people see me cry. After talking to Ashlie Will and praying with her for peace, I walked back downstairs to find Magdala waiting for me, worry in her little eyes, which of course reduced me to a puddle again.

We sat on the stairs for a long time, a five year old girl mothering a twenty-two year old by wiping her tears and telling her it will all be okay. I apologized to her; after all, this is something I should be taking care of by myself. I shouldn't be relying on the hugs of a child to help me. Magdala looked up at me and told me something I will never forget, ever. "Miss Brittany, Luke 11:35... Jesus wept. And now, you wept. But it's okay, Miss Brittany. You can cry when you're sad because Jesus cried when He was sad. It's okay Miss Brittany, it's okay." Wow. Isn't it amazing how God uses the people you're supposed to be teaching to teach you instead?? I was blown away by my little student. Even as I'm writing this now, I'm reduced to tears over the wisdom of this little girl. It melts my heart. Every word that she said was so completely true. I've always hated crying in front of people- it seems like weakness or something. I'm not sure exatly. I just don't do it. Not in movies, not at weddings, not at graduations... I just try to hold it in as best I can and cry privately later. But Jesus himself was not ashamed to cry in front of others when He was truly sad. Sadness is an okay emotion, it's human. I'm allowed to cry, to admit I'm hurting.

I've been in Haiti nine weeks, and I'll admit- it's hard. Is this where God called me to be? Absolutely. Do I miss my mom, my dad, my brother, Steph, Makenzie, my church family, my dog, my old life? Absolutely. It's just now hitting me that I'm not here for a few weeks and then coming back home like I've always done. This is my life for the next 8 months. I'm going to be completely honest. It's hard. It's hard to see everyone carving pumpkins with their families, to see everyone going through corn mazes with their friends, and for me to be here. It's hard to go from being surrounded by a ton of people and friends in college to only talking to one or two friends from home. It's hard to meet all these new people, figure out their personalities and quirks and figure out where I fit in. But my God is an awesome God. He knows every tear I cry, even when I cry in private. He knows how my heart aches to see my family, and He is allowing them to come down in December. He knows when I'm hurting and sends help in all different forms- even from a five year old child.

There's so much more to write, but I'll have to save it for another blog. I want to leave you with the devotion that I read last night when I was struggling to find sleep. "Blessed, Merciful God, your Word promises that those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. If I go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, I will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with me (Psalm 126:5-6). Help me to see that the promise is not made to those who simply have tears, but to those who are willing to sow seed in the midst of their tears. Your Word tells us in Luke 8:11 that the seed is the Word. If I am willing to keep believing and sowing Your Word, even when I am desperately hurting, You will bring me forth from this difficult season with songsof joy. Because of your faithfulness, with joy I will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3)."

Lord, that is my prayer. Help me to go out and proclaim the Gospel to the children I have been blessed with in my classroom, even when I am so homesick. Even when my heart aches and I am brought to tears in the middle of the orphanage. Even when I'm worried about the safety of my family and friends. Even when I am mourning the death of a good man. Help me to never stop doing Your work. You will bring me through it and allow me to be encouraged and return with songs of joy. Amen.

Playdough and Pictures!

Finally, the post you have all been waiting for! A post with pictures! Since I've been here for almost two months now, there's not a lot of new things happening. I've settling into my routine of teaching, resting, visiting the children's home, eating, going back to the children's home and then reading before an early bedtime of 9:30. I've thought many times about posting, but aside from the few short stories I post on Facebook, there's not really a whole lot that's new. So,  here's a few pictures to let you get a small glimpse into what a normal day looks like for me! The pictures are in no particular order... after working on uploading them for nearly two hours I have no patience left to organize them at all! Haha! 

Miss Jennifer- our preschool, three-year old, four- year old, fourth grade reading, seventh and eighth grade math teacher. Here she is on her first night at the house, getting in some snuggle time with JW.

The best drummers you'll find in Haiti, and their conductor, Vidlon. 

Herode using his wonderful imagination! 

Our kids are obsessed with superheros and ninjas. 

 Today in class, I decided to be a little ambitious and get out the playdough. After a talk about the rules (playdough does not go in your mouth, in your desk, in your ears, on your hair, on the floor, etc.) we practiced writing our names! Then, the kids practiced making their spelling words and using the alphabet to practice writing a few basic words! They were so excited to be allowed to play with playdough. I'm not sure I've ever seen them so well behaved!

 

This is Mr. Jerry, one the fabulous teachers who works in the special ed classroom with me! 

Vidlon practicing his spelling words! 

My little princess bed! I tried to sleep without the net for a while, but I must taste too sweet because all the mosquitoes feasted on me! Mosquito net it is! 

My little yellow classroom! :)

The sweet note my fellow missionaries left me for the first day of Special Education! 

Kevenson is 5 years old and he loves to steal Miss Katelyn's shoes! What a stinker :)

Meet David! He's our EMT, electrician, wifi guy, driver, water specialist, and entertainer. It's never a dull moment with this guy around!

The sunrise on my very first morning of school! So beautiful! 

My good friend, Michelle. Unfortunately, she was only here for a month but I'm looking forward to reuniting in December (hopefully). She's got one of the sweetest hearts and is really great with the kiddos! 

Discipline in Haiti. All you have to say is "punishment" and they go to the wall. That would never fly in America!! Hopefully I won't bring this bad habit back to the states or I would be in heaps of trouble! 

The view from the pool when we went to Wahoo Bay, a private beach resort. 

The most beautiful beach I've ever seen! The mountains in the background make for a stunning view! 

This is the Ravine, where Katelyn goes to feed babies every morning. Many of the students who come to Christian Light School live along the Ravine.

 That's all for now, it's literally been three hours since I opened this blog to try to add these pictures. There are so many more that I want to share with you, so keep your eyes peeled. Maybe God will give me the patience to sit and add some more on Saturday. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers for me and for my team here at Christian Light Schools! I miss you all and am so thankful for you!

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

10 Things You Didn't Know About Haiti

Since I've been in Haiti for over a month, I decided it would be fun to share some of the cultural differences I've learned and experienced so far! 

1. There are no real traffic rules. Just use your horn and avoid the potholes. I’m amazed that I haven’t seen more wrecks!

2. There are two systems of currency here: Gourds (it sounds like gouds) and Haitian Dollars. Some grocery stores are in gourds and some are not. It takes 45 gourds to make one American dollar. I bought a can of tuna at Delmas 2000 for 90 gourds, which is $2.00. At Delimart, everything is in Haitian dollars. It gave me a heart attack the first time I saw tuna marked $16.00. It turns out there are 9 HD for every 1 American dollar, so the tuna was about $1.70.  Everything is crazy expensive here. I thought it would be completely opposite! I spend about $40 US dollars every two weeks buying Gatorades, juices, Pringles, and some other snacky foods. 

3. Haitians like to wear clothing that is verrrrrryyyyy tight. I have been asked several times by my kiddos why my shirts are so loose. 

4. Haitians tend to be very honest when you ask them a question. When asked how their weekend went, they’ll respond with bad or not great if nothing great happened to them. This is in stark contrast to Americans, who always respond with, “Good! How was yours?” even if they didn’t have a good weekend. This honesty is difficult to adjust to. I have been wearing shorts every day to the children’s home. One day, a teenage boy named Tony said, ‘Why do you wear shorts?’ So I told him that I just liked wearing shorts better than skirts because that was what I was used to in America. He frowned and said “Girls should not wear shorts ever. It’s not good. I do not like it. And why do you wear boy’s shirts? I do not like it.” I was taken aback; no one has openly criticized my wardrobe before. But here, it’s normal to be so open and honest with what you like or dislike. 

5. I have also been asked why I wear a string bracelet around my ankle. I respond by saying that it is a friendship bracelet for my best friend and I to wear. However, here in Haiti it means something much different! Apparently, it’s a symbol of voodoo or devil worship to wear an ankle bracelet. Needless to say I will be taking it off my ankle and wearing it on my wrist for the rest of my time in Haiti. 

6.The Haitian culture is very open with everything. For example, my coworker Amy told me this story a few weeks ago. A girl in her class missed school. Ms. Amy asked the class if they knew where she was. A young man spoke up and said that the girl missed class because she was constipated. Ms. Amy was very taken aback to say the least! In America we don’t ever share that much detail with others, let alone the whole class!! For another example, I was pretty sick this last week and missed two days of school with a stomach bug. When I returned, one of the male teachers asked me if it was time for my menstrual cycle. Naturally, I turned blood red and sputtered and was totally awkward. But here, it’s nothing but normal. Most Haitians that go to school here grew up in a one room house- mom and dad and brothers and sisters all sleeping in one room. They are very comfortable with their bodies and bodily functions. 

7. The Haitians here have picked up on some random American sayings and use them ALL THE TIME! Truly. I’ve never heard any American say ‘truly’ as much as I hear Haitian students say it. Another fan favorite is, ‘it is not true!’ instead of simply saying ‘nuh-uh’ or ‘No!’ or ‘I didn’t!’. I love listening to these kiddos with their heavy accents and funny sayings. Truly! 

8.  Haitians are very amused with arm fat (or as my good friend Makenzie has so lovingly named them- bat wings). They love to come up and poke my arm to watch my arms jiggle. I’m 90% sure this is because they have about zero body fat on their own bodies and 10% because they’re kids and love to make fun of old people :) 

9. Speaking of Makenzie- apparently it’s a boy name here! The kids are very amused when I tell them that it’s a girl name back home! 

10. Don’t even get me started on the names here! American teachers- you have no room to talk about all the crazy names and spellings you get in your class until you have a room full of kids named Emiel (em-ee-el), Ludjer (lee-jay), Keymderson (kim-der-son), Tcharli (charlie), Roseguerline (rose-girl-leen), and Bergeline (bur-ge-leen). Even the kids who look like they have typical American names have a Haitian twist- Richardson (Ri-shard-son) and David (Da-veed). It’s taken me a month and I STILL mess up their names! In my defense though, they struggle to say Brittany. I’ve gotten Miss Bryn, Miss Bwitt, and Miss Brit-Ta-Knee. The good thing is we can all laugh at our mistakes together!! 

That's all I could come up with at the moment! Please know these might not apply to all Haitians, I don't want to be accused of wrongly stereotyping people. These are just some of the differences I've noticed in the past month or so! If you have any questions, let me know by commenting below and leaving your name or just message me on Facebook! 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Old MacDonald and Apples :)

My heart is so full! Praise God for His amazing, unfailing, unrelenting love! This week has been full of really tough work for everyone at CLS. I have set up my new classroom, met with each child individually, helped them set goals and introduce them to my rules, and made lesson plans for each child individually since they are all at such different places in their education. It’s hard. And I am so tired. But, God rejuvenated my spirit today.

            Today after dinner, I walked to the orphanage. The gate was open, so I let myself in. Immediately, I had five, small, brown bodies tackling me. “Miss Brittany, Miss Brittany!!” they all yelled. I picked each one up and gave them the biggest bear hug while twirling them around. After each one had their turn they ran away to play and I walked over to the other half of the yard and was greeted by more children, more hugs, more kisses. My mood was already starting to brighten. Then, my sweet Magdala came up to me and grabbed my hand.

 “I start your school tomorrow??” she said with a giant smile on her face, her dark eyes curious yet excited.

“Not tomorrow, but after three sleeps you will be in my class,” I told her. Man. You should have seen her eyes light up.

“Three sleeps??” Another huge smile. “And we get apples??”         

Here’s a little backstory. I sat down with Katelyn, the house mom for the kiddos at the orphanage (all my students are orphanage kiddos) and asked what they would like for a reward if they behave and do their work. A popcorn party? A movie? Popsicles? No, she told me, take what you’re thinking and scale it way back. Try apples first. I thought, apples?? As a reward? No kid wants that! But I trusted her. During my one-on-one meetings with the kids, I told them that if they met their goals that they created they would receive an apple. Again, you should have seen their eyes light up. It was like I had told them they were going to Disney! “A whole apple?? For me to eat?!”  

So anyways, back to my story. Magdala asked if we would have apples on Monday and I reminded her that we only got apples when we completed our goals. She recited her goals (to learn ABC’s and 123’s and her shapes) with that massive smile on her face and then proceeded to recite the class rules to me. She told me she was practicing raising her hand because she wanted to have good behavior so she could get a whole apple all to herself J Next, Vidlon came up. “We have your school tomorrow??” Our conversation went much the same as Magdala’s and he ran away with a smile on his face. Not three minutes later Herode came up- “Me have your school tomorrow??” By now I was more than encouraged. These are the three kids who, when you ask how their day at school went, always say ‘bad’. And here they are asking to come to my class! Vidlon even asked if we could do school work after the movie tonight! I told him to wait till Monday and he was legitimately upset. God is doing amazing things and we haven’t even started school! I pray that they keep their enthusiasm for school after we begin.

After all seven of my kids came up to ask when we were starting school, I began to help Katelyn and Ashlie choose a movie for the kiddos. Unfortunately, the power went out, so we couldn’t watch one. All the kids at the orphanage were really bummed and the mood kinda killed my happiness about school starting Monday. I walked over to the steps and sat there alone for a moment. It didn’t take the kiddos long to find me. Vidlon came up to me and sat in my lap, while Magdala snuggled by my legs. We sat like that for a moment before Vidlon started singing “Jesus loves me” and Magdala and I joined in. Then we enthusiastically moved into “The B-I-B-L-E”. We sang and clapped and danced for over a half hour, running through every song we knew from The Wheels on the Bus to Feliz Navidad (hilarious to be singing in the middle of Haitian summer when it was at least 85 degrees though the sun had set hours ago), and even some we didn’t! I taught them the Hokey Pokey and they taught me a song about Jesus that I still don’t know the words to!! Ha!!

During that half hour, I was the happiest I’ve been in a long time. We were sitting in the complete dark with no power, no phones, no television, no music, singing our hearts out. Magdala put on a real show for us, getting out her air microphone and squeezing her little eyes shut while belting out the words, hand raised high in the air.  They loved singing Old MacDonald and choosing the animals he had on his farm. Let me tell you, that farm was more like a zoo!! We even got a couple of the older kids to join in when we started singing Baby by Justin Beiber and Do You Want to Build a Snowman from Frozen!

Here’s the really cool part. Earlier this afternoon, I text my best friend at home and said, “You know what I really miss? Singing.” I used to sing all the time at home- in the car on the way to school, in the privacy of my own room, while I washed dishes, during praise band practice….  I sang a lot. Here, I share a room and a bathroom and our walls are extremely thin. I haven’t sang hardly at all since being here and I missed it. I have no doubt that God heard me when I told my friend that I missed it. He knew that singing brings me joy and He allowed me a special time tonight to sing with my students. He knew my heart was tired and I was nervous about school starting, wondering if I had enough work for the kids to do and how I was ever going to pull this special education classroom together. He knew. He knows. And He sent me blessings in the form of two six year olds. My heart is so full :)

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Baby Feeding and the First Week of School

Bonswa zanmi mwen! (Hello my friend!)

Where do I even start?  I’ve been in Haiti for two weeks now; some days it feels like I’ve been here a lot longer and some days it seems like I just arrived. The days here seem extra long- we wake up anywhere from 5:30-6:00 and don’t go to bed until around 10:00. I often joke that the days feel like two days because the time seems to go so slowly! We have no distractions here- no wasting an hour or two on Netflix or Pinterest because the wifi is too slow, no watching mindless television. Some days, this is a great thing. It allows us to bond with each other or go down to the house (the nickname for the children’s home) and bond with the children. I get so much grading and planning done in the afternoons because nothing else is competing for my attention. Some days, no distractions can be incredibly annoying. Some days I think, I’ve been doing school all day and the kids drove me nuts. I just want to sit down and watch some New Girl or Once Upon A Time, or skim Pinterest for craft ideas I never intend to complete. Then I remember that I’m in Haiti and I don’t have that luxury anymore. That’s when I pick up my guitar or a book to read. Speaking of books- I’ve already read the ones I brought with me. Does anyone have any suggestions of awesome books to read??

            Since I don’t really know where to begin with all the stories I have from this last week, I guess I’ll start at the most logical place- Monday. School didn’t start until Tuesday, so we teachers had all day Monday to prepare our classrooms and plan for the first week of school. Since I don’t have my own classroom, I basically had a free day. I chose to spend the first half going with Katelyn (the “house mom” down at the children’s home) for the baby feeding program. Every week day, Katelyn goes to the Ravine to feed babies under the age of three. How do I describe the Ravine? Imagine Haiti in your mind for a moment. Most likely, what you’re imagining are small, one room houses with dirt floors and tin roofs all crowded together in one location. You’re probably imagining people milling around, cooking on open fires. You’re probably imagining trash lining the streets and alleyways, children running around in bare feet. This is the Ravine. I haven’t seen anything like it in either of my two trips to Haiti- in fact, it’s the stereotype that I have been trying to discourage. The Ravine is so extremely poor. A lot of my students that I will be teaching this year come from the Ravine- it was definitely eye opening to see their living conditions. These mothers of young children struggle to find adequate food for their babies. As a result of poor nutrition, the brains of these children are underdeveloped, which creates a numerous amount of disabilities. The hope of the baby feeding program is to provide the mothers with access to vitamins and nutrients that the brain needs in order to benefit the children.

            Anyways, I went with Katelyn, a Haitian man named Jude, and my friend Michelle to the baby feeding program. We walked to the ravine and met our first of three groups of mothers and children. They walked up to us with cans, cups, and bowls which we filled with a slice of avocado, a peanut butter sandwich, a vitamin, half of a hard-boiled egg, and a scoop of peanut butter than had been mixed with baby formula containing important nutrients for young children. The mothers were so thankful and stayed to chat with Katelyn and Jude. Michelle and I don’t know Creole yet, so we just stood and watched. Though I couldn’t understand what was being said, I could tell that the mothers were thanking Katelyn and she was checking in to make sure that everything was okay with them and their babies. I was in awe of these sweet, smiling babies and the lengths their mothers were willing to go to by enrolling in a nutrition program and walking to the same stop every day to get their children food. I wish I could go with Katelyn to feed the babies every week! Too bad it happens during school times!

            Tuesday was the first day of school. As with any first day, it was CRAZY! I have been assigned to teach 8 classes this school year- 2^nd Grade Reading, 2^nd Grade Math, 3^rd Grade Reading, 3^rd Grade Math, 4^th Grade Reading, 4^th Grade Math, 5^th Grade Reading and 5^th Grade Math. Talk about a workload! Since I have subjects in a variety of grade levels, I don’t have the luxury of having my own classroom. I have a little pink bag that a fellow teacher, Tammy, let me borrow. I carry all of my papers, textbooks, and supplies from classroom to classroom with me. I’ll be honest, at first I was a little disappointed. I had hoped and dreamed of my own classroom, my own rules, my own 15 to 20 students. However, throughout the first week God showed me that by following His plan and teaching 8 classes I have the unique opportunity to love on and witness to not just 20 students, but nearly 65 students! God is so good!!!

            Each day begins at 7:00 with a teacher meeting. Haitian and American teachers alike meet in a classroom for our daily devotion. Mr. Patrick plays a song on his guitar and we all sing along- first in Creole and then in English. I imagine that this is what Heaven will be like one day. A large variety of people worshiping God in all types of languages! It’s beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the day. Then, Mr. Richard (not pronounced Richard like in America, but Ri-shard) shares a message with us from the Bible. This week, we’ve been talking about Galatians and how we are free from the Old Testament Law thanks to the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. At 7:30, the students arrive and line up according to grade level. In Creole they sing ‘How Great Thou Art’, followed by a prayer and the Haitian National Anthem. They are dismissed after the national anthem to go to class. I love to stand where the large school yard narrows to a smaller hallway of sorts (the classrooms are under the shelter of a roof, but the “hallways” are out in the open, so it feels weird to call it a hallway.) Anyways, I like to stand there and greet every student as they pass on their way to class. There is nothing like seeing 300 smiling faces and hearing 150 good mornings!!  

Tuesday and Wednesday I spent the day watching the Haitian teachers of the classes I will be teaching. I watched how they spoke to the children, how they started the day, how they handled breakfast and lunch, water breaks and bathroom breaks. I watched how they taught the subjects that I would be teaching. After all, this is my first year teaching and though I have been trained how to be a good teacher, I haven’t had a whole lot of practice. After each class, I spoke with the teachers to see what time would be best for me to enter their classroom. Finally, by Thursday I had a schedule nailed down. If you know me, you know finally having a schedule made for a great day!!! Thursday, I began teaching. Let me tell you- it’s A LOT harder than it looks!!! Even with all the training and experience and professional development that student teaching brought me, I still struggled. Well, I still am struggling. I have no idea where typical second, fourth and fifth grade students should be in math or reading. Thank goodness for my good friend Google! I was able to use the internet to pull up some timed math tests and some reading passages that I used to test the students to see their abilities, which I felt was a good starting point.

Things are starting to settle down a bit now that we have all gotten into a routine. The children are becoming more used to seeing me every day. The blanc (white person) is less of a novelty and now they realize I am here to make them learn! I only have 30 minutes per grade level for math and 45 minutes for reading. There is so much that I have to squeeze into that 30 or 45 minutes! The kiddos know by now that when I come in the classroom, I mean business. We work hard!!!

Some other fun facts about school- each student pays $10 to get two t-shirts that are the uniform for school. The parents must provide pants/shorts for the boys and skirts for the girls. This is a struggle for a lot of the parents. As part of the school fees, students receive two meals a day- breakfast and lunch. The cooks bring the meals directly to the classroom and the students eat at their desks. When they are finished, a student takes all the metal dishes to the kitchen where the cooks clean them. In each room there is a water jug. All the students in the classroom share the two cups provided.

I want to leave you with something that I feel is so important. These kids are just like any other group of kids. Yes, some come from the Ravine and are extremely poor. Yes, most of them have seen more in their short 10 years of life than I probably ever will. But they’re just like kids in America. Jeffly, Gesner, Junior and Ludger are the class clowns in 4^th grade. They love to be silly and make their classmates laugh. I’ve learned I have to be stern with them. Sebastien is an amazing reader and Derlens is a math wiz! Emeil is very advanced for a second grader and I often have to find more difficult work for him because he finishes his addition problems too quickly. Misline and Rosemarline love giving and receiving hugs. Nickellange falls asleep in almost every class if you don’t stay on her. Most of my students are hard workers but as with any class there will be a few that don’t enjoy school and don’t want to be there. Every student wants a high five or a fist bump when they have done something correctly. When I point out that Wenshelove got the answer to 3+4 correct, seven other hands fly in the air and I hear a chorus of voices yelling, “Me too!! Me too! I got that too!” and I proceed to walk around the classroom to give pats on the backs to everyone who got the right answer.

The point is, my students are just like students in America. They are mischevious and sneaky. They forget homework. They try to make excuses and are constantly trying to figure out how to get out of class or working. They want love and affirmation from their teacher. Sometimes, they have really good days, like today in my 3^rd grade reading class. Sometimes, they have really terrible days like yesterday in my 3^rd grade reading class. But they are normal kids. They don’t want to be pitied for their living situations. They don’t want you to feel bad for them because they leave their house at 4:00 in the morning to get to school on time at 7:30. They are happy and content with the life that they are living. They praise God every morning and every afternoon for their blessings! I just don’t want you to read my blog and think, oh those poor things! They might be poor materially, but spiritually they are SO rich!

I am so thankful to be able to be here in Haiti. Some days are really tough and I just want to curl up on my bed and sleep for the rest of the day. It can be so hot here that you just want to spread out and try to move as little as possible. I don’t think that I’ve stopped sweating the whole day today, even as I write this at 8:30 at night with a fan blowing on me. But most days are full of joy! I wake up in the morning to a beautiful sunrise right outside my door. I work at a school where we begin and end the day with prayers to our Lord and Savior and where I can read a Bible Story as part of my lesson. I get countless hugs every day and a chorus of ‘Thank you Miss Brittany’ when I leave the classroom. After school, I get to go to the house where I get to love on my favorite Haitian baby, Jean Wilson. I get to switch roles from teacher (and to my students, slave driver) to the fun American. We play with rocks, with plastic bags, and with a beat up soccer ball. I cheer the kiddos on as they do cartwheels or race around the yard. I let them play with my hair and laugh with them as they make silly faces for my camera phone. I love my Haitian life! Thank you God for allowing me to be a part of Your amazing plan here in Haiti!

Stay tuned for a new blog post, hopefully coming soon, that talks about my first tap-tap ride, the Haitian grocery store, and our beach trip!! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and encouraging messages! It means so much to have you all supporting me!

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Dust

It has been quite a week this week. I'm working on a longer blog post to let you all know what I've been up to this first week of school, but it is really long and I wanted to share a shorter story with you that has been on my mind since Thursday.

I was teaching in 3rd grade (my favorite so far, though it's a close tie with 2nd grade). Anyways, 3rd grade reading happens at the end of the day, when both my students and I are more than ready to go home and let our brains relax. As a result, we tend to butt heads. I just want them to pay attention to me for 45 minutes, they just want me to stop talking. It can be frustrating to say the least. Thursday afternoon, I was exhausted. It was my first full day of teaching two subjects to four grade levels for a total of eight classes. I was trying to explain to the class what comprehension was and why it was important. I was standing next to one of the chattiest students in the room, trying to use proximity to silence him. It worked, but every so often he would bend down for a few seconds, touch his hands to the floor and then straighten back up to listen to me. After he had done so four or five times, I grew frustrated. "Danielo, why can't you...." As I was fussing, I looked down to see this precious boy cleaning the dust off my black flip flops. He looked up at me with wide, startled eyes. My heart melted.

My student, my talkative, energetic, disruptive student was cleaning my shoes. He had nothing to give to me to show me that he loved me. Just that smile and a simple act of service. My shoes that I had worn all day were nasty. They had dust caked on the front of them; I had long since given up the idea that the shoes would stay black during my time here in Haiti. They would get dusty again within 10 minutes of me leaving the classroom. I started to protest, to tell Danielo that this was pointless, that he should have been paying attention instead of cleaning my shoes, that they would get dirty again soon and he should not waste his time. But as I looked into his eyes, my protests fell away.

It reminded me so much of the Bible story  found in Luke 10 where Mary took the time to wash Jesus's feet despite the protests of the others gathered in the room that I was actually speechless. "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary." I was Martha in that moment. I was frustrated and upset that Danielo was not paying attention to me and what I was saying, much as Martha is anxious and upset that Mary was not helping her prepare food for the Lord. She thought what she was doing was more important. But just as Jesus rebuked Martha, God rebuked me. Daughter, remember why you are here. I'm not here to teach reading comprehension or to make sure that all of my students are listening to me 100% of the time. I'm here to show the love of God to my students. So far, they are doing a better job of showing ME the love of God!! Thank God for 10 year olds, huh?

First Impressions

Today marks my fourth full day in Haiti. What a busy and crazy four days it has been! I'll start from the beginning.

I woke up at 3:00am Friday morning to get ready for my big adventure. My stomach was a crazy mess. I can't even begin to describe what it feels like to pack up your whole life, say goodbye to everyone you love, and leave. Even now thinking about it, I get emotional. So fair warning, this won't be an extremely deep or detailed paragraph. I will start crying in the middle of the teacher's lounge and everyone will look at me, which is not my favorite thing in the world. Anyways, my best friends in the world dropped me off at the airport- my mom, my dad, my brother, Makenzie, Stephanie, and her husband Zac. It was so much tougher than I thought to hug my favorite people goodbye for the year. I know that God wants me in Haiti for a reason and it is my duty as a Christian to drop everything and say, "Yes Lord", but that morning at the airport I was definitely praying for God to change His mind. The walk from the lobby through security and to my gate was one of the toughest walks of my twenty-two years. I am so thankful for the support I received on Saturday- from the people who came to see me off and from all of you who blew up my phone and facebook with sweet, encouraging notes.

I slept the whole way from Cincinnati to Atlanta, and was feeling much better about this trip when I woke. I found my way lugging a guitar case and a rolly suitcase to the gate that I needed to be at and sat for the next three hours. I, for one, think this was a major win! I felt like such a grown up, which probably sounds silly. But that was my first airplane ride alone and my first time finding my way around an airport alone. Yay me! Anyways, I borded the next, and final plane. I hadn't cried since saying goodbye to my family that morning and was feeling pretty good.... until the planes' engines roared to life and I realized what was happening. This plane was taking me away for a year. Right now, I was still in America. I could still turn around. Cue panic. I cried from the time the engines started until the time we had reached cruising altitude and I fell asleep. Leaving home is scary. But to me, disobeying God is even scarier.

After some tears about filling out the green card (I didn't remember how to completely fill it out) and some help from a nice missionary couple (thanks!) I landed in Haiti. The airport was SO much better than when I came in 2011. It actually looked like an airport, with a real luggage belt and everything! I was amazed! Praise God, because the Haitian airport was something I was really nervous about. Praise God for the several missionary teams I met that looked out for me on the plane, answered my questions, and even kept an eye out for me after we landed. I was talking to a Haitian man trying to find my driver, and one of the ladies I met on the plane caught my eye to ask if I was okay. Thank You, God for putting these kind people in my path to make sure I stayed safe until I got to the school!

Finally, I made it to the school. My roommate, Ashleigh, and some of the boys that were hanging around the school helped me carry my luggage upstairs to the room. Listen y'all, that room is tiny! For all my EKU friends, it's smaller than commonwealth. We have two beds, a sink, and a small three shelf closet. If I sit on my bed and stretch my foot out, I can touch Ashleigh's bed. This will take a while to get used to, coming from an apartment where I not only had my own room, but my own closet that was the size of a bedroom. Ashleigh and I share a bathroom with a woman named Tammy, who has become my momma down here. Praise God for her! But I'll talk more about her later. Back to the bathroom. Our bathroom consists of a toilet, which is broken, and a shower made of PVC pipe. But Brittany, how do you use a broken toilet?? Well, here in Haiti, we have a saying- if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down. So yeah... there's that. If we do need to flush, we have to fill up a bucket with water from the shower and pour it into the toilet and it automatically flushes. I don't know if every toilet is like this or not, but I'm insanely curious! Will one of you courageous people try it for me and report back?? Anyways, sorry, sometimes I get super distracted and off topic. Bear with me. Back on topic... the shower. Showering is quite the experience here too. It's literally a PVC pipe with a small handle. We turn the shower on (no temperature knob.... if it's later in the afternoon/night it might be warm. Might. But mostly it's always cold. Back on subject now...) and rinse our bodies and hair. Then we turn the shower off and lather up with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. We turn the water back on to rinse off, and then our shower is over. My first night, I almost cried. How was I going to do this for a year?? Thankfully, God is with me and I am learning that there are worse things in the world than having to shower like this.

I am extra thankful to report that we have wifi here nearly all the time! Sometimes it goes in an out, but hey, this is Haiti. I am also extra thankful for the electricity we have at the school, and the fans that have been provided. This makes it much easier to sleep. It has been about 100 degrees everyday here. H-O-T hot. I don't think I've stopped sweating since arriving! I'm hoping my body adjusts soon- Ashleigh wears jeans and has her hair down some days. Maybe that will be me in 10 weeks too!!

The days here are a little odd. This has been unlike any mission trip I've ever been on, where you hit the ground running. I've been able to relax, take some time to adjust, and just chill on my own. Some days, it's frustrating because I don't have anything to do. If you know me, you know I like to stay busy. Down time is not my specialty, unless I'm napping! HA! However, it has been so good to meet people, learn rules, and figure things out before I have responsibilities piled on me. The past few days have been filled with drinking water, making friends (yay!), reading, napping, a few meetings, and taking a few inventories of desks and books. The sun is up when I wake up at 8:00 and begins setting at about 7:30 or so. By the time 9:30 rolls around, my body is so confused. The sky has been dark for several hours, therefore it must be time for bed... except it's wait, 9:30 and I haven't gone to bed at that time since like middle school! Oh, the adjustments!

Yesterday, I had such an adventurous day! I went to the children's home with my friend, Michelle. We held the cutest little baby boy named JW. He's one and a half but he's such a cuddle bug! I could have stayed down there for hours but Michelle had been teaching all day and was needing to head back and rest. The heat down here absolutely wipes you out. As soon as we reached the school, Tammy and Ashleigh told me they were going to the store and invited me to go with them. I literally sprinted to my room and grabbed my purse... I was that excited. We walked about two blocks and then caught a taptap. A tap tap is the Haitian version of a taxi. It looks like a pick-up truck that has an awning over the bed. People hop in and then when they want to stop, they tap the glass on the cab to let the driver know they want to get out. After about a 6 minute ride, we were at the store. I walked in the front doors and guess what..... they had..... air conditioning!!!! Hallelujah!!! I think I'll be volunteering to go to the store every week! :) Inside the store, everything is labeled in gouds, which is Haitian currancy. It takes 44 gouds to make one American Dollar. I was so overwhelmed that I just bought a few drinks and some cookies because the conversions were taking me too long. I hope to get better at that as the time goes on! We paid and took the tap tap back to the last stop and then walked the two blocks back to the school. So. Much. Fun. I know that going to the store won't always seem like such an adventure, but it definitely seemed like one to me. It's the little things in life, it really is.

Today, we met the Haitian teachers that we will be working with. I finally got the confirmation that I will be teaching Reading and Math in English to the 2nd to 5th grade students. I will come into a teacher's class and take a small group of students out to work on reading or math skills. Right now, we're still trying to figure out my schedule, but I'm hoping to get it ironed out soon! I am so excited to have met the people I'll be working with this year. They are so sweet and they are just as excited to work together! Tomorrow, we meet the parents. I am extremely nervous about this- I don't speak a lick of Creole or French, so I'm not really sure how this meeting will go. But, I have God on my side, so I know that He will be with me and allow the day to run smoothly. In just 5 days school starts!! Please please be praying for this. There is so much that needs to be done in a super short amount of time. We need to buy and rearrange desks, receive and distribute uniforms, and I need to plan lessons for 4 grade levels! Ahhhhhhhhh! Since this is my first year teaching, I really have no clue what I'm doing. Please pray for me and for my future students. This could be an interesting year!

Wow, I feel like I've typed out a novel. There is so much more that I want to say but I know that a) you're probably wondering if this will ever end and b) my fingers are about to fall off because I bought a tiny keyboard for my kindle fire so that I didn't have to lug around my computer that may or may not die at any moment, but it's so tiny my fingers are cramping!! I would like to leave you with some prayer requests.

* Please pray for my family,close friends and I. While we can use technology to facetime and text, it is still extremely hard being away from them. I'm trying to take it one day at a time. This trip is forcing me to rely fully on God, instead of relying so much on my family and close friends. It's a good lesson to learn, but a difficult one.

* Please pray for me as I begin to prepare lessons this school year. I basically have 8 classes... reading and math in four grade levels. I'm already beginning to feel overwhelmed and the school year hasn't even started yet.

*Please pray for all the students coming to school here. Pray that they come to know God as their Lord and Savior and that they grow to be Christian leaders in this country.

*Please pray for good health. Being here where it is so hot is taking a toll on my body. I feel tired and lethargic by about 2:00 in the afternoon. The heat also makes it difficult to eat. Don't worry Mom, I am eating! But if you could just pray for sickness to stay away and that my body adjusts soon.

Thank you for your prayers!! I truly felt them on the way down here and know that God is hearing them. God is blessing me through little things like rain, cupcakes, and trips to the grocery story :) I will try to post again soon with pictures and stories of school starting!!! I can't wait!!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. ~Colossians 3:23

Seven.

The number of fish my brother currently has in his new fish tank. The number of skirts I just bought at goodwill. The record number of skirts I have ever owned at one time. The number of days until I leave for Haiti. Seven. Cue anxiety, nervousness, stress, overwhelming to-do lists, excitement, joy, and peace. To quote a great character, “One person can’t feel all that at once, they’d explode!” Well, Ron Weasley, some days I feel like I might.

There have been days where I’m so overwhelmed with what life will look like in Haiti that there is no other option than to sit down and cry. I think about all the things that I’ll miss while I’m gone for a year. I’ll miss the premiers of the new Hunger Games, Divergent, Pitch Perfect, Spiderman, and Shemar Moore movies. I won’t get to drive my red jeep with the top down home to a nice air conditioned room with a queen size bed. I won’t get to have ice cream. Ice cream, y’all! I think about the people I have become so accustomed to living life with. My mom, dad, and brother. My best friend. The people I have relied on to get me through my four years of college and the friends I have made along the way. I have begun to think about everything I went through the past year and the people who were there to support me physically, emotionally, and lead me spiritually. I know that I’ll still be able to contact all these people when I need them, but there’s something terrifying about being in a different country. They can’t come give me a hug when I need it or pop my back or give me a massage when I’m stressed or frustrated.

            Yet, there are days when I experience complete joy and peace when I think about what will happen this upcoming year. Some days, I am so excited to leave that I just can’t hold it in. I sit and look at pictures from my previous trips and am giddy when I think that I will be back in the country that I love. My heart seems to swell with pure joy when I think about the kiddos I will meet and the Gospel message that they will hear. I smile when I think about the smell of burning trash, the dust, the bugs, and the sun. I’m excited!!! I know some of you are reading this and thinking that I’m a little crazy to be smiling when I think of bugs and dust, and sometimes I wonder too. But I know that this peace, contentment, and joy that I feel can only be from God.

I want to share a few stories of what God has been doing in my life these past few weeks as I began preparing for this adventure. He has been teaching me so much and I’ve already grown in several different ways and I haven’t even left the country yet! This makes me so excited to see what will happen when I eventually DO leave!

Two days ago, I was riding on the back of the motorcycle that my dad was driving. I was admiring all the green trees standing tall in front of a gorgeous sunset. I watched beautiful country homes with wrap around porches fly past us and waved at people sitting outside. I began to think about how this was so different than what I was going to be experiencing in just seven days. There wouldn’t be smooth, paved roads or tall, green trees. There would be dust and crowds of people; the air would smell of burning trash. The sunset would seem even more gorgeous without the buildings standing in its way. And instead of freaking out over all the changes I would be facing in the next several weeks, I was content. In that moment, God showed me that yes, Haiti will be different. But different isn’t bad. It’s just different.  I can love America and the people and the beauty that I find here. At the same time, I can love Haiti and the different people and the different types of beauty that I find there. I don’t need to be anxious about the changes and differences.

God has also taught me so much about how faithful He is. Just last week, I received an email from the finance guy at Christian Light Schools (the school I’ll be teaching at) which informed me that I had not received any support yet. Panic started to well up in my stomach. Here I was, two weeks away from leaving the country, and I had not raised a single penny to help get me there and pay for my expenses for the year. God knew I was panicking and mercifully stepped in with a reminder. He has called me. He opened doors to my dream job. He allowed the perfect school to be hiring. He has perfectly orchestrated this entire adventure long before I even knew about it. He will provide. I know without a doubt that this is where I am meant to be. God isn’t going to open all these doors to send me, but close the money door. A few hours after I had read that email, a friend stopped by to tell me that his parents had just donated. My parents text me to let me know that they just filled out the form online and were supporting me monthly. A friend from summer project messaged me to tell me the same thing. A few days later, I went to the dentist. This is so cool; I seriously have goosebumps as I’m typing this. There I am, sitting in the chair when the dentist asks about what I’m doing now that I graduated. I tell him my story, leaving out the part about raising money because I’m never quite sure how to work that into a conversation. He looks at me and says, “Well, I didn’t get a support letter, but I would love to help you out! Let me get my checkbook.” The lady who cleans my teeth pulled out her checkbook too! Let me tell you what- that was God telling me that He knows I am stressing about raising $10,000 and reminding me that He is in control and He can do all things. Thank You Lord for doing more than I could ever ask or even imagine!!

            Thank you to everyone who has donated to help send me to Haiti. I honestly could not do this without you. If you haven’t donated yet, there is still time. Please prayerfully consider supporting me with a monthly donation of $25, $50, or $100. Any amount that you feel led to give is greatly appreciated! One-time donations, monthly donations, anything works and any amount will help! Please go to http://www.christianlighthaiti.org/brittany-gilbreath.html and click donate now on the right side of the screen. This will take you to a new page, where you will click ‘donate now’ again. This will take you to a new screen where you will input all your information and how much you would like to donate. This next part is extremely important- on the next screen, you need to put my name in the box that asks for any special instructions. This will ensure that your donation goes directly to me- to pay for my rent, food, travel, and medical expenses. If you don’t feel comfortable with donating online, you could send a check made out to Christian Light Schools, Inc to Christian Light Schools, Inc. at PO Box 2190 in St. Augustine, FL 32085. If you choose to send a check, write my name in the memo line so they know whose account to place the money in. I still need about $8,000 in order to be fully supported for the year. While this seems daunting, I have complete faith in my God; He will provide.

            It has been amazing to see how many people care and are genuinely interested in my story. I’ll be standing in line at the store buying skirts when the clerk comments about how many I’m buying. I’ll start talking and telling my story and we’ll stand there for a few minutes extra even after everything has been rung up, discussing why I’m going to Haiti and what I’m doing there. I was at the post office the other day and asked for 100 stamps. The guy kinda looked at me weird before pulling them out and asked, why do you need so many stamps? Boom. I got to tell him that God was sending me to Haiti to teach, and we talked about ministry and churches for a while. Every day, I hang out with someone different- a friend, someone I work for, and random people I happen to run into. Every day, you ask thoughtful questions and express concern for my wellbeing while I’m in Haiti. You guys are AWESOME! I love to talk about what I’m doing and I love even more that you are interested in what God has called me to do! Thank you for caring, for praying, for expressing concern, for spreading the word and sharing my story with your friends. It‘s one of the neatest things ever when one of you texts me to tell me that you shared my story with a friend who wants me to know they’re praying for me. Prayer is so powerful and I appreciate it every prayer said on my behalf! Please keep praying!

This is probably my last blog post while I’m in the states. Ahhhh! That’s really scary to think about! This time next week, I’ll be in Haiti! Please pray for my heart as I have to say goodbye. Some days, I feel like it might rip in two. Pray for my parents, as I know it’s harder for them than it is for me. Pray for the kiddos that I will meet while I’m in Haiti, and that God will start preparing their hearts for the Gospel message. Pray that God will start preparing my heart for all that I will learn about Him through these children. I have no doubt that this will be a life changing trip and I am so looking forward to sharing the experience with you guys!

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.... You are serving the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23-24