Hello everyone! It's been a month so I thought it would be nice to get out an update.
The last day of the regular school year was Monday, June 9th. Since then we have had a lot of visitors. Every week brings in another team and individuals coming to help with summer school (which starts June 30th). The teams have all been wonderful and I'm very thankful for their service to Haiti and Christian Light School!
The World Cup started last week so I've been watching quite a bit of soccer with the kids. It's been fun (especially watching team USA getting a nice win earlier this week). The chikungunya virus (a newly introduced virus to haiti, which is transmitted by mosquitos) has run through most of the kids at this point. I haven't gotten it....yet.
I no longer live at the school. I moved out about a week ago and live a couple blocks away in a house that another mission organization, Hope For My Sister, leases. For the first few days it was very strange not living on campus. Now that I've had almost a week to adjust I'm growing to like it. There are definitely some benefits to living at the school--clean drinking water piped to the rooms, meals prepared for you, staff cleaning on a nearly daily basis, a washing machine, etc. While I do miss some of these things, living off campus allows me some more independence and the ability to further integrate into Haiti. I experience life a little bit more like the Haitians do. I want to see the world through the eyes of the Haitian people and what they deal with every day.
Our Pastor John Meadth and his wife Jocie are leaving to go back to Australia. They will be greatly missed. I've really come to appreciate them. They are wonderful! We've had the opportunity to meet the new pastor and his wife and son over the past week. Pastor Dan and Liz seem like a great couple and I look forward to getting to know them better. We are thankful the Lord has called them to serve in Haiti and work in the important ministries at Port-au-Prince Fellowship.
Our full time staff is growing! Ashleigh Kruse arrived a little over two weeks ago and will be teaching biology. Katelyn Hollis arrived yesterday and she will be directing the baby feeding program and overseeing the girls in the Children's Home. It's exciting to have new faces around and more shoulders to share the load. I really believe God is preparing us for more growth.
Please pray for Christian Light School & Children's Home as more staff arrives. Pray for us to be unified and focused on improving this ministry. Pray that we are constantly striving to serve the Haitian people better. Pray that people see Jesus in all that we do. Pray as we transition and Sherrie hands over more of the responsibilities to those already here and those on their way.
I also ask for your prayers. I have some big decisions to make, mostly involving business opportunities. I really would like to get to a point where I can live in Haiti without financial support from home. It's going to take some time, but if it be in God's will, I believe it can be done. I'll be visiting the States for a month starting July 11th. Since that is less than a month away, I've decided that the earliest I will buy a car is in August when I return.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support! I couldn't be here without all of you! I look forward to seeing many of you in less than a month!
