You Make Beautiful Things

My longings grow.

What is there to say but that many of the treasures are felt and seen inside and held behind the eyes.

“You make beautiful things/You make beautiful things out of us…” –Gungor. Anthem, sing on as I reach towards the light. Lord, You make all things pure, true, and right. Thank You for the process that guides me into Your radiant life.

The beauty of old things being renewed can be captured in these homes that were painted in bright array by someone who didn't want to see them all dull and brown post-earthquake. So, he painted them! It makes for a beautiful ascension up the majestic mountain. 

There has been much going on. I feel full, exhausted, excited, nervous, overwhelmed, intimidated, joyous, free, faith-laden, anticipation, expectation, urgency. The past couple of weeks have been full of new journeys and inspirations.

I was given the opportunity to lead, with a group of students, worship for chapel once a month. This past week was my first time leading with them, and it was fun to see them taking part in this leadership role with me. I am looking forward to how the Lord will shape our team this semester!

I’ve officially been teaching at Quisqueya Christian School for over a month! So far, it has been an incredible growing experience. I never seem to know enough or be prepared enough (both of which seem to be impossible, and I have yet to be proven that it’s possible), and although the breakthroughs aren’t always present; I can tell you in this moment that I love it! It took me over 8 hours to grade papers for one class 2 weeks ago. I’m working on lowering that time commitment. It’ll take some time.

My 10^th grade class just finished reading Antigone. My 9^th grade class is working through Silas Marner, and my reading elective continues to grow in making silent reading a successful and productive habit.

The first memorable typo on a student's paper arrived in one of my English classes a few weeks ago...

Yesterday I had my very first parent-teacher conferences. We met from 7am-4:30pm. It was a long, exhausting day, but it was well worth the commitment! I had some great conversations with parents, and it was a pleasure to meet them and talk about how we can best support the young men and women that are in our care. I was blessed by the day! To top off a successful workday, I was asked to be my next door neighbor’s date to an event at the Canadian Embassy (yes, Heather is Canadian). J It was an…interesting…experience… Essentially, we felt like it was an event that people showed up at to be seen. There were plenty of “important” people there from the U.S. Embassy and from other places. It was an experience to tuck away in my pocket.

We went out for burgers at my favorite restaurant after the embassy party. Elisa & I got to add to the wall art. :)

My record of ending the lives of apartment-dwelling mice was upped to 2 last night, somewhere around midnight. It’s not my favorite past-time to drown mice in the toilet, but Elisa and I have decided that it’s a necessary habit in order to preserve our sanity and our food supply. L

Yesterday, a student and parent from QCS took Elisa and I to Apparent Project. It is a retail shop located 10 minutes away from the school that is run by a couple whose children go to QCS. Apparent Project is a nonprofit business that sells handmade crafts made by artisans in Haiti. The two main materials they produce are rolled newspaper crafts and clay crafts (jewelry, mugs, etc.). The business employs 200 heads-of households. They receive orders from wealthy individuals and businesses in the USA. It’s pretty incredible! Check out their website: http://www.apparentproject.org/

The Lord continues to do a work in me, and I know that He’s making beauty come from ashes on a consistent basis. More adventures to come!

Bonus Photos:

Just to show you that Listerine is $13!

Making dinner in the apartment next door.