Dezam Trip with Jen & Linda :)

Natural fence to keep cattle in (cacti!) 

He holds me so well,
and He knows my name.

He leads me through hope-laden
valleys,
and renews my spirit day
by day
by day.

There are no corners where
He does not hide with me.

My spirit comes alive when I am
alone with Him
and when I am aware of His presence.

He leads me with a gentle hand,
and I am never alone.

There are many spaces where understanding
grows cloudy,
and answers
become distant.

There are races that we are running,
and clocks we are trying to outdo.

There are seasons of labor
and toil
and heartache
and joy
and excitement
and refinement...all
with refinement.

And my heart grows fonder
in each moment
of surrender.

My lungs fill to capacity
with the sweet

A night out on the town! 

intentions of my Savior.

Where can I go where He
is not?

Where can I reside where
He is not?

There are no forests,
No rivers,
No mountains.
There are no places
where He has abandoned me.

My heart grows more simply drawn
into embrace
as He renews me.

I am washed by waters, clean.
Cleansing, bubbling,

MCC plants trees in old water bags to replant in the mountains.

Rippling through the places they go.




And now...the picture tour of the land I live in and love. :)

We perused the entire town to find these. :)

We slept outside this night. :)

Hymn sing-a-long! 

A friend we met as we walked along the canal. 

Jen and her orange! 

Madame Sarah birds' nests.

Refining water. 

Stanley took us through the riverbed. 

It's a....

Typical Jen & me.

The ocean view on the way home. :)

Musings of a Daughter

Tales from the trail,

Of a musing daughter.

…A few random responses to life.

This is a month of processing. Especially in the past couple of weeks, I’ve stepped into a place of seeking. I’m seeking to know more. Not just for the sake of knowing more but for the sake of knowing the truth, for knowing Jesus better. It seems this is a season where God is sifting through ideas, traditions, and things that I have held onto as “truths.” I desire to worship Him in spirit & in truth, and I deeply hope that this season will draw me into a more pure relationship with Jesus.

The school year is coming to a close in 4 weeks! It’s hard to fathom that it has gone by so fast. I’m so glad that I don’t have to be perfect or do everything on my own strength because there has been a lot of new territory to cross along the way.

Some highlights from the month of April include a hike to the Wynne Farm which is an ecological reserve. There was a lot of mist in the air, so it made for some nice pictures.

My discipleship girls joined up with another group to throw a party for the other group’s discipleship leader for her birthday. There were a lot of sweets. Yum. I love opportunities to joke around with and be a little more immature than normal...

Jim's B-day party...with Jen. :)

I’m finishing up my fourth Danticat book, and she remains one of my favorite authors. The one I’m reading now is called Brother, I’m Dying, and it’s a beautiful autobiography of her relationships with her father & uncle. I’m recognizing that there is a thread of father relationships throughout the books I’m reading…I’m also studying Night with my 10^th graders right now, and there are intense scenes with Elie and his father. I am reminded that I have been fully gifted in this area. I am reminded of the blessing it is to have a father, to have a loving relationship with a father, and to know that your father cares for you and is praying for you. Thank you, Dad! Thank you for leading me well, and for leading me into my Heavenly Father's ways. I’ve had the gift of experiencing a loving relationship with my dad, a reflection of the father relationship God’ children are able to have with Him.  

On the trail with Linda. :)

Here is a snippet of musings from this month:

We will pave the way together,

Through the path You have paved before me,

Hand in hand we will walk together.

We will walk through fire, we will walk

Through pain.

But I will be changed, ever, into your likeness,

As You hold my hand.

As You lead me beside the

Waters that are quiet,

Quieting my soul and reckless spirit.

And even as You take me into the presence of

My enemies,

I will rejoice, I will dance.

We Are...Generation

We are a last-minute generation,

Never savoring, fulfilling temptation generation.

We are a non-committing, no retention line

Of young adults,

Who blow smoke screens because we don’t

Want to get roped into doing anything we

Don’t want to do.

We are a “find a way out of it,”

“Maybe, I’m not sure,”

Ignorers of RSVP ASAP,

You’re-lucky-if-we-give-you-an-answer generation.

We’re loaded up with narcissism and ego

Flowing out in sarcastic, self-inflated jokes,

But we bear the weight of poignant insecurities,

Poking us all over like acupuncture needles never

Dislodging.

We are ironic…the lives we live crossed

With what we believe and how we perceive it.

If this were a game of “match,” our realities would

Deceive us.

We are a lost generation, but not a

Forgotten generation.

We are a struggling generation, but not an

Irreconcilable one.

We are reachable, can be teachable,

And our eyes will be turned Heavenward,

When we break open our minds and let our hearts

Inside the skull to do a couples’ dance with brains well-trained.

For just as the created world we inhabit will be

Redeemed, we will be “liberated from…bondage

To decay and brought into the

Glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21b).

For Jesus is the reconcilor and he is reconciling

All things to his dad.

And my bones long for restoration,

Rejuvenation and the hope of reconciliation.

I don’t want this inward throb to dissipate,

The cancelled-out reward of anticipation.

We are a thrill-seeking generation,

Fill my bucket list generation,

Jump-into-icy-water-just-to-feel-something

Generation.

Wake up, dear sleepers,

Harness the freedom

That will fill our pulses,

Ever urging us to eat up,

But never leaving us needy…

The irony of fulfillment that never fails to feed. 

Arise and Shine!

“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear or be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.” ~1 Chronicles 28:20

First night here! :) 

Just as the Lord called the Israelites to serve at the House of the Lord, so I am also understanding the call to just do it and not grow weary or dismayed as I finish out my first year at Quisqueya Christian School. J Tomorrow we will begin the second week of the 4^th quarter! It’s truly hard to comprehend that more than ¾ of the school year has passed.

The Barbancourt Rhum Room 

Exciting news from March includes the wonderful visit from my mom and Matt! I still cannot believe that they were actually here—walking the streets I walk, sitting in the classroom I teach in, hanging out in the room I live out of, and meeting friends I’ve made here. It was a blast! We got to travel to the beach and the countryside, so they got to experience some of the diversity of Haiti. We had a relaxing, sweet time together. It’s the first time my mom had been out of the country since she was 17! She said she’s already thinking about coming back next year. J

School-side: We’ve begun reading the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel in my 10^th grade class. Like never before have I been struck by the appalling horror of the Holocaust. As I research, a sickness grows in my stomach. This intense dehumanization of millions of people is unfathomable. To see these documented in pictures, videos, words, interviews, is a harsh experience. My hope is that my 10^th graders feel and understand the reality of what humans are capable of and the choices that we are constantly making that determine outcomes of many motives.

Kenscoff 

In 9^th grade we are working through a short unit on poetry. They’re expressing themselves through creative and written outlets. It’s fun! Next, we’re headed into the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451. I’m looking forward to that!

My English Enrichment class continues to do a lot of independent reading which is interspersed with reading to 2^nd graders, reading outside, and trips to the library.

The middle school classes I help out in are working through speeches and profile pieces. They’re vivacious and unpredictable. J

Can you see the crab?

Life remains fresh and interesting as I continue to press on in my Kreyol learning. I just joined a Bible study group that a few of the cafeteria ladies do each week. I went for the first time 2 weeks ago—we prayed, read the Word, discussed the passages, and prayed some more in a mixture of Kreyol and English. I am looking forward to these meetings!

My moto adventures (riding on the back of public motorcycle transportation) are getting richer every day. I went out to eat with my high school discipleship group on Friday and tried to communicate with Monsieur Mark (my newly regular driver), how to get to Pizza Garden…I’d never been there before. After a bit of miscommunication because of my lack of Kreyol vocab, we figured it out! The time with my discipleship group was filled with laughs, sharing, food, and fun. J I’m honored to share life with these girls.

Night at the beach with Mom & Matt

God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Adversities come and go, but He is never changing. He is salvation bringer, peace wielder, and love bearer. All praise be to Jesus Christ for He is holy and is making me ever more into His likeness (little by little).

 

Resting in Beauty

“’My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” ~2 Corinthians 12:9

I am sitting on my bed feeling achy and snot-filled. I was reminded of this 2 Corinthians verse earlier this morning. My mind often says, “Go, go, GO! Do it! You can do it! Keep going!” This weekend, my body’s natural responses are overpowering my mind’s ability to connive me into doing lots of stuff and accomplishing many things.

The beach w/Brit.

So, here I rest. This is what I read this morning in Jesus Calling: “Thank Me [God] for the conditions that are requiring you to be still. Do not spoil these quiet hours by wishing them away, waiting impatiently to be active again. Some of the greatest works in My kingdom have been done from sick beds and prison cells.

Brit & I visited Heartline (a pre and post-natal care center
for women), with Miquette & Max (pictured) &
Irene & baby Grace. 

“Instead of resenting the limitations of a weakened body, search for My way in the midst of these very circumstances. Limitations can be liberating when your strongest desire is living close to Me.”

So I say, thank you, Lord, for a cause to recall how inadequate my bones and flesh are to carry me through life in a solo dance. I was never meant to dance alone. A dance is meant for two, and here I am, stepping out to join You, “Lord of the dance.” I require support, rest, strength—I am not capable of working it up out of my own doing. Thank God!

A night out with Ruth & Jen
(fellow literary heads/co-workers/friends)

The past month has been filled with adventures. I am exploring my home more than last semester and discovering all kinds of new treasures. I bought my first couple of pieces of Haitian art; bartered (well, someone bartered for me) for a silk dress in an underground used clothing market; and drove to the beach with my good friend, Brit, who came to visit for an entire week. Woot woot!

School-Side:

My 9^th graders and I just began exploring colonization in Africa as we dove into Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe last week. He was a pioneer of African literature—desiring native people to write and express their cultures instead of having foreigners become the sole authors and representatives.

Cafe Rebo with Brit! 

My 10^th graders led a successful Socratic Seminar last week as they discussed the development of our book, Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. They also turned in their final drafts of a biographical paper based on someone they know who’s experienced a crisis (on a personal or large-scale level).

The English Enrichment Class got to experience Brit’s spoken word poetry while she was here. She performed a spoken word that she’d written, and many of the students were blown away. The emotion and heart that comes with an art form like spoken word is powerful and moving. Several students commented later on how inspired they felt.

Dear friends: Linda & Brit. We adventured & hung out. :)

My table at the V-Day dinner. Fellow co-workers.

The middle schoolers also got to hear spoken word, and it was extremely timely for them because they are in the middle of a poetry unit right now. Tears came to my eyes as Brit let loose with her spoken word in front of the 7^th graders because it was a powerful and beautiful encounter.

The seniors at the school hosted a Valentine’s Day dinner for the teachers last night. It was a beautiful event and high enough up in the mountains that I was actually shivering. J

In other news…I have the visit of my mom and brother Matt to look forward to at the beginning of March! They’ll be here for an entire week!

I am thankful that I don’t need to self-sustain. Although I sometimes feel like I’m pretty strong and motivated, I am unable to do anything on my own. Lord, remind me of that day by day:

“Whom have I in Heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” ~Psalm 73:25-26

Bonus Photo: Brit & I out celebrating my birthday before she left. :)