I finally made it to my home for the summer… the guest dorms of Terre Noire, one of the four HOM community centers. I will be staying in a room with another girl who is here teaching English. Her commitment is for 12 months; she has been here for 6 already. I will be spending the next 6 weeks on the top bunk with an air mattress and a mosquito net! For those who know me, the top bunk is something I try to avoid at all costs but this summer I decided I’m up for new and different, so the top bunk it is. As I began to unpack (by unpack I mean unlock my trunks and shove them under the bed because that is where my stuff will stay), I quickly realized about a million things I forgot, thanks to a gracious group of volunteers coming from HPPC, I should have some of those forgotten items in a few short weeks.
There is a group here right now from Georgia and I spent a lot of time with them today. We went into the classrooms at Cite Soleil this morning and did an activity with the book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle. The kids were so sweet and loved the book, crazy how we can’t understand one another but we can still enjoy and laugh at the same stories. This afternoon we went to another HOM location at Repatriote and helped finish a playground and a soccer field. I have already noticed how things have improved since I was here last March, and I think I will really enjoy seeing the finished products and the progress made while I’m here. I’ve included pictures of the before and after of 2 projects that our HPPC group started in March and then the finished products. It doesn’t seem like much, but it is really encouraging to see the Haitian church leaders so committed to projects for the entire community to use. I’ve run into some of the translators that we met before and it’s always fun to catch up and talk with them… such amazing stories of starting from nothing and really taking advantage of the opportunities provided to them and making a better and brighter future for themselves and their families.
Soccer Fields at Repatriote
Just getting started: March 2013
Almost finished! June 2013
Playground at Terre Noire
Making the wall for the playground: March 2013
All done and ready for the kids: June 2013
Sweet first graders at Cite Soleil!
My humble abode...
Thank you again for all of your prayers and support, can’t wait to share more later but for now, off to dinner!
Maddie
Yay for a successful first day! We miss you back in the States but are lucky to have people like you to shine God's great light in places that need it the most. Keep up the good work, Mads! LOVE YOU LOTS!
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