Broken Plate. Broken Heart. Broken World.

Last Thursday I was with the kids and some of their friends at the cafe working on homework, but then art class started and all the tables were getting full so we decided to leave.  Micha asked if their friends could come to the house to do homework with them that afternoon so I told her yes.  Each of their friends headed home to change out of their school uniforms before coming over and I walked the kids back to the house.  After they quickly changed Micha, Jessi & I headed out to pick up their friends.  We arrived at Dada's house first and when we went in she was already doing dishes.  We had left her at her house approximately 5 minutes before and she had already changed out of her uniform and had started working.  As we talked to her about coming over to do homework Micha walked around where she was doing dishes and accidentally knocked a plate off of where it was sitting.  It of course broke on the concrete floor and Micha asked her if she was going to be in trouble.  Dada said yes, that her 'mother' would beat her when she got home.  My heart broke.  Sweet, precious Dada is a restavek like so many other children here.....doing all the work, being mistreated and not being able to just be a kid.  I walked Dada home after she finished her homework.  Her 'mother' was home so I told her that I had broken her plate and that I was very sorry it was an accident.  She of course said that it was no problem and that she had plenty of plates.  I don't know what happened after that, but I just prayed that Dada would be protected.

It is so frustrating to not be able to fix things for these children.  It is so frustrating to not be able to just call child services and have them taken out of these situations.  It is even more frustrating that it is so ingrained in culture here that people  don't even think twice about it.  There is so much darkness wrapped up in the culture here that things that are definitely not ok are just overlooked because they are completely normal here.

This evening a few of us went to visit a family that is very dear to us.  They have recently taken in a 13 year old girl whose mother died.  After we found out about this we were so happy because we know what a great couple they are and what loving parents they are.  But the last time we visited them something just didn't seem right, the girl that they had taken in was working the whole time we were there.  She was just taking laundry off the line and sweeping which are reasonable chores for a 13 year old, but she never sat down to chat with us and was just constantly working.  We just couldn't believe it, there was no way this couple would ever have a restavek.  After some conversations that Kam had this week she basically found out that this girl is doing all the work at their house.  I know that they are treating her well and that she is going to school, but she is still a restavek.  Cultural norms can definitely cause hearts and eyes to be closed to reality.

Please pray for these dear, sweet girls....pray that they would know true freedom in Christ.  Pray for the adults in this country....that their hearts and minds and eyes would be open to reality and that they would see children as the precious, loved children of God that they are instead of as slaves.  

John 8:36  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

        

Break Every Chain

God does not judge by what he sees on the outside. This verse literally blew my English students minds today. There are so many people here who are in physical bondage, but there are also many here who are bound by legalism in the church. Culturally in Haiti, you must dress a certain way to go to church. Not only will you be looked down upon if you are not dressed properly, you will likely be kicked out of church or never allowed to enter at all.  In essence, if you don't have money to buy proper church clothes (most people don't) then you aren't allowed to worship God within the church. There is something very wrong with this.  Jesus didn't die on a cross just for people who have enough money to buy a certain kind of clothing for church, he died on the cross for EVERYONE.  As we discussed this passage of Galatians today with Pastor Mark my students had so many questions and it was easy to see that they were beginning to grasp this truth. The chains are breaking.  Praise Jesus!

M'ap li ak ke kontan! (aka I'm reading with joy!)

On the second day of school Amanda and I were under the tree taking photos of some students who don't have sponsors when Rita walks up on the phone.  She seems to be talking about something very serious and then says, "Well I'll have Stephanie go talk to her, she's sitting outside the classroom crying".  Of course my initial thought is "Oh no, what has happened?!" which is quickly followed by "Whatever it is my creole isn't good enough!".  Rita hangs up the phone and with tears in her eyes explains what has happened.  Loulou has been kicked out of 3rd grade because she can't read.  She's been through 3rd grade twice already and now she is going to have to go back to 2nd grade because she can't read.  As I walked over to talk to her I just prayed that the Lord would give me the words to say to her.  I hugged her and talked to her about it and told her that we would help her.  I asked her if she wanted to be able to read and she said yes, she just needed help.  I sat with her for awhile and silently prayed for her and about how we could help her.

Reading is an issue that we as a staff have discussed so many times because we know that it is a huge problem.  Children grow up speaking Creole and then suddenly when they go to school everything is taught in French.  How are they supposed to learn when they can't even understand what is being said?  Not only that, but they are never really taught to read, they are just expected to do it.  A few weeks ago in my English class we read an article and discussed the education system in Haiti and this was one of the many issues we discussed.  All of my students were very passionate that the education system in Haiti needs change.  And then it hit me.....a Saturday reading program with my English students as the volunteers!!  I presented the idea to my class the next day and asked them if they were able to come on Saturday to volunteer an hour of their time to help some children who can't read.  

I was quite nervous the first Saturday.....what if none of my volunteers show up?!  But, to my pleasant surprise I had 6 volunteers show up!!  Only 3 kids, but 6 VOLUNTEERS!  

    
And then this Saturday.....13 kids and 6 volunteers!  

It is such an awesome thing to see the students from my class who I have grown so close to really living out the gospel.  They are an inspiration to me and definite agents for change in a country that is so broken.  Please pray for these kids as they learn a skill that will literally change their lives and for these volunteers who are so generously giving of their time to serve others.

James 3:13

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Humbled

Romans 8:26  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

There are times when I am just so humbled at the way the Lord moves.  Today was one of those days.  Theodore has been coming by the house regularly during the last couple of weeks because about a month ago someone was stealing bananas from his garden and when he tried to stop the thief he was cut with a machete.  They sewed up the wound at the hospital, but he has been coming here to get it cleaned and get new bandages.  He has been unable to move several of his fingers since the injury and was really getting concerned about losing his little finger.  Josh was headed to the hospital in Carrefour today to take Elizabeth (the little girl who had surgery on her foot) for a checkup, so he told Theodore to come along to see a doctor.  Theodore showed up this morning and told Josh that he had a dream last night.  He dreamed that we were all standing around him praying for him and that because we were praying in english he couldn't understand us, but Josh was telling him in creole that we were praying for healing for him and that the Lord was going to deliver him.  When he woke up from the dream he could move all of his fingers!  He was not a believer, but he told Josh that he really thought that God had healed him and that he thought he was going to accept Jesus today.  He went ahead and went to Carrefour with Josh and our school nurse, Madam Colin.  In the car on the way to the hospital, he told the story to Madam Colin and she and Josh shared the gospel with him.  Tonight he came to our house and we prayed over him.  He then prayed to accept Jesus as his Savior!!

I was so convicted by the events of today because although I had seen him and spoken with him several times he hadn't made it onto my prayer list.  In fact, I don't think that any of us had actually been praying for him.  I am going to make it a priority to pray for every person that walks through our gate.  Our God is so much more than we can comprehend and the Spirit knows what we need even when we don't know.    

Roller Coaster Ride

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but I'll say it again.....Haiti is a place full of extreme heartache and extreme joy.  There are definitely days when my heart is so sad and within the same day so full of joy. So I'll just dive right in and update you on the past week or so.

For the past several months we have been tutoring several students who failed their class last year or who have never been to school.  We added a few students this week and for some reason word seems to spread like wildfire in Haiti and we had several other students who were friends or siblings of our new students show up uninvited (they had passed their classes).  One of the little girls kind of just snuck in and was working with one of the translators that didn't know who was and was not supposed to be there, so she was already in the middle of a worksheet when Sharon and I noticed her.  At that point we couldn't really just tell her to go home, so we just told her that she didn't need to come back the next day because she had passed her class.  The kids come to our house for tutoring and inevitably pretty much everyone always needs to go to the bathroom while they are there.....I think this is probably because we have an indoor bathroom with a real toilet, which is something that most if not all of them have never seen before.  Anyway, long story short this new little girl took her backpack into our bathroom and stole a couple of bottles of hand soap.  We figured it out before she left and in my limited creole I told her how it wasn't good and that she shouldn't take other peoples things.  Situations like this just break my heart because I know that she probably just needed soap and if she had asked we would have happily given her some.  It's so heartbreaking when you know someone is stealing out of necessity.

M is settling into the Freedom House and really thriving.  She is so happy and really fits in well with all the girls.  On Saturdays our cook, Darline, has the night off so we've been going to the market with the girls on Saturday afternoon and then making dinner with them.  It's a lot of fun to go to the market with all of them because they just love it!  They get all dressed up and excited to go.  CiCi and I took them to the market this Saturday and when we were done buying the things we needed we had a little cash left over, so we bought kenips (super delicious fruit) and ti galon (frozen sugary juice) as a little treat.  It just made me think of all the grocery store trips with my mom and how it was always so much fun to get that special little treat when you went to the store.  It always makes my heart happy to spend time with these precious girls.  

This one is going to be vague, my apologies for that but I feel that I shouldn't mention specific people in this instance.  I think this was the thing that broke my heart the most this week and I'm still not sure I've completely processed it.  Basically someone that we know pretty well is planning on getting a restavek.  It sounds weird to even put it like that, but that's what is happening.  It's someone that knows better and knows that it's wrong, but I think some things just get so distorted in the culture here and somehow are so easily justifiable in people's minds.  Please just pray for this situation and this person's heart.

One of our students, Elizabeth, had surgery this week on her foot.  She walked completely on the side of her foot and the doctors said that if it wasn't corrected it would cause her to not be able to walk in the future.  She's been staying at our house this week so that we can care for her.  She's been such a good little patient and I'm so thankful that she was able to have this surgery.

One more thing and then I'll stop with all the stories that don't really go together :)  I am so blessed by the people that I serve with here.  We have true gospel community and it is really great!  They all encourage me daily and I am just so thankful to be serving with them.  

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

       

  

Respire Haiti Summer in Review!

Use the link below to read the Respire Haiti Summer Newsletter.  So many things are happening!
Summer Newsletter


P.S.  I'm still selling jewelry to help support myself.....it's all made in Haiti from recycled and natural materials!  I have set up an online store, so if you are interested just place an order and it will be delivered to your door :)
http://haitisjewelsbysteph.storenvy.com/

Pray with us - Part 2

M came back to Gressier on Saturday and moved in with us yesterday!! Praise Jesus!! Please continue to pray for her.  Pray that this would be a place of healing for her heart and that she would come to know her true identity in Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.