Resurrection Sunday

I had the pleasure of celebrating Christ's Resurrection with some Haitian brothers and sisters this morning. It was fabulous. I wanted to make a short video, but I decided against it. I didn't want to be a distraction.

My chauffeur David and our sweet ride.


The look of Gramothe (pronounced gruh-mott) has changed drastically since I was last here. The old church (on the right) had just been built when I came in 2000. The bottom story of the elementary school was there (barely two rooms), and there was a dirt path between them. Now there is this.


The new sanctuary is on top of the school cafeteria. It is much bigger, and very nice. I should have taken a picture of the inside. Maybe I can do that later this week.

Arrival

We have safely arrived in Haiti. I believe Haiti has the quickest Immigration and Customs procedures of any country I've ever visited. However, baggage claim was a whole different story. Here are some pictures of the uncontrolled chaos called Port-au-Prince Baggage Claim.


Beth M. is the girl all the way on the left looking for her luggage in the sea of people. She's wearing pink and brown.


We met Beth Charles, the missionary we are staying with, just outside the airport door and booked it to her vehicle trying to avoid the masses of men trying to carry our bags to earn a tip. We immediately saw some very colorful taptaps like this one.


As we drove from the airport to the house we saw many buildings like this one. There were many buildings that were completely collapsed, but just a few blocks away there seemed to be no damage whatsoever.


There were also many tent cities, but I didn't get a picture. It was just too sad. We did see people selling lots of things along the streets. This particular place had an unusually large concentration of coolers, luggage, and lawn chairs.


I'll post more pictures of the guest house when the internet is cooperating a little better.

Leaving on Jet Plane

Travel Itinerary & My Fabulous Commentary

Friday 4/2
3:30pm Leave for O'Hare Airport--encountered stopped traffic for about 30 min on the toll road due to construction
8:00pm Flight leaves for Ft. Lauderdale--mostly I slept
11:08pm Arrive at Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport--found a cozy little corner and attempted to catch some ZZZZs
3am Small child screeches every 2-3 minutes for pure joy
3:30am Eavesdrop on an angry Jamaican woman telling her boyfriend what she really thinks of him; incidentally I made a note to save important conversations with a significant other for a private place and a decent hour
4am Arise and prepare for the day
5am Coax Beth to forsake her vanity and check her bag
5:30am Survived security
6:00am Discover free WiFi and party like it's 1999! (or prop feet up and blog)

So, so, so excited to be on my way to Haiti!
6:10am

Maybe You Had to Be There

It was the last day before spring break. I admittedly was not the most attentive teacher--especially when it came to the students who finished their book projects during class. I was more worried about the kids who didn't even have their projects started. Because of my distracted brain, one of my more responsible students found time during class today to bless us with some of her artwork.



She finished her project early on, so she found other things to occupy herself. First she draw one picture on the board, and then moved on to something else.



But the chalk must have been calling her name. She couldn't stay away from the board for more than a few minutes at a time.



While none of the drawings bore any resemblance to an actual person, each was supposed to represent a student from class. I wish I had a picture of the final product. The boys all ended up with hairy arms and legs. Some had boogers or armpit hair.



My favorite, though, were the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles with black eyes.

As great as the pictures were, the best part of the day was when another girl--who has an unnatural obsession with both Lady Gaga and Hello Kitty--finally noticed the pictures and loudly declared, "You're soooooooo weird. Look at those pictures!"

My little artist wasn't offended in the least. "Whatever. I'm not the one who likes Lady Gaga and Hello Kitty."

I could have peed my pants I laughed so hard!

Ugh.

Spring break starts in roughly 18 hours, which is not soon enough for a variety of reasons.

• The hormonal teenagers are driving me insane.
• I have not packed for my week in Haiti. My plane leaves Chicago in just 45 hours.
• My house is messy and needs to be cleaned before I said plane leaves.
• The grading period ends tomorrow, and I still have a mountain of papers to grade.
• I just can't take any more whining from 14 year olds.

Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go"

This song is my anthem today.

Grandpa's funeral is at 10am this morning. Please pray for my family as we say goodbye.

Grandpa Myers

On Thursday evening my grandpa stepped out into eternity. One minute he was talking with my grandma and uncle and the next he was gone.

My grandpa was the center of our tight knit family. He loved spending time with his grandkids and taking us all on family vacations. It's hard to imagine how life with be different without him.

Tonight we all gathered at my grandparents' house, just to be together, and I kept thinking he should be sitting in his spot on the love seat. I haven't been able to process what it means that he is gone. I have a feeling tomorrow at the viewing it will start to sink in.