Birthdays, Birthdays ...

Alex, third from the right, has been sick for so much of our school year that a lot of the students had to get reacquainted with him when he came back at the beginning of November. He even spent several weeks in the states, so he could see a doctor that could give him better care than he would have received here in Haiti. But it's been a joy having him in our L.A. family again - student number 7 in Miss Lindsay's class =) He had a birthday in the middle of the month as well, and invited the entire Liberty Academy to come celebrate with him! Sadly, I was under the weather with my bout of Dengue Fever, so I couldn't go. But Miss B and Miss Lindsay went in my stead, and they had a great time!

The fet was held at his dad's restaurant - one of the nicest here in St. Marc. And as these pictures show, students and teachers alike had a great time!


Miss Lindsay, lookin' beautiful next to Eli's two sisters, Miriam and Rachel. It's been such a blessing getting to know these three siblings. Eli is one of my guitar students, and a best buddy to Samuel and Lizzie Snow. He often comes to our Sunday evening church services as well, playing the hand drums along with our worship songs. His heart is so sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and I love watching him blossom as a leader among the other students. Miriam and Rachel are lovely young women too ... they both stop by my classroom in the mornings to see how I'm doing. Miriam has taken to giving me huge bear hugs from behind me, when I'm not looking. I love it =) I enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with both of these girls last Saturday, as we spent the day at the open market doing some Haitian style 'window shopping' (I guess you'd call it 'booth shopping' here) for Christmas. We also bought a few things, but most of what you find here in the city has been imported from the U.S., China, or the D.R. There is almost NOTHING that reflects the real cultural roots of these people. I am saddened to see it ... on the reed mats, next to the colorful piles of fruits, vegetables, rice, and sugar, you see pile after pile of eclectic plastic containers, beat-up boomboxes, sneakers, used jeans, jumbled stacks of silverware ... the list could go on. But the only thing I've found in this city that is even close to a souvenir, is a set of dusty postcards from S.D. supermarket. You ccould tell that no one had even taken a minute's time to glance through them for months, maybe even years. But I bought a dozen of them. Because the series of photographs, showing women and men, from young to old, captured SO well the spirit and life of the Haitian people. I just wish these people had more opportunity to realize and then use their skills to make their OWN crafts and clothing and tools. There is so much untapped potential in this nation ... It's gonna blow the world away when they finally start sharing who they really are with the nations around them. We are missing out!


Shakinah (Miss B) and Lilly, dancing a waltz at Alex's birthday part. I love watching these children dance. Lilly and her siblings along with all the Haitian children at our school and Sunday evening worship services. They have a true gift... and when they are using it to honor God, it is absolutely breathtaking! Miss B is incorporating some dance into our Christmas Rap with the students. I've already been moved, almost to tears, just watching them practice. When they are ready to perform, in just under 3 weeks, their program will be very powerful... Please pray that it will touch all those who come with a new understanding of God's amazing love for them.


Birthday boy number two! Jephte (center) had his 9th birthday on November 17th. The Monday after my bout with Dengue. And by God's grace and healing touch, I was able to celebrate with my class as planned: birthday hats, a birthday game (a round of "Drip, Drip, Drop" - an awesome version of "Duck, Duck, Goose" that involves water... learned it from Pastor Curtiss during our 6 Day Clubs this summer. Thank you, Curtiss!), Strawberry-Orange Tang, and freshly made funnel cakes from Lancaster County! They look pretty happy, don't they? =)



Especially this little guy! Mario, my 6 year-old, is ready to dig into his sugar-coated funnel cake. I got a special cake mix for making these fried treats way back in the beginning of October, when the PA team brought down a duffel with some gifts from my family, Stu, and even a few notes from my old students at LAMS (by the way, thank you to Jared Gingrich and Sasha Carpenter and family for your notes! I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to write back yet ... but look at it this way - now you get to be on my blog - by name! ;). In among the gifts was the funnel cake mix. A piece of the Ephrata Fair experience that I was missing out on and Stu so creatively remedied! I hadn't gotten around to making the cakes for over a month, but when Jephte's birthday rolled around, I knew this would be the perfect use for them. And the kids LOVED every bite! So thank you, Stu - from Miss Laura and ALL of her students ;)