I'm sure this is something that my parents and friends back home won't particularly enjoy hearing, but every time I step off the plane in Haiti, I feel like I'm home. Ever since I first came to this beautiful, devastating, and captivating country in 2009, I've known that it will be a huge part of my life, and so far, that's been true.
It's hard to believe that it's only been a week since I landed in Port-au-Prince. It's been a whirlwind of preparing for camp, meeting new friends, and reuniting with some of the people that I love most in this world. Of course I adore my camp children, and seeing their faces light up when they ran through the gate and came to cover me in hugs and kisses filled my heart to bursting. But equally important to me was the reunion I had with the ladies who work in our house, and mean the world to me. And of course, seeing Byron, Shelley, Sue, and all of the Tlucek kids again was such a happy moment.
There is no way to describe English Camp unless you've been here, but I'll do my best. Just know that the best description that I can give is that it is an overwhelming, exhausting, and draining experience in so many amazing ways. I pour all the love I have into these kids, and they do the same, and it's a wonderful thing, but it's also hard.
The first week of camp this year, I got to help Aimee, a teacher from California who I absolutely adore, teach English to our younger groups (ages 5-9). Aimee left to go back to the States today, and I will miss her heart for the kids and her love for teaching greatly when I have to take over her class next week. She's a hard act to follow, and I'm so glad she had the opportunity to come here and discover what a pull this country can have on your heart.
We covered letters, shapes, colors, and body parts, and I got to do what I love best, which is just being with the kids and playing with them and loving on them. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing them giggle, smile, learn new things, and play. It's so much fun watching them learn and to see how proud they are to show off what they remember from yesterday's lesson. I was so excited that I've already planned Monday's lesson. I love leading groups and getting to spend all day with one group of kids, but I love teaching them more, and getting to see how excited they are to walk into the classroom.
Everyone says that you're not supposed to have favorites, but everyone is lying because I have yet to meet anyone who could say they didn't pick a favorite child. I just so happen to have a lot of them. Alexandre, the one child who will always truly have my heart, ran right up to me and jumped into my arms, and I almost started crying. I love that little boy so much, and he's gotten so big! He's learning English so quickly, and is such a smart and funny boy. I honestly thought that I wouldn't get to see Schneider, Onaldia, or many of the other childrens' home kids ever again when I left last summer, so getting to hold them in my arms again was a bittersweet joy. I am so glad that I got to see them, but so sad for their forever families in the States that it's taking so long for them to come home.
There's more - Coussi, Garensley, Colsna, Beyonce (yup, that's her name - and she has the attitude to match!), Junior, Annie, Darlens, Obed, Judeline, Wood, and Jean-Wid were all ones that I sought out on the first day of camp to hug and tickle and tease. On the other hand, there are children who are precious to me who aren't at camp this year, for any number of reasons, but it scares me to think of all the possibilities there. It's at points like this that I have to trust that God has a plan for every one of these beautiful angels, and I'm only a small part of that.
Besides stress and kids and lessons, there was also plenty of fun this week. There were several birthdays, including Alex, our night guard who's really more like part of the family. Seeing his smile when he got a present and card that everyone signed made me realize that we're ministering to more than just the kids who come to camp. Fourth of July was yesterday! Even though I forgot for most of the day, we had an amazing meal of cheeseburgers, chips, ice cream, caramel apples, and other treats that we almost never have in Haiti. Shelley really went out of her way to make the holiday special, and it was so appreciated.
This was kind of an all-over-the-place post, so sorry for the lack of direction! I hope to be able to post later this weekend about what God's doing in my life specifically here. For now, I'm going to take advantage of this lazy Saturday and nap, read, hang out with some wonderful people, and continue loving my life here in Haiti. Hopefully I'll even get a chance to go over to the children's home and play with my loves there. Happy Independence Day and happy weekend!
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