burdened to have beautiful feet...: jou fèt (day of celebration)

It's so hard to believe how fast 4 1/2 months have flown by. The end of my current ministry in Haiti is right around the corner. Endings are always bitter sweet. They are a great time to reflect back on where you've been and celebrate what has been accomplished. It's exciting to look forward to what the future holds, but closure is always difficult. Since I still have a few weeks left, I will focus on the celebration now.

Olga, my boss, leaves for the states next week for the textile market in High Point. Since she will not be returning before the school year ends, we made the decision to have all of the "end of the year" celebrations early before she leaves. We've had 2 creative craft days for our students, teachers, and the annex schools. While the ladies are studying home economics, their focus is solely on sewing, crocheting, embroidery, and pattern drafting. I got the pleasure to teach card making with rubber stamps and card stock materials that were generously donated by MTI individuals. Check out the pictures below of all of the creative work the ladies did.

On Thursday, all of our staff and students squeezed on a tap-tap and into Olga's car for a day at the beach. What started out as a dreary, rainy morning ended up being a nice overcast day at the beach. Upon arrival we had singing and a devotional on the beach about Jesus always being with us (in Creole and I understood!). Then, everyone enjoyed various snacks, games, and playing in the ocean. I've learned that Haitians love to have fun and act just like kids when given the opportunity. The girls were dunking each other in the ocean and throwing sand for hours. I also witnessed everyone collecting clams by the edge of the ocean like I used to do as a child, but they intended to take them home to make clam chowder. Seems like too much work for such a small amount of meat.

We had a wonderful time and it's a pleasure to see what great friends these women have become over the 3 years that they have studied at Centre Lumiere. My prayer is that they will be able to use the trades they've learned to better not only their lives, but to impact the lives of many others throughout the country of Haiti.