November 2, 2011

Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways and we shall walk in His paths.  Isaiah 2:3.  This scripture was descriptive of this weeks experiences.  As lifelong educators we are especially drawn to the schools in Haiti. This school year, a group of people, spearheaded by Terry Bailey in Pennsylvania, have started a school sponsorship program called haitilovinghearts@comcast.net .  For just $200 a year you can pay for a child's tuition, books, backpack, and uniform.  The program started small but has blossomed into sponsorship of over 115 children in a dozen different schools.  This week I had the privilege of visiting those schools with Terry and an eye witness team from Pennslyvania.  As a teacher I was amazed by the small crowded 14 ft by 14 ft rooms with sometimes as many as 40 students who were quiet and well mannered.  Many of them want to practice their English and you'd often hear "Good morning" and "I am fine, thank you" even before they were asked.  Many of the school buildings are in need of repairs and would be great projects for work teams.

The eye witness team blessed us and the people of Haiti in many ways this week.  They hosted a women's meeting, where Pastor Cheryl Dorman shared scripture and discussed topics with the widows who came to the early meeting and younger women who came later in the morning and prayed with for ladies with individual needs.  Later in the week we traveled up a treacherous mountain road (actually a donkey path), following the pastor of the Gregoire Church on his motorcycle with a young man running beside us pointing out rocks and ledges to avoid, to deliver some clothes and supplies to this remote church.  The pastor wanted us to come back on Sunday when he passed out the gifts to his congregation.  We are thankful for the teams that come and share the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as our Savior.  Every day we learn from other Christians and from God's word.  Every day God has lessons for us if we are willing to learn.