Class in the Dark

(This is another picture from the church we visited on Sunday) The other night we had a neat experience in our English class. Our beginner class is at 4, and advanced is at 5:15, so by the time we get started with the second class it is starting to get dark. By 5:30 no one can see the chalkboard and it’s difficult to see each other’s faces. Usually the generator gets started up and we can turn on lightbulbs, but on Tuesday night due to technical difficulties the lights didn’t come on until the last 15 minutes of class! So we met in the dark. At first we didn’t know what to do…we depend on the chalkboard and their workbooks for much of what we do. But Chris decided to start telling the class about us so that they could have practice listening to English. (This is the hardest skill for them. Many can speak fairly well but have lots of trouble hearing and comprehending, which is also the hardest part of Creole for us) So we had the opportunity to talk about our families, where we are from, how we met, and things like that. They were full of questions! Chris got to share a little of his testimony, and we hope to be able to continue that another day. They wanted to know how we are adjusting to life in Haiti and how we like it here. So we got to share about our experience, the difficulties and joys we have been through so far. We got to share about the differences between American and Haitian culture, and the strengths we see in Haitian culture that we admire. They shared some things about American culture they like. One of the pastor’s mentioned how Americans tend to be more smiley, and less serious, and how he likes that. It is interesting how we both see good in the other culture, and can benefit from rubbing off on each other. Neither is perfect, of course, but with a less critical and more appreciative eye we can really gain from observing and living among different kinds of people. We totally felt blessed to have the chance to get to know our class on a deeper level and have the opportunity to share what we are experiencing. It was one of the first times we felt we got to go beyond surface level with Haitians. God is good! We have enjoyed sharing some Chris Tomlin songs with our class this week and having them crack open their Bibles and read aloud. We tried to find a comedian for them to listen to, but our American humor is much different from theirs! So we scratched that idea for now.
Chris has still been going to clinic three mornings a week with Kris and it is becoming more comfortable for him to be around patients. I have been attempting a few new ideas for Eli and Anna’s spelling lessons, some go better than others! Sometimes spelling is just a drag, we can all attest to that. Anyway, hope you had a great week so far. Thanks for your prayer and support so much!