First day of School!

Yesterday, after a weekend of printing and copying papers and preparing, we had our first English classes! Originally when we met with the pastors to decide specifics about the class, we set a limit of 25 students per class. Those interested were instructed to come to our house sometime before the class began to give their name and take a short test to determine if they would be in the beginner or advanced class. By last week we had to begin turning people down, encouraging them to sign up for the classes in January. However, at our informational meeting last week, only about 1/3 of those signed up showed up, along with a whole new crowd! The best way I can describe this experience from Chris and I’s perspective is that we were both wide-eyed! We were a little overwhelmed by all the people crowding in to try to get their name on the list. Unsure how to handle the overload of people, we went into yesterday’s class hoping and praying that it would simply all work out! Well, after it was all said and done yesterday, we had 37 signed up for the first class, and 25 for the second. This seemed easier than trying to explain that there wasn’t room in the class, and trying to figure out who had signed up first and all that. So we are now blessed with 62 eager students. It is amazing how much they want to learn English; it is so important to them. Sunday we visited a church literally 5 miles from here, and it took us 40 minutes to get there. (This was not due to traffic-it was the fact that we crossed three rivers, and drove over road covered in potholes and big rocks!) But to give an idea of how much they want to learn, the pastor of this church is making that drive 3 times a week, and some are driving from even further away! It is a dream in Haiti that an English university will one day be started here. This motivates people to learn English as well as their desire to go to the States, communicate with people in the States, and other reasons we have yet to understand. All that to say, we were very thankful to have a curriculum to follow, eachother to stand up front with and help teach, God to calm our nerves and let us know we just have to do the best we can, and a sense of humor allowing us to laugh at the mistakes we made and enjoy teaching. It’s really cool to have this opportunity. We get to meet new people and help them with something they really desire to know. We also get to give each student a Bible. Who knows what God wants to do with that. Please pray that we will be good teachers, and that we’ll have opportunities to share God with our students and encourage them, and that they will learn English! Thank you, we need your prayers! This is our classroom, and also the church we usually attend when we aren’t visiting somewhere. The windows have an awesome view! The other pic shows our new fall decorations, even though it's still in the 90's here and feels like July! Thank you for your love and support. We can’t say that enough. “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor comes from God alone, he is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.” Psalm 62:5-7. Have a great week!!