More teams and days going by

It's hard to believe we have been here for over a week already. Time is flying. Our life is so much faster paced here than in the small town of Fauche. This feels like a big step toward America, actually. There is tile on the floor, American-brand food, white people all around, and the faster stream of life. We are a little unsure about what to do next, and are praying for God's direction and discernment.

We left without enough notice to let our classes know. Today I realized that this is probably only a very big deal to us, as they will keep on with life and just come back to class when we get back, hopefully with understanding of why we left for a while. (An answer to prayer is that we have gotten a few kind messages/calls from students who don't seem put out by the sudden cancellation of class) But our English classes are one of the biggest things we have invested in here. Our relationships with Haitians are founded in those classes and they are important to us! The classes on LaGonave have been cancelled until September, since the missionaries are running all over the place right now and the people on the island are much closer to Port and have been affected differently. Those classes can be picked back up in September, but our time here ends in April, and so our classes can't be postponed. We've been asked to evaluate why we are in Haiti, and what we have come to do...in preparation to decide how long we will stay in Port au Prince and what our last few months will look like. While we both know the basic answer to this, (shadow in the clinic, teach English, help with homeschooling, etc.) we are just looking for some direction from God about how to approach the beginning of the end of our time. It feels strange to think we are leaving somewhat soon. We both hope that we can have a sense that we have been where God wants us and have done what pleases Him!

Well, in other news :) today we said goodbye to our new friends from Scotland. We have so enjoyed the time we've gotten to spend with these four guys! They are all so different and have challenged and encouraged us unexpectedly. They came to Haiti with tons of suitcases full of medical supplies and food. A ton of stuff! It has been distributed to various places throughout this week and it's been cool to see not only their stuff go out, but so much other supplies being sent out to places that need it. Aid distribution is such a huge task, it requires a ton of money, organization, timing, and attention to detail! and also a lot of willingness to move heavy boxes and figure out what needs to go where.Today an assessment team arrived who will be going out to evaluate damage on churches in the area. Then, they can return home with accurate information about what is needed and how the churches back in the US can help. They are currently working on a broken toilet...welcome to Haiti...within your first hours of being in the country youare already on your hands and knees fixing a leaky toilet. Most of them are from San Diego, CA and so we talked about water skiing and Skyline Church and stuff like that as we got to know them.
These pics are about a week old...but the first is of Justine and I, when we first got here and she and Matt (second picture...cleaning out the water tank that goes on the roof) were here. Justine and I are friends from college so it has been So great to spend time with her a few times in Haiti! The next picture is of Darlene (our cook) and I. This is a good example of what goes on some days! As you can see it's not very high energy :) But she has made some really delicious Haitian meals. The final picture is of Chris, Hareld, and Wilber (a driver) cleaning out a very disorganized closet. We've learned a bunch about culture from spending time with these three.

Well it's off to another day. Have a great week!