sacrifice???

The more time I spend here in Haiti, the more I see exactly why God has called me here. I encounter something new everyday that is heart-breaking, yet inspiring.

Yesterday at a soccer game I met one of the 8th grade girls in Mme. Lenny's class. Her name is Bertine and her family is extremely poor (yes, I know this is Haiti and most people here are poor, but even in Port-de-Paix and even at Sonlight, the contrast between the wealthy students and the poor students is unbelievable). She is a Christian, but her family is not. I learned yesterday from another teacher that sometimes her family refuses to feed her and says "Your God will provide for you." Her situation is heart-breaking, yet so inspiring. She is willing to suffer hunger and the disapproval of her family in order to be faithful to God.

How much do I suffer for my faith? Sure, I moved to Haiti, but in Haiti, all the "white people" are Christians. They know who we are and why we are here. We live in a nice house with electricity, running water, and always have MORE THAN ENOUGH food on our table (and I'm not even counting luxuries like internet and A/C!). Sometimes I feel like, as missionaries, we are put on a pedestal. Everyone thinks we are so wonderful for the sacrifices we are making, when in all actuality, our sacrifices are minimal. Our families and friends love us, support us, and are proud of what we are doing.

What kind of sacrifice am I really making?

money, money, money!!!

i'm finally getting the hang of using the money here. it is so different than the states and quite confusing...everything is sold in haitian dollars...however, all the bills are marked in gourdes (pronounced goods) so you have to divide your gourdes by 5 to figure out how many haitian dollars you have...and then divide that by seven to figure out what it would be in american dollars (to see if it is a good price). somethings are SUPER DUPER cheap (like a taxi to downtown costs about 50 cents in american money and a package of cookies is about $1 american) but other stuff is really expensive (a box of fruit loops cost almost $10 american). so you have to watch and make sure you aren't paying too much for stuff.



in other news, i taught my kids how to "hi-five" this week! they LOVE it!!!!