Three Years

     Three years ago, I moved to Haiti. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but thankfully, God knew exactly what he was doing. I spent the rest of that school year teaching First Grade, and switched to Preschool the next fall. Now, I'm in my third year of teaching Preschool and music. It feels like I just got here, and yet it also feels a bit like I've been here forever. Three years went fast.
     Three years of learning a new language and culture, and falling completely in love with this country and its people. I've been blessed with a wonderful second family and amazing friends, both Haitian and American. I have been -and continue to be- stretched well beyond what I could ever have I believed I was capable of. There are not enough words to describe how much I have learned, grown, and changed since I moved here. God has done amazing things. Anything I have accomplished is solely by the grace of the One who brought me here. I am so incredibly grateful for the past three years. And I look forward to seeing what God will bring in the years to come.

Here are a few of my favorite moments.

Learning the ropes from Mme. Stephen my first week in Haiti.

First Grade 2013

My First Grade class

My first Preschool class, 2013-2014

Exploring Cap Haïtien with friends.

One of many amazing families I have had the
privilege of getting to know.

My second Preschool class, 2014-2015

Getting caught on a tap-tap in the rain isn't so
bad when you have great company.

My Bible study girls - all incredibly beautiful, intelligent, and crazy fun.

Ayiti Cheri. Beloved Haiti.

Valentine Fun

      This past week in Preschool we had lots of fun celebrating Valentine's Day. We made cards for our sponsors in the United States, had heart shaped cookies for snack, and some of our students brought Valentines and candy to share with the class. 

Evelyn making her Valentine cards.

I love that each one is unique - just like the kids that made them!

Eldine decorating the envelope for her sponsor letter.

Sweet Schadrac.

Cookies. Because loading up twenty nine four-year-olds on sugar is a great idea.

What I've Been Up To....

       Second Semester is off to a great start, and it's already going fast! Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

We're working hard in Preschool!

Learning the alphabet is more fun when you make it
a game with magnets.

We are so excited that Evelyn has joined our class!

Stickers and a sweet smile.

We learned about Louis Armstrong in the 2nd, 3rd,
and 4th grade music classes.

We also learned about the cello. Best music class to date. :)

Sonlight's basketball team has been playing hard. Win or lose,
it's so much fun to watch the game, and to see all of our students come out to support each other.

My Bible study girls came over for our annual sleepover.

They also made breakfast in the morning. If you've never experienced
Haitian spaghetti and eggs for breakfast, you're missing out.
(Yes, I said spaghetti for breakfast, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.)

Noël

     Christmas is a busy time at Sonlight. As music teacher, much of my time is spent rehearsing with the classes to get their songs ready for the Christmas program. In Preschool, we've been busy decorating the classroom and making crafts for our sponsors. We topped it all off with the annual Christmas program, which is one of the biggest events of the year at Sonlight.

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas festivities!

Preschool

Christmas Tree Hand Prints

Practicing with one of the classes.

Rehearsing with the Junior class.

One of the classes performing at the program.

One of my Preschoolers asked to take a picture with me and was
all smiles - until he looked at the camera. 

With my Bible study girls (Seniors this year!) at the program.

Christmas at Sonlight

     This week I wrote  over at the Sonlight blog about what Christmas time is like for us here in Port-de-Paix. You can check it out here:

http://sonlightministries.org/blog/24/Christmas-at-Sonlight-by-Katie-Krabel.html

Singing at the annual Christmas program.

Happy Thanksgiving!

     We celebrated Thanksgiving in Preschool earlier this week, complete with turkey hats. We also drew pictures of things that we are thankful for. Here are some of my favorites, along with their artist's description. 

Eva is thankful for her house and her mom.

Samuel is thankful for cars, his family, and circles.

Chartanie is thankful for her family, food, and her friend, Matz. 

Jeamarly is thankful for his friends, his mom and dad.

Gabrina is thankful for juice, food, and her family. 

So thankful for these little turkeys.

Be Still

     We're in our third month of Preschool, and we've (finally) found our rhythm. The first weeks  are always a challenge. Everything is new for my kids, learning the alphabet, shapes, colors, and numbers- and in two new languages! But now, it all seems normal. They've learned basic English phrases and can follow directions more easily. They've also become more comfortable, which means they talk - a lot. :) Now, one or two kids talking doesn't cause much of a disruption. But when you have a classroom of thirty squirrelly four-year-olds all talking at the same time, it gets loud pretty quickly.

      I have to remind them -often- to sit still, and listen. When they are talking or looking around at the things or people around them, they aren’t listening. Which means that thirty seconds after I've given directions, I hear "Miss Katie! Kisa n'ap fè? What are we doing?" Or, they try to do the work on their own, and end up making mistakes.
     This can be frustrating for me, because I want my kids to do well; I want what's best for them. I want them to follow, so they can learn, grow, and be successful. But lately, I’ve realized that God (as he so often does) is teaching me through my Preschoolers. Because I do the exact same thing that my kids do.

    Sometimes, I get so distracted by all the noise in my life, that I can’t hear his voice. I get so caught up in my circumstances, my frustrations, and my worries that I forget to turn to the one who holds them all in his hands. Or, thinking I know what’s best, I plow ahead, without waiting for his direction. And then I get stuck in the mess I've created.

    I forget to be still, to quiet my soul and let him speak to me. I forget that he is my peace in the chaos. That he is my joy even in the saddest times. I forget that I can do nothing on my own. My life is not separated into things I can handle on my own, and things I need him for. I need his help for everything.

    In Exodus 14, Moses says to the Israelites as they prepare to cross the Red Sea, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." I imagine standing there. An army bearing down on one side, and an impassible expanse of water on the other. It would have been easy, natural even, to be distracted and overwhelmed in that situation. But they trusted their God. They were still, focused on his voice. And he parted the waters and brought them through.

     I can choose to do the same. I can choose to tune out the noise in my life, and listen instead to the still, small voice that brings peace. My God will fight my battles for me. I need only to be still.