Hello everyone! I started my World Race journey on the 17th and I have been in Haiti 9 days now. We have done so many things already. In Haiti I am staying in the city of Gonaives, pronounced (Go-nigh-eve). It is beautiful here and it has mountains in the background in every direction you look.
Right next to Gonaives is a little community called Jubilee, which is near the ocean and is considered very poor.
In Haiti they love all things hot, so besides the weather being hot, everything that I have eaten that is Haitian has left my mouth on fire.
Our ministry host for this month is a lady named Alex. She is an American missionary who has been in Haiti for 2 years now. She is so generous and wonderful. In Gonaives, she runs a discipleship/trade school with James. James has been our go-to guy for pretty much everything. He has been our chauffeur, personal chef, body guard, the list goes on and on. He doesn’t know a lot of English, but he is very intuitive and catches on pretty quickly.
In Haiti the main language is Creole, which is similar in some ways to French. My team and I have started to try to learn some while we are here. So far our vocabulary is pretty limited, but we are trying.
So what does ministry look like for us this month? That’s an interesting question. The past few days we have been painting and furnishing the new house that Alex bought, which we are staying in. It is a mansion with electricity, running water, and a kitchen. We have been very blessed this month. Other ministry opportunities will be: helping out at Alex’s school (grades 7th-adult), and also the school in Jubilee(grades pre-k – 6th). There are a few more ministries on our schedule but I’m not even sure what they all are. Today we worked at the school in Jubilee, which consisted of playing with the kids; showing them new ways to play with things, as well as reading or being read to in the library, helping with English pronunciation. I also sometimes help out Reed in the art class that she teaches. Another ministry that my team and I have been focusing on is encouraging and uplifting the American missionaries that are in the area, which is about 20 people.
Thank you everyone for all the prayers and support! They are felt and appreciated! I’m a little behind on videos but I hope to post soon. God Bless!
With Love, Jewel
Jewel,
Congratulations on making it through the first week!! So proud of you taking on this awesome life experience. Keep the posts coming, it’s fun watching you travel and get submerged in the culture.
Have fun everyday!!
thanks for the update. We heard a bit from your Mom in church last week. We are praying for you and trust that you continue to sense the leading and comfort of God’s Holy Spirit. I hope that you are recording your thoughts and experiences in some kind of journal. It can be really interesting to record what God has taught you when you are far away from home.
Blessings, Pastor Al