6 Sleeps Left! [Cassie]

I cannot believe Kristen and I have only 6 sleeps left in Canada before we move to Haiti. This week, a lot... and I mean A LOT of people have been asking me one of two things: "Are you getting excited?" or "Are you scared yet?" That last question makes me nervous... should I should be feeling scared? Is there something I should be scared about that I don't know about yet?

It's been interesting to figure out how to pack up our lives into a handful of suitcases and backpacks. It really forces you to think about what you want and what you truly need. One thing that struck me when we were in Haiti in March is that yes, the people are extremely poor, but they are full of uncontainable joy. They have absolutely nothing, yet they have Jesus, and that's enough for them. So we are sticking to clothes, footwear, the odd toiletry item, and books. We won't be able to wear shorts or pants there, only skirts, which is fantastic until you have to manoeuver yourself in and out of picnic tables every time you want to sit down.

I think we are both feeling a strange mix of nervousness and excitement. There are going to be a lot of changes coming in the next couple of weeks, and we are going to need a lot of prayer [so please check out the Prayer tab as often as you can!]. Kristen and I were able to see our teacher housing when we visited as well, but it was still under construction, so we are not quite sure what we'll be facing when we arrive.

The school was still under construction as well when we visited, so it will be super exciting to see the finished product and be able to start envisioning what school will be like in September. 

This is the elementary wing. There will be a high school wing on the other side of the property.

This is going to be the "cafeteria". [students will be fed breakfast and lunch everyday]

One of the schools that we visited in the mountains was a one-room schoolhouse with four different levels being taught [one in each corner]. I was honestly shocked at the way even the little kindergarten-age kids you see to the right of the picture were sitting nearly perfectly still on their little benches and listening to the teacher. 

One of our jobs once we get to Haiti is to start taking Creole lessons. Creole is a mix of French and Spanish, and it's almost like a very basic and phonetic version of French when you read it and speak it. The problem is that even when Haitians are speaking French, their accent is so different that I had to say "pardonnez-moi" about 5 times before I could even understand what they were saying. Kristen and I have being doing our own version of French school to try and brush up on our skills.

We'll be flying out around 7 pm on Saturday and arriving in Miami around 11pm. We have an overnight layover at the airport, and will be heading to Haiti around 7am on Sunday morning. From Port au Prince it's a long, bumpy, and sometimes terrifying five hour drive to the missionary compound where we'll be living.

I've been posting this verse as a reminder everywhere I can. God has proven Himself faithful in all the preparations we've faced so far, and we're believing in faith that God is going to provide in all the ways we need once we're in Haiti. 

We are both SO excited to be able to share our journey with you, and we hope you'll come back and read as often as you can. Feel free to leave us lots of comments and questions and share the blog with everyone you know!

-Cassie