See the truck in the background behind our vehicle? This is a truck that broke down in the road, the main highway from north to south, as it goes thru St. Marc. It broke down right in the middle of the road, with no effort to get it out of the way before parking it, about 2 weeks ago. And periodically someone comes to work on it, it looks like it will be fixed in another week or so. So it sits right in the middle of the road, all traffic diverting around it, for weeks. Just an insight to living in Haiti. :)As this is my first year (so far) doing this type of ministry there are several milestones along the way you hit. Yesterday Caroline left for the month to teach in Chicago..and along with her went my TAX RETURNS to be mailed!!! My first missionary tax returns......I think I figured it so that I got about $328,000 back on my return. Hmm, that seems a bit high considering I made only a fraction of that, but math is math so it must be right.....right? Well, I' m sure Uncle Sam will just look at it as another bailout or stimulus check going thru the system, so I'm pretty sure I'm set for a long time. Either here or in a nice comfy federal building somewhere where the architect liked to put bars on the windows for some reason. OH WELL, it should all work out. :)
The kids are jazzed about finishing the 3rd quarter and heading into the home stretch of school. They get out of hand a little at times and you have to get them in line to get any work done. Yesterday one of the "rowdier" students, a teen age young man, requested that one of the teachers "shut up" twice as he was giving him an interpretation of the break time period the young man didn't agree with. Gary was gone, so the staff brings those to me then. We discussed it, he denied it but the secretary and others all said that his explanation didn't hold water; he claimed to say something different but they all agreed there is nothing different he could have said. So, he went home for the rest of the day, and likely part of next week. I have learned that if one kid get's away with anything, they all claim the privelege so it had to be stopped. The kids here need.....really need...... a firm hand on them. They don't have much self discipline on their own. I guess that is endemic world wide for kids and teenagers, and having not had to deal with it as much in the states (yes, the kids here are worse than the youth group in church!) it seems newer to me. The good side is that once you draw those bright lines and they know not to cross, it works fairly well. There are many bright kids here, some not so much but all can learn when they apply themselves. I think I may right a teaching book based on my vast experience now and change the world. Let me think about that one for awhile first ok?
A recent post from Tara Livesay made a lot of sense to me. Tara basically talked about the fact no one can do everything, even though everyone else assumes you can. She gets monthly appeals to save the baby seals, the oceans, the lakes the birds, rivers, kids all over the world, clean the near orbit of earth of space junk, sign petitions to make waffle irons safer to use, etc.. Amazingly, Tara concluded that while these are all good things *especially the waffle iron thing* they are not all things she is called to do. So eventually you decline the offer and move on, and you are forever condemmed to the off chance of being blamed for all the future waffle iron accidents on earth. God forbid that someone recovering from a waffle iron accident be hit by junk falling from space, you're life would be over.
So Tara concluded that she wants to stay focused on what is in front of her....those things and people that God has put in front of her, not everyone else on earth with an internet connection. So she focuses on her family, her daily time with God (even if only crying out for help with the kids!) and those things that touch her heart that she works on regularly. The other things are all good, but they are for someone else. This thought process helps me stay focused on what I can.....and can't.....do here and at home. Limiting the flow in front of me is a good thing. Much like focusing your vision on God and relating with Him helps you see Him more clearly, focusing on those things He wants you to do helps you do them better. Like love your family.......pray regularly......support yourself and those you can help. AFter that, the priorities start fading out a lot for me. Well, I feel better blogging about it....I'll e mail a few more friends and let them know about this.....then I"ll check about 30 more net sites.....then exercise and work on school stuff.....then probably take a nap. Hmmmmm.........maybe I'll just take a nap. :)
Djebenis tout moun
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