I remember the days of dial up internet. THAT was FAST and RELIABLE compared to what we've had here since our return in August. When it takes two and a half hours to upload three photos, I have no patience or time left for writing.
So most of these pictures were taken just over a week ago. We've been reuniting with the younger grades back on Cowman campus each Friday morning for the chapel service before loading our 27 older students into a few pick ups and heading back to our temporary home base.
And it's been odd. We've been so separated from the rest of the staff and the younger students that it makes me feel a bit homesick to be there just 45 minutes a week. It's also odd because the consensus among our students is that they would like to STAY PUT in the temporary classrooms long term. The number one reason? Noise level. Our teens, unsurprisingly, have little appreciation for the screaming kindergarten set. AND Cowman has been a very loud construction zone for over a year now, most of it right outside our window. Not to mention the constant hum of the generator just over the school wall.
It WILL be difficult to leave the quiet. But I am over the claustrophobia of my temporary room and ready to be back HOME. When we first came back to Haiti in August, I was not enthusiastic about the plan to set up temporary classrooms on the OMS grounds for several weeks while our new classrooms were finished up. (That's actually quite an understatement.) But now I see it as part of God's plan for us all - it was a bonding experience for us and a chance to establish our identity (among both teachers and students) as not just "the big kids at Cowman", but rather as the bona fide Cowman Junior and Senior High.
Thanks to the arrival of Jeff (math) and Chris (science) Love and our good friend John Adams (history, appropriately enough) and the return of Pastor Jethro for French lessons, our students now see five different teachers in the course of each day. Hard to remember three years ago when Caleb and Hannah were basically with one teacher ... me ... ALL DAY LONG.
I don't have the ability to upload the most recent pictures of the new rooms, but when I do, you'll see how much progress has been made in a very short time. About ten days ago, my new room looked something like this:
That's Jeff and Chris Love, with Melissa in between.
That day, we came back to Cowman in the afternoon for a staff meeting. Good to be with friends!
Here is the outside door to my classroom.
The scaffolding that supported the new concrete roof was ready to come down that day after being left in place for two weeks while the roof had cured.
The view of the kindergarten building from Chris' new science room.
Next up, as long as funds hold out, we'll be building upwards. Yes, it will probably be noisy.
And here's a shot of what will soon become a distant memory - Mr. Mikken teaching art class to the junior and senior high boys in the temporary science room.
Last week our plan was to have four days of class this week and then take Friday off (and the following Monday) to make the move back to Cowman. Then along came Hurricane Matthew. With all the uncertainty of the storm's path and speed, the Haitian government urged all local schools to cancel classes for today and tomorrow. Since we weren't yet getting anything more than occasional sprinkles, we decided to make good use of the day by moving the classrooms back to campus. Within a few hours, the temporary classrooms were empty and the new classrooms were ... in disarray. But it was so much better than sitting around waiting for the coming storm.
We're not sure what tomorrow will bring. God willing, my family will weather the storm without too much disruption. We're on high ground in a well-built house. We do covet your prayers for friends and others across Cap Haitien and the rest of Haiti who may have a much rougher course ahead of them. We're praying the storm will rapidly lose its strength. We'll keep you up to date as the internet allows.
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