First you bump fists and it means "We meet"
Then you touch your heart and it means "You are in my heart"
Then you bump fists again and it means "We come together"
Then your hands fly backwards and upwards with fingers spread, and it means "Magic happens"
Well, it'll bring tears to your eyes when a 7 year old little Haitian boy does it with you, followed by 200 of his friends of all ages and their teachers, too.
An especially memorable event at the school yesterday was when our people finally thought of a song that the kids could sing for them - their National Anthem. They stood tall and sung with tremendous enthusiasm and robust national pride. It was wonderful.
At the school, the blackboard had a huge crack running diagonally through it, with a gap of 3-4 inches. It is a bit of an exaggeration to call it a "blackboard", as it is so weathered with age. The teacher had one piece of chalk, and she guarded it like it was solid gold. Most of the kids had books, but they were showing considerable age. We learned that many of the teachers had not been paid in about three months. They make approximately US$150 per month.
We had some mission team funds "left over" at the end of our week here, and were very pleased to entrust the school leader, Monique, with a gift of $425, to use as she desires for her school, teachers, and students. It was a gift "with no strings attached", an act of faith that she will spend it in a way that pleases Christ. We all have a very high opinion of Monique, and having this faith in her good judgement wasn't much of a leap. Our only regret might be that we couldn't give her a thousand times more than that.
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