Still Alive

Hey guys!
Can you believe it's March already?! Time flies so fast; grateful that every day is a day to walk and grow closer to our Savior Jesus Christ wherever we are :) February was crazy and while many of you heard from me through email I did not update my blog. So, thought I should give y'all an update and let you know that I am in fact, still alive! Here is: What happened in February!

First week - My wonderful directors, Byron and Shelley Tlucek celebrated their wedding anniversary with a much needed trip to Florida without 5 kids in tow. They left on a Thursday and the weekend went by without a hitch! However, it seems that Haiti knows when they leave the country and decides to throw a temper tantrum; like a preschooler. This time there were manifestations over gas prices and the public transportations (tap taps) were not running; which means protestors, riots, people unable to get to school or work and everything over, under and in between. God protected us from everything but it was a rough two days where we had a 1/2 day with 1/4 of the students and teachers and had to cancel the second day because it simply wasn't safe. The kids trickled back in the rest of the week but there was still a cloud of unrest that hovered over our little island in the sun.

Second week - A few weeks prior Shelley and Byron offered to buy a plane ticket to Florida as a birthday present. My best friend and I dreamed up what we were going to do on our 21st birthdays in jr high never dreaming that she would be married and living in Florida and I would be teaching dance and preschool in Haiti.  The ticket was bought! However, that Monday more manifestations were scheduled and the US Embassy had sent a text telling people to stay off the streets. I was nervous waking up Monday morning, we'd already canceled school and my flight wasn't until 3:00. Unlike the previous Monday smoke from tires and cars burning was not detected and it was strangely quiet; if you have little kids this is usually a very bad sign and having had 5 younger siblings and 88 preschoolers I wasn't sure how to take this. Needless to say I had a flight to catch and we headed off to the airport. The streets were empty! I probably could have counted less than 30 people on the streets from our house to the airport which is crazyyy. I feel like God took us under His wing and hid us from less than friendly eyes as we traveled; anything, literally anything is possible with God :)
  I was off to Florida at last! My best friend worked the mornings into the early afternoon which was actually perfect as I slept until 10-11ish every morning, took a hot shower (I will forever appreciate those) and was able to spend a couple hours in God's word, journaling, reading and just... being still.

Be still and know that I am God ~ H.e.r Photography

Thursday we went dress shopping, it was very different as there was no bargaining or people trying to get me to buy certain things and in a way I was ok with that but I missed the relationship you build with the person and the banter you can sometimes have with a shop owner. Needless to say we had a fun time laughing and finding the most "interesting" dresses. We did finf the perfect dresses at ROSS' for 1/4 of the original price though!

Friday, my birthday, we dressed up and were of to the Cheesecake factory! We had decided that we were just going to trust God and not worry about anything and though traffic at first was a little heavy, we made it to our destination only 15min late and were able to get a table immediately! Angela asked if they do anything special for birthdays since it was my birthday, the waitress told us that they could write Happy Birthday on the cheesecake but that was it. I laughed and told her not to worry as we were celebrating both our birthdays. But, when they brought out the cheesecake, a single candle was lit on both and an Italian waiter came out and sang Happy Birthday :)

Saturday I flew to Kansas for my 3rd oldest sisters wedding! It was a crazy time as final preparations were underway but everything came together and it was truly a beautiful wedding. I'm excited for these two as they begin their life together even though we're an ocean apart we're never far in heart.

Flew back home to Haiti a couple days after the wedding and jumped right back into my Haiti life :) So that is your February update! I'm still alive and God continues to work in and through me and to grow me in all different ways and I'm praying He continues to do the same in all of your lives.