January 2017

Since being back in Haiti, we've had quite a few parties. The beginning of January, we hosted the gran moun Christmas party.  It was such a fun time.  The gran moun choir sang a few songs, everyone danced, laughed, ate lots of good food, and went home with new sets of sheets and new dress shirts. We had a group who helped the residents all decorate new picture frames, to put their photo booth pictures in.  The group also taught the gran moun about the conga line.  They loved it and everyone laughed quite hard.

After the gran moun party, we hosted the staff party that weekend. It's always a fun time when the entire staff get to come together.  There were games, which might have gotten a little competitive, music, dancing, a time of prayer and scripture, and then we had a gift exchange.  In November, we had all pulled names for our secret santa.  They take it to a whole other level here.  They write letters to their person, leave small gifts, and try to trick people into who might have them. The staff party was the big reveal. There were many moments of laughter, confusion, and surprise as people realized they had suspected the wrong person.  They are very serious about their gifts and put a lot of thought into them.  For this entire year, the person who drew your name will be your "godmother" or "godfather". Its a fun time and they really cherish those relationships.  At the end of the night, everyone got to eat lots of food and take home a small gift of a new backpack.

We loved getting to celebrate our staff and all of the hard work they put into this ministry.