Connected

Today was our first knitting class.  We were a bit worried when we only had one girl for awhile but a few more came trickling in.  There had been rain earlier in the morning so the travel time increased to the church where we were teaching.  We ended up with a group of 4 plus the young woman acting as the interpreter who is also a knitter.  I wanted to share Colossians 2:2, the verse printed on the bags and on the TShirts our team was wearing.  I shared how so many supporters back in MN helped to make this possible especially all of the supplies. They seemed impressed with the kits and were thankful.   I shared the message that although we come from the US we are all connected ("knit together") as sisters in Christ by the love he has for us.  By the end of the morning session, all knew how to cast-on and do the basic knit stitch.  We also taught them to make braided headbands out of TShirt yarn which they really seemed to like.  We ended up pretty hot and sweaty in the tin roof church!
We were able to lunch in the guest house at the church and were entertained by an adorable 3 year old named Jeremiah who jabbered incessantly in Creole even though it was obvious none of us knew it!  He was mesmerized by videos on Denise's cell phone especially ones of her grandson, Dieter.
The afternoon session participants trickled in until we had 12 young women.  Many already knew how to crochet which was a help.  The heat drove us outdoors under the shade of a mango tree.  There, we were faced with an unexpected hazard, falling mangoes!   The Haitians were all primed for the impending "missile"by the rustling of the leaves, but we Americans were a few beats behind.  Luckily, no one was beaned!  A sudden rainstorm moved us quickly back inside the church.  The personalities of the girls became more evident as time passed and some were not receptive to us taking the needles to show them anything again and insisted on plowing through the learning on their own; there was a few "battles"of the needles!  Eventually everyone, except a left-handed crocheter got the hand of it.  She got the basic gist but her work kept growing and none of us ever figured out where she was messing up...  We were able to visit a bit and did lots of smiling and laughing and throwing out a few (horribly-prounounced, I'm sure!) words of Creole to encourage them.  They all seemed proud of what they'd accomplished by the end.  We were very impressed how quickly both groups picked things up and stayed with it through the heat and humidity.  Our team was pretty ripe and wilted at the end!
We still are not totally sure where this is headed.  There are several adults but more than a few pre-teens and teens as well.  This may not end up being a vocation money-maker for all but we are certain God has a plan in all of this and we are committed to trusting Him in where it will lead.
Please continue to pray for us and the people we encounter.  We are so impressed with the resourcefulness and resiliency of the Haitian people.  They have been so warm and welcoming to us and the Christians we have encountered have an enviable trust in God's providence and sovereignty.  They have much to teach us.  We will come away challenged and changed.