Hey, So What's the Scoop?

Dear Faithful Readers,

I want to give you an update into my life, being as I haven't blogged in several months. It's a shame really, but I've honestly felt at a loss in terms of where to begin. I've had so many thoughts and experiences I've wanted to share, but after waiting for so long, it becomes overwhelming to try and capture everything. And so what do I do? I don't write at all. And the "blogger guilt" sets in. But I'm determined to eliminate the guilt and catch you guys up, little by little. So here's the scoop:

I had the privilege to return to Haiti this past March to volunteer in orphanages in Port-au-Prince. The experience was amazing to me, and hard to describe in words. I was touched and humbled on so many levels as I stepped back to a place that I loved. The restless feelings of the previous weeks were calmed, and I relished every day I got to help and love the kids I came in contact with. And although the landscape was noteably different since the earthquake, the place and the people stilled filled me, as if I had never left at all.

At the end of the trip, I was invited to come back and work for the summer with Rebecca, who is in charge of the organization I volunteered with, The Foundation for Children in Need. After some twists and turns over the next two months, including another failed job opportunity in DC, it was clear that God had opened this door for me to come back and work in Haiti... Once the answer was sure, my plane ticket was booked and I left one week later...

So here I am, sitting in the stifling, summer heat. I've been here in Port-au-Prince since May, helping to run the Foundation's mission trips for volunteers that come for one week increments to help out in orphanages. And although the summer hasn't been without its hard moments and struggles, I am truly tickled pink that I've had this opportunity to work in a place that has called me back again and again. It will be very difficult to leave my "Haitian family" in a few short weeks to go back to DC. It will be very difficult to leave this country, this city, this people, and these kids that I love so much. But I will be ready to decompress. And I will be ready to welcome yet another chapter into my life.

Stay tuned.

Your ever-devoted,

Sarah J

back to haiti

(my fave statue, Port-au-Prince)

This time two years ago, I was comfortably settled into my temporary home in Haiti working with the Haitian-Out-of-School-Youth-Livelihood Initiative. Cliche as it may sound, the months that I spent there truly were were life-changing. You could say that I had found my home away from home, without remotely expecting to... the country, the people, the culture, the colors, the beauty, the legacy, the heaven amidst the hell, the perseverance and joy amidst the suffering and poverty....all captured me in a way that I could not have anticipated. You could also say that it seeped its way inside of me, and has nestled in for good. I always knew that I would go back, I just wasn't sure when that would be.

("Yon Blan"=The White One)

When the earthquake happened last month, I could not have anticipated how much emotion would be stirred up inside of me. Or how restless I would feel. I knew I needed to go back and help. It wasn't a matter of if, it was just a matter of when and how.

(Jacmel sunset)

So I'm off to Port-au-Prince tomorrow, and will be working with orphans. The trip will be short, but intense. And though I'm not entirely sure of what to expect, I know that it will be a privilege to simply be back, and help and love these kids in any small way that I can.

(playing with "the natives, " Jacmel)

And then, I'm sure I'll be back again... and again... and again. Who knows when, how, or in what capacity. But there is sure plenty to do, and these things always have a way or working themselves out, now don't they?

(the art of the cocounut)

(still very 'blan')

(Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood of Port-au-Prince)

(and the blessed view from my roof in Petion-Ville)

So peace out for now.... (and yes, there will be sharing time when I get back).

SNOWMAGGEDON 2010

Greetings one and all... maybe you've noticed, but I seem to have once again slipped into blogger complacency. Sorry about that. So here's your update: there's a whole, heck of a lot of snow in DC. With two blizzards in the past week, dumping more snow than the city is equipped to handle- more than it's seen since 1922- it has been quite an amusing time to say the least. And although there is a slight chance that we might be inexperienced wussies here, it still hasn't been a picnic in the park either. Here's the front of my apartment building- waist deep in snow at some places.

Here's what's left of the sidewalk. It works for now.

Cute little snow bugger.

And here are people's cars. Bless their little hearts. Makes me kind of glad that I don't own one.

So last week, in order to prepare for the "Snowpocolypse," as it is known, I figured I should probably go stock up on some food. I should have known that the rest of DC would be doing the same thing. It felt like I had been transported back to Communist Russia during the 1950s. Grocery store lines were winding up and down the aisles, like at an amusement park. Many shelves were left bare-- the quintessential necessities like the chips and dip, soda, red meat, dairy, candy, and ice-cream of course, already raided.

So the rest of my week has been uneventful--I have looked out onto a white, blurry, windy mess outside my window. No bus. No metro. No work. No church. No life. Happening times I tell you, happening times. And although I have enjoyed having an excuse to be a lazy butt and veg on my couch and check facebook all day like everybody else and their dog, I must admit that I have craved physical activity, routine, oh... and people. I'm done talking to myself and eating cereal and soy milk (I hate soy milk, but it was either that or heavy cream left in the dairy case).

As lovely as it's been, I think I'm ready for Spring.

Peace out people.