75 days: 75 things

I leave for Haiti in 75 days. The thought of that seems so crazy to me! I am beyond excited, anxious and very impatient for my day to leave for Haiti to arrive. I was thinking of what to post on my blog today for this milestone and I thought to make a list of 75 things (sorry its a lot- feel free to skim it) that I will encounter in Haiti, some are good, some are amazing some are just neutral but I figured I would share them with you, here goes nothing:

1. Meeting new people
2. pushing kids on the swings
3. going to church service in Creole. 
4. Hearing Haitian songs that have been stuck in my head for literally a full year now. 
5. Ice cold showers
6. Progress on the Construction on the Kids Alive site.
7. Seeing new teams get to meet the kids
8. joking with Fabiola and Darline
9. rice and beans
10. meeting Erin (the current missionary) in person! We have only met on Facebook
11. Getting to know my roommate, Alli. 
12. Oscarmene and Oscarline's smiles. 
13. mangos!
14. using the Haitian Creole that I have been working so hard on.
15. roosters
16. seeing friends in the D.R.
17. making bracelets with the young girls
18. painting nails with the older girls 
19. updating my blog!
20. Seeing how big the kids have gotten
21. Dieumana helping me with my Creole (correcting it.. haha)
22. singing with Samuel 
23. rum raisin ice cream
24. fried plantains
25. seeing the kid's homemade toys
26. meeting more of the community kids
27. cleaning off the layers of dirt from my feet at the end of the day.
28. hearing kids say "I love you" or "How are you" in English. 
29. riding a tap tap
30. riding on the school bus
31. Going to the market
32. learning to wash clothes without a normal washer
33. playing dolls with the young girls 
34. seeing how the new school is coming along 
35. using my Creole to buy something
36. Making dinner with unfamiliar foods
37. Paying with Haitian Gourdes 
38. Converting Gourdes to the American dollar
39. When the rain brings in cool air. 
40. An ice cold bottle of Cooronne (haitian soda)
41. The girls playing with my hair
42. The kids laughing at me when I say it is hot out
43. Seeing Melissa tying her shoes
44. The sunset over the mountains 
45. Skirts and T-shirts being an acceptable look 
46. Coca Cola in a glass bottle
47. Hearing stories how God brought others to Haiti. 
48. sunburn
49. bug bites
50. always being hot 
51. playing on the slides with the small boys 
52. braiding hair 
53. seeing Erin's new kitten!
54. skyping my family to show them where I am staying
55. taking the bus from the DR
56. Seeing others on motos, piled in trucks, or the many other ways to get around Haiti. 
57. Wondering if I am eating goat..
58. praying for strength
59. praising God for the chance to be in Haiti. 
60. singing in Church
61. teaching kids new songs
62. hearing the kids singing the songs like 'jump jump' that we taught them two years ago. 
63. Seeing my mom and family from church when they are in Haiti for a week. 
64. Hugs. 
65. letting the kids take photos of themselves to see their silly faces. 
66. The love of the house parents
67. homemade lime-aide
68. Creole chicken 
69. gaining a better cultural understanding 
70. the unpredictability of Haiti. 
71. watching the kids learn
72. hearing people's stories
73. bartering for items 
74. developing my creole. 
75. Seeing God's work be done. 

I was shocked that 75 things came so easily for me (I am starting to see how much I like Haitian food, I feel too many of those were edible..) I cannot wait for this experience to begin and to start the adventure! 

I want to thank anyone who has donated to my trip! I appreciate it so much. For anyone who has not yet donated and would wish to you can follow this link: 

Click here to donate!

Thank you all, 

- Cassidy