Preparation!

Hey Everyone! 

I leave for Haiti on May 25th! I was just struck by how insanely close that feels. I'm excited but a little intimidated by how quickly that date is approaching. That said, I know that "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). So, lately I've been doing a lot of preparation. Not only do I know that this will help calm my fears, but also I know that it will help me to be more effective in my trip to Haiti. I don't want anyone's donations toward my trip to be a waste and I certainly don't want my own time and efforts to be futile either by being unprepared. I'm certain that I will have oodles to learn once down in Haiti and that I will probably feel immensely unqualified, but I believe strongly that I will be blessed for earnestly and sincerely preparing while at home.

There are several ways that we, Sustain Haiti are preparing as an organization. For example, once a month we have training meetings where the entire group meets together to talk about items of central importance. Our last one was a mostly focused toward team building, and our meeting on Wednesday night will be regarding the necessary health precautions that we will each need to take. This includes immunizations, mosquito nets, tips on preventing cholera and so forth. 

Each Wednesday night and Saturday morning, Creole lessons are held. Creole is the primary language spoken in Haiti and it is based off of French, but with simpler grammar and more phonetic spelling. 

Est-ce que -----> Eske

J'ai besoin de -----> Mwen bezwen

Merci -----> Mesi

I'm currently in my fifth year of French, so while I'm far from being proficient in Creole, I still feel confident that I'll be able to communicate adequately with the people of Haiti. :)  

Another way that I personally am trying to learn Creole is through studying The Book of Mormon. I purchased a copy of the BoM in Haitian Creole as a Christmas present to myself, and one of my projects for my Book of Mormon class is to read all of Moroni (the last book in The Book of Mormon) in Creole. It's an interesting process but the BoM is an awesome and very literal translation, which means that it's a great instrument for learning languages. I usually try to read a verse or two in Creole, then resort to French if I'm still confused, and then finally to English if I'm still not clear on the meaning. Though I'm not allowed to proselyte in Haiti and that's not my primary purpose for being there, I'm excited to be studying The Book of Mormon in Creole and for the language skills I am confident it will foster! 

Perhaps the most important training to my official purpose of being in Haiti is my public health training! Each Friday night from 8-9, myself and several others meet together and discuss different elements of public health that are especially important in Haiti. Among these are included the topics of cholera, breastfeeding, nutrition and STDs. Right now we have been covering a lot of the material, which is basic to us but may be much more foreign to the people we are teaching, and soon we will be working on teaching skills. 

Our teachers and trainers often remind us to teach the "why" behind our lessons while also keeping it simple. For example, teaching someone that it's important to boil water before drinking it may not alone incline them to do so if one does not understand that doing so kills things that live in the water and may be harmful to our bodies. 

Thank you so much for your support, donations and love. Not only do I feel that this experience and preparation and training will be helpful in Haiti, but also on my mission and in life in general. I feel so blessed to be at a time in my life where I can learn so much and do so many varied and exciting things and I feel so immensely grateful to each of you for contributing to my trip to Haiti. :) 

Much love, 

Rhiannon