Hearts full in Haiti

On Tuesday and Thursday nights, we have our beginner ESL (English as a Second Language) course. It's four o' clock and our students start to pour inside. We have made provisions with an extra table in the spare room and extra chairs around our kitchen-turned-classroom.

We exchange familiar hellos with our students, always so jovial and friendly as they arrive. It's hard to believe that some of our students walk for two hours to come to our one-hour class. It amazes me that they are this devoted to learning English.

This is our last class for awhile as we will be hosting short-term teams from the States and will not be able to continue classes four times a week. We are giving our students an assessment which Chandler and I created together, quizzing them on material we have taught the past two months.

We begin to hand out the assessment and pencils and more and more people are pouring in. Chandler and I are rushing around trying to provide a chair for everyone and a pencil and paper. And honestly, I am getting a bit frustrated. It almost takes us 30 minutes to settle everyone and so we can begin the listening portion of our assessment.

Part of my heart is angry that it has taken this long, and yet God reminds me that it is not about me. He will use whatever we provide.

After the listening portion is complete, our students work on their own to complete the assessment. Chandler and I walk around to provide help and see how they are doing. I become so overwhelmed with all that they have learned. My heart is so full being able to see them answer questions and craft sentences that they weren't able to do only two months ago.I step back and count the students we have today.

Almost 60! Wow! Again, I am reminded of the faithfulness of God. We have simply said "yes" to a somewhat overwhelming task and He has been faithful to bring it to completion.

I stand back and watch for a minute the students chatting and working, a majority who are working so hard that they whine when we tell them class is over. It has been so amazing to watch what God can do. There really is no limit to His ability to accomplish His will. I am so thankful I get to be part of it.

Morgan Martin is a student from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently serving as a Go Now semester missionary in Haiti.