October Musings
It's almost November, how is this possible?! Autumn is my most favorite season! All of the smells and sights of this season are so cozy and nostalgic for me. I've been trying to take in as much as the crisp air as possible before the dreaded winter season comes. The falling leaves and warm brown sugar lattes make me soooo happy!
On a sadder note, it has now been 1 year since I was last in Haiti. This is the longest span of time I've been away from my second home since the first time I went there in 2017. I had hoped to be going down in December with our daughter so that she can meet her extended Haitian family as well as orchestrating all of our end of year activities for our sponsor students. However, things are still gravely dangerous and uncertain, we aren't able to risk it at the moment. Our tentative plan is to wait and all go sometime in January instead.
Rummage Sale Fundraiser Turnout
On October 12th we had a benefit rummage sale under the pavilion in front of our church. All of the items in our sale were donated by friends, family, fellow church members, and other kind town folk. In addition to all of our donated items we had baked goods, Haitian coffee, Haitian peanut butter, and Haitian artisan made jeweler for purchase.
It was such a blessing to engage with all of the people who came out from around the community to support our event! The turnout exceeded our expectations and $2,571.80 was raised in support of our ministry.
These funds will not only pay the remainder of our unsponsored student's tuitions due in the winter. It will also allow us to provide food and activities for all of our sponsored students and their families at our end of year (or beginning of the year) family celebration.
In addition, we were able to gift Anna's grieving children with $200 to help buy her casket so they could have a small funeral for her. For those of you who may not remember, Anna was one of the recipients of our nutrition program that we started last Spring. She was a single mother (her husband died years ago) caring for her children plus two grandchildren alone with very little opportunity for an income. She occasionally sold mangos to put food on the table but had recently become too sickly to even do this. Her family was very appreciative and gave thanks to God for this gift. In addition to our small gift the community rallied around this family and collectively helped cover the remaining funeral cost.
Autumn Favs
I would like to share with you all a few of my favorite things this Autumn!
My number one Autumn favorite is nature walks! A few places I enjoy going that have beautiful views are along the St. Joe 11 mile bike trail. The best trail heads in my opinion are the Park Hills mine entrance and the Farmington trail head (which is up the hill behind Menards). Other nice hikes I've been on around Farmington, MO are; Pickle Springs, Hickory Canyons, Millstream Gardens (one of my favorite spots, but a bit a of drive so I don't do it often), and the Swimming Deer trailhead in St Francois state park.
Good coffee pairings is a must this time of year. I find myself with a warm mug in hand more often as the mornings grow cooler. Since the middle of my pregnancy I stopped with the caffeine. My baby had an issue with tachycardia which made any caffeine consumption dangerous for her. When I gave birth I went back to the caffeine and surprise, surprise, she still can't handle it through the breast milk. So I am a circumstantially forced decaf drinker ha ha.
Any way, I love to brew my own coffee either as double shot espresso, or when I am pressed for time just normal drip coffee. I go organic and whole bean which I grind in small batches. The darker the roast the better. Brown sugar, fresh cream, and cinnamon are my go to mix ins. If I go to a coffee shop I like an Apple/Brown Sugar, Pumpkin/Cinnamon, or Carmel latte. I always ask how many pumps of flavor are being used so that I can down the sweetness to my preference. 2-3 pumps tops in a 16 oz!
Cozy knit sweaters have become my favorite Fall apparel. I love to dress up but I have a hard time doing so comfortably and practically while exclusively breastfeeding. Dresses just become this big hassle that I don't have the time or patience for! I usually end up wearing some high waisted jeans, Jogger sweat pants, velvet wide leg dress pants, or linen shorts (on the warm days). I pair these with chunky knit sweaters that are a little shorter in length than a normal tee. I love browns, creams, tans, blues, and neutral shades of orange best.
Autumn cleaning is great. I was telling my husband the other day "you know what this beautiful weather makes me want to do?" Then I went on to explain "Open the windows, turn on some music, change the sheets, mop and sweep and organize everything." I don't know why but Fall weather and cleaning have always gone together great in my mind. It's refreshing and relaxing and gives me a feeling of satisfaction when complete.
So here is your motivation, open some windows, breath in the delicious breeze and go organize something!
Exciting Happenings!
A lot is going on at the moment over here in the Espazien household. Let me share some of the happenings with you.
I have loved documenting all my daughter's milestones. She is five months old now and such a joy. She is doing all the fun things that babies at this stage do. Starting to sit unsupported, roll, reach her arms, say "mama", and want to taste everything. Nelinah is such a doll. She is definitely my little velcro baby and a constant companion. My time is greatly consumed by just being a mom.
I've started Haitian Creole tutoring! It's something I have dreamt of doing for a while now and I finally went all in and did it. I am currently writing my own Haitian Creole lesson curriculum as well as taking on students. So far I only teach two classes a week but once I get further along with my curriculum I will put more time into advertising so I can pick up more hours of teaching. I am offering both group and individual classes.
Each lesson of my curriculum contains practice words, phrases, verbal exercises, conversation exercises, and homework with a mix of these plus reading comprehension. I am also tailoring the lessons to fit what each student needs. For example; A mother who adopts a child from Haiti will use a different vocabulary than a doctor who is planning to intern at a clinic in Haiti. I account for this.
I am overjoyed to be able to use the skill of language to help others and make an income on the side at the same time. This has long been a prayer of mine even before I entered this season of stay-at-home motherhood. I am even more motivated to work from home now! At the same time, teaching Creole has given me a desire to learn more languages, I'd love to pursue French in the future since I have a basic French foundation already. If anyone knows of a good French teacher let me know! I'm not big on virtual or book lessons with no physical teacher.
We are in the midst of updating our website a little and adding some sponsor students. Keep checking back if you want to meet our new students or read our new content. We are excited to improve our SEO as well while our reading audience is growing. Help us grow by recommending email updates from the blog to your friends and family!
Espwa Demen is considering a partnership with a larger organization in the future. I don't have many details to share on this at the moment. But we would like to ask for your prayers as we discuss a possible partnership. This would grant us 501c3 tax status, give us a support team, and make larger projects that we have been dreaming about possible. Projects such as building a school, a community clinic, starting summer clubs, and employing a team of Haitian teachers and medical professionals.
Goodbye October... Hello November!