Saint-Fidor Family Ministry

   

 In just a few weeks time, Mikken, Nathaniel, and I are due back in Haiti for the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.

 •Our family's goal is to live out the plan God has written on our hearts- to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples (Matthew 28:19) through transformational education and to always “seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). 

Here’s what we’ll be doing this year: 

    Mikken will be the lead fifth grade teacher this year and already has eleven students enrolled in his class! He’s excited to start the year as a lead for the first time and is already brainstorming ways to make his class fun and engaging. He’ll also be trying to squeeze in some elementary art classes. 

    My role is very different this year as I will be stepping out of the classroom into the director role of Cap-Haitien Christian School. This summer I have already started on some of these responsibilities that will carry into the school such as our covid-19 response, hiring of teachers, and updating handbooks. I will also be meeting with teachers to review their lesson plans, create pacing guides, and get into the classrooms to work with them as they reach and teach our students. It’s my prayer to use the foundation of the leaders before me to continue on the path to academic excellence, spiritual growth, and making disciples to best serve our staff and families at CHCS.

    Nathaniel will be at home with his Grann (Mikken’s mom) and his fur-siblings. ;)

    In order for us to get back in time, we are in need of some more monthly support. If just 10 people would give $100 a month, we would be fully funded for the year. Would you consider joining our team? No amount is too small. We’d love to sit with you and explain the mission and vision of the school and how we hope to help achieve it as a family.

Thank you! 

Our Support Page:

https://give.teachbeyond.org/support/saint-fidor/

Master’s, Mentoring, Moving…Oh, my!

Master’s, Mentoring, Moving…Oh, my!

Master’s. As mentioned previously, in January I accepted a request to become Assistant Principal of Elementary School at Cowman International School. In order to help me become more qualified for this role, I have enrolled in a Master’s of Education in Administration and Instruction at Emmaus Biblical Seminary. This means, that about every other month, several of us at Cowman leave school a few hours early for a week of intensive class from 1:00-5:00. The classes are taught by professors from the States, but our class is full of representatives from many types of education in Haiti. From school teachers, directors, principals, to government officials- it is so exciting to see so many Haitian teachers using a quality Christian education program to better their schools. I am learning so much here! Si Dye Vle (Lord Willing), I will graduate with my Master’s in May of 2019. J

Mentoring. Though I was nervous to accept the VP position at first, I am finding that I really enjoy it! Most of what I do is mentoring and serving- somethings I love to do! I meet with three of the elementary teachers at least once a week to review lesson plans, answer questions, and make sure they have what they need to do the best they can for their kids. Not only does this help my confidence in my own teaching, but I get to learn from them as well! Coming from different backgrounds with different experiences, we all have a lot to offer each other. It allows me to get closer to my colleagues which is probably one of my favorite parts of the job. Next year, I will be adding several more teachers to my meeting rotations. This means I will spend a bit less time in my classroom, leaving my co-teacher, Ronald, to teach more lessons. Please pray for this! I am excited to mentor more teachers but giving away class time is bittersweet.

Moving. As some of you may know, for the past two years (and for my student teaching), I have lived on the One Mission Society compound in Vaudreuil, Haiti in House 7. This house has affectionately been dubbed, “The Chick House” because it is where many young women have lived. Over these years, House 7 has truly been a home to me. It is the first place that I have ever lived aside from my childhood home in Bensalem. Though I have loved living on campus with the other missionaries and with abundant fruit trees, the time has come for me to move to another location! Our field is in a bit of transition with people going retiring, returning to the States, and going on furlough This, as well as a few other things, have given the remaining missionaries the opportunity to branch off and find hew housing. I will now be living in an apartment building called Breda, just 10 minutes from school and my old compound! This is super exciting for me as it is the first time I’ve ever picked out my place. The location will also allow me to become more independent as well as closer to my Haitian family and friends. Please pray as my cats & I get adjusted.

Stay tuned for pictures/details about moving and about the end of the school year!

Love is...

Valentine’s Day was quickly approaching and there was one activity I knew for sure that I wanted my first graders to do. Our February Bible verse has been “God is love” so one day, I sat with my kids at station time to ask them a question.

Here’s what I said: “What holiday is coming up?...Yes, Valentine’s Day! What is our verse this month?...Right! ‘God is love.’ But now I have a question for you. If God is love, what is ‘love?’ When we talk about love, what do you think of?”

Here are some of their answers with no additional prompting from me: 

Love is caring for others.

Love is Jesus in our hearts and dying on the cross for us. 

Love is Jesus in our hearts.

Love is kissing goodnight and caring for someone.

Love is peace and helping.

Love is being nice and helping others. 

Love is peace and caring for others and not looking in your own interest.

Love is helping someone. 

Love is being kind and sharing.

Love is sharing food.

Love is peace and helping.

Love is kisses and helping.

Love is Jesus in our hearts.

Love is kissing goodnight and Christ.

Love is true. It is helping others. 

Love is life and Christ.

Love is sharing and giving kisses goodnight.

Love is God loves us.

Love is giving pizza and sharing pizza and playing together.

Love is Jesus in our hearts, sharing, and Jesus loving the world. 

Love is protection and peace.

If God is love (1 John 4: 8) then God is... patient and kind...He keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, and rejoices with truth. God always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.  (1 Corinthians 13). 

                                                   

Beauty

Wow! I’ve been back home in Haiti for eight weeks now and I haven’t blogged once. Sorry about that!

First of all, I need to say a huge thank you to all of you who support me on a monthly basis and those who gave special gifts to get me here. I am happy to say that I am 100% funded until June of 2019! That means that any gifts given now help me stay here longer. J

Yesterday and today are Cowman's days of Fall Break and I had the oppurtunity to go on a long hike with a good group friends. It was beautiful and I wanted to share some of the beauty in my life with you. 

According to dictionary.com beauty is "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design, or something else." 

Here is where I find beauty in my life...

I find beauty in a classroom set up using hand-me-downs from my mom's old preschool and from special gifts from loving friends.

I find beauty in rehabilitation. 

I find beauty in a happy, loud, smart first grade classroom. 

I find beauty in birthdays. And lots of them!

I find beauty in God's protection from hurricanes. 

I find beauty in "Look Miss Kacie! Look what we made!" 

I find beauty in my girls who visit and help me whenever they can. 

I find beauty in my big kids helping my little kids learn to read. 

I find beauty in the sunrise.

I find beauty in nature. 

I find beauty in friends. 

I thank God for all of the beauty found in my life and for each of you that has helped me get this far. Thank you! ~ 

Past, Present, and Future

Past, Present, and Future

Hello from Pennsylvania! In case you haven’t heard the exciting news, I have been accepted with One Mission Society to continue serving in Haiti, this time, as a first-grade teacher at Cowman International School! I am so thankful for God’s faithfulness in His call for my life as His plans continue to amaze me as they unfold.

I’ve been in Bensalem for about a month now and this “in between” feeling is new to me. I’ll elaborate a little bit on how I feel like I’m stuck between the Past, Present, and Future.

Past

Okay, so when I say “past” I really don’t mean that far into my history, just the past year. I just finished my first year of teaching, my first year living away from home, and my first year living in a foreign culture. As challenging as it could be at times, I loved it. I loved my housemates, I loved my community, and I loved my class. My thoughts have been stuck on Susie’s return to Canada and Erin’s move and on nights of Hawaii 5-0. My thoughts have especially been, though, on my fourth graders. Those 10 kids became like my own children and 6/10 of them shed tears at the end of the year because I wouldn’t be their 5^th grade teacher. (I’m talking sobs from 4/10 of them!) I wonder if they are having fun this summer, if they are eating enough, and if they are talking through the tough stuff. I wonder if they are practicing their multiplication (probably not) and if they are reading at all (I hope so!). I wonder if they are thinking of me too and if I really made an impact on them last year.

Present

My favorite part of being in my stateside home is being with my family. I have to remind myself that my time with them is short and to not focus on the past or future too much. I’m enjoying watching my sister play basketball and quoting movies with my brother. I’m enjoying going to thrift stores with my mom and talking about animals with my dad. I’m enjoying eating ice cream (and lots of it!) and chocolate and my dad's cooking.

The most humbling part of being here is fundraising. I am completely reliant on people’s faith promises and special gifts to continuing living and ministering in Haiti. Telling stories of what God is doing there and showing pictures of my kiddos is exciting, but seeing people’s response is so humbling as they sacrifice to partner with me. I hate asking for money, but seeing people give so generously and freely leaves me in awe.

If you want to partner with me, click: https://onemissionsociety.org/give/kacieloucks

Future

       Lord willing, after I’m finished fundraising, I will return to Haiti at the end of August to start my 2^nd year of teaching! My mind also wanders to this and I’ve even found myself having dreams about the first day of first grade. I’m so excited to move down and work with younger kids, but I’m also nervous. I’m wondering how I’ll memorize 27 names so quickly. I’m wondering if I’ll be a good partner with my co-teacher and assistant. I’m wondering how I’ll introduce writing workshop and what books the kids will like best at read-aloud. I’m wondering if I can build a strong bond with them all and make an impact on them. I’m wondering if it’s possible for a classroom to have too many elephants. There will be so many firsts in this first year of first grade! I’m sure it will be a blast and I can’t wait to tell you stories as it progresses!

For now, though, I’ll leave the past as it is and pray for my fourth, now fifth, graders. I’ll live in the present and enjoy time with my family, friends, and church. And I’ll continue to look forward to what God has planned in the future.