Sunday, March 13, 2016

Teen Interview: Isaac Livesay

Most people hadn't heard of Haiti before the earthquake in January 2010. If they'd heard of Haiti, they had no clue where it was. 

For many of us, Haiti is a place we visited in the process of adopting children. A place where we found that electricity isn't guaranteed, air conditioning is saved for a few hours late in the day, sodas are warm and laundry is often done by hand and hung out to dry. Traffic rules are subjective. We also found that Haiti is a country rich in tradition and culture.

For some, like the Livesay family, Haiti is a way of life.Today you'll meet Isaac Livesay, age 14.


Isaac is on the right in the green shirt.


Q: What name would you like the readers to know you by?
A: I would like to go by Ike. My real name is Isaac but my friends and family call me Ike for short. So over the years I’ve gotten used to it.

Q: How old are you?
A:  I am 14 years old. I was born September 7th of 2001.

Q: Tell me about your family. Parents? Siblings? Pets?


A: My parents are Troy, Tara. Troy, my dad manages the ministry, which ranges from projects to finances and fundraising. Tara, my mom is a midwife and helps deliver babies at the Heartline maternity center. 



I have six siblings, two of which now live in the states. The siblings I live with
are Hope, Noah, Phoebe, and Lydia.


 I do different things with each sibling. Whenever I want to play a video game, I play with Phoebe {age 9} and Lydia {age 8} but since I don’t like video games that much I usually build Legos with them. With Hope and Noah I usually watch movies. 

I have 3 dogs, two mastiffs, Hazelnut and Peanut, and one Shihtzu, Chestnut. Hazelnut and Peanut are both girls, and Chestnut is a boy. Chestnut is always full of energy, unlike Hazelnut and Peanut who are calmer, but fun to hang with.

Q: What is the most unusual thing about living in Haiti?
A: The most unusual thing about living in Haiti in my opinion is seeing how a huge majority of the people here hate dogs. Many of the people hate big dogs, and will run away from them as if a bear is chasing them.

Another unusual thing about living here is that we see lots of friends come and go. After so much time together, it’s hard seeing friend leave. Most teenagers our age have friends they have known for years and have gone to school with. Living in Haiti we have had the opportunity to meet a wide range of different friends. To me this a special thing about living in a different country.

Q: How does living in Haiti make your life different than the average teen’s life?
A: Unlike a lot of teenagers who have a lot of friends and places to go, we don’t have all that. I have friends but a lot of good ones have moved away. So the things that I can do here are limited. Once in a while I’ll go out to eat with my family and sometimes with friends. We don’t have bowling alleys, amusement parks, movie theatres, parks, skating rinks etc. We entertain ourselves at home a lot. At home I love to draw. I am very much into drawing dragons. I also like to dance and play Minecraft with my siblings.



Q:What do you like most about living in Haiti?
A: Living in Haiti has its benefits, like the fact that I get to visit the beach with my family, and on school field trips. The beach that we go to the most is beautiful. At the beach we get to lay in the sun and read, go on boat rides, snorkel, eat delicious foods, and jump on water trampolines. 



Another awesome thing we thing we get to do is hiking. Haiti is a very mountainous place. The hikes are sometimes difficult, but they are worth it. It’s peaceful and cold and beautiful on the mountains.

Q: What do you do for fun?
A: For fun I like to make Lego Brickfilms, build all kinds of things with my Legos, sometimes play video games a sibling, take pictures on my phone, listening to music, and take Hazelnut on walks. I don’t really enjoy playing videogames by myself unless its free roam in Lego Marvel, or Jurassic world. Whenever I play Halo, StarWars battlefront, Mario kart, or Smash Bros I prefer to play with a sibling. When it comes to music I like fast songs with a good rhythm. On car rides or even flights I always have a playlist I can jam to. I like to jam to imagine dragons, Avicii, Fallout boy’s newest album, One republic, Iggy azalea {fancy}, and the sound track from Home.

Q: Do you have a life philosophy, Scripture verse or value you live by? What is it and why?
 A: One of my favorite verses from the bible is “ You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” Psalms 16:11. I like this scripture because it makes me feel happy and full of joy.

 
Isaac with his  siblings ready for school. Several children are taught by two teachers from the United States in a Haitian/mission version of home school.

Do you have questions or comment for Isaac about his life in Haiti? Leave them in the comment section and we might be able to get him to answer them. :)


You can read about the Livesay’s ministry HERE. There is a place to donate on that page also.

6 comments:

  1. I want to know how many kids are in his school and what grades they are in. And does he have the subjects like we have here, science, language arts, pre algebra/math, history, art, PE, music. Does he have any other fun classes we don't have. And does he go on field trips.

    Jada, 14, 8th grade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those are good questions. We may find out more when Noah and Hope do their interviews.

      Delete
  2. Hi, Ike. What are Easter and Christmas celebrations like in Haiti?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do you help with the ministry with your parents? If so, what do you do?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like to draw dragons too. What else do you like to draw? What do you like to read? I like Maze Runner, Percy Jackson, Divergent, Hunger Games and Kingdom Chronicles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have some questions:
    1. Have you always lived in Haiti and do you plan to live in the US when you are an adult or at least in college>
    2. Do you think you get along more with your brothers and sisters because you aren't around a lot of other kids so they are your best friends?
    3. What is your school like? Is it more just like a family group?

    ReplyDelete