Day 4: Hope and Love

Psalm 33:22  Let your steadfast love be upon us, oh Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Today was a day filled with hope and love.  We saw it in every place we went.  Our first stop was at Papillon.  Papillon employs and empowers Haitians, provides childcare while they are working, and allows them to make a wage that supports their families.  Their mission is "Orphan Prevention Through Job Creation".  The majority of the children in orphanages in Haiti have parents, but the parents cannot support them.  Papillon provides training and jobs for a collective of artisans--that are parents--that create something new out of something discarded and seemingly unusable: metal, cereal boxes/cardboard, aluminum, dirt and paper to make jewelry and other beautiful things. They also have a cafe, and we enjoyed smoothies, frozen lemonades, french fries and coffee drinks prior to shopping in their gift shop.  Spending money on handmade items, and seeing the people it is supporting--well, let's just say it all felt really hopeful. (you can read more here: www.papillon-enterprise.com)

TeacHaiti was our next stop.  This is a school for kindergarten through the 13th class, founded by a Haitian who has an amazing testimony and story to share, and who felt compelled to pay it forward in her home country.  We were met at the gate by lots of smiling faces from kids of all ages.  (I have loved watching the kids close in age to the girls on our trip "check out" our girls and smile and whisper to each other.  It's fun to wonder what they are saying and thinking.  Are they seeing the similarities or the differences?) We visited the kindergarten classroom first, where we introduced ourselves and shared our ages and something we like.  We sang the Hippo song for them, and the class sang Jesus Loves Me for us.  Adorable!  We also sat in the 9th grade, 7th grade and 10th grade classrooms and had the opportunity to ask the kids questions and for them to ask the girls (and grown-ups) questions.  What is your favorite subject? What sports do you play? What do you do after school? It is clear that education is the key to moving out of poverty in this country.  The barriers to going to school are numerous.  But if the kids can get to school, stay in school, pass exams, finish high school--or perhaps go on to a vocational school or university--well, talk about hope for the future of these Haitians.  Guess what it costs to send one child to school for a year.....literally a dollar a day.  (you can read more here: www.teachaiti.org)

LaPhare orphanage was our final stop of the day.  Here the kids came right out and greeted us with hugs and smiles and were ready to play.  Blowing bubbles, writing names and drawing pictures on whiteboards, making bracelets, jumping rope, dancing, braiding hair, making balloon animals....each one of us finds what helps us connect with the kiddos, and the time goes quickly.  There are people who have been on trips with Healing Haiti in the past few years, who have been able to recognize and reconnect with kids they have seen before.  This was for sure another place we saw love and hope.

We are tired.  We are taking in a lot in hot weather.  Some of us aren't sleeping well and our GI systems are challenged.  We have two big days ahead of us.  But we are headed to bed, filled with hope and love.

Kerry B.
PS On a personal note, having this experience with my 13 year old daughter, along with 4 other girls and their moms (and the 4 other women)--is very special.  These girls are wise and brave and hearing them reflect on the day, choosing a Word of the Day, and sharing their highs/lows---my heart kind of explodes. Lots of love and hope in them!

Day 3 - Communication!

Bonsoir, mwen rele Kerry R. (Good afternoon, my name is Kerry R.). 

Today was Day 3.  At the end of each day we spend about an hour or so sharing about our day as a group.  Where did you see Jesus today?  Were there any lows?  What is your word of the day? 

Our first stop was a Haitian run coffee company called Singing Rooster.  The owner spoke in Creole while our Healing Haiti guide translated for us, sharing how the company was founded and how the coffee making process works.  A 30 foot square patch of the roof held beans roasting in the hot sun, waiting for %12 humidity to read on the testing tool.  Inside were dozens and dozens of bags of beans as well as one large and loud machine used to separate the outer "shell" of the bean.  One of the final steps was done by several women who worked together at tables.  Their job was to remove any rotten or misshapen beans.  Although it may not seem like a coveted job, it was pointed out that these women had a job (uncommon), they got to sit down,it was out of the sun, they worked together.

Our second stop was the Metal Market.  Many men had a small room linked with many other small rooms in an area of Port-Au-Prince, each filled with metal art that they had created.  We were told it was expected that we would communicate to reach a fair price which went smoothly as many of the men knew numbers in English.  We watched as they pounded sheets of metal to create nativity scenes, ornaments, mirrors, bowls, Bible verses, even American college team logos.  They know what we will spend our money on, and we did!

Our final stop was Monfort, a school and home for deaf children.  We have played and interacted with children during water deliveries and visits to orphanages, but the language barrier has been discouraging at times.  We want to know their story or even just their name.  Today however, we could spell with our fingers!  We quickly learned the words for friend, sister, brother, age, love...and their eyes would light up!  Ours too!  Many of the kids were the same age as the 5 daughters that are with us, and just like kids in America, they wanted to find things in common.  "I have a sister, too" they would sign.  Our entire team agreed Monfort was a highlight of the trip so far.

During our sharing time at the end of the day, Kate and I agreed that our word of the day was "communication."  It hasn't been easy, but it has been worth trying!

Haiti - Day 2

Today was our first day out in Haiti's community, we had our first water truck day in the morning. It was my first water day and I was pretty nervous. We got there before the water truck so that gave us a chance to spend more time with the kids. That is when I met this little girl who clung to me for the entire time we were there. She was incredibly sweet and when the water truck did arrive she was my number one helper. Everyone was so kind and said thank you. Next we went to the orphanage, I met another sweet girl who taught me some crazy soccer moves. Today was amazing and I'm looking forward for the days to come.

Sophia Anderson

Hi. This is Sophia's mom. I thought it would be interesting to get her version of the day, as a 14 year old girl, and mine, as an adult. This is my second trip to Haiti. I was here last January and it was a life-changing experience for me. I have been both excited and nervous to be back and experience Haiti with my daughter.

Now we're here and I realize that I had nothing to worry about! My strong and capable daughter is loving all of this. Water Truck Day can be overwhelming, but Sophia, and the other 4 young women with us as well, were fantastic! It was amazing to watch them make connections with other kids, playing, dancing and figuring out how to communicate. The water truck was very late, so we spent quite a while just hanging out with kids in the neighborhood. Kerry played basketball with a group of boys and showed them that a woman can kick their butts! They loved it! The truck finally came as we shifted into work mode. Everyone was helping carry buckets. Steph and Kim were in charge of the hose and did a fantastic job of keeping things orderly. Our first water truck day was a success!

We came back to the Healing Haiti house and showered and prepped for our next stop. Then we were off to Croatian, an orphanage. We brought soccer balls, jump ropes, crayons, makers, coloring books and white boards. The kids started our visit by singing us a song, and then the playing began! Basket ball and soccer games started. Kids would ask our names and write it on the white boards. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun connecting with the kids! They ended the visit the same way it began, with a sweet song thanking us for our visit.

We are back at the Healing Haiti house. Dinner was delicious and we had our devotions on the roof top patio.

Sara Anderson

Day One- Travel and Smiles

Our trip started differently then we expected. A snow storm was preventing the MN folks from getting on their flight to Atlanta. God was pulling for us and all but one arrived in Atlanta last night. We met up this morning and boarded our flight to Haiti. The mountains here are incredible! The trees are lush and green, and flowers are abundant. We arrived at our beautiful guest house around 3. Me and Kate were looking off of our roof and noticed a yard full of goats and chickens! Two small girls wandered into our view and started to dance and pose for photos. The shouted to us, "Boto!" They wanted their photo taken! The five younger girls (Kate, Libby, Sophie, Amelia, and I) wanted to go play with them, so after a delicious meal (taco bowls), we brought soccer balls and jump ropes and played. The smiles on these kids faces were unforgettable! We are so thankful for how God has cleared the way for us and are excited for what more he has!

Clare B.

Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
                                                                                         Matthew 14:29
It often said one cannot discover new horizons and adventures or discover God's purpose for our lives unless one steps out on faith as Peter did in his walk on the water.
Walking by faith is what our Healing Haiti Team demonstrated this entire week, from our first visit to Citi Soleil, visiting and fellow shipping elders,  the water trucks stops were an adventure in patience.We entertained kids with sports and brain activities. Here we saw extreme distress in living conditions  and and in the blink of the eye we experienced God's amazing beauty in smiles of children as their mothers and volunteers held their hands and hugged them.
Our time spent at Haiti Team Challenge will be with me for a long time, here we met future leaders of Haiti.
It very hard to capture in words Haitians faith walk and patience for God. During our mission trip we saw their faith was constantly on display. May God's blessing continue to be with them.

-Henry

Day 6 Shiloh Team - Water Truck and Farm

So what is it like to do a water truck stop at stop 26? 

Somewhere between order and chaos.  If it was run by us and what we thought orderly, it would look nothing like it did today.  People coming out of nowhere with buckets and tubs, forming a line, sort of.  Buckets being shoved up the line as the water rushed out of the hose, a lot of water hitting the buckets but a refreshing amount also covered us and the dirty street.  Bucket after bucket was filled. And women and children were tasked with carrying it back to their homes - some tubs take two people, some take one, and for us newbies, we would carry one but have to switch hands at least twice in our walk because the metal handles bit into our unaccustomed hands. Those buckets are heavy! One boy asked me to help him carry.  We carried the first, then he wanted me to help with another, then another.  Ends up he had 10...  

As this was all happening on the narrow street, there were water trenches running down both sides of the streets with overflow water. Kids were bathing in the water, dumping it over their heads in shower fashion. Along the trenches, special mops were being used to move garbage out of the way to keep the water moving. Women were doing laundry in the big tubs. Kids were everywhere, many wanting to be held and if there were no free arms to scoop them up, they just held on to our free hand or a shirt or arm as we carried water with the other hand. 

Oh, and then scoot the line over for the motorcycle coming through, then the car that turned down the street and the carts hauling things. Somehow there was order in this event as this is life to the Haitians. 

Before leaving this stop, we walked out onto the pier where we saw some of the beauty of this country -  the blue ocean water set among this beautiful bay. Is is back dropped with the mountains but also the despair of Cite Soleil as Henry put it. What we would consider a beautiful bay area and 'waterfront property' had the banks littered with mounds of garbage right up to and into the water. Men were out in fishing boats dropping and collecting a big net while the women were on the dock cleaning the catch that was hauled in previously. 

The next stop in our day was the Fleri Farm. Healing Haiti purchased 28 acres of land in Cite Soleil to farm and grow produce. The midwesterner in me expected to see crops of corn and beans so imagine my surprise to learn about plantains (they bear one crop of fruit and then they die - but they grow really fast!), mangoes, lime trees and so much more.  The long term missionary charged with developing this plot of land into something for the future, has been challenged to learn what farming is in a Caribbean environment and he is a wealth of information already in his 10 months or so in Haiti. 

Last stop of our day was to the Haitian Museum in down town Port-au-Prince. However, once again, flexibility is key in Haiti and after our crazy tap tap ride through the city, we arrived to find the museum closed (although the sign and internet told us it would be open.)  Down town has some more open space with some buildings that were rebuilt after the earthquake.  It felt almost like a city park with open space where there were opportunities to purchase works by artisans. We stepped out of our tap tap to be immediately approached by a man selling fabric paintings. And then another, and another and another and another.  We were soon being smothered by men asking us to purchase their goods. After a couple quick purchases, we escaped to our tap tap.  That experience and the drive and sights in the city spared our disappointment at not being able to go to the museum!

Again, there were interesting observations and discussions in our tap tap rides.  I talked with our wise leader, Carol, about how so many of us want to donate or bring "things" to the people of Haiti as we know they are poor.  But Healing Haiti does not want to distribute things to people, Haiti has enough things - very evident driving through the city and seeing things for sale everywhere.  And everything you could want - clothes, furniture, shoes, food, coolers, engines, stereos, you name it! Haitians need the money to purchase the things that are already here. Healing Haiti is choosing to 'source local' - rather than bring things from the US, they are purchasing things here in Haiti to support the local economy. Haitians need jobs and incomes.

This was our last day of serving here in Haiti.  Sunday will be a day of worship and rest for us.

Patty

An Alliterative Attempt At An Amazing Ad hoc Alleluiah

Every writer needs a few tricks in their bag that will grab the reader's attention. Sometimes it's a silly title (a favorite of bloggers), on an enigmatic allusion - back to alliteration I guess.

Most of the time, it's the first few sentences, or even the first few pages of your novel that will either grab the reader or lose them. I have proven that in writing contests I've entered in the past ten years. Often it is best to delete your first three chapters and start the story at the fourth, because nobody cares about the backstory.

Today wasn't a "Chapter Four" kind of day. The first sentence of our day was written in the crystal-clear heavens before God lit the sky. There was no smoke from trash fires, no traffic on the roads, only a hush over the metropolis of Port au Prince. 0600 is mighty early in January for a nation with sporadic electricity, and a paucity of street lights. Yet that's when we arrived at "The Church On The Rock." I'm sure it has a formal name, but I've not yet committed it to memory after three trips to Haiti.

My first visit was on a morning that was sweltering, and the big-top tent was full of people who came on that Ash Wednesday to give thanks to God for sparing them from the earthquake just a few years earlier. Today, in contrast, the church is a modern building that resembles a gigantic indoor sports facility. Like many structures in Haiti, there are no real doors on the main entry, but a 57 functioning ceiling fans. The altar/stage is huge, and the sound board would make most church audio visual ministries drool in jealous admiration.

We were among the first to arrive, and I was a bit disappointed that perhaps people in Haiti had quit raising up the thanks now that almost a decade had passed since the 2010 earthquake.

I need not have feared. The church filled nicely over the next 30 minutes. In a mixture of Creole and English, the praise and worship band and pastor lifted my spirits to a needed level for the day ahead. I'm a weirdo, and sat alone in the back of the structure to watch the people and pray privately. I love my team beyond words, but this morning I chose to take my spiritual nourishment alone at the counter. Some of the best meals are spent in the comfortable solitude of deep thought.

We continued to worship long after the sun came up, and walked back to the mission house for breakfast. As always, the staff blessed us with an abundance of delicious things. We needed them in the coming hours.

Our first stop was Grace Village. A tour of the facility, gazing out to the Caribbean, and some deep reflection were all welcome.

The next two hours were spent on the goat paths around Titanyen visiting elders. A paucity of asphalt, and abundance of cactus, create some exceptional balance exhibitions. But they weren't the only balancing act on Friday morning: balancing the joy of serving with the sadness that the elders can bring is a tough one. While washing feet is an enjoyable task (the smiles it earns are priceless) the living conditions, and the fact that they have outlived all of their peers (and often their children) brings a bit of sorrow. So, a mix.

Haitian Deaf Academy was our final serving stop of the day. I was challenged to a non-stop session of arm-wrestling. While I'm a big guy at 6' 300 (or more) pounds, I'm actually only qualified to pit my skills against 8 year-olds if I'm honest. Fortunately, I was not overly out-matched until they teamed up and had 3-1 odds in their favor. I allowed myself to be defeated with dignity.

That sounded awfully personal, didn't it? I think all serving is personal. Today that's what those children wanted to do: arm-wrestle with Pere Noel. And I was glad to meet that request. I try very hard to do what the people I serve need most. Whether it's making bacon-cheeseburgers for the homeless instead of a fancy meal, or arm-wrestling with a long line of little boys, you have to do what makes their lives best in the moment.

In our lives in the United States, we have so many conflicts and demands on our time that we frequently serve in the manner most convenient to us. We do something, anything, and feel it's better than doing nothing. It's as easy as dropping the clothes we cleared out of the closet at the Salvation Army. But is it what God is asking of us in the moment? Isn't He the ultimate consumer of our service?

Today we served in ways those we served needed.  I think that's because when you're on a mission trip you can focus on what He wants, not the internet, or your kid's sports schedule. God brings us here to serve in our best capacity. Tomorrow we'll try it again.

I can't wait.

- Joe