Day 5!

Hello friends and family! It’s Max back again (are you sick of me yet?) and the team had a super fun, full day today. It was a very early morning with our day starting at 5:30am for church. The team went to Church on the Rock, a local church that is only a few blocks from the compound. The building is a large warehouse that has been converted to be a church. There is a stage in the front and in front of the stage are rows upon rows of pews. The church service is a very powerful and moving spectacle to see and I know a lot of our team members enjoyed the experience. They can tell you about it themselves when we are back state side. After church the team regrouped at the guesthouse for pancakes prepared by yours truly. FYI they were fantabulous. The team then loaded up for another big day of water truck visits. Both stops went very well, but personally I think the second stop was the most moving for the team. We hadn’t been to the stop before but the moment we stepped off the truck we could tell that they were in more need of our service than other stops. One of the most powerful things we saw was the selflessness of the children. These kids, maybe four or five years old, came to us holding their baby siblings and lifted them up to us for them to be loved on. The children, even though they hadn’t had attention from us and they probably needed it too, offered up their siblings to be loved by us and I think that is another great example of the life lessons Haiti teaches us. Sometimes when I am down here it almost seems these lessons are too perfect or too scripted to real, but all of us know, that’s exactly what being in Haiti is about. On a lighter note, I checked off another thing on the “Things not to do while in Cite Soleil” bucket list. I took a bath in Cite Soleil. I took a bath in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. I regret nothing. The little girl I was with was the cutest thing and she thought it would be a great idea for me to get clean while she was getting clean! This however, creates a paradox. I will close with this question! The water truck day was amazing as usual for the team and we headed back to the guesthouse to clean up for our afternoon trip to Healing Hands for Haiti. HHH specializes in creating prosthetics and doping therapy for victims of injuries and amputees. We got to tour their building and see how they run their show. Going back to things you didn’t think you were going to do when you got up in the morning, we all got to see some 3d printers. I had never seen one before and who would have thought the first time I would see one would be in Haiti. Ryan and I also got to talk to one of the nurses while she was helping a man with some lower back therapy. This was funny for two reasons; one, Ryan currently has a lower back injury that was very similar to the one that the man had; and two, the nurse was from Cuba and spoke zero English. Ryan and I ended up translating for the group and learning about electro-shock therapy, in Spanish, in a country that doesn’t have Spanish as one of its primary languages. Good stuff. The team then ended our day by heading up to Grace Village to eat at Fleri. We had a bunch of great pizzas and some amazing desserts that gave us a great end to our day. Tomorrow we head for Montfort, a deaf orphanage, and a cool mountain metal market for some shopping and bartering with the venders! So now I will leave you with the question.

If a man bathes in the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere, is he clean or is he dirty?

Max Nelson

Day 6 & 7!!!

Day 6

Bonjour friends and family! It’s Max back again with the day 6 recap! This morning we started our day with another fantastic batch of pancakes and then headed out on our hour trek to Montfort. If you remember from yesterday, Montfort is a deaf orphanage about an hour away from the guesthouse. We spent the morning touring the grounds and playing with the kids. It was super cool getting to interact with the deaf kids while at Montfort. It was almost as if it was easier interacting with the kids at Montfort in sign language was easier than trying to interact with the kids in Cite Soleil. When language becomes obsolete, the language barrier no longer exists. (Woah I should quote that, it sounded kinda cool). After Montfort we got to visit a metal market. It was a small courtyard area that was lined with all sorts of metal workings, and each individual stall had a vender eager to sell their goods to you. Classic tourist trap. It was awesome to see what you were about to buy being made right in front of you. Ryan and I had some luck with a vender who wanted to sell us some of his wood workings. We got a deal, buying two wooden machetes for $14. Getting it back to the US and through TSA is a whole different challenge but we will cross that bridge when we get there. After the market we headed home and hit the pool at the Elite Hotel, just a block from the compound. We had a great time swimming and racing in the pool, but our favorite part was playing “tips” with a little Haitian boy and his dad. The little boy through the ball to me, and then I tipped it to Ryan whle jumping into the pool, and so on. In total, we had ten people involved by the time we finally did it successfully. We have some great videos for when we get home! The team then came back to the guesthouse for a quick dinner and then we had a Salsa lesson with Jean (john), one of the staff here at the compound. We all paired off and had a great time dancing. It was about time to start thinking about bed when John suddenly invited us to go salsa dancing at the Elite Hotel for salsa night! Of course, I couldn’t decline, along with Ryan, Juju, Grace F, Sam, and Abby. The six of us, plus Jean and Sam P, a long term missionary, loaded into a pickup after getting all dressed up. The six of us looked ridiculous because none of us had fancy clothes. I was in a pair of skinny jeans that were too short for me and Ryan had pants that were so baggy it made him look like he was wearing clown pants. Not to mention the girls all had random fancy shoes that were in Jean’s house for some unknown reason. We arrived, and instantly hit the dance floor. All of us got on the dance floor and instantly the seven Americans, who could barely salsa, were the center of attention. Let me tell you, it was a sight to see! We were out there killing it, doing spins, dips, and any spicy salsa move you can think of. Keep in mind, all of this (the planning and dancing at the hotel) happened in a span of two hours. It was the most fun we all have had in a long time. We all headed home, sweaty, tired, and over the moon happy. Tomorrow we head for a beach day with the team after a morning church service at Grace Church.

We are in a love Haiti relationship

Max Nelson

Day 7

Holy guacamole friends and family! It’s the Dominos Pizza man back again with another blog that is spicier than Haitian peanut butter! Just kidding its still Max. Anywhoosies, we had a great church service this morning up at Grace Village and got to see yet another type of worship in Haiti. This was much more traditional than the service on Friday, but it was still cool to hear all of the worship in Creole. The team then loaded back up in El TapTap and took a 45-minute drive up to a place called Wahoo Bay. Wahoo Bay is a super nice beach resort on the coast that had all sorts of activities for us to do. We didn’t get to bring any kids with us, but it was a great team building experience none the less. The water was super warm and we instantly made some new friends. Grace F, Ryan, and I met a couple of Brazilian Security Forces members while swimming in the water and got to talk briefly with them about what they are doing down here in Haiti. They are currently providing protection for the Haitian police force while they continue to rebuild. Just six short years ago, Haiti only had 6,000 officers for the entire country. Today, with the help of the UN and the Brazilians, they have 15,000 officers. After talking to them we challenged them to a game of beach soccer. It was the Americans versus a bunch of Brazilian and Argentinian soldiers, and boy did we have a blast. The game was right on the waterfront with the Haitian mountains as our picturesque backdrop. The weather was a balmy 95 degrees and with the warm ocean breeze, it made for a perfect day on the beach. The team then had a quick lunch and went right back out into the water. My goodness, we were so excited we completely forgot to wait the required 30 minutes after eating before we entered the water. Must be my madcap personality that is so hard to reign in. I am quite the risk taker. Half of the team also got to go snorkeling. They saw some super cool fish, and even some reef structure. Overall, today was such a great day and I think it was the perfect way to end our week here in Haiti. It has been such an amazing, life changing journey for all of us and I think Haiti has left an impact on all of us. From eating bread given to us by a stranger and bathing in Cite Soleil, to living the life on a fantastic beach while we played soccer with Brazilian Security Forces, Haiti has really given us everything it has to offer. The staff and people of Haiti have been so kind to us and we are forever grateful for that. I am now sitting here in a hammock writing this to you as the team is packing up and getting ready to head back home tomorrow morning. To all our friends and family back at home, thank you so much for supporting us on this journey, and we will see you all very soon. Thank you for reading this blog everyday this week and keeping us in your prayers. Until next year, this is Max Nelson signing off and wishing you all a very nice night.

Goodnight and God bless.

Max Nelson

Day 6 & 7!!!

Day 6

Bonjour friends and family! It’s Max back again with the day 6 recap! This morning we started our day with another fantastic batch of pancakes and then headed out on our hour trek to Montfort. If you remember from yesterday, Montfort is a deaf orphanage about an hour away from the guesthouse. We spent the morning touring the grounds and playing with the kids. It was super cool getting to interact with the deaf kids while at Montfort. It was almost as if it was easier interacting with the kids at Montfort in sign language was easier than trying to interact with the kids in Cite Soleil. When language becomes obsolete, the language barrier no longer exists. (Woah I should quote that, it sounded kinda cool). After Montfort we got to visit a metal market. It was a small courtyard area that was lined with all sorts of metal workings, and each individual stall had a vender eager to sell their goods to you. Classic tourist trap. It was awesome to see what you were about to buy being made right in front of you. Ryan and I had some luck with a vender who wanted to sell us some of his wood workings. We got a deal, buying two wooden machetes for $14. Getting it back to the US and through TSA is a whole different challenge but we will cross that bridge when we get there. After the market we headed home and hit the pool at the Elite Hotel, just a block from the compound. We had a great time swimming and racing in the pool, but our favorite part was playing “tips” with a little Haitian boy and his dad. The little boy through the ball to me, and then I tipped it to Ryan whle jumping into the pool, and so on. In total, we had ten people involved by the time we finally did it successfully. We have some great videos for when we get home! The team then came back to the guesthouse for a quick dinner and then we had a Salsa lesson with Jean (john), one of the staff here at the compound. We all paired off and had a great time dancing. It was about time to start thinking about bed when John suddenly invited us to go salsa dancing at the Elite Hotel for salsa night! Of course, I couldn’t decline, along with Ryan, Juju, Grace F, Sam, and Abby. The six of us, plus Jean and Sam P, a long term missionary, loaded into a pickup after getting all dressed up. The six of us looked ridiculous because none of us had fancy clothes. I was in a pair of skinny jeans that were too short for me and Ryan had pants that were so baggy it made him look like he was wearing clown pants. Not to mention the girls all had random fancy shoes that were in Jean’s house for some unknown reason. We arrived, and instantly hit the dance floor. All of us got on the dance floor and instantly the seven Americans, who could barely salsa, were the center of attention. Let me tell you, it was a sight to see! We were out there killing it, doing spins, dips, and any spicy salsa move you can think of. Keep in mind, all of this (the planning and dancing at the hotel) happened in a span of two hours. It was the most fun we all have had in a long time. We all headed home, sweaty, tired, and over the moon happy. Tomorrow we head for a beach day with the team after a morning church service at Grace Church.

We are in a love Haiti relationship

Max Nelson

Day 7

Holy guacamole friends and family! It’s the Dominos Pizza man back again with another blog that is spicier than Haitian peanut butter! Just kidding its still Max. Anywhoosies, we had a great church service this morning up at Grace Village and got to see yet another type of worship in Haiti. This was much more traditional than the service on Friday, but it was still cool to hear all of the worship in Creole. The team then loaded back up in El TapTap and took a 45-minute drive up to a place called Wahoo Bay. Wahoo Bay is a super nice beach resort on the coast that had all sorts of activities for us to do. We didn’t get to bring any kids with us, but it was a great team building experience none the less. The water was super warm and we instantly made some new friends. Grace F, Ryan, and I met a couple of Brazilian Security Forces members while swimming in the water and got to talk briefly with them about what they are doing down here in Haiti. They are currently providing protection for the Haitian police force while they continue to rebuild. Just six short years ago, Haiti only had 6,000 officers for the entire country. Today, with the help of the UN and the Brazilians, they have 15,000 officers. After talking to them we challenged them to a game of beach soccer. It was the Americans versus a bunch of Brazilian and Argentinian soldiers, and boy did we have a blast. The game was right on the waterfront with the Haitian mountains as our picturesque backdrop. The weather was a balmy 95 degrees and with the warm ocean breeze, it made for a perfect day on the beach. The team then had a quick lunch and went right back out into the water. My goodness, we were so excited we completely forgot to wait the required 30 minutes after eating before we entered the water. Must be my madcap personality that is so hard to reign in. I am quite the risk taker. Half of the team also got to go snorkeling. They saw some super cool fish, and even some reef structure. Overall, today was such a great day and I think it was the perfect way to end our week here in Haiti. It has been such an amazing, life changing journey for all of us and I think Haiti has left an impact on all of us. From eating bread given to us by a stranger and bathing in Cite Soleil, to living the life on a fantastic beach while we played soccer with Brazilian Security Forces, Haiti has really given us everything it has to offer. The staff and people of Haiti have been so kind to us and we are forever grateful for that. I am now sitting here in a hammock writing this to you as the team is packing up and getting ready to head back home tomorrow morning. To all our friends and family back at home, thank you so much for supporting us on this journey, and we will see you all very soon. Thank you for reading this blog everyday this week and keeping us in your prayers. Until next year, this is Max Nelson signing off and wishing you all a very nice night.

Goodnight and God bless.

Max Nelson