Day 5 June 16, 2011

VBS Craft (notice the stickers on their faces)

Day 5- This is day two in Beauchamp, and we all woke up bright and early as there were multiple roosters crowing way before the usual 5 a.m. we were used to back at the mission in St. Louis Du Nord. Before breakfast has even started a couple of my team members are telling stories from the night before about weird things that happened to them in the night. Everyone can agree that someone was snoring really loud, so loud that the girls could hear “him” clearly from the other room. Two of the guys in our group had an even funnier story than snoring. Alex woke up in the middle of the night with a dog in his bed and he called out to John and said look what is in my bed, and John replied with you have to options cuddle with it or push it away. Now it was a little black dog and John couldn’t see well in the dark, and he thought it was a small Haitian child, needless to say Alex did not want to cuddle with the dog, and the next morning all three of the boys woke up with sand fleas (who knows if it was from the dog or not). Then there is the story Alexis who was sharing a mattress with me and another girl Kimberly because she didn’t have one. She tells me that in the middle of the night she woke up and though I had been murdered and dragged out of the room and there was a Haitian laying next to her, so she grabbed on to Kimberly and said she stared at me for about an hour and I turned over and she saw my blonde hair and realized I was still very much alive.



VBS Beauchamp



We all got a good laugh at each other’s stories all the way through breakfast. After breakfast we had lots of work to do to prepare for VBS that day at two. We had to cut construction paper, glue papers on the construction paper, and punch holes in the paper and feed pipe cleaners through them (you can see a picture of the finished product in the picture with the kids). We had a pretty efficient assembly line even though some of our group members clearly did not learn how to glue in kindergarten. When we finished we all decorated one and then we practiced our skit that we did for the children to show them the difference between good and bad and God and Satan. By the time the preparations were done it was almost lunch time, to kill time before lunch we played with the kids hanging around the mission with jump ropes and frisbees.



Frisbee



Jaqueline and her jump rope!



After lunch we all walked down to the market but we were disappointed when there was nothing really there and the translators explained the market comes on Fridays (it was Thursday). By the time we walked back to the mission it was time for VBS, so we headed over to the church. They did the usual singing and then our skit and then we made our craft. We had stickers to decorate the craft, but most of the children preferred to put the stickers on their faces or ears (to look like earrings). The children still shock me by how well they are all behaved and how well they listen. You can never get American children to sit down and be still yet the Haitian children sit down and wait for instructions and you don’t even have to ask them to.



After the mud fight; they had to all get into a huge bucket
of water just to get all the mud off them!



After VBS it started raining AGAIN (the place that never rains huh?) and some of the group went to the soccer field. One of the girls in our group came back from the field early and was REALLY sick. When everyone else came back later they were covered in mud and explained they not only played soccer but had a mud fight as well. The girl that was sick was not doing any better, matter of fact she was worse and everyone was really worried about her. We had group prayer time more than once praying that they could come up with some kind of medicine she could keep down so she could begin rehydrating and healing before we had to head back to the main mission the next day. With a group member sick it really made us all stop and realize that this was a very serious situation as we had no doctors around, we finally could grasp that this is how it would be like to live here as a Haitian; a simple stomach bug could become a serious ailment. Before bed her health was improving and we all could rest a little easier knowing that she was healing and would be able to make the trip back with us the next day. Today I am thankful for doctors, hospitals, nurses, and the amount of medicine available to us at home.

Day 4 June 15, 2011



On the way to Beauchamp :)

 

On the Tap-Tap and laughing as usual!



Day 4 – We were on the road again today, a three hour Tap-Tap (which is a truck with benches in the bed) ride to a city called Beauchamp. We are staying three days and two nights. We were told not to bring tents because it never rains in Beauchamp and that we didn’t have to worry about bug spray because there are no bugs. We entertained ourselves lots on the way to Beauchamp (as you can see from the pictures), and we learned lots of new games. When we were about thirty minutes from Beauchamp we started feeling sprinkles and hearing thunder followed by lightening. By the time we got to the mission and unloaded the Tap-Tap it was a full fledge storm; pouring rain. 





The missions' church in Beauchamp!



A cute trailer at the mission in Beauchamp with a prayer/
bible verse in Haitian Creole painted on it!



Anyone that travels to Haiti or a country where there are not paved roads should be prepared to be stranded when it rains because rain turns the dirt roads into mud pits. For all you Georgians out there who have seen their fair share of Georgia Clay, Haitian Clay is about 10 times worse than any Georgia Clay I have ever seen! As there was no way to do VBS or Sports Camp in the pouring rain we stayed inside and played cards, talked, and took naps. There are a few Haitian children that live here on the mission that we played with but while we were stuck in the rain there was not much mission work that could be done. Today I realized that I should be very thankful for rain boots, umbrellas, cars with roofs, and paved roads.



Day 3 June 14, 2011



 


The beach we left for Tortuga from, as you can see it is
very trashed, which is sad because it is truly beautiful!





Me being carried on a Haitians shoulders to the small boat :)

Day 3 in Haiti- Today was another traveling

day, but not by plane or bus, by boat. Today we went to an island of Haiti anyone who has seen Pirates of the Caribbean would be familiar with; Tortuga. When we get to the beach we are departing from (which is only like a 5 minute walk from the mission) it is covered in trash, but the water is beautiful. We were carried on the shoulders of Haitian men to a small boat and then rowed to a large sailboat. All I can say is that those Haitians probably hated us because we squirmed and screamed the whole time we were on their shoulders. The sailboat ride was about an hour there and when we got as close to the shore as we could because the water was very shallow they were going to put us back in the small boat and row us to shore. 

TCTC swimming to the shore!

 

Half of the TCTC group got in the first boat headed to shore, and the rest of us had a great idea; let’s swim in the Caribbean all the way to the shore (which looked a lot closer than it actually was). Anyways one of the security guards jumped in with us and lead us to shore and as soon as we got close enough to the shore the children ran towards us and latched on to us as we were still in the water. They were fighting over who was going to hold onto us, we each probably had seven or eight kids holding on to us. It is truly amazing how all of the people of Haiti are so loving especially the children, I don’t know about other American children but I would have never latched on to someone’s hand I didn’t know when I was five or six.



Inside the VBS tent, LOTS OF KIDS!



Making Bracelets :)



We held a VBS in a tent like shelter thing where we made bracelets and they sang many songs in Creole (one we could kind of understand it was Father Abraham only in Creole). As we took a break at lunch time and moved all the children outside and closed off the tent, most of us could not force ourselves to choke down the peanut butter sandwiches as the children were outside the tent crying out just for a bite of food.  It was probably the saddest point of the trip so far. Our hearts broke as they called out the names they knew and begged for a piece of stale bread with peanut butter as who knows when the last time they ate was. After everyone was done eating, since we didn’t eat much we had food to give away and we gave as much as we could away and to see the joy on their faces when we gave them such a small piece of bread with peanut butter on it was heartbreaking.

  

The beautiful Caribbean water from the sailboat!



When we finished lunch we did a sports camp and we went outside to a field on the island and while some played sports, I and some other girls from TCTC painted nails and let the little girls do our hair. It was funny because they all wanted us to paint their fingernails more than once and then we cringed when they stuck their still wet fingernails in our hair. We let them keep the fingernail polish, and yet again we saw the joy on their faces as they realized they now had something of their own. When it was time to leave the children did not want to let go of us and they walked out as far as they could in the water with us.

 

Arriving back on shore in St. Louis Du Nord



We all swam back to the boat, and while it was a long swim, it was worth it, the water is beautiful and it gave us lots of time to review everything we had experienced that day. Tortuga was an amazing island with lots of amazing people, and again we saw the hurt and pain of Haiti through the faces of the people we met. It was more than heartbreaking to leave all of the people there on that island knowing they don’t have anything to eat or drink and we will be going back to the mission with plenty of food, water, and a mattress to sleep on.



Day 2 June 13, 2011



St. Louis Du Nord, Haiti



Day 2 in Haiti and I wake up inside my tent with surprisingly no bug bites. We follow the same basic schedule every day, wake up by 6:00 a.m. and then devotions downstairs at 6:45 a.m. Devotions are really cool we usually sing a couple of songs and then someone reads and explains a Haitian proverb and possibly a couple of bible verses. Breakfast is at 7:00 a.m. and then worship upstairs in the chapel on the roof is at 8:00 a.m. After worship we will start our daily activities. There are lots of things to do in the mission such as visiting the old folks home, holding and playing with a baby from the orphanage, playing with children in the special needs center, playing with the children in the nutritional center, and much much more. Today TCTC had hut to hut in St. Louis Du Nord so that meant that we walked around and visited people’s houses that live in the city surrounding the mission.



A Child We Met During Hut to Hut



We visited lots of people and had a lot of really good discussions with the Haitians. Since they all live very close to the mission they know that we are all Christians and that we want to talk with them and pray with them, and they are very open and friendly. One family even got out of their chairs and told us to sit in them while we talked and prayed with them. Most of the small huts has 10-15 people living in them. Today we saw that no matter how much disaster there is still in Haiti, the people are still very much alive, and very much willing to accept Jesus. My hut to hut group talked with a man from The Bahamas who somehow ended up in Haiti and now has no way to return home. He spoke very good English so we did not have to use a translator to talk with him. He told us he had read the whole bible, the Jehovah Witness Books, and the Catholic Pamphlets which was very impressive. He told us he was a Christian and he had accepted Jesus but he gets mad at God because he has not answered his prayer to go back home to The Bahamas.



Two children we met during hut to hut, notice the little boy
 in the back is wearing an Atlanta Braves shirt! :)



By the end of the conversation he had asked us many really good questions and he had come to the conclusion that maybe he was stuck in Haiti so that he could be a shining light to his Haitian friends who do not know God. One of the guys in our group talked so long that our translator told him he would sign him up to preach at the church on Sunday. We all got a good laugh at that. The children swarmed us everywhere we went and we got to see a lot of cool homemade toys such as a homemade kite that was made from sticks and a plastic wrap with some string. While none of us Americans could fly it a six year old Haitian made it and could not only fly it but do tricks with it. The children are amazed by our hair and eyes and freckles, even living close to the mission they still shout blanc, blanc, blanc (white, white, white) everywhere we go.



The cutest little girl, she is absolutely adorable.







When we got back to the mission right outside the gates we were swarmed by little boys wanting to make us bracelets. You write your name down and for two dollars they will put your name on a bracelet and give it to you the next day. You feel bad for only giving one person your name, because it may be the only income the family has, but at the same time two American dollars is about 65 gouds (one form of Haitian money)  so you know they will at least have money to buy something for dinner that night.







My three class clowns in English class! :)



After we dropped our book bags off at the mission we went across the street to the church the mission has for English class. English class is three times a week Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and they are separated into two groups Vocabulary and Grammar. At the end of the class they just have conversation with each other to practice. Originally I was put in the Grammar Class, but as a few people showed up late (or as our intern called it Haitian Time) someone asked me to help in the vocabulary class so I did. As I sat down at a desk with three young Haitians little did I know I had been put with the class clowns. They were learning about the days of the week, the months, and seasons but they didn’t want to talk about any of that stuff; they all wanted to talk about me. They asked me where I lived, how old I was, if I was married, if I had a baby, and if I had a boyfriend. They were shocked that I was neither engaged to be married, married, or have a baby. They asked me if I liked to dance, and they wanted me to sing them a Justin Beiber song and when I did I was surprised when they pretty much knew all the words also.



Beautiful picture of Haiti I thought everyone would enjoy!



We had our night session and our group really opened up to one another during prayer time and we all really opened up to God and are ready for him to move through us the rest of the week. Even though it’s only the second day we are all already dreading going home next week, most of us feel like we could stay forever. Haiti is an awesome place full of lots of awesome people, who really just need to be told God’s word, as they often receive it with open hearts. My heart goes out to Haiti a people who have survived so much hurt but have so much love.

VIDEOS!!

This is a video John, a guy from my mission group put together, it's just our group (TCTC) it will give you a good idea of a lot of the stuff we did while in Haiti!

Also if you want to see the RESTORE RETREAT video which is the week review of all the groups, including mine that were at the mission with me click on the link below.

http://vimeo.com/25516891

More to come later on tonight!

Day 1 June 12, 2011



Flying into Miami from Knoxville



Flying into Haiti from Miami



Day 1 was mostly traveling we flew from Knoxville to Miami and then Miami to Haiti, then we had a six hour bus ride (or so we thought we did). When we got off the airplane the airport was overwhelming and chaotic at the least. The people from the mission located and separated our luggage for us. We had to go through immigration which was just a long line with a man stamping our passports (no security scanners, questions, or anything). Then we had to go through customs which was simply turning in the card we filled out while on the airplane. As you walked through “customs” we passed three Haitian airport security officers sitting in chairs with their shotguns, yes shotguns pointed towards people going through customs. This is where we first learned of the shoot first ask questions later policy that is intact in Haiti.



The front of the Mission



Once we were outside the airport was really when all the chaos began because our leaders had left something inside the airport and we were standing outside alone for a couple of minutes. A man dressed as if he was an employee of the airport began pulling on the arm of a girl in my group claiming he was going to take us to the mission bus (as we all had on our Northwest Haiti Christian Mission t-shirts on). We said no put the man was consistent and he began to pull her down the walkway, and just about that time our leaders came out and the man left us alone. We walked through a large walkway and there were lots of people behind the fences calling to us and reaching for us, and most of all everyone was staring. When we wouldn’t give them anything the words turned mean, and we were all pretty sure we wanted to get back on the airplane and fly back to Miami.



The bus ride was rough, we made a 6 hour trip in 4 ½ hours; as our driver thought he had the right away of the road and didn’t drop below 70 the whole ride. There were multiple times when we went airborne from our seats and we could feel the floorboard shaking below our feet. Car pulled into ditches, motorcycles crashed to move out of the way, and people screamed and ran off the road to avoid being hit by our bus. The driver was not from the mission, he was a friend of someone who worked at the mission. Even though the bus ride was rough, we all joked about it, and were kind of glad that we had the chance to have that experience.



Our tents on the roof of the mission!



Once we got to the mission outside the gates  there were lots of children who could only see the tops of our heads through the bus windows and as they opened the gates to let us in the missions the children all began to scream Americans and Blancs (which means white in French and Creole). Once inside the mission we went straight up to the roof which is where we were staying; in tents. None of us knew we were staying in tents, but surprisingly it didn’t seem to bother any of us either. I had never slept in a tent before, and luckily someone put our tent up for us, because neither me nor my tent buddy knew how.



St. Louis Du Nord, Haiti

 We had dinner and then worship and we all took showers and fell right to sleep in our tents on the roof. The first day brought times I wanted to cry, times I wanted to give up, and times that all I wanted was to be back home but through it all at the end of the day I was happy and content and looking forward to everything God was going to show me. My first day in Haiti was AWESOME! The last picture is my favorite picture from the first day, it shows our view from the roof of the mission. Also by the way if you want to see any of the pictures closer up click on them and it will make them bigger. :) More to come later!

I'm Back!

I feel like I am doing this backwards since I am going to tell you about my trip back, but don't worry I will post my journal from each day so you don't miss a single thing! Just remember that as hard as I try my words just don't seem to explain everything that I experienced while I was in Haiti.

It's June 21st about 6:30, the night after we survived a "code red" tropical storm (which I will tell everyone about on the June 20th blog) and it is yet again pouring rain. We all ate dinner and rushed into the chapel on the roof which provided somewhat of a shelter from the rain. The roof of the chapel is make-shift as it is multiple tarps attached together, and the sides are open so some rain is blown in through the sides as there always seems to be a breeze up on the roof. All of us restore retreat teens are finding ways to amuse ourselves since we are stuck in the chapel until the rain stops. We end up having a "talent show" which really was more like a weird human tricks show. At about 8:00 we started our last session of the trip, which was only made more moving and amazing as the thunder rolled in the background, the rain continued to pour down, and lightening struck through the beautiful countryside of St. Louis Du Nord. After the session concluded we said our last goodbyes and everyone loaded into two old school busses about 10:30 p.m.

As we load the bus sitting two to a seat, we packed the busses full. Most of us learned on the way up that the last three seats on both sides are not a good choice so the slow pokes that weren't ready to leave got stuck in the back; I was near the back but not in one of the last three seats. As the last two people board the bus and make their way to the last seat there is a loud scream and everyone turns around and sees a giant spider above the window in the last seat; and when I say a giant spider I am talking about a spider as big as my hand. Boys and girls both were screaming until someone got up enough confidence to kill it. After the spider fiasco we were on our way! As a lot of you probably can assume most of the roads in Haiti are not paved; they are dirt, therefore when there is a lot of rain dirt soon becomes mud. As we begin to travel we quickly realize how much mud there actually is and the bus begins to moan and groan as it tries to wade through it all.

We had to stop at three police checks as it was late in the night and with the poor road conditions there were a lot of police. At the third police check we were told we could not continue as the road was split in half ahead and the detour for the road was flooded. We were also told there was no other way to get where we needed to go from there. The police said they would try to get some work trucks out here to help us, and they left us at the top of a mountain at midnight all alone. We waited for a good 45 minutes and then our driver said he knew another way to get to Port-A-Prince but we would have to go back the way we came and almost start all the way over. We backed all the way down the mountain (which is a one lane road) in the dark, getting very close to the edge multiple times. Once we got to a spot in the road big enough to turn around the bus backed up and when he shifted gears and pushed the gas to go forward the tires just spun in the mud. We were stuck in the mud, and the other bus had not even begun backing down the mountain yet. We waited there stuck in the mud for about an hour and the other bus arrived and pulled us out.

We backtracked all the way to Port-de-Paix (which is about 30 minutes to an hour away from the mission where we departed from at 10:30 p.m.) to try to take an alternate route. We are disappointed to learn that the alternate route is also closed due to flooding and mud. By now it is 5:45 and still being 6 hours away from Port-Au-Prince everyone with an 8:00 A.M. flight is already going to miss their flight. The leaders conclude that to make sure that we make it home today we are going to have to fly from the private airport in Port-de-Paix to the international airport in Port-Au-Prince, and since we are already in Port-de-Paix we only have to pray that they can arrange enough airplanes to fly our rather large group in such short notice. By 7:00 A.M. the mission’s worker who arranges flights for the missions at that airport has worked out an arrangement for three planes to fly us to Port-Au-Prince and has already rescheduled the people who will miss their flights. We finally boarded the plane about 9:15 a.m. and landed in Port-Au-Prince around 10:00 a.m. As only part of our group got to travel together we had to wait in the airport for about an hour and a half for the rest of our group to arrive. We left the smaller private airplane at about 11:30 and headed to Port-Au-Prince.

Once in Port-Au-Prince we had to unload luggage and get our tickets, go through customs, and we had to go through three airport security checks where they hand patted you down each time. We had a quick sandwich and most of us slept until we boarded our plane to Miami at 3:30. Once we landed in Miami we were home free, all we had to worry about was missing each other and staying true to everything we had learned.

No matter how hard times got on the way back I never really heard any complainers in the group. We had all been truly humbled and even as I tell this story, I do not want it to come across as complaining but rather an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and a lesson of how truly lucky we are to have paved roads, air conditioned cars, roadside assistance, and police officers who are always willing to help. I learned so much in Haiti, and stay updated on my blog here to read more about my trip and see pictures!

I am leaving tomorrow!

This is my journal before I leave, I am excited and nervous, but I know God's in control. Thanks to everyone who has supported me, and please continue to pray for me and my group as we travel the next 12 days!