Day 10: June 21, 2011 LAST DAY!

Some of the security guys on the playground :)

Day 10- This is our last day (not traveling) that we have left in Haiti! So sad :'( Today we are going to Bonneau Beach which is about an hour away from the mission. Everyone at the mission is going; it is like a last day beach party. First we visit where they are going to build the new Miriam Center which is a center for children with disabilities whether it’s mental or physical. At this site we visited they already have a playground for the children with disabilities and they have plans drawn up to build the first center (outside the mission) for children with disabilities in Haiti. They also plan to build a church and a school for regular students on the property also. It was funny because the giant security guards and translators were playing on the play ground and one of the founders from the mission told us the reason they are playing on the playground is because before the mission built this playground they had never seen one before.



Kids against hunger packets.

 We split up into groups and loaded kids against hunger packets into our book bags (which feed up to 6 people) and went out to do hut to hut, which is praying with people and inviting them to church (there is a local Christian church in Bonneau). We went to five different houses and took turns praying and handed out all the food we were given. Each hut we visited had between 12-18 people living in it –WOW! Can you imagine sharing a space no bigger than the master bathroom in your house with 18 people? Even after being in Haiti for 10 days the devastation still shocks me and makes me sick with myself over how spoiled we are to live in giant air conditioned houses with our own bedrooms.


Hut to Hut hike (I'm the one with the GA Bag)




Talking with a Hatian family!




TO THE BEACH!



Hanging out in Bonneau




Lunchtime!

 After hut to huts we headed down to the beach where we ate lunch, played American football with Haitian children, and swam. It was a fun relaxing easy way to reach out to the people of Haiti just by simply hanging out with them. I don’t want to leave tomorrow, I could stay forever!



A beautiful child of God at Bonneau Beach!




Amilia a girl in our group is an AWESOME photographer!




Our group on our last day :'( I love every single one of them!



Our last night all together!



Tonight is the night we start our journey back home (at least our American home). To read about our journey home, read the first post I made, as it is detailed there! :) Oh and for those of you who want to see that spider I was talking about that was in our bus on the journey below, someone took a picture of it.



The picture was taken far away and that spider is still HUGE!



Day 9: June 20, 2011

The pearl of the Caribbean



On the way to Anse a Foleur




Haitian contryside = BEAUTIFUL!



Beautiful view of the Caribbean




All of us taking in how beautiful this country
really is!



Day 9- Today was amazing and terrifying at the same time. First on the schedule Tap-Tap ride to Anse a Foleur, where the largest voodoo temple in Haiti is located. Before we visit the temple and hike up to see the statue we are doing a VBS at a church. When we arrive there is a mob of kids shouting and screaming excited we are there. We brought extra security today I guess they knew it would be crazy. We are immediately escorted to the back of the building where there is a beautiful view of the ocean, as the building is right on top of the ocean. We all take in the view as they bring the kids in and get them situated. Me and couple of other people and the translators climb the stairs and go to the upper level where some older kids are doing math.



All the math, all of the kids we helped were pretty smart :)




NAMES!



They have all this stuff written on the board, and it’s crazy because we can all understand it, math is a common language for us. They immediately start writing problems for us to solve and we solve one after another. It was amazing that we didn't speak the same language but we could still communicate through math! After they run out of problems we all write our names on the board, and when I write mine they all want to write my name too. They all ask the translator to ask if I have a boyfriend, if I am married, and if I have kids (that is Haitian men’s favorite question to ask any girl in our group). We do math until it’s time to go.

As we exit the building these Haitian children are hitting and pinching and trying to bite us. We were shocked because in every other place we have been the kids have been so sweet and loving. After security fends them off we all just kind of take a minute to breathe in shock and a little freaked out that these kids were trying to hurt us. We began our hike up to the voodoo monument. It was a short hike but it was real hiking and climbing (which is not always easy in a skirt haha). Once we get to the monument it wreaks of alcohol and candles where people have been doing sacrifices to the voodoo gods.



The Voodoo Monument from the front,
none of us were brave enough to
go around the backside!



Our hike back down from the monument.



An intern tells us the story of the monument. It was built by the catholic church in the 1800’s and it was a giant metal (hollow inside) cross. One day in an awful thunderstorm lightening struck it and left only the base of the cross standing. Supposedly this doll fell from the sky after the cross was severed, and that was the devil claiming that land as his as he defeated God.  They have carved the other side of the cross out (which you cannot see) to give offerings to the devil. Some people give goats, chickens, rice, and beans. Sadly they have before found remains of small children there. The whole place gave us a creepy sick vibe. As we sang a song honoring God Haitians walked around the monument whipping it with whips, which means they are cursing someone who has done them wrong. They are praying to the voodoo God’s that something bad will happen to whoever they are cursing. We hiked back down all a little nervous about going into the temple, as we didn’t know exactly what to expect after seeing all of that.

Once inside the voodoo temple (camera's were of course not allowed) we go upstairs and into the room with the doll. We all cram in the back of the room and observe everything that is going on. There is a porcelain doll wearing a dress five times it’s size in a glass box in the front of the room. People bring in food and flowers to it and then take a candle sit in a plastic chair and pray until they chime a bell that will allow another group to come in. It was all very creepy as everyone prays out loud, and we could not understand what they were saying but probably the most disturbing thing is that on the opposite wall from the voodoo doll is a picture of Jesus. They explain to us that most voodoo worshippers believe in both God/Jesus and Voodoo. They believe God/Jesus are the good spirits and Voodoo is the bad spirits. You pray to God for blessings and to the voodoo gods for a curse.



The "holy water" at the vodoo temple. Even though it still
looks gross it the picture it is much worse in person
and it smells awful!



People stay at the temple for months at a time until their prayers and curses are fulfilled. We walk down some steps and see where the people living there stay and there is chanting and sacrifices being made. Everyone is of course staring and it smells  like burnt chickens and alcohol. There are fires and singing and candles, and we were all pretty freaked out. They take us out back and show us the “holy water” of the voodoo temple. It is murky swamp water. They tell us that it’s about four feet deep and they believe that if they get in the water and bathe in and do not drown then they are in good standing with the voodoo God’s. We all lock hands and pray for everyone inside the voodoo temple, and all the people of Haiti.



Tap Tap Ride Home!



On our way out a man grabs my arm and when I try to pull away he doesn’t let go, so I jerked my arm away. He starts following me and now we are out in the open and the security guys glare at him and moves to the other side of the street a good distance away from me but he is screaming baby baby look at me, American look at me, you no like blacks? Now a security guy from the mission goes over and talks to him, he quieted down for a couple of minutes and then started back up again. Luckily we were leaving and he didn’t follow us. Later that night I noticed I had bruises on my arm to match where his fingers grabbed me, the whole situation was probably more scary than it should have been since we had just came from the voodoo temple where we were all a little freaked out anyways.



Where we got into our accident! OOPS :)

 We ate lunch at a restaurant, which was very good. Then we loaded back up in our Tap-Taps to head back. Unfortunately we got in a wreck with another Tap-Tap and when we stopped the driver got out with a crowbar and started waving it at us. Since we had no protection we all got a little worried and a security officer off our Tap-Tap got out and talked to the man. He sat the crowbar down but they argued for a good five minutes. There are no accident reports or insurance claims so everything is settled individually. I don’t know how they settled it but security got back on the Tap-Tap and we went back to the mission. 

Today we got to see a lot of beautiful parts of Haiti along with a couple of dark and scary parts that need God’s healing hand. I just pray for all the Haitians that believe praying to the evil spirits will give them what they need, because God alone can give them all they need. It’s heartbreaking to see all the people at that temple, especially since there were more people in that temple than there were at church on Sunday morning. Today was a cultural experience I will never forget.





Day 8: June 19, 2011

Me and Kristen are so photogenic! (This was after church)

Day 8- Today is Sunday! We only have two days left, our group has mixed feelings about half of us are ready to go home and the other half (including me) wishes we could stay longer! We get to sleep in somewhat this morning as we don’t have devotions. We ate breakfast and then got ready for church. I paid to have my clothes washed along with some other girls in our group and we are learning what lye soap is and how it smells (not to good haha). Anyways with our lye soap dresses we all are sitting at the tables downstairs. Some of the people in our group have babies from the orphanage. If you have a baby you take it to church with you, and they have all the little girls dressed up in fancy dresses SOOO CUTE! I didn’t have one, but there were plenty of babies in our group to go around (especially since the boys didn’t really know what to do when the baby started crying).



This was painted on a building- Hey it's even in Anglais (English)



Church was amazing, as different as it was I loved it. It was a three hour service and two of the hours were singing (all in Creole). While we didn’t know what they were saying we could still worship with them in a way I still cannot really explain in words. The speaker was someone at the mission so he spoke English and they had a translator translating to the Haitians. The sermon was on hope, and faith in God that he would restore Haiti. Looking around in the church during the service you could see God through those people, you can see his love on their faces, and he gives them hope.



The two soccer teams huddled.



After church was lunch and then a soccer game! I had never been to a professional soccer game before, so I didn’t know what to expect, not that the people who had been to professional soccer games saw what they expected to either. It was $3.00 (in American currency) or 100 Gouds (Haitian money) to get it. That is a lot of money to Haitians so we were not expecting many Haitians to be there. Once we were inside the soccer complex (which is owned by the mission) we were escorted into the brick surrounding around the whole complex then into a chain link fence, which surrounded the soccer field itself. We were sitting inside the fence where they were playing soccer.



All the people behind the chain link fence paid to get in,
everyone else is watching from a rooftop outside
the soccer complex!




There were more people watching the game from outside
the complex than there were inside!




Lots and lots of arguing during the game!



The wall on the far side had seats built into it and that’s where we sat. We could see people on top of houses and building watching the game from outside the complex, matter of fact there were more people outside than there were inside. Beside us, the only Haitians inside the fence were dressed really nicely (so we were pretty sure they were professional criminals). Our theory was confirmed when one of the guys wanted to talk to a leader from the mission that was there. He pulled him aside and told him, I’m a drug dealer, I’ve been to jail three times. What all they talked about I don’t know, but I was just happy we brought LOTS of security with us from the mission.



SECURITY



After the game started the real security came in, UN Troops, Riot Police, and even some U.S. Soldiers. They policed the field and were making sure no one disrupted the peace. One of the officers told us that if Haiti was to lose they would have to escort the referees out of the stadium and to a safe place or they would be killed in the street. This made us all a little nervous and the security from the mission decided it would be best if we left the game a little early.



Riot Shield! :O



Mohawk Goalie!



There was a goalie on the other team, he had a Mohawk. We all talked about how cool it looked and one of the translators told us here if you wear your hair like that you might as well wear a dress; and that he looked like a girl. We all got a good laugh out of that but most of his criticism was probably from the fact he was the goalie for the other team. We headed out a few minutes before the game was to be over, but we weren’t fast enough and right as we got to the door the final whistle blew and it was mass chaos. We all held on to the back of each other’s book bags and the mission’s security shoved us down a shortcut they knew through an alley. We got back to the mission and had dinner and we were wiped, from another great day in St. Louis Du Nord.



Another great day in Haiti!



Day 7: June 18, 2011

Before our hike up!

Day 7- Today we are hiking! It really was less of a hike and more of a walk especially since they drove us half way to give us more time. There were kids outside the mission waiting to go with us, but since we were in the bus we would get there way before them (so we thought…). When we crossed the river to where the hike begins the children were waiting for us, the combination of them running and the shortcuts they knew allowed them to get there before us. They latched on to us and we hiked up to the waterfall. When we got there we had to cross another river which was a little difficult as the water flow was stronger and the rocks more slippery, but the Haitian children were more than willing to help us get across. Once to the waterfall some of the boys in our group got brave and climbed some of the rocks, but most of us stayed low to the ground, taking in the beauty of God’s creation and playing with the children.



The small but still beautiful waterfall!




The group on the lower rock - I'm in the tie dye



After we finished at the waterfall we crossed back over the second river and there was an opening to swim. We swam, played with the children, and some of the older boys even sang songs for us (they were all American songs and they always had the beat right just not always the words haha). Then we skipped rocks and sat on the rocky riverside playing and taking pictures with the kids. Our bus was not where it had dropped us off so we started walking back (it wasn’t super far from the market to the mission) and we walked through the market and got Icee Pops (or that’s what I imagine it would be called in America) and it was good to have something cold to cool us off in the hot sun. When the bus picked us up and we made it back to the mission we had lunch and then went to the jailhouse (which is something our intern suggested we should do).



These little girls were adorable, they said my name
as KRIS-TAAAH




They were finding us rocks!




She followed me the whole trip - so sweet!




Watching the boys sing Rhianna :)




This little girl was wearing a flannel spongebob shirt in
90 degree weather, and I thought I was hot in my skirt.



View from the jailhouse.



There was a beautiful view from the jailhouse, but we were shocked to find out that if your family or friends don’t bring you food and water while you’re in jail you don’t get any. We brought some dried chicken and dried plantains and water to the three men in the jail that day and since our group was kind of big we split up and talked with them. They thought we were celebrities. They wanted us to sing and dance for them. They specifically pointed out a girl in our group to sing for them and she sang Billy Jean by Michael Jackson (he was one of their requests). Then they pointed at me and wanted me to dance. The translator said that they thought we were celebrities and that we knew how to sing and dance, but the whole group danced and they seemed to be amused. We prayed with them as they all said they had a relationship with God, and then we headed back to the mission.



A policecar at the station



Today I am thankful that I got to have this experience I am learning so many things, and even though things get tough at times; I love it. I feel like I could stay here forever when I say that some people in my group say well what about air conditioning, what about cars, what about your cell phone? Those things just don’t seem important here, I don’t really miss them because I realize I don’t need them.

Part of the market we walked through.



The part of the river we swam in :)



Day 6: June 17, 2011



VBS



Day 6- Still in Beauchamp we have one more day of VBS. It’s not raining this morning and we are praying it will not rain on our three hour trip home in a Tap-Tap. We had to get two smaller Tap-Taps for the ride home because the big one could not make it through all the mud on the roads from all the rain. Paulette has asked the leaders at Beauchamp to take us to see the town’s voodoo temple as we have not seen one the whole trip; some of us witnessed a ritual in the market place with a chicken. The leaders here refused to take us to the voodoo temple; you could practically see the fear on their faces with even the mention of the word. Luckily our translators and security guys that came with us from St. Louis Du Nord are not scared of the voodoo temples and know where they are. We had to walk through the market (which was open and hectic today) and we saw a lot of chickens and clothes being sold. There is not really much of a system to their market, everyone is just set up wherever they please and is allowed to sell pretty much anything they want. We get to where the voodoo temple is and we are told not to stare but we walk by and then they tell us to walk back. Well by then like anywhere else there is a crowd of people gathering around us (if your white they want to be around you), and the people inside the temple are also staring at us. We all were shocked and grossed out a little when we realized they had body parts including skulls hanging from strings inside the gates. We started our journey back and I asked Paulette if she thought the skulls we saw were real and she said she had no doubt they were, the only question is was the person killed in a ritual or were they dead already when the voodoo worshipers decided to use their head as a decoration.

Having fun in Beauchamp

We headed back to the mission and set up for VBS. Today there were not as many kids, but that’s expected on market day; many kids go to the market with their friends or simply have to go to help their parents carry things or set up. We had fun and afterwards we blew bubbles, painted fingernails, and sang. Alex a boy in our group said he wanted to try to paint fingernails so we gave him some polish and we all sat down with the children and painted nails. Well it turned out Alex was actually pretty good at painting fingernails and we all joked with him. The translator however really got him; he told the little girl Alex would paint her toenails too. Now this little girl did not have shoes on and walked who knows how far in the dirt so it took Alex a minute to get over the American way of thinking and how dirty her feet were.  



Alex painting fingernails



Then the translator comes back with a bottle of glitter polish and tells the little girl Alex will put glitter on her nails. Now Alex being a typical American teenage boy does not understand the difference between glitter and the fingernail polish he already put on. After all the girls in our group explain to him it’s normal to put glitter on top of fingernail polish he agrees to put it on. We all got a good laugh out of it and now Alex knows he can paint fingernails. After VBS we loaded up on the Tap-Taps and headed back to the mission. The ride was a little scary and at one point we had to get off and let the truck get through a scary spot in case it was to flip or crash. Everything turned out okay and we made it back to the mission safely, resting after a long three days at Beauchamp. The girl in our group that was sick saw a doctor at the mission and they gave her 3 IV’s from being dehydrated, but she was overall feeling much better. Another great day at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission.



Resting before dinner after a long journey home!