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June 16
Today in two words: Guay Radical. After rising at two thirty, bathing, and arriving at the MIA (Miami International Airport), the group of motley missionaries had time to mingle and connect with each other. We began speaking of some game show in which a person was asked to recall a country beginning with the letter "U". These came up: Ukraine, the United States, and Uruguay. Numerous banterings of "You're a guay" and "Pair of guay", we conclusively decided to make the word, "guay", the equivalent of the American, "cool". Ansley also brought up the word, "radical", and "guay-rad" was born.
The plane ride to Port au Prince was smooth and breezy. We arrived ahead of schedule, and passed through customs without major trouble, we piled the baggage on top of a painted school bus and entered into a nine-and-a-half hour trip. The ride was amazing. It would be difficult to describe the journey, but it was a lot like a wooden roller coaster combined with the knight bus from harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban and the boat in willy wonka and the chocolate factory. we laughed really hard and enjoyed ourselves even as our seats fell off their hinges and our backs gave to aching and our lives being in literal danger. (we have a video to prove it)
Haiti is a third world country. Behind the thin bus walls we remained optimistic but outside our small haven the other worldliness of this country stared us in the eyes. Naked children dotting the street side, women carrying objects from water to tables on their heads, and signs with statements and stupifying as "please don't kidnap people." were a brutal introduction to the washed out, unpaved roads, the blue helmets of the UN guards, and the acceptable behavior of climbing on top of buses and cars to ride for hours and break neck speeds. The extent of teh country we witnessed today revealed the flags of voodo priests, massive, and i mean HUGE, landfills. People riding on donkeys, women washing clothes in streams, and a variety of american t-shirts from north carolinian camp memorobilia to hillary clinton campaign t shirts. I cannot get over the mass of people that remained for appeared to remain idle as we drove by taking pictures of them as if on safari and they are a strange breed of animal. It is surreal that the holy spirit of god rests in these people and we are to mutually appeal to each other as brothers in christ if they believe as well. The rawness and humanity of the haitians is wiping away any contemplations of this being a pleasure trip. we are here to heal hearts, souls, bodies, and minds. Eventhough all aroiund there are the dead bodies of goats and amaciated people. even thought we walk throiugh the vally of the shadow of death we will fear no evil for our God is always with those that claim him.
Team morale was generally high today with Melinda meeting up with her son, Grant, a new permanent missionary to haiti, bill and karen reminding us of family and the peace and family created by loving, gentle dialog.
We arrived to the misssion around 7pm, unpacked, ate our dinner of mashed potatoes and beef and vegetable soup and met as a team. We ahve prayed that no matter how many new borns we bury this week, how many starving children we must refuse food, and how many times we are determined to give up on these difficult circumstances, that the overall message that Christ is worth it over powers us. I can tell already that this trip will be exhausting and taxing but it will all be worth it! Keep praying!!
June 17, 2009
We arose this morning between the hours of 4 when the sun rises and our official wakeup time, 630. The chanting witch doctors, the cockadoodling roosters, and misssion noises serenated us as we began the day with showers, breakfast and devotionsals.
after breakfast it was our day to wash the dishes so we rinsed until interrupted to go on a tour of the mission. We visited the baby orphanage, the birthing center, the Gran Moun ("the old people"), and Miriam Center for mentally ill children. After the tour, some of us went back to the orphanage to play with the children. Sarah pushed the children on the swing-set while others rocked babies, played peek-a-boo, and made beats on the floor. There are so few, if any, toys it makes the nurseries in the states appear to be heaven. The gran moun all had their fingernails painted, female AND male, and one did a hand shake and kiss for each of us. They were exceedingly sweet. Ansley and Bill walked a child from Miriam's Center around as well!
We ate lunch then divided into the male and female team group talks. We each feel prepared for our talks but the nerves that occur due to speaking to TOTAL strangers are present. Our group has merged with two other groups: a group from a growing church in Virginia and a young couple, Mike and Miriam, from Toronto. THey will remain with us for the rest of the trip making our total 25 persons.
After our meetings the group went to various locations on the mission until 4. At 4, Melinda, Brandy, Karen, Carolyn, Jenny, and Christina, and some Virginians, went to the birthing center. No baby was born while they were there, but one had been born earlier today. The rest of the team went on a walking tour of St. Louis du Nord, giving food to prisoners and the crippled. Allison Murray said the following: "There are no words to describe the degree of poverty we are surrounded by. I took a picture that had 2 emaciated stray cats, a malnurished naked baby, an older boy pushing a younger boy in a stroller, and women everywhere sitting in lawn chairs that looked hopeless, uncaring, and exhausted. Our dirtiest allies are nicer than everyone's homes." The experience was eye-opening to what Haiti is really like, and why it's the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The sad thing is, the majority of the world lives like this and we had no idea. Well, we did "know," but we didn't Know.
We got to lead worship and devos tonight for the Mission. Ansley and Chip led worship and Melissa gave a short devotion. It was cool. We're taking a 6 day trip away from the mission to the Bay and Beauchamp, so we may not be in contact for a while. But I will be journaling and send you an email when I can! We also can't send pictures because of limited internet space. We'll put them up when we get back!
Thanks,
Chip, Ansley, and Allison :]
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10
6/18/09
It rained yesterday night, and many of us got a little wet. After waking up in dispersed places, we ate breakfast and got ready for our truck ride to La Bay. CB and Jeff remained at the NWHCM to wire the new birthing center. This truck ride was crazy. Imagine the following: seventeen people in the bed of a truck with backpacks going down an unpaved, rocky road filled with pot holes and mud, mattresses piled on top of the cab that keep falling off leading to many imminent halts in our journey, Haitians staring unmercifully and shouting "blanc! blanc!", crossing a rushing river, having someone get severely, deliriously ill, breaking down in the middle of Haitian slums twice, and our lives being in danger for the more than second time in the trip..
We arrived in La Bay exhausted, but excited to see Danielle and Curtis, the missionaries whose roof we are sleeping on. Curtis took us on a tour of La Bay and we passed out bracelets for the Teen Sessions that we began this afternoon, while the girls stayed home and chatted with Danielle. The town is quite barren but peaceful. It is more villagey than townish, but we are greatly enjoying ourselves. There are a ton of children, many of which are lacking proper clothing and are dusty, but unbelievable adorable. Later, we began a soccer game which was amazing. We connected with the kids so well. The children really enjoy the handslap game. That is providing an opportunity for us to warm up to them. The Teen Sessions were very successful. Each group listened, and we are fairly certain we connected to a few of the young Haitians.
We returned to the roof, set up tents, ate dinner, and listened to Maya's devo for the night. It has been a great day. We are filthy, grimy, covered in deet, and overwhelmed by the abject poverty that Haiti keeps revealing. Keep praying. We miss you all.
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10
June 19, 2009
Last night after we went to bed, the Haitians held a massive bonfire party up on the cliff. It lasted for hours. The stars are brilliant because you can see all of them so clearly! It's almost as if God put them there just for our enjoyment. Thanks, God. Ha.
All in all today was long, but remarkably productive. There were 7 total different sessions today: 3 girls sessions, 3 guys sessions, and a medical clinic in which new mothers learned the importance of hand washing and were given vitamins for themselves and their children. Just being able to provide even a month's worth of essential minerals to these people who so desperately need it is an incredible blessing and is truly humbling. How much we have in America is becoming very apparent. These are teens, mothers, and children that we are helping, not just Haitians. They are real people.
The girls sessions were a little awkward and the girls were very difficult to connect with. We talked about sexual purity, forgiveness, and gossip; and while these are all like super good things to discuss with ANY teenager, here the cultural differences are so big that it's hard to figure out how to approach it. But we just went at it and learned what kind of things we need to change for the next sessions we do in Beauchamp. The boys' sessions were also different than planned. There were about 25 boys at each session, but 8 to 10 of them were consistent. Mike, the Canadian who joined us, was extremely gifted at connecting to the Haitians despite the language barrier.. He was very animated and fun; his love for God is truly inspiring.
The best part of the day was the conversation a bunch of us had as we ate dinner on the roof. The stars were shining, and the night air just made it so worth our hard work all day. Sarah and Carolyn each shared their testimonies and we just talked about how bad we were as kids growing up, funny stories involving substitute teachers, and the "firsts" on this trip.
It was a really cool bonding moment for our team.
It's really late, so we're going to sleep. Keep praying! Team morale is pretty good but traveling in the truck tomorrow will be difficult, so keep us in your thoughts. Good night!!
-Chip, Allison and Ansley
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10
June 22
We arrived in Beauchamp two days ago to Mike and Teresa's house. The ride was much longer than anticipated: we fit 32 people in the back of a pick-up truck and drove for 3 hours to the NWHCM orphanage. We only stayed for about 10 minutes with the children, but they were the happiest and most engaging children we've seen so far. The group had to retire swiftly to Mike and Teresa's because the rain was coming, and if the rain had come we would have been trapped at the orphange for the night. On our way back to Beauchamp from the orphanage, our truck broke down and the oil had to be changed, so we chilled for about half an hour or so, thinking we'd have to walk the final miles to the house. Right when we were almost on our way to walk, the truck began working again and we were on our way. After arriving we set up our tents and mattresses on the roof and then ate and went to sleep. By this point, we were exhausted from the travel and trained from the past days' outreach. We had not taken enough time to rejuvenate our spirit in Christ, and though we were still getting along well, we had much less energy than the other days.
Yesterday was Sunday, today was Monday, and some of us experienced our first Haitian church service. Mike from Canada spoke for the first service and spoke about how Jesus prepared his disciples for his crucifixion. Mike truly has a servant's heart! His lesson was translated into Creole, and most of the rest of the service was either translated or done completely in Creole. It was awesome to worship the same God with 2 different nations of people in the same room.
Pastor Mike, whose home we're staying at, preached on the topic of Fathers, sine it was Fathers Day (BIG shout out to our dads back home! We talked about you and thought about you today. Happy Father's Day!). After taking communion and praying, our group left the church and ended up splitting into two groups. One group worked on the cistern and the other group rested and restored their strength. A few of our team members are getting ill with headaches, nausea, and other maladies, but we are persevering! It did rain yesterday and almost EVERYTHING on the roof was soaking wet. Thankfully the sun finally came out and dried it up a little. Yesterday was a much needed mental rest day for many of us.
OH-- some of us, who will not be named yet haha, who have gone without bathing since the first night in Haiti, showered for the first time... a relief to everyone, I'm sure!! Everyone's gross... we have no clean clothes, things are wet, and we look like we just fell off the "Ugly Tree" and hit every branch on the way down. THis trip has been more challenging mentally, physically, and emotionally than we'd ever imagined. Half of me wants to stop and sit, letting others do everything because I'm so tired, but the other half wants to jump up and feed blind men, talk with other churches, and clean up the campuses. It's taxing at first to begin an act of kindness, but soon the act is over and the world is a better place. It's humbling. "What is your life?" was our motto for the trip; it's from James 4:14. Our lives are quickly over, but the more we do and the more like Christ we are, the l=more meaningful our lives become, and the more we have done for His Kingdom.
Here in Haiti we are fighting for God and His truth; we are fatigued, but it is all worth it. We have faith. Christ has already claimed the victory and we are just His servants. It's gonna be near impossible to describe this trip to our families and friends when we get back because you have to experience this to understand and envision what we've seen. A question like, "How'd it go?" or "what was the best part?" just doesn't cut it because what's happening is too crazy to comprehend if you haven't seen it for yourself.
Today we woke up and some went to finish the cistern while some of us helped make breakfast. After breakfast we split up into the Girls' and Guys' sessions for the teens and did our first sessions in Beauchamp at 10 and 1:00. The sessions here in Beauchamp were MUCH better than those at Le Baie because there is a high-school here and the kids are much more responsive and eager to learn. We also held our second, and last, clinic where we had about 80 women and their children come to be examined and given a month's worth of vitamins and medicine. There was a 12 year old little girl who came and was, we learned, in charge of caring for her 5 other smaller siblings and cousins because their parents were away for a while. They were all malnourished. There were children with worms, whooping coughs, and just plain ill. It was easily one of the most productive parts of the trip.
Today, Monday, was great. Tiring and rainy, but joyful and fulfilling. Keep praying for us and the teen sessions. "Tout bagay deja byen", or "everything is already alright" in Creole. Goodnight!
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10
June 23- Tuesday
Today was Melinda's birthday, and we celebrated from the crack of dawn! We made her a birthday cake at lunch and after night-time devos, we had a small celebration where we made her Prom Queen since she never went to senior prom. It was SO much fun; we gave her a card and Grant and Karen gave her some presents.
The sessions today were amazing-- the kids asked so many questions. The girls talked about Sexual Purity and had question after question asked. It was definitely a blessing to be able to relate to them and share God's truth with them. The boys' Sexual purity talk was equally productive; Chip, Grant, and Tony "the guitar player from Illinois who we really like" each gave different perspectives on sexual purity. The forgiveness talk also went well for the guys; the girls talked about gossip the second time and it was more like a singing concert because the Haitian girls sang many songs to the Americans and vice versa. They love to sing!
After the second sessions, our group got on the bus (YAY bus, no tap-tap!), and came back to the Compound in St. Louis du Nord. Everything is well, and tomorrow, half of us are going to Tortuga and the other half is going on a hike to the waterfall. Today was another great day, but we miss you all a whole lot; but our work here is not done yet.
By the way-- we get in at 10:30 or so Friday night, so better take a nap to come and get us!
All for now. Goodnight!
Chip and Ansley!
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