To Cäiman and Back Again

Easy English Club

Back At Home Base

I find myself back in Port-au-Prince tonight after spending a few days with the Mompreimiers at the United Chirstians International site that houses the schools and university. While there I was able to use some of the skills for which I was trained as I worked on their computer lab and university networ (along with some remote help from some of the guys at Westgate Chruch who helped initially set up the network). Too long a story for e blog and likely not of interest if you are not into this sort of thing. But a big thank you for the Momprimers for their hospitality. It is truly a wonder what God has done through them in Cäiman.

And to think that I saw it on the road to Cäiman

On the road to Cäiman I tried to keep my eyes open to the sites of Haiti as it wakes up and prepares for the day. Below are a list of those things in no certain order. 

• Very young children carrying 5 gallon buckets to fetch water
• Some fetch water from public spigots
• Some fetch water from hand pumps
• Some were filling the buckets from a stagnant green pool under the overpass
• Beautiful lake formed by the hydro-electric dam
• People fishing in home made canoes 
• Kids untangling a fishnet bye the lake
• Fish traps in the water
• People walking cows, goats, pigs, and chickens
• People riding donkeys and it's not out of the ordinary
• Crowded market as people sell cows, goats, pigs, and chickens
• Children in uniforms making their was to school
• Long walks
• Some that looked like kindergartens walking alone to school beside a busy highway
• Many children not in uniform, not going to school
• Concrete homes give way to hand cut wood homes as you leave to the more rural areas
• Some wood homes painted in beautiful, bright colors 
• Some wood homes painted with vodou symbols
• University out of place in their rural area, but much needed and full of activity
• UCI is a beckon of light in Cäiman

Bible Story with the Children

I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the children today because I wanted to visit the Easy English Club, but it was a nice time while it lasted. When the chairs were delivered last week along with them was a box of children's bibles in Creole. Wilkins and I borrowed two this morning so I had the children read to me in Creole from the Bible. We read the parable of the prodigal son. I knew the basic story, so that made it easier to follow. 

Easy English Club

The Easy English Club meets at the church and does some worship, some Bible study, and its members help each other learn English. I got involved in this club years ago and am an official member, so it gives me great joy to visit the club why I can. Today's journey to the club and back was particularly joyful as the Pastor finally conceited to let me use the tap-taps to get from the guest house to the church and back, as long as Wilkins was with me. If you are not familiar with what a tap-tap is I urge you to search for them on the Internet and look at some of the pictures.  In short they are an ad-hoc public transportation system that most Haitians use to get around town. They are crowded, confusing, and cheap. But thanks to Wilkins' know how we made it there and back easily. 

Being back at the English club was great fun as the members are very insightful and bring up lots of interesting points.  Tonight the subject of discussion was the parable of the good sumaritan. Wilkins started by reading the parable in English and then posing questions. All discussion is in English so as the group digs into a subject they also practice their English. It really is a great club. 

Tonight a pray of thanks for a safe journey back to Port-au-Prince and for the safe ride on the tap-taps. A prayer of thanks also for the Mompreimiers and for all the wonderful work being done in God's name through them. A prayer of thanks and continued blessings on the Easy English Club as they form a Christian community of caring and learning.