Haiti 2014 Postlude and Raising Funds for 2015

It has been almost a year since I last visited Haiti. What follows is some thoughts I wrote about last years trip as I traveled home. But, before I get to that I have a request.

I am planning to travel to Haiti in March on a mission trip and in order to do that I need to raise funds to support that mission trip. I am planning to be in Port-au-Prince for two weeks, the first week working construction and the second week working at medical clinics. The cost of this trip will be roughly about $3000, which covers travel, room, board; as well as monies to help purchase supplies, hire local translators, and provide transportation in country.

I would greatly appreciate it if you might consider helping support my continued work in Haiti with any amount you feel comfortable or through prayer if you are not able to support me financially. And I don't mean that second part lightly. Traveling to Haiti can still be tough emotionally on me, even in my 5th year. Smells, sounds, sights bring back a flood of memories from the previous years that are sometimes tough to relive. Prayer support, regardless of financial support is critical.

If you are able to help support my trip you can either send contributions directly to me (contact me and I will get you my address) or to the church with which I travel. Contributions are tax deductible. The address of the church is:

Union Church
C/O Jonathan Wright-Gray
P.O. Box 7028
Ocean Park, Maine 04063
(Please put "Haiti" and my name in the memo of the check.)

Thank you.
David

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Postlude Haiti 2014

Written April 2014 on the way home from Haiti

Two and 1/2 weeks is a long time to be away from the family I love. It burdens my wife and my children. I can't thank them enough for allowing me this time every year to do mission work in Haiti.

I missed moments I can't get back. William coming in third in varsity long jump as a freshman. Christine's artwork for class and her humor. Chatting with Emily on Skype with the family while she continues classes in Virginia. Being there to help and support Aimee when she had a fender bender in the parking lot.

When I look back at this trip to Haiti, it is different than past trips. I learned many new things, but it feels that with each new fact I found a disappointment. For example, by visiting "Be Like Brit" orphanage (http://belikebrit.org/) I learned that orphanages in Haiti are meant to, by law, keep the children in touch with the community from which they came. Be like Brit does this through monthly visits back to the child's home village. As far as I can tell the other orphanages do not, at least none that I have visited. Community and family is important in the Haitian culture and this means that most of the orphans are being deprived of this; of knowing Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and in some cases parents and siblings. This is more troublesome when you think that it might be these connections that could help sustain them (physically and emotionally) when they are forced to leave the orphanage because of their age.

This pattern kept repeating itself for me on this trip and it saddens my heart and is discouraging.

Another discouragement this year seemed to be the continued lack of caring for one another. Directly after the earthquake this could be more easily explained as people were in survival mode, but it is now 4 years on and at a macro level this still exists. "It is important that I get ahead, even if I have to push others down". I saw this in the clinics as people would try to get ahead of each other even if it meant the other person might not get care. Most of the cases seen were not life or death. Most were skin rashes, colds, and common pains; solved by simple creams, vitamins, and tylenol.  But people wanted these even if it meant someone with more need had to go without.

To be fair, this wasn't universal. I also saw great signs of love and care. I saw the translators we work with share their lunches with people waiting in line for clinics and even saving some of it to take home to their family. I saw people greeting each other; young helping the elderly. But it is still shocking how many are still in survival mode.

I learned that in voodoo to get power you must take it from someone else. I can't help wondering how this evil has shaped Haitian culture as it is so ingrained in some areas.

I don't mean to paint with such a broad brush. In retrospect it was likely a very small percent or even just a few individuals. But they stick in my mind and heart and sadden me.

I continue to pray through these thoughts. It is something I must work through. I pray that it does not harden me. I pray that it does not alter my relationship with Haiti. Amen.

Early Morning, A Flat Tire, and Mountains Beyond Mountains

Catch Up

It has been a while since I have updated this blog. I still have a few entries left from last years trip (including the one below) that I will transcribe over the next couple of weeks. As many of you know I have been making an annual trip to Haiti for the last 5 to 6 years. What many of you may not be aware of is that while I am not in Haiti I continue to communicate with my Haitian brothers and sisters.

Additionally, thanks to some generous donors, it has been possible to provide some support to the Easy English Club as well as help out an individual. For the Easy English Club, it was possible to provide them with a tablet. This tablet was made in Haiti so it helped support a Haitian owned business and the idea was to enable the club to rent it out to club members in the hopes that it would generate some level or revenue (however small) for the club.

As I begin to prepare for my next trip in Haiti in April / March of next year I will soon be sending out requests for financial support for the trip. If you are able, please support this trip, in any amount, so that I am able to continue to provide what little aid I am able with our Haitian family and let them now they are not forgotten.

Early Morning, a Flat Time, and Mountains Beyond Mountains

(transcribed from an entry written April 8th 2014)

My flight out of Port-au-Prince was at 9AM. This meant that the plan was to leave the United Christian International (UCI) site at 3:30AM as it a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive to the airport in Port-au-Prince. It is better to have extra time than not. So it was early to bed, which meant I was unable to say a proper goodbye to everyone. I was, however, gifted with a mission trip t-shirt from the Canadian group complete will a maple leaf. I will wear it proudly.

Sleep was not easy. I often get anxious before travel and the coming day meant travel on roads in the dark that are barely passable, in places, in the light of day. I was originally meant to be driven by Alfred, but was informed that plans had changed as Alfred had to drive his sister to the hospital and she was not doing well. Please pray for Alfred's sister, Alfred, and their family.

I had set my alarm for 3AM, packed everything in one bag, and then was off to sleep. By 2:45AM I figured it wasn't worth the charade any more, so I quietly got dressed and headed out to the common room to wait. I figured that getting ready would chew up enough time that it would soon be time to go ... nope, only took 10 minutes ... drat.

The common room quite dark and my flashlight had gone missing the previous week so all I had was my iPhone in flashlight mode and anyone with an iPhone understands how quickly that chews up battery. As I had a long day ahead and was concerned about battery I sat quietly in the dark listening to the night.

30 minutes can seem like a long time sitting in the early morning dark when you are prepared and ready to travel. It was also hot in the common room, so I wondered outside to where it was cooler, but still quite dark.

Turns out that a very dark outside Haiti, in an unfamiliar place can be a little scary. Where those dogs I saw running between the trees or something else? They really looked like bobcats? Does Haiti have bobcats? Someone said Haiti has only non-poisonous snakes. Was that a mango falling? Stop! Wow, the starts are really quite amazing. Drat, it is only 3:05. Back into the common room and the protection of the screen door. (This outside then inside process was repeated several times).

3:30, no sign of anyone.

4:00, still nothing, starting to get that anxious traveller feeling. Trying to remember that it is "island time", God is in control, and it will all work out. Quick prayer. Calm.

Somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30 Jean Jean came out and let me know that Alfred was just about here and there is plenty of time. Alfred? I hope his sister is OK. Felt a little bit guilty for taking him away from his family. Quick prayer. Calm.

A quick goodbye to Jean Jean and Kristie (hope they went back to sleep) and we were off. To be honest, I felt better with Alfred because I had been told that he is the beast and on a dark, sketchy road you want the best.

The drive, while bumpy, went fine and true enough Alfred seemed to know the location of every pot hole, mud hole, rock and how to avoid them. Way to go Alfred!

I was surprised how many people, animals, and spools of cable (NatCom) were on the road at this hour. The people stayed on the side of the road, the goats and dogs moved out of the way. The spools of cable pretty much stayed put in the middle of the road, but Alfred expertly maneuvered around them.

We cleared the river (yes we had to drive through a river) and miles of dirt road in record time and were finally on the paved portion of the road. Nothing could stop us now and I would surely make the flight with ease.

Pop! Psst!

A shared look, an uh-oh, and we pulled to the side. I quickly asked "Got a space?" Alfred indicated he did and we hopped out to change the blown tire. About 30 minutes into the 3.5 hour drive and now we had to go the rest of the way with no spare.

Got it God. Depend on you. You have control. Quick prayer, an inside laugh, "got to love Haiti", and calm.

The rest of the trip to the airport when without incident although my iPhone battery was now about 50% as I used it as a flashlight as we, well as Alfred, changed the tire.

Alfred pulled into the airport a quick "non, mercy" to the guy who wanted to carry my one bag 10 feet for a tip. A quick "mercy" and "au revoir" to Alfred and I was off.

Through ticketing, immigration, first security check point, upstairs, second security check point, sit. Still almost an hour before boarding ... drat ... coffee.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

There was a book titled "Mountains Beyond Mountains" written about Paul Farmer and his work through Partners in Health. The phrase "mountains beyond mountains" is from, as I recall, an old Haitian saying and refers to the fact that there will always be more problems, so solve today's problems and don't be too frustrated when tomorrow's problems appear (sound familiar).

This phrase kept coming to my mind as we drove from Caimen to Port-au-Prince. First because physically there always seemed to be more mountains to cross before we could get to Port-au-Prince. Second, because I kept creating and becoming burdened by problems that really didn't exist if I would just rely on God and give God space to do what he does instead of keep thinking that I was in control. This is a persistent problem of mine and its root is pride.

God, thank you for Alfred, his skill, his humor, and his easy going style. Please watch over his family and especially his sister. Thank you for my time in Caimen, for Jean Jean, Kristie, Tona, and Kari. Thank you for the groups from Iowa and Canada. Please bless them all. Bless Kari as her birthday is Wednesday. May it be joyful and may it be in community. Thank you for safe travel and for bringing me back to my family. Forgive my pride. Amen.

University and Community Life In Caïman

The university at the United Christians International (UCI) site is quite beautiful and is a microcosm of university life any where in the world. A testament to how God is using JeanJean's and Kristie's ministry in Caïman, Haiti. The students attend classes, gather in groups to chat or study, eat, play, and relax. There are strict rules about male / female interactions. They are meant to stay separated unless they are in class or in a common area. This is to help the students comply with a no dating policy, that is based on Haitian culture and custom as well as helps students focus on studies which can often cost families a large percent of their income.

While walking the campus I had the opportunity to meet and talk with several students including "Middleson Peter". I am not sure that is how his name is actually spelled and I resisted asking him if he was actually the middle child. Middleson is studying agriculture and hopes to return to his home village of Heche when his education is complete so that he can start a farm on his family's land, teach his brothers what he has learned, and, of course, "be the boss".

I also met JeanJean's nephew, Fredenson, who is studying to become a pastor, as well as other students that were studying economics, biology, and chemistry. As I said, pretty much like any campus anywhere.

Once thing that struct me about JeanJean's and Kristie's ministry at UCI is the sense of community. There are no boundaries between them and everything that happens at UCI and in the surrounding village. It is not a "day job"; they are simply intertwined with and part of the community in Caïman.

Let me try to put that in context to ministry and mission in Port-au-Prince as well as short term missions trips. There are several medium and long term missionaries in Port-au-Prince that I have met. Some live in the hills above Port-au-Prince about 30 to 45 minutes by car from their primary mission site. They drive to the mission site in the morning, serve, and then drive home in the evening. This is by no means meant to imply they love those they serve less or their work is any less important or valuable. But, I do think that it means that they are not as tightly bound to the community in which they serve as they do not suffer along with those they serve when there are dangers in the night, food shortages, etc. I think this is an important distinction and I think this "returning to home" is a trait some medium and long term missionaries share with short term missionaries. They come to those they serve and then return to their place of safety. In contrast, JeanJean, Kristie, and their daughters (Tana and Kerri) are simply part of the community.

I take back my previous statement. To be brutally honest as I sit here and think about it, I do think JeanJean, Kristie, Tana, and Kerri are serving how God intended, "to become one with those you serve". To truly honor and understand the day to day, the night to night, the pain, the suffering, the shortages, the fear, the joys, the frustration, successes, and blessings.

God, thank you for JeanJean, Kristie, Tana, and Kerri. Please continue to guide them, care for them, protect them, and bless them so that they may continue to bless others. May they continue to shine the light of Christ in Caïman and beyond. Thank you and them for welcoming me to their home and returning me safely to mine. Amen.

Iowans, Canadians, and Networks ... Oh My

"Your from Canada? You can sing that Canada song for us then." That was the comment from one of the members of the mission team from Iowa. In response the Canadian team looked dumbfounded all pondering the same question, "the Canada song?". I suggested that perhaps what was meant was "Oh Canada", the Canadian national anthem. From there several comments followed including, "We only sing that at hockey games" and "Only if you sing that American song first".

All aside, there was lots of cross border jousting happening in Caïman; all in good fun. Including my gaff about the national symbol of Canada being the "oak" leaf. Followed by verbal stumbling, "I mean the maple leaf, or whatever". The Canadians didn't let me forget that for the rest of my time in Caïman. Each gave as good as they got and much laughter was had.

There were three groups at United Christians International (UCI) while I was there: a group of six from Iowa (with which I hitched a ride earlier from Port-au-Prince to Caïman), about 10 from Sardis British Columbia, and myself (a team of one).

The group form Iowa were doing Vacation Bible Schools at several locations, distributing food packages, distributing Bibles, and even purchased three goats which will be distributed to families with need (with a commitment that the first offspring be donated back for another family).

The group from Canada were doing construction, getting a well running, participating in youth groups, providing dental care to the university students, and distributing sports equipment and tools.

And there was me. I was still not quite sure why I was there, but welcomed and included by both the team from Iowa and Canada in extraordinary fashion. Both groups showed me the true spirit of Christ in action and prayer; for that I am extremely grateful.

Because I needed to head to bed early on the day I left Haiti, as I had to leave very early the next morning (think dark-thirty), I was not able to properly say goodbye to everyone from the Iowa and Canada teams. For that I apologize. If you are from one of those teams and you are reading this please take this as a grateful goodbye, thanks, and God bless your work and your travel. A special thanks to Zoli and Rod for the conversations and prayers.

Before I left Haiti I did find some practical work. The university at UCI has a computer lab which looked pretty much like it had been moth balled; mostly because, I think, it has no internet access. There are a group of people working to change this, so I was able to provide some on site recognizance.

The lab has about 30 to 40 desktop computers, some with ethernet cards, some with WIFI, an 8 port ethernet switch, a box for a WIFI access point (no actual device), a UPS (still in the box), and 200 AMPs worth of circuit breakers.  Using the UPS I was able to determine the the power to the university was 81 to 97 volts at about 57.4 Hz. You can see the lab in 360 degree here.

The university is meant to be getting a new internet connection from NatCOM. It looks like NatCOM has almost completed the cabling to the university. But, it seems to be terminated in the dirt and no one knows if or where it enters the building or if it is actually connected to any equipment. NatCOM was supposed to complete this installation the week before I arrived at UCI; this roughly translates in Haitian time to maybe some time the following week, or the week after, or the week after that.

I have to admit if felt good to have something practical to do. I don't believe this was the sole purpose God had me at UCI, but it was a small way to contribute.

The Other Side Of The Mountain (The Conversion)

The United Christians International mission in Caïman, Haiti is run by JeanJean and Kristie Mompremier. Kristie is from Iowa and married JeanJean who is from Caïman area. When we arrived in Caïman Kristie informed us that a local woman, who is a witch doctor, was ready to renounce witch craft (voodoo), accept Jesus Christ, and burn her voodoo artifacts.

At about 4pm we loaded the trucks and headed to the woman's village, which was not far away. UCI had started a nutrition center in this village. This is a center and program in which UCI provides meals for the children of the area. The nutrition center was an 8 posted structure with a corrugated metal roof and without walls. It was at this nutrition center that we were meant to meet the woman.

When we arrived we learned that the woman had gone to the market but would return shortly. We sat on the benches of the nutrition center, read some scripture, sang, and generally prepared for what was to come.

There were a couple of local women that JeanJean introduced. They were both x-witch doctors who had come to Jesus. The both gave their testimony, which were similar.

They came to be witch doctors after their husbands died. Their husbands were witch doctors and they sort of "took over" the business when they died. The spoke of the darkness of voodoo and how they had been paid to cast curses including curses that caused death.

They also spoke about the area and how voodoo once controlled the Caïman area. They stated that at one time it was not safe for a child to walk through this area alone as witch doctors would take them to "use" them, or parts of them, in voodoo rituals. They stated that since JeanJean had brought the love of Jesus to the area a light had come to remove the darkness.

Eventually the woman arrived. Her nick name was "Nanu" and her real name was "Amaz". The group circled around the woman with JeanJean and about 3 other local men from UCI directly next to Nanu. The group laid hands on Nanu and JeanJean began to pray over the woman and demand, in the name of Jesus, that the daemons leave.

About 5 minutes into the prayer Nanu let out a loud scream and started to physical fight against JeanJean and the others while the rest of us backed up a little. She tried to get away from JeanJean while shouting "Mwen pa vle!", which translates to "I don't want!". JeanJean continued to hold on to Nanu by the arm as she thrashed around and kicked. JeanJean called for someone to get his Bible and he began to read from Psalms.

After the reading from Psalms JeanJean began to call Nanu. At first she did not seem to respond and continued to fight, but eventually she calmed down and responded to her name. This was the signal to JeanJean that the demons had left her. JeanJean asked that she pray on her knees the confession prayer.

It was at this point that I happened to look at JeanJean's face and noticed that he was dripping in sweat. This caught my eye because during all my time in Haiti I have never really seen a Haitian sweat, let alone see them dripping in sweat; even when they are doing difficult construction work.

To be honest I am not quite sure what to make about what happened. I am naturally a skeptic and the whole situation was quite foreign to my north American context. In my context the spiritual battle between good and evil is relatively abstract compared to this experience.

After we got back to the UCI complex we did a bit of a de-brief. JeanJean said that this experience was typical, while some were more violent. This is when he walked through the experience describing what was taking place at each phase, the Creole, as well as what he was doing and for what signs he was looking.

JeanJean also gave us a bit of a Haitian education. He told how the Haitian revolution started at a voodoo ceremony in the north of Haiti and spread south. He spoke how this helped ingrain voodoo in the Haitian culture and psyche. He spoke how voodoo requires that to gain power it must be taken from someone else. It was quite interesting and allowed me to look at the situations I have seen in Haiti through a different lens.

As I sat pondering this experience back at UCI, I wondered why I felt God had called me to extend my trip to Caïman. I had no agenda at UCI; no plans. Was I sent there to experience this conversion? To see the spiritual battle manifested in the physical world? What should I have been learning? How should I be growing? I sat and listened. I tried to be open to God's voice and his urging.

The Other Side Of The Mountain (The Trip)

University at UCI

I left the Port-au-Prince guest house at about 9:40AM for the airport. Two members of the Hungarian Baptist Convention volunteered to drive me as the normal van and driver were being put to use taking the kids from the orphanage to the beach for the day. A beach day for the kids is something that Jonathan, the 22 year old missionary from Virginia, had wanted to do before he left. The ride was uneventful, but I was grateful for the ride and all the help the Hungarian team have given us this past week.

I was meant to travel to Caïman, an area just outside the town of Pignon; about 3.5 hours by car from the Port-au-Prince airport. I was hitching a ride with a mission team coming in from Iowa. This team was from the home town of Kristie, who married JeanJean and now they both serve the Caïman community. Again, very grateful for the ride.

This was the part of my trip for which I was the least prepared. I had very little money left and was traveling to a new location with people whom I had just met. And I was still not sure why God put it in my heart to visit this mission. I was anxious and nervous; but in complete dependence on God.

View on the way to UCI

The ride itself was long, uncomfortable, and without incident. What struck me was the change in Haiti as we climbed north of Port-au-Prince and up into the plateau region. The gray of the city unfolded into a lush green landscape of grasses, palms, trees, lakes, rivers, and life. There was breathtaking views that I had never imagined in Haiti. It was unexpected and caught me off guard. I was staring out the window in confusion and awe ... it was beautiful.

Agricultural Fields at UCI

After the paved road ended and just before the dirt road became un-passable we turned off and into the United Christians International (UCI) campus. At first glance the complex was very impressive and quite large. It houses a church, elementary school, university with male and female dormitories, and a village to house professors. Often professors live too far from the university so they must live separately from their families while they teach.

Elementary School at UCI

Time did not afford us a full tour of the complex, but on the shortened tour we saw the fields used for their agricultural program and the elementary school. What most impressed me about their elementary school is that all the teachers hold elementary education credentials. This is not something universal in Haiti and I would put forth it is actually rare for a school. Often teachers in schools have little to no training, let alone credentials.

The tour was cut short because there was a voodoo witch doctor that had decided to renounce voodoo and accept Jesus Christ. The plan was to pray over here and after she accepted Jesus Christ she was going to burn her voodoo artifacts. That story is for another entry.

Catching Up

I keep meaning to write about many things that have happened, but then life happens and I don't get to it. But if I don't get it done soon then it will just get harder. So hear goes:

• Last Saturday 3 of our group left for home; Brian, Jenna, Maureen. Each of these people had special gifts and they each made the construction week a joy:
• Brian - has the gift of giving pure joy to children and receiving the same joy in return without actually being aware he is doing it.
• Jenna - has the gift of sharing love and hope with children with special needs. 
• Maureen - has the gift of teaching and advancing education for the children
• Also last Saturday 5 new members of our group came to Haiti to participate in our medical mission trips.
• John - a physician with whom I have worked with in the past in Haiti.
• Rob - John's son and a medical person as well
• Sharon - yet another medical person who help education the young women she works with about themselves
• Julie - associate pastor and a wonder with children
• Liz - niece of Jonathan and Shantia and a medical person in her own right
• Last Sunday we visited Be Like Brit. This is the orphanage established by the parents of Britney, who was on a mission trip in Haiti when the earthquake hit in 2010 and was killed in the collapse of the Montana hotel. The Be Like Brit orphanage was quite impressive, both in terms of the physical building, but also in terms of their policies, practices, and goals. Just very impressive all around. Len and Sherylann, Britney's parents, gave us a tour of the orphanage and their love for the children and commitment to Haiti was obvious. Again, just very impressed.

Now I think we are basically caught up. Today was another medical clinic day. The site for the clinic was open which meant we had a nice breeze, but covered so we were in the shade. A rather nice place to hold the clinic if you could put out of your find the fact the huge and heavy heavy roof (picture a 50x50x3 foot concrete block) was being propped up on one side be floor jacks stretched to their limit and balanced on top of a pile of broken cinder blocks and a piece of rotting wood.

The clinic went well and we were able to see the baby that I wrote about a day ago. She is a live and a small bit better, but still not out of the woods. The mother's sister came today as well with in infant of her own that was about in the same shape and both completely covered with skin infections.

The doctors provided care and training to the mothers. We sent them home with some additional food, baby formula, and a 5 gallon jug of clean water (which cost only $7, but was more than the mothers could afford). Even this additional support doesn't guarantee the babies will survive, but it is what can be done. So please continue to pray.

I spent the day weighing people and managing crowd control. When that was under control I met "Trouble". Don't know his real name, but he was about 2 or 3 years old and tired of waiting, so he expressed this opinion by screaming and crying. I offered to take him from his father so he wasn't stuck in line and we ended up walking hand in hand for maybe an hour or so as the line progressed. I introduced him, as "Trouble", to the other members of our group and he seemed quite content. I guess I should mention he got his name not so much from the screaming, but from continuing to escape from his father and injecting himself between doctors and their patients. It did seem that people got some level of enjoyment watching as simply walk around, not sure why, but it was a good part to my day.

An Infant May Die Tonight

An infant may die tonight. She is maybe 5 months old. She, her siblings, her mother are covered from head to toe in skin infections. They have lice. They are dehydrated. The baby hadn't eaten in two days. She did not have energy to cry and when she did, she did not have enough hydration to generate tears. The doctors fear her kidneys are in partial failure.

An infant may die tonight. She and her family were taken to the hospital. The hospital separated the older siblings and the mother from the infant as they had to go to separate hospitals. One of our caregivers stayed with the infant. Waited. Waited.

An infant may die tonight. After waiting two hours a yellow form was needed. The yellow form was two buildings away, but must be filled out.

An infant may die tonight. The doctors would not provide an IV or medicines. Those must be purchased on the street and then the doctors may administer them. The mother must stay with the infant as there are no nurses to provide care. The mother must stay for a month.

An infant may die tonight. The mother cannot stay. She has other sick children. She has a sick sister at home. She leaves with her dying child.

An infant may live tonight. Drops of hydration fluid are given to her as she leaves the hospital. After a while she is drinking some. And she eventually urinates a little.

An infant may live tonight. It is not certain.

Pray.

Pray.

Pray.

Dirt Moved, Colorful Houses, And Goodnight Prayers

Friday was our last day at the construction site. The goal was to move the unused dirt from the front of the church to the back. We were not quite sure why this was needed as more of it will be used when the floor is poured after ceiling is set, but apparently it was more important to have the dirt out of the way for church; even if that means someone else will have to move the dirt back at a later date.

But it was done and when they last bucket of dirt was carried and dumped there was a general sigh of relief.

The work day actually ended a little early so we headed to Petion-Ville to do a little walk-a-bout. There was a nice park that we walked through called "Place Saint Pierre". There were lots of people about and apparently it is common to go to the park and have public discussions. While we were at the park there seemed to be two groups discussing something or other. The discussions were quite lively. I am not sure what they were discussing, but I like the idea of a place to have public discourse.

On the hills above Petion-Ville there are what look like hundreds of houses all painted various pastel colors. It reminded me of the houses at Capitola Beach, California. It was comforting and wonderful to see the color in the hills when most of the houses we see are the same gray color of concrete and cinderblock. While Port-au-Prince is full of life and activity and there are splashes of color, a large part of the buildings are monochromatic.

Before we headed back to the dormitory we stopped at a small bakery for a snack. I ordered an iced coffee as I have been getting to much sugar with the nightly cokes accompanying dinner, but what I was handed was something akin to a Frappuccino including whip cream and chocolate syrup. So much for less sugar, but I must admit it was great going down.

After we got back to the dormitory and had dinner a few of us went to the orphanage to pick up a suitcase we needed to bring back. We got there about 10 to 15 minutes before the bed time prayer time for the kids. We sat with the kids as they sang night time songs, prayed, and generally calmed down for sleep. By the time we were done each of us had a least one child that was asleep and had to be carried to bed. It was a great way to end the day. It was a side of the life of these kids that I had not yet seen in the 5 years I have come here as usually we head to the dormitory earlier. But it is a time I hope to participate in again.

I Didn't Think It Bothered Me So Much

Each evening after dinner our group gets together to talk about the day. It is a sort of de-briefing, a sort of venting, and a sort of releasing. During tonight's session while someone else was talking it triggered a memory from the day and until that moment it was unclear that it bothered me as much as it did.

A couple of days ago during lunch a group of us met a young woman that lives over the wall from the church / school. Her name is Barbara, but pronounced differently and with a rolling "R". We chatted for a bit, shared family photos (it turns out Haitians are as interested in our lives as we are in theirs; that is a "no duh" moment that took me a while to get). And then we went about our day.

Today durning lunch I was walking back from the room in which we eat lunch to the work area and saw Barbara so I said hello and we started talking a bit. I was asking if she went to school (yes), how old she was (18), and what she wanted to be (a doctor). I told her the age of my children and just stayed chatting for a bit.

While we were talking one of the Haitian workers that has been with us this week walked by and gently stroked her chin while looking at her and then walked on. I didn't really think much of about it and simply thought it was two young people that knew each other and were sort of joking around. But after he left she had this strange look on her face and said that she did not know him.

I was shocked to say the least. I told her that I was not aware that they did not know each other and that he was incredibly wrong to do what he did. In fact, I told her that in several different ways. I apologized to her. I also assured her that if I had known I would have stopped him.

During this evening's session I sort of went off on a rant about this and about how the Pastor at the church, who is presumably mentoring these young men in some way, needs to embed (I think I used the word beat in the meeting) into them a sense of respect for all people and especially women. It is simply not right that even in Haiti a young man thinks it is OK or that he has a right to touch or stroke the chin of a young woman that (a) he does not know or (b) has not given him permission to do so.

It has been well documented that societies improve as the lives of women in that society improve. As their nutrition improves, so does the nutrition of the children. As the quality of their livelihood improves so does that of the children. And this ripples throughout the society. This can be greatly inhibited if women lack the respect of and are mistreated by the men of that society.

My plea tonight is to the male role models in Haiti. Treat the women in this country as the daughters of God they are. Treat them with respect. Honor them. Hold them before yourself. And instill this respect and honor in your sons, brothers, fathers, and friends.

Bending Rebar and Laptop Computers

While rebar and computers don't often relate to each other, they did today. The day started back at the construction site where the early morning was spent moving rock that will be used in the concrete from the back of the church to the front where we are building the building for the water purification system. We already moved this rock once and we are pretty sure we will have to move it again before the week is up. While we were doing this the local craftsmen were starting to bend the rebar and setting it up for the roof of the building.

Working with rebar in Haiti is likely slightly different from what you might expect. The rebar is delivered in lengths of about 25 feet bent in half (so they can fit on top of the tap-tap). From there you have to straighten the rebar out using a tool that looks a little like a shepherd's crook and then cut it (by hand) and further bend it to the shape that is required; all by hand using a hacksaw and the shepherd's crook-like tool.

Normally the local craftsmen don't really like us helping with this part of the construction. We are not exactly sure why, but we suspect it has to do with the fact that they don't trust us doing it. But for whatever reason we were allowed to do this work today and it turns out we were pretty good at it.

After the construction work I went to the orphanage to help set up the laptops that were donated and observe the typing classes in which the kids participate.  [Young] Jonathan teaches the kids typing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in two groups after their school day: older kids and younger kids. With the older kids he is attempting to get them up to 20 words per minute, with the younger kids he is just acclimating them to the keyboard and letters.

Jonathan does have some older computers that he has been using so the ones that we delivered (as well as the router) are greatly
appreciated. These additional computers not only gave him some much needed equipment it also means that more kids can attend the class without having to double up on the laptops. These laptops are offering these kids an opportunity to utilize technology to which many do not have access. This will help these children as they progress through school. It also allows them to communicate to the world and get a glimpse of far away places. Most of these children rarely go outside the walls of the school / orphanage.

Two, Two Days in One (Blog)

Monday had a great start. I had a nice walk around the neighborhood with Ada. Followed by a tour of the new water purification facility at the orphanage. This water purification not only provides clean water for the kids at the orphanage (and us), but they are selling water to the neighborhood as a source of income (including flavored water drinks).

We left of a couple of our group at the orphanage, one to lead some teacher training the other to help with physical therapy, and headed for the Concorde Baptist Church, which also houses a school, where we were going to building an out lying building to house a water purification facility. The church seems to supply the surrounding community with water today and so clean water will help improve the health of community.

We spent the bulk of our day moving cinderblocks, 94lbs bags of concrete, mixing concrete on the ground (which is harder than it sounds) and moving it all again as the day progressed. It was a hot, dirty, and hard working day. But there is something about doing this type of work that is just amazing.

There were some setbacks, such as the Haitian masons forgetting to leave a space for the door and forgetting to remove the several large rocks before laying down the foundation; but it is Haiti and that is simply expected. (By the way, we removed that big rock in the picture after the foundation was poured. It took about 3 or 4 of us, but it was removed.)

In between spurts of manual labor we were able to interact with the kids and even spent some time on the street out in front of the church just talking with people. All the Haitians I have met while walking around have been extremely friendly and most are just looking to say hello or practice their english.

Speaking of english, the last thing we did before leaving for the guest house was to attend about an hour of the "Easy English Club" meeting. This club meets two times a week with each meeting lasting about 3 hours. This was a club started by some of the translators that we have worked with; the aim being to, well, teach conversational english. Tonight's meeting including a song, I Can Only Imagine, as well as a solo by a member who sang Italian opera ... you don't get that in many English clubs in Haiti.

Tuesday started off with a walk as well. This time Maureen, who came with us to Haiti to help provide some teacher training joined us. Then it was off to the construction site to continue work on the water purification building. We had some down time as the local builders put some scaffolding together to support the concrete roof that is required to support the water tank. We used this time to do some general trash clean up at the school. There is still a lot of trash in Haiti and the culture is such that most people toss food wrappers, etc. on the ground. Lots of children saw us cleaning up today so we are hoping that at least one of them catches on.

After the work day we spent some more time with the children at the orphanage. There were some parachute games, board games, and reading. The children really do enjoy being read to, but it rarely happens. I delivered the donated laptops to the school while we visited the children. My plan is to visit the classroom tomorrow while they are teaching typing to the children.

Sunday In Haiti

It was a good day.

The day began at church, it was a short service and only lasted 2.5 hours. It is inspiring to participate in their worship service. It was a service of hellos and goodbyes. Our group was welcomed by the community, but the community was also saying good bye to some people that will be missed.

Deliris, a missionary from Porto Rico, who has been serving in Haiti since shortly after the earthquake. Her first night in Haiti was spent in the church sanctuary as when she arrived there was no other place to sleep because of the damage. She has been providing physical therapy to children with physical disabilities. She will be missed. She is, however, not leaving empty handed, as while here she met and married her Haitian husband Mois. I have seen and worked with Deliris almost every time I have been to Haiti, Haiti won't be the same without her.

Also saying goodbye is Lorianna. She is a 22 year old Swiss-French student and has been in Haiti doing research for her masters thesis about kids in orphanages and how best to meet their needs. She has been in Haiti for about two months and has had quite an influence on the kids and their care.

She is staying at the orphanage while in Haiti so I suspect her days are quite full of activity, but it is clear the kids are quite taken with her.





Lastly, is [young] Jonathan, a 22 your old from Virginia. He has been to Haiti a couple of times and has been in country on this last trip since January. He is teaching the kids English as well as teaching them to type. He will be one of those using the laptops we brought down to help in his work until he leaves later this month.

After he returns home, Jonathan will be starting officer training as part of the marine corps reserve. A very impressive resume for 22 years.




I am deeply honored to have met each of these individuals, if some only for a brief while. They are amazing people.

In the evening today we walk down to the orphanage to spend some time with the kids. Sidewalk chalk, crayons, flying disks, books, and balls all were brought in to action. [old] Jonathan even found a stick and started some batting practices.

I was able to see old friends like Edna and Christina and Jenna (a first time traveler to Haiti) made some new friends.



A good day indeed.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing ...

It is about about 10AM in Florida, Ft. Lauderdale airport to be specific. I left San Francisco yesterday afternoon so we are nearing 20 hours or so of travel and I just found out it will be a little longer before I leave the US for Port-au-Prince, Haiti as my flight was delayed 45 minutes. The flight was originally scheduled to leave at 1PM, so another 3 to 4 hours to wait. It does give me time to catch up on my Haitian Creole language tracks. My Creole is severely lacking (pa trè byen).

I keep trying to remember how many times I have traveled to Haiti and I find the trips blur together and I remember key moments, but I can't always place them on a time line. I think this is my 6th trip since March 2010.

As I have stated before every time I travel to Haiti it feels less and less like a mission trip and more and more like a trip to visit and work with friends. Just hanging out, laughing, and enjoying each others company. We do construction, medical clinics, visit the kids or what ever needs to be done, but at some level that is not the focus and and it shifts to just being with my friends, the kids, and making new friends as we work with and for people.

I pray on this trip I can be more conscious of the conversations I have. That I take time to get know those I call friends at a deeper level. That I listen, more than I talk.

Safe travels to all the people from the US that I am joining in Port-au-Prince. See you all in a couple of hours.

T minus 14

Farm at UCI Facility [1]

It is about 14 days until I hop on a plane for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Actually, the plane is from SFO to DFW (where I spend 8+ hours and sleep at the airport) to FLL and then finally to PAP. Total travel time 18+ hours to go 3282 miles, so will be traveling about 172 mph. The reverse trip is actually longer with an 11 hour sleep over in MIA.

I am getting very excited about the trip and seeing old friends in Haiti. It really does feel like home when I am there. This will be my forth year going to Haiti and the fifth or sixth trip. And while the travel to and from Haiti can be tough, it is always well worth it.

We will be working on construction for one week and medical clinics for one week. I will be joining people from New England for both weeks. I have been in Haiti with some of the people before and it is always great to catch up with them as we work to contribute what little help and support we can to our Haitian friends. Even though it has been 4 years since the earthquake and there has been progress, it has been slow and there is so much more that needs to happen to support the Haitians as they transform their cities to where they could be.

My trip is not fully funded yet, so if you have been considering helping support my work in Haiti I would appreciate any help you can offer no matter how small. I have had to eliminate my trip extension at this point and will not be visiting UCI (http://www.unitedchristiansinternational.org/ [2]). They have been doing some great work in Haiti, so even if you don't support my trip, please consider supporting their work as they are not only providing university educations but also building self sustaining farms which are owned and operated by the local Haitians. 

I thought I would put a last minute request out for additional items that would be helpful for my trip. If you would like to donate any of these items please let me know so we can arrange it so that they arrive at my residence in time for packing:

1. English Dictionary (x5) - These will be donated to the "Easy English Club", which is a club some of the translators run in order to teach other Haitians English.
2. Idiom Dictionary (x5) - These will be donated to the "Easy English Club" as well. Turns out Americans use a lot of idioms when they speak. Could have bowled me over when I learned that.
3. Laptop Battery (HP dv6000) (x1) - One of the laptops donated for helping teach computers has a non-functioning battery. It is still usable and will be going with me, but having a working battery would be a plus.
4. Flying Discs (Frizbees) (x5) - Always something the kids at the orphanage like
5. Kites (x5) - Just make sure they are small enough to fit in my bags
6. Hacky Sack (x5) - Fun for all ages

Thank you again to everyone who has already helped support this trip. It is very truly appreciated. If you haven't donated yet, but still would like to, there is still time. Please send any funds donated to:

Union Church
C/O Jonathan Wright-Gray
P.O. Box 7028
Ocean Park, Maine 04063
(Please put "Haiti" and my name in the memo of the check.)

If you do donate please let me know so that I can keep track.

[1] I borrowed this picture from a friend's Twitter post without permission. They were just recently at UCI, hope they don't mind and thanks.
[2] As of this writing the website of UCI was not working, not sure why, hope it is up soon

Perspectives

If you have already sent in a donation to help support my mission trip to Haiti this year from March 22nd to April 5th, thank you very much. It is truly appreciated. If you have been thinking about it or planning to, there is still time, and I am still in need of additional funding. I am currently about 1/3 funded, and the trip is next month. For details please see my previous post or feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. Donations can be sent to the address below. In addition to financial support, if you have an old but usable laptop you would like to donate I am collecting those as well. Please contact me if you have an old laptop, and we can arrange its transport.

Union Church
C/O Jonathan Wright-Gray
P.O. Box 7028
Ocean Park, Maine 04063
(Please put "Haiti" and my name in the memo of the check.)

Thank you, and now back to your regularly scheduled blog entry ...

In January I started taking this course titled "Perspectives". I enrolled in the course as it was targeted at people interested in missionary work and who wanted to dig deeper, understanding the true purpose of missions in a global context. This is a 15 week course that can be taken for seminary credit, though I am taking it for a certificate as I am not in seminary.

I have always had questions about my missionary work and always been conflicted as about why I do mission work. To be brutally honest one of my greatest fears is that I find out that I am actually doing this work as some way to bring glory to myself. I don't believe that is that case, but I want to be constantly sure, that this is not about me.

I am a Christ follower. And while I don't go shouting that from the roof tops, my hope is that I have not been afraid to claim it when asked. During my life I have had many questions about faith and continue to have many. The Perspectives course has helped me with at least one of these questions and for that I am grateful. It has also helped reinforce that missions is not about me. And here is the twist, it is not about directly meeting the needs to the people with whom I am in contact either. Mission is about God's work on this earth. About reconciling all the peoples of the earth to him.

I would like to be clear on a couple of things given this statement. It is not my nature to travel anywhere and force my beliefs and world view at or on them. Nor is it my nature to bring up my beliefs or world view. However, if I am asked about my perspective I will speak to people about it. Mission work has gotten a bad reputation and some of that reputation is deserved. My goal is never to force anything on anyone. My goal is never to change anyone, for I can't do that. Again, if they ask why I do what I do, I will freely answer. But any aid I give is not conditional on them ever sharing or even agreeing with my perspective. I help because that is how I glorify God. That it meets some small need in Haiti is simply a bonus.

If you were wondering about one of the questions that the course helped me answer. It is this, "Why would God crave the worship of us humans?" To be blunt that sounds very narcissistic. The answer, according to one article that was part of the assigned reading, is that God does not crave worship for the sake of being worshiped. What He craves is to bless people. His nature is to bless people that honor and worship Him. And as God can not act against His nature, He wants us to worship Him so that He may bless us. The short version is that He wants to bless us and in order for Him to do that we must first worship Him.

Not everyone will agree with that answer and that is OK. And to be honest, I am still digesting it myself. That being said, I would be happy to talk about it anytime.