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.