Easter Sunday

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We celebrated Easter today unlike any previous Easter we have ever celebrated.  No Easter bunny, no egg hunts, no gifts, or Easter baskets.  Easter here is different than the U.S., as expected.  There is not the frills, it is simply a day to celebrate Jesus defeating death and giving us eternal life, for those who believe.  Here people go to church, and like the U.S. there were more people at the service than the previous two weeks we attended since it was Easter Sunday.  The church service was crowded and very lively.  The praise and worship went on for over 30 minutes of singing and dancing.  Bronson loved it and was dancing with the Pastor’s wife for a while.  The Haitian’s loved seeing him dance in the middle of the aisle.  I was embarrassed that my child will not stay still, but a few people assured me it was ok and he would be fine, so I let him go, and man did he go.  I think he is picking up more on the culture than I realized.  However, once church is over the Easter celebration is over. 

At home we are use to family dinner, so we cooked one here.  We weren’t able to find the customary things we would eat for Easter.  Not to say those things are not available, we just haven’t figured out the food things yet.  (If you don’t believe me, wait until you see each of us slightly thinner than when we left.)  We baked some chicken and went to the baker’s for some bread.  But as the saying goes it is better to give than receive, so we took everything to a family of the some of the boys that come to the compound, so they could have a family dinner.  We were so happy God gave us the ability to do that, it was great. 

As we hit our final day in Haiti, there are many mixed emotions.  I would be lying to say that we didn’t have hard days, because we did.  But looking over the last month, all the issues, problems, or difficulties are minor.  We got to develop better relationships with people we met last summer, meet new people, and serve people in the Borel area.  I know that God had a plan for us being here and I am excited to see what else God has in store for us in the States when we return.

Good Friday, Loving Hearts

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Today we welcomed over 300 parents and children to the compound to enjoy an afternoon of music, entertainment and food. Loving Hearts church held their first annual Easter celebration. Watson was a true entertainer as he hyped the crowd and organized hours of religious based skits, music and learning. The day was like most here in Haiti, full of obstacles, and thinking on the fly. Full of those moments where you want to scream, and full of those moments where you are touched beyond words. The day began with another grocery list, and a quick jaunt to Liancourt for butter, sugar, flour and plates. I thought we were done shopping, but the ever growing menu had exposed a lack of cake ingredients. This was odd to me because I didn’t know we were having cake, but we made the trip anyway. This party was supposed to be small in nature, a basic dinner, nothing fancy, but what began as simple spawned into an extravaganza. The food was crafted for 11 hours as the cooks began working at 6AM and dinner hit the tables around 5PM. Chicken, fried plantains, rice and beans, salads, fruit and cake filled the plates of some 300 onlookers. There was excitement abound and we were blessed to have the backing of our church who allowed us to throw this party for Watson and his church. It was fun to watch him throughout the day as he beamed with pride. He was excited to be able to give his children this gift, he is also very grateful.

We had no major issues during the celebration or the dinner, except for the occasional grabbing and mobbing of children and parents worried they would be left out. We had a debate over how to handle the amount of people we would let in, on one hand we don’t want to turn away anyone from hearing the word, on the other we have limited food, and limited security. We ended up not turning anyone away and monitoring the situation closely.

If you are from Liberty you might be asking, “why is he saying chicken fry instead of Fish?” Well we were unable to secure enough fish for the dinner through New Vision Ministries, we found out last minute and had to substitute chicken. In the end it was more economical at $35 American for 33 lbs. and much easier to prep and cook.

It was a great day. We have been invited to a baptism in a canal near the church we have been attending. I am contemplating being baptized as I feel so much of my spiritual growth has come from Haiti and these people. I’m concerned over the water. It is not as clean as Mike’s pool, not by a long shot.  I hope to have pictures from the baptism for Saturday. Our time here draws close to an end and visions of cheeseburgers, hot showers and my comfy bed dance In my head, visions of my close friends here in Haiti also dance. It will be a tough weekend as we try to finish up some things and visit a ton of families to say farewell. Monday will be our last day on the compound, Athesian has been a huge help and we have spent nearly everyday with him. Bronson loves him so much and will really miss him. Although his name is not easy Bronson has mastered it. Athesian wants to come to the airport to say good bye on Tuesday since he has no school. I hope he does and wish he doesn’t at the same time. It will be tough to say good bye to him.

Much is Required

“Much is required from those much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.” Luke 12:48
When I heard this I thought, God has given us much. I am incredibly blessed. I am healthy, I have a great family also healthy. We have amazing family, friends, and great church support. Above all we know Jesus and have a relationship with him that is growing daily. On a materialistic stand point I have a good job where I sit in an air conditioned office all day, get paid well, have cars to drive, and have everything I need, and most of what I want. When we were not happy in our jobs, and making our bills was a hard task each month, we both worked hard and through God’s blessings we went back to school to change the way things were going. Karla and I are two motivated people who saw what we wanted and worked to achieve it, with much help from family and God throughout the way. God has given us much.
Over the past few days, the verse has taken on a new meaning. I believe God not only has given us much, but people also have higher expectations when they feel you have been given more. See here some things as simple as being born in America automatically sets you apart. However, the issue is it is not all the material things that add up, it is the eternal life we have been given through Jesus. In a lot of cases, America or Haiti, people tend to count things to see blessings. We are in a place that generally from a material point of view we have more, and in some cases a spiritual point of view as well. This is not to brag, because it is far from the intent of this post. It is to show that when we offer what we have the expectation is usually more than we have.
I am not complaining because I told God I wanted to be used as he saw fit to further his kingdom, to ensure his will was done, who am I to say the trying times are not me growing in my faith to help fulfill his will? It seems that the more you do, the more is expected, I drop you at the hospital so you don’t have to walk, I’m expected to pay. I give money for someone to buy something at the market, they assume the change is theirs no matter how much it is. I offer to cook with what I have, and you do not like it. I take you to the beach and buy dinner, you expect lunch and dinner and a nicer beach. Please do not be offended, some of it is steam after a day full of requested, some completely legit and valid expectations, others more desires than needs.
Do I have a right to be upset? Isn’t this what I signed up for? Yesterday a lady was angry because she wanted us to buy her a house…that is incorrect, she wanted two houses while she already lived in one. I told her I’m sorry but I don’t have that kind of money she said” I thought you came here to help people?” Bad apples perhaps? Like anywhere else there are people who know how to evoke emotion to get what they need, salespeople maybe. I think there are con men, pimps and people who play the game to get what they need. But as I write this I know there are also mothers who want the best for their kids, there are children afraid of a future that may hold nothing for them, and parents who lack knowledge, training or education about raising kids. These are people, and had I been born in Haiti I might be in the same spot they are, who knows how desperate you might get if your children couldn’t eat, and I mean have no food but what falls from the tree. Who know what a desperate man might do. It is easy to be frustrated when your door is knocked on and the first question is always “konbyen” or how much. I pray for clarity through these times where I instantly get angry, and I need God’s illogical love to shine through, to allow me to give everything I am to these people.
These people just see a person who they believe has possibilities, a person who could solve an issue that they cannot, build a house with a bonus check, drill a well instead of a family vacation, send 4 kids to school instead of going out to eat. Sounds easy. We as Americans and as missionaries carry the burdon of not just saying yes but in finding constructive solutions when saying no. Like a parent your not doing your job if all you say is yes, your kids need to hate you at least some of the time. When the time comes to be judged by God, I want my motives to be pure. If anyone took advantage of my generousity in deception or malicious intent that will be for them to answer.

Ti Riverie

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Busy day

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Today in Borel we decided to get an early start and hand out some remaining supplies. We loaded a suit case and headed to the river to find some Haitians to bless. We found many people washing clothes and bathing. One group of ladies were very excited to receive some New Testament bibles, they said they have been waiting for a bible for so long. It was a pretty quick trip but we handed out supplies to around 20 people. We decided that we wanted to find a project for some of the guys to do to earn money. We talked to the school principle for Bon Samaritan De Borel, which is located within the walls of the compound. We decided to have them clean the school yard, probably a fix that will last until tomorrow as Haitians throw trash wherever they want to. We cleaned a ton of garbage up, we hope this builds a sense of ownership from the work the guys have done, maybe they will try to keep it clean. The pictures are of Athesan, Samuel, Alex and Lama working hard, and of the load of trash collected. We paid the boys and everyone was happy, especially the principle.
Our next item on the agenda was a visit to H.A.T.S. the orphanage we visited last time. Karen is very busy but made time to sit and talk and have our kids play with hers. They loved Bronson. Hunter made friends quickly and played soccer for an hour or so.
It is always a great day when we get off the compound and meet people. We love to get into the community and talk, distribute supplies and spread love. It is great to drive down the road and hear people yell your name. It is humbling when you receive a gift from a family or the church, you know they have very little but they are giving you what they can to show appreciation. We have connected with many people on this trip and I look forward to the final few days. The beach is tomorrow, I hope St. Marc is back to normal.

Sunday is for rest…

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Today we visited Samuel’s fathers church again. It is a cool little church that reminds me of Liberty. It is small in size, maybe 50 people, but they had great spirits. It was a spiritually uplifting. Our friend Marcus went with us, everything stopped, Marcus tells me “your turn” I said “what do you mean? My turn to introduce myself?” Marcus says “No, your turn to preach” I said “no, I can’t I don’t have anything prepared” He says “If you don’t it would be disrespectful, you must” So there I am with my trusty interpreter in front of maybe 50 people, my mind is blank. I introduce myself, and tell them thank you for inviting my family into their church. Then it poured out, a fiery sermon about coming together, about the evils that afflict us as Christians. I told them that our work is not just in Borel, or Descheppelle, or Port Au Prince, that our work is world wide. That we are brothers and sisters in Christ. I told them that at some points we ask “why Jesus, why me? when a bad thing happens. But we must trust in Gods plan, he knows all. Evil tries hard to deflect your efforts the more you do. They seemed to like it. I heard amen! The church is very welcoming to us, even though we do not understand everything they are saying, we are beginning to understand more. Today they gave us tomatoes, onions and figs. Our Creole is getting better, but still has gaps that leave us clueless sometimes. We saw that their last weekly offering was a total of 5 Goudes or .20 cents American. It is hard to imagine operating off of that amount.
After the service The pastor came to find me at the compound, again through Marcus he told me that the land the church is on is rented, and he wants me to help him buy land. 20,000 Haitian dollars, or $2500.00 U.S. Sometimes it is frustrating that everyone thinks that you are wealthy because you are white. I know that they have needs, and I wish I could address them all. I told him I would pray for the church, and think of any ways we might be able to help, but $2500 is a lot of money, and I don’t have that to give. He was understanding as he went.
Today we thought we would go out for a nice lunch after church. We went to Liancourt to get pizza. It might sound pretty trashy but our nice lunch was at a Texaco station. The food was terrible, but the Haitians (Watson and Athesan) ate a pizza by themselves. I guess it was ok food, if you don’t mind that the cheese can’t melt on your pizza. Bronson ate like 2 ½ slices, I could choke down only one. It was good to get away for little bit to talk with the guys.
This week should be busy as we enter our last week. I go back and fourth between wanting to come home and never wanting to leave. I miss hot showers, cheeseburgers that taste like beef, not having to shower in bug spray and having electricity, but I love the weather, the people, the friends, the attitudes, and the faith I see here. Hard to believe that it has been three weeks already.
I am posting a few pictures from today, the inside of the church, If you think yourpaying a lot at the pumps look at this, and Haitian gourmet pizza.

Pierre Payan Visit

Today was started out really well, we went to Lama’s home to celebrate his 23rd birthday. We made a cake, which was a highlight, he was really excited. He loved the card the church signed, and kept saying thank you for the surprise. The entire cake was gone in less than 5 minutes, some of the little girls there took the cake home in their hands to save for later. A few of the children, this was the first piece of cake they have ever had, and loved it. They told us “bon manage” (good food). We were really happy that we were here to celebrate his birthday with him and his family.
Today was also supposed to be a day where we would get answers. Answers on how to improve Rosmita’s condition, answers about a boy Jean Roody who has growths on his body, answers on a woman, Madame Edem, who came to us with an eye infection. A day where we could develop a treatment plan to begin care for these people. Today we went to Pierre Payan and met with their medical team. They were very nice, but the treatment was beyond their capacity. Jean Roody will need x-rays, then a series of surgeries to remove the growths, which could be as early as Sunday if he gets the x-rays tomorrow, the woman has a growth in her eye that needs an optometrist to do surgery. If it goes untreated she may lose vision in that eye. Rosmita was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and malnourishment, and some dental issues that need to be taken care of.
Rosmita was very excited about the truck ride, only her second time in a car. I glanced back at her often to see her smiling and making noise, she is coming along well and even moving her extremities. We found out that Rosmita was born “normal” she was what the Grandmother described as a healthy baby until 5 months old when her Grandmother describes a “fever” came over her causing her to become the way she is today, stunted mental development, twisted arms and legs. She lay in the same spot for so long her ankles have calices, her head has sores. The plan, to get her to a normal weight, gain her strength through Medical Mamba, a miracle product that is basically peanut butter enriched with vitamins that gets malnourished children to a healthy weight quickly, when administered properly. A physical therapist taught some exercises to relieve the muscle tension caused by years of laying in the same position. Only time will tell, but the doctors said that they would have a better idea in 6 months if she is given some love and care. She also is in need of dental care, she has severe cavities in many teeth, but this too will be more complex with her medical history. She will need to be under general anesthetics to fix the cavities. We will be taking up hygiene supplies tomorrow for her and some peanut butter.
As we left Pierre Payan, tired from a long day in the sun we were slapped in the face by stark reminder that we are living in an unstable, third world country. We got lost in the palm trees and smiling faces for three weeks. As we drove through St. Marc about 20 minutes into our drive home we noticed some congestion ahead, a coal truck was parked sideways across the street, almost in a gas station parking lot. A crowd of people swarmed. We quickly realized that our initial thought of a Ra Ra festival, or a broken down truck was very misguided. The driver of the vehicle was puIled from his cab and beaten by the angry mob right in front of us. Anger, confusion mass amounts of people swarmed the road, our truck and the man. We were told that it was a political up rising, the man had shouted support for one Presidential hopeful, to a crowd who supported another. We were lucky enough to have one Haitian man walking through the chaos direct us around the truck, through a small gap being flooded with people and motorcycles. We got around the first road block, but the streets were flooding with rioters. Roads were being blocked. I was in the front seat with Bronson on my lap, Karla was driving and Hunter was in the bed with the others. We raced around a never ending obstacle course of trucks, barricades and people. We went down a street that is the St. Marc Market, which was very crowded and hard to maneuver. A market is a street crowded with displays, people, and animals and just about everything else under the sun. The street seemed to open up more than I thought and we were about to bypass a section of blocked road, the main road, the only way we knew out of the town. The rest of Haiti seems to be normal, no issues. The thought is that the Haitians had planned this blockade in advance that they were angry and this truck driver gave them a reason to take out their aggression. I can’t see a way this man survived, as we drove we noticed some Haitian police in Riot gear heading toward the beating. The police would probably arrive a good 10 minutes after the beating began. We were happy to get back to Borel safely. We had planned to take the cooks and their children to the beach tomorrow, but we have to go to St. Mar to get there. We have decided to postpone the trip for a week for safety reasons. I will venture out in the morning for some supplies but we should be good, the issues were at least an hour away from us so don’t worry. I would have taken some pictures of this crowd, but our camera was broken today.

God at Work

There are some things when going to another culture that seem so crazy and absurd. The one that we have had trouble with the most to understand is how some people here choose to deal with a special needs child. In the US we have programs and groups to help special needs children adapt to life with a disability, as well as family members, they are human as the rest of us, just different. Here with many families having multiple children, and food in short supply, special needs children are the last to get, if at all. The situation we encountered is pretty much just that. Rosemita, a beautiful 5 year old girl that is extremely malnourished and more than likely has cerebral palsy. She has not been given adequate attention, which caused bed sores.
We went again today to Marie’s home to check on Rosemita, and we were blown away what some love and food could do in two days. Today Rosemita was holding her head up on her own, smiling, and responded to tickling her neck and feet. (Pictures below from the first day and today.) We are fortunate to have a medical team staying in Pierre Payan that have agreed to check her out as well as a young man staying near Marie’s home. We spent a good portion of the morning at Marie’s home, Ryan and Thad spoke with her, I handed out harmonicas which was a hit with the children, while Hunter played and Bronson chased ducks. Poor ducks were tied to building, and he was successful numerous times, the Haitians loved it.
We took this opportunity to show God’s love to Marie and the people staying near her home. We purchased a tarp this afternoon to repair a home that has palm leaves as a roof and leaking. The home houses a woman seven months pregnant, her significant other, and at least one other child. We hope to do that in the next few days. Ryan and Thad spent a good portion of time talking to Marie about Jesus. She said she feels like she is more Christian than “Catholic” aka Catholic/Vodou. She knows God, but she doesn’t think she can have a personal relationship with God. She is thinking about joining us on Sunday for church. One of the boys near her will definitely be joining us on Sunday for church, he asked if could be baptized on Sunday. I do not know if the baptism will happen, because we want to be sure that he understands what being baptized means.
Pray for our trip to Pierre Payen, pray for the doctors who will evaluate these children, pray for the wisdom to make decisions sometimes hard, sometimes difficult, pray for Rosemita this precious girl who didn’t ask to be born, and pray for Marie as she continues her journey to salvation.

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Follow up

Just a brief follow up on our VooDou adventure yesterday. Karla and I are reasonably intelligent people, I think as a couple we communicate well together…most of the time, hoewever it took us two days to figure out that the lady who interpreted for me at the scene of the seizure, the woman that we went to her house to see the little girl, was not just a practitioner of VooDou, but the VooDou Priestess. We talked about compassion and helping others, all types of things, gave her a ride to her house and we never put it together until late last night when we realized she called herself Mambo Marie. Mambo is a VooDou Priest. Changes my thoughts slightly on what a Priest who practices VooDou looks like and how they act. Our fried Watson knew she was into VooDou the whole time we were in the car, and was actually discipling to this woman as we drove. We pray for Marie, we belive we are here to help her to know Jesus, she said she needs him…I hope she is ready to trade in the dark side for salvation. I hope to see her soon, away from her village to give her the freedom to ask questions and feel comfortable in being honest. It has to be scarey when you teach one thing, have followers, and created a villiage based on your teachings only to have doubt as to what you thought you knew. I’m sure if she was saved there would be reprecussions for her, she is a U.S. citizen so she has refuge.
Tonight I am looking at one Haitians computer that is not working properly, while making a web site for Loving Hearts Church, for our friend Watson. We hope to get out tomorrow and spread the good word. We will post again soon.

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God we pray for your wisdom

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This is a follow up on our day yesterday. The day where we came across the woman in street having a seizure. Today against our better judgment we visited the children. We found out that the little boy was given away to extended family someplace.  The little girl was taken to the home of the lady who helped me translate at the scene of the seizure, her name is Marie. Marie guided us into a village near the compound, a windy dirt road not too far from our friend Lamarre’s house.  Yesterday when we spoke to Marie, she kept telling us to come visit her, that her home was beautiful, take pictures, lots of pictures because people come from Port au Prince just to see her home.  We now understand why she made these assertions. 

I notice out my window a cross half buried, I know what this means, we are in Vodou country.  A symbol all too common in most areas in Haiti. During this time Watson, one of our friends was telling her about Jesus, letting her know that she needs him.  She said she wanted Jesus, but things went no further (or at least in our broken Creole, that we could understand).  We continue into the village and find Marie’s house, she sent for the grandmother of the little girl to bring the girl for us to meet. While waiting for the little girl, Marie shows us around, “look at this beautiful church I paid for” She tells us. We look at a beautiful building ordained with murals and bright colors, kind of circular, it doesn’t take long to realize we are in a Vodou camp. Marie insisted that it was a Catholic Church, I may be naive to a point, but I know this was not a Catholic Church. 

Our friend Athelsan took many pictures, you will notice the theme of a serpent slithering up a cross, representing evil over good. You’ll also notice a seemingly normal religious painting, with a skull and cross bones at the feet of the saint. It was a little eerie but I tell the boys that Vodou has no power, only the power your willing to let it have. Truthfully, I was more concerned about the amount of people that gathered around us than a Vodou curse. They knew we were there for a religious reason, that we believed in God, and we knew they didn’t, we felt it necessary to stay to meet the little girl regardless of religious affiliation, distribute some supplies and toys to the children, and Karla swiftly passed out some Christian tracks and Bible verses. We were walking with God today.

They eventually brought the girl to us, as you see above she is amazing, such a beautiful angel. She has what I can only assume is cerebral palsy, a disease close to my heart as my uncle also had this disease. This girl cannot sit up, she only lays there, with sores on her body from not being cleaned properly, from not being moved from one spot. She has no hair on the back of her head, just like a new born baby who lays only the hair rubs away. This girl couldn’t weigh more than 20 lbs at age 5. We held her and talked to her, I prayed over and over, and I’m asking everyone for prayers in this matter to find someway to help this girl.

I know that Vodou is completely contradictory to our beliefs.  However, we are here to show God’s love, to provide real and tangible love to show faith in action, whether Christian, Atheist, or Vodou.  Jesus spoke to the prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors, he went to places that were not favorable.  Everyone deserves to hear about Jesus and the freedom, true freedom he provides, a message of redemption and salvation.  God’s love does not have boundaries, ours should not either.