Tuesday, 1/29/13

Today was a typical day in Haiti-with readjusting and more readjusting of our plans but finally being able to enjoy our work. We taught our preschool lessons yesterday and today we were blessed to have a translator. The preschoolers are gradually learning their colors (in English) this week with our team through a variety of activities. This is a pilot program of teaching English that is hoped to be expanded in the future. My favorite part of going into each class (especially after recess) is seeing how many kids are asleep in each class-today's record was seven! 

The eye glass team distributed 150 eyeglasses at the clinic in La Croix. Additionally the medical and construction repair team went off to La Coupe to see children with medical needs and repair solar panels.

medical team tending to the needs of a newborn

After school let out we got to teach the English club. Eleven of us each took a small group and prompted them with questions that they could answer in full sentences about their family and school. My group had 9 older boys and two young girls, and the girls were thoroughly timid and scared to make a mistake. Instead of mocking the girls, the boys helped the girls come up with the words they needed to complete their sentences. This all reminded me of the great sense of community here. 

Elsie working with eager students in the English club

After all of the kids went home except for the ones who lived up the road, we taught the girls (and kitchen staff) the Cupid shuffle. Doing this in the courtyard, we were watched by many from the balcony and the area was filled with laughter.  

hanging out with friends in the courtyard before dinner

Tomorrow 95% of the team is heading to the village of Paul to do medical work and teach. I'm excited to not only get off the compound but to work with a new set of students. 

Monday, 1/28/13

Guest blogging here today! Thanks for the invite to do so Jason Freyer.

Sunday, 1/27/13

I don't even know where to start. Yesterday couldn't have gone smoother. Just two months ago, customs at the Port-au-Prince airport was in the smallest, dirtiest room I've ever been in. It was a room that had been used because of the destruction during the earthquake. When we arrived yesterday we were greeted by a mariachi band and ushered through an elaborate room with huge pieces of Haitian artwork to enjoy as we proceeded to baggage claim. This was the first sign we saw yesterday of improvement. Secondly, as we drove out of Port-au-Prince past a mountainside that used to be covered with poorly built houses (an enormous shanty town), it caught my attention that not only were they more fortified permanent structures but that there were less of them. The evident hope for this country continues to be more and more prominent with each visit I make. We met up with the primarily medical team from Vermont upon arrival at the mission and unpacked around 40 suitcases full of supplies. 

our offering in  worship--singing a song in English and then in Creole

We started off this morning with church which was lovely as always, not being able to understand a single word but fully aware of the Lord's presence in the room. What was different about this service was the legitimate dance party that followed. When greeted by each member of the congregation you would do a 15 second dance and then be passed off to say hello to the next person. 

garden

After lunch a small group of us took off with the saxophone player from church to see his garden. His "garden" is a small field covered with thousands of bean plants and maybe 20 fruit trees. This was an intriguing experience for me because I have often heard that the school children's parents are primarily farmers. Looking at what this man is doing filled me with a sense of hope--again! 

baseball clinic

On our return from the gardens we stopped to help our team members, Abe and Pat, with their baseball clinic. I can't stop giving those guys praise for how smoothly they were running things, especially having this be their first day ever in Haiti! There were different stations set up where the kids would learn how to throw, run the bases and catch. All of the kids quickly caught on and there is a good sense of how nicely the rest of the week will go with the baseball program. 

From the looks of it and the motivation that is radiating off of everyone, this week will be very productive and beneficial for the community and I'm very excited to get that started. 

I would like to ask for prayers for a safe and productive week as well as the continued good health of the team. 

Going Back: Haiti Trip January 25-February 16

Written Friday, January 25....

Right now I'm en route to Miami where the team I'm traveling with will spend the night before we depart for a wild week in Haiti tomorrow morning. Before I left we got a hearty amount of snow and being the warm weather person I am I think snow is the most depressing and ugliest form of weather. We took off from a runway covered in snow and set off into the clouds and emerged into open sky. As I write this I am watching the sun set, a mixture of orange, yellow and pink in a vast amount of majestic blue. 

Watching the sun dip over the horizon of clouds made me think about how sometimes the most beautiful things are hidden in the most obscenely ugly things. Haiti...the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is inhabited by millions. A place where approximately 360,000 are still displaced and living in horrible conditions from an earth quake three years ago. It is a country where voodoo sweeps across the nation like wildfire. However, there's the other side to Haiti. It is an island in the sun, inhabited by some of the most hospitable, happy, and energetic people I have ever met. A place  where you can see God's hand at work through the relationships you form with one another, the good he does through Pastor Pierre's mission, and the hundreds of school students who have a sponsor who pay for their education. Most people think of Haiti as the snow, but to me Haiti is a magnificent sunset, made by the graceful hand of The Lord.

Darby, Norm, Chad at the packing party

This first week will entail numerous projects, over 20 suitcases were packed to 49.5 lbs with supplies for the projects--including medical, eye glass distribution, vitamin distribution, landscaping, carpentry and electrical work, English lessons with the preschoolers, and baseball clinics. I have never traveled with anyone on this team before with the exception of Dave who was on my first trip (but I didn't see much because he's such a hard worker!). I am excited to form new relationships with this team as well as the Haitians. This week will kick off the first of my three weeks in Haiti, I am beyond exited to be back to what I call my second home. Thanks for your prayers and watch the blog for updates!

"We are the world united by love so strong...we are the world connected by a common bond-love"

Before hand I knew that good things were going to come out of this trip and afterwards I can easily say that amazing, incredible, beautiful things came out of this trip. Our group of 17 was more than a perfect fit for the weeks tasks.

Throughout the week we accomplished the following:

Gary (or as the team referred to him "Dad"), Lou, John, Rob,
Clay and Ben prepare to walk the buckets of sand
 and water to the school for the men working on the floor.

• worshiping and sharing Gods gospel
• basketball clinic and games
• soccer games after school (soccer and basketball supplies were collected by Rob, Ben, Lou, Clay and Luke before the trip from donations from various organizations and community members)
• visits to surrounding villages each day to help nurse Shelly with house visits/followups on patients, blood pressure screenings and vitamin distribution
• bracelet making (now being sold in the US)
• scarf making (also being sold in the US)
• English class with the Bright Morning Star English Club
• working in child sponsorship updating files
• food distribution to over 600 families in desperate need
• trip to Paco to update student files for medical purposes and vitamin distribution
• trip to Paul to survey for the new school
• organization of scarf making supply closet
• organization and addition to the library I helped start on my January 2012 trip
• assembly, hanging and ringing of a new school bell
• moving of sand and water to aid the Haitians in the laying of tile in the school
• carpentry and assembly of lab benches and cabinets in a school room
• distribution of braided bracelets donated by another Pittsburgh group to every school student in La Croix
• clinic visits with nurse Shelly
• walks up the mountain (partially motivated to work off the amazing food we ate all week)
• organization of medical supplies
• spur of the moment small group English lessons with eager students

...and for me, the most beautiful event this week was the delivery of a baby. Nurse Shelly knows I'm on the edge of pursuing a career in the medical field and took it upon herself to make sure I was involved in every medical aspect of the trip that came up. Late afternoon on Friday she eagerly approached me and exclaimed that a baby was being born at the clinic 1/2 mile down the road and wanted to know if I was interested in assisting. I mean, how could I say no? We quickly changed into scrubs and walked as fast as possible to the clinic (with RoRo (Roland the translator) walking as slow as a turtle behind us as if nothing was up). Since the Haitians don't receive any pain meds during labor we could hear the mother screaming before we were even on the property of the maternity ward. Before I knew it we were in the room and the child was being delivered. Yardly (the Haitian midwife) delivered the baby as Shelly and I held the mothers hands. The first  Kreyol phrase I learned that week was "please remain clam." I was contemplating testing my Kreyol and telling the mother "tempri rete tranquil" but figured she probably wouldn't be too pleased with a tiny white 17 year old telling her to remain calm while she was busy giving birth to her child. When the baby was born I had the privilege of cutting the umbilical cord, showing the mother her baby for the first time and then showing the baby to the rest of the family and letting the great grandmother cradle her.  I cried when the baby was born. I cried when I saw the dads face when he saw his healthy daughter for the first time. I cried as told my dad I helped deliver a baby.

As I look back on this experience I realize that I watched this child take its first breath. The first breath of a life that most likely wont be too easy. But a breath that would last a life time. This girl has the potential to grow up in Pastor Pierre's community and that in itself is a blessing more and more people are involved in each year. When I realized this, my worries and fears for a hard life ahead of this child vanished. As our team worked with Pierre and his staff this week it was evident that something was going right in the mission of La Croix. The kids come to school and receive and outstanding education. The families have a place to come and worship. There is a clinic that is self supporting for the community access. The students have (or will in the very near future) a vocational school to attend. The families have God's hand and Pastor Pierre's generosity to be thankful for.

the view from the top of the mountain across the street from the mission

As our team became aware of the good things about the mission we were appreciative of Pierre's efforts and intelligence and wish there were more people like him in Haiti. God's hand is at work in La Croix and this past week, our group was able to be part of that and work alongside the Haitians to complete projects that in some way or another were able to better their lives.

we made a quick stop to admire the Caribbean
on the way back to the airport

However the projects weren't everything. Having talked to some of the team since we got home the most valued thing we were able to take away (although the trip most certainly isn't about what we get out of it but what the Haitians do, there are evidently some very emotional experiences that we can say we got out of the trip) from this were the friendships we made and expanded upon. These friendships are some that we can't even say we have with those here in the states. We were openly able to worship the Lord and break out into song randomly, joke around with as if we had know each other for years. "We are the world united by love so strong...we are the world connected by a common bond-love" have to be my some of my favorite lyrics and I think they fit this trip perfectly. Yeah, we did a handful of projects but these projects were done with immense love. Our friendships were built through the love of Christ. The love (and thankfulness) the Haitians have for not only one another but for us. And it's this love that draws me to Haiti again and again, and it's this love that will pull me back in January 2013 for three weeks. Until then-orevwa ak mesi (goodbye and thank you).

Friday written by Jenny Gallo

We are busy packing to come home with very mixed emotions therefore there is not a long blog post tonight. It has been an amazing week. This team has worked, played and prayed was great gusto! We are anxious to see the family members that have supported us for this trip yet it is so hard to leave our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Haiti. Until Darby writes a concluding blog post I will leave you this picture of some of the girls we worked to painting silk scarves...it evokes the joy of the people and their love for the Lord that we experience while we are in Haiti.

Thursday- Written by Lisa Smith

       Happy Thanksgiving!! We have so much to be thankful for. Or as the Haitians would say, "Nou gen telman yo dwe rekonesan pou".  This morning, at 6:15, Pastor Pierre took a few of us up the mountain that sits next to the mission. The view was breathtaking. We sat on the top for a while to take pictures and meditate.

       After breakfast, we broke off to do different jobs. A few of us worked on rice distribution. Then the guys worked on putting up the post for the school bell to wake the children in the villages up for school. They also carried buckets of sand and water around the courtyard to use for laying down tile. Keith and Sam worked on building cabinets and computer desks. Darby and Allison worked in the clinic with Shelly. Some worked on scarves and some on bracelet beading. A couple Haitians got Allison Cho and Clay to teach them some English. It was an exhausting day!
     When school was over, Luke, John, and I got the opportunity to ride the bus home with the kids that live too far to walk. The bus was crazy. There were about four kids in each seat and kids standing in the aisle. The girls began belting out songs that Edvans said they made up themselves. It was cool driving past all the villages.
     After school at beading, Allison Evans and I talked again with a boy named Belgelo. Yesterday he asked us to teach him a song in English, so we taught him "Here I Am to Worship" and he taught us a song in Kreyol. We practiced again with him today. He said that he loves talking when we're here because he loves to practice his English. He told us that it takes him about an hour and a half to bike to and from school everyday. Can you imagine!
     After we were finished with the projects for today, some of us climbed the mountain again with a bunch of Haitian kids. We talked and joked with them and took a ton of pictures.
     For dinner we had a delicious chicken casserole, stuffed tomatoes and mozzarella, steamed carrots, and white rice. Mama Gallo brought four amazing pies for Thanksgiving. They were so good!!
    I can't believe it's already Thursday. This week has gone by so fast!! We've met so many fantastic people and had so many great experiences. It's amazing how these Haitians have so little, but they still find so much to be thankful for. As we finish out this week, we could really use prayers to help us finish laying down the tile, and also prayers for the continued success of Pastor Pierre's mission.