Tonight

I was sitting in my porch corner typing an update for you when my computer went dead.  There is no plug here where I am and I can't get WiFi where there is a plug.  I will charge the laptop overnight and will update in the morning as we are having a late start. (The truck isn't pulling out until 9:30.) I just wanted to "check in" that we are ok and that I will do a better summary of the day when I am not "thumb-typing" on my phone.

Many kids are in bed and some are journaling.  There is a small group playing soccer in the dark in the driveway with the hotel security guards.  I think I will sit here in the dark on a beautiful warm night for a little bit and listen to the wind rustle in the coconut palms and watch the kids laughing together before I go to bed.  It's such a simple thing, but it is so enjoyable.

You know, the word "enjoy" comes from the French, and literally means to be IN JOY.  Joy is such a powerful thing.  I think I forget that, sometimes. So often, I  "enjoy" things without truly taking joy in them.

To take joy from the small things is a lesson that Haiti can teach like nowhere else.  The Haitians are amazing people. Despite their hardships; despite living lives of desperation and destitution; despite a poverty so heavy that it seems like it could crush your soul; and despite surviving that day after day after day, with no end in sight, the Haitians are a joyful people; they are full of joy. .  It never fails to amaze me.  Our students feel it, too.  It has come up several times in evening reflections: Haitians are joyful. Full of joy.

Haitians find joy in the small things: a hand to hold, a lap to sit on, a game of "soccer" played with a stone from the parking lot,  a smile from a new friend.

We come to help Haiti, but, in the end, Haiti helps us:  Haiti helps us to remember where our problems belong in the grand scheme of God's plan. Haiti remind us to find God in all things and to allow Him to fill us with joy.

Our Wednesday

It was a great day in Haiti.  Our morning started off early with an "American" breakfast.  The Haitian cooks at the mission hotel work very hard and prepare very good food.  This morning, we had scrambled eggs with vegetables and made-from-scratch sweet rolls.  Toast with peanut  butter/jelly was also offered as was citron, which is a lemonade type drink made from freshly squeezed lemons and water and sugar.  It is funny for us to think of lemonade being a breakfast drink, but... I guess it is a freshly squeezed citrus fruit, like oranges, or grapefruit, so I am not sure why it is so weird. 




Let me add here a request for your pardon for any typos.  Internet access works better in some areas than in others, so I am sitting outside on the back corner of the porch of the hotel lobby (fantastic connection here!  I might even be able to get some pictures up tonight, haha!) But, being Haiti, there are no outside lights (anywhere) so I can't see the keyboard.  I will do my best, but ask your patience, with typos, as I am typing in the dark and I am not the best typist, anyway.




After breakfast, we loaded up the truck and went out to the village of Cabaret.  We divided into three groups and each group went with an American "leader" (me or Valerie or Riley) as well as two Haitian translator/guides to visit the home of a member of the church.  We spent about an hour meeting them, speaking with them, singing with them, praying with them.  That was a great experience to meet people where they live and speak with them and share with them.  Afterwards, we walked back to the truck and went on to lunch at Yolti's Bar Restaurant in Cabaret.  There are not many restaurants in Haiti, and even fewer where Americans can eat, but Yolti's is one of them.  We were offered a choice of chicken, fish, or goat.  Sadly, no one was brave enough to choose goat, but a select few chose the fish.  After a good meal, we continued our day by driving to the village of Transformation, where we did a "kids club."  This is how it goes: we pull into a village and the kids, who see the truck, come running.  Then, the group goes strolling through town and the children come running out of houses and yards and come running from everywhere. Haitians are very affectionate and open and they are very demonstrative with their affection, so very soon, every Knight was covered in small children, who wanted to hold hands, be carried, ride piggy-back, and/or perch up on our shoulders.  Older children also come running, and they want to be "cool," but it is hard for them to resist the magnet of "new friends" so, very soon, they were also leaning on us and, if they go to school, they will try to determine if you can speak French (or occasionally, English) in search of a way to communicate and get to know you better.  If that does not work, they contented themselves with walking near us.  Occasionally, they will reach out and touch your shoulder, or stroke your arm, or touch a piece of your clothing or hair ... just to have a connection since the oral connection did not work out.   The mothers of young children come out, and hand over their babies and soon the kids had their arms full.  We looped our way through the streets of the village and arrived back in the center to the shade of a large jade tree, much like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, with all of the youth of the town in tow.    At this point, the games begin.  There are some games and songs.  It is interesting to see the difference in the way things are played in Haiti.  Since Haiti is an oral culture, there is a lot of repetition and call-and-response.  It is also remarkable how quickly the children can remember a large group of foreign names. After the  games and songs, there is a Bible lesson. The story for today was Noah and the Ark.  Afterwards, there is an oral quiz and students who successfully answer questions from the lesson received "un beau cadeau" from the prize bag of toys that the kids had collected to bring down to Haiti.  Then some suckers were distributed and after, some of us cuddled sleepy babies and some joined the older kids in a game of soccer.




Too soon, it was time to go.  We clambered back into the truck, waving good-bye to the children of Transformation and returned to the hotel  The students had an hour to clean up and then went to The Beacon for dinner. The Beacon is a home for teenaged boys.  After eating a delicious Haitian meal, we all helped to clear the table and then some kids helped to do dishes "Haitian Style,"  (If you get a chance to ask Leah or Maddie about that, you should.) while others played a little game of basketball with some of the boys.  After all of the cleaning up was done, we divided into four groups:  three soccer teams and a group of spectators.  Some very fun (and funny!!!) soccer was played for about an hour or so, and then we returned home.  After a quick clean-up, we gathered in the dining room for some reflection. 

Finally, the kids went back to their rooms to clean up and gather what they will need for tomorrow. All journaled before many went to bed very early.  Some were still writing when I started to look for a good wireless spot around 10:00.  It is nearly 11:30 now and I suspect that all are asleep.




Tomorrow will come early and we will be going to a day camp at the church to help with the children.  We are very excited because many of the pieces of the playground that we fundraised so hard for were delivered today and we are going to get a chance to see them tomorrow.




Continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to show God's love to people through our service to them.

Good Morning from Bon Repos

In Haiti, the vast majority of people do not have electricity, there are no street lights, and daily life revolves around the sun; it's early to bed and early to rise.  I am up listening to the sounds of the day. Dogs are barking, people are setting their merchandise and produce out in front of their houses, hoping to make the $2 today, that is the income of the average Haitian family.

I am having a few peaceful moments. The kids will be up soon and our work for another big, but great, day in Haiti will begin.

Hello from Haiti

Hello from Haiti!  Hope all is well up north.  We are blessed. 


Here is a quick recap of what we have done.


Yesterday, we had a considerable delay in Miami so we got into the airport at Port Au Prince quite late.  We got in the line for customs and I was so proud of the kids for greeting the Haitian customs and passport control staff in French or Creole.  So many Americans do not make that effort, and it is too bad, because the rewards you get for that effort are so great.  The Haitians were smiling and talking back to the kids and truly took pleasure in the efforts that the kids made to be courteous and friendly.   I was proud of them.


After getting everyone through customs and then passport control, and an extensive and interesting effort to reacquire our luggage, we proceeded to the exit where we were met by mission staff who had come to pick us up.  We loaded up the truck, and drove from Port Au Prince to the suburb where we are staying (Bon Repos).  We did all of the sign in for the hotel and got our rooms (they really are very nice for a missions trip) and we ate dinner.  We got there so late that the dinner was over and they went and picked up pizzas from a new Haitian pizza place nearby.


We got settled in and went to bed to rest up for today. 


Morning came pretty early, but we had some rise-and-shiners who were up around 6am.  The other groups had set alarms for later.  We were all at breakfast by 8am, ate and got things ready to go.  We loaded up the truck and headed down the street to visit The Lighthouse, an orphanage run by Jesus in Haiti.  They showed us around and we learned about that ministry.  The orphans were all away at camp except for one, a blind boy named Jovens who joined our group.  We were amazed when he played keyboards for us.  He is a very talented boy! 


We went from the Lighthouse out to the Mission property.  We spent the day in service, painting the benches for the school and painting a wall of the new church.  It is very hot and they were working in the sun and they did great. We just filled up our water bottles and dug right in.  They got a lot of work done in the few hours that we were there.  There were a few older children who live nearby who came by to see what was going on and joined in.  It was great for us to get to talk to Haitian kids our own ages.  We ate lunch out there, making special peanut butter sandwiches with Haitian style peanut butter and got to try four different kinds of Haitian Jelly made with fruits we don't see in the US.  As a snack in the afternoon, we got to try sugar cane - fresh from the market!

IT gets dark fairly early this close to the equator, so we headed home. We had about an hour until dinner so the kids swam or showered.  Then the Haitian staff at the hotel had prepared a full Haitian meal and the kids dug in.  They tried things that they hadn't ever had before, and the meal got good reviews. 


We had reflections and prayer after dinner and discussed out itinerary tomorrow.  After that, most were very tired.  Many were journaling and then going to bed.  


Tomorrow, we are visiting the villages of Cabaret and Transformation.  We will visit homes of older ladies who attend church to have conversation and let them feel loved.  We will be eating lunch at a Haitian Restaurant and then will be going to Transformation to help with a Kids Club.  This should be a GREAT DAY!! We also are expecting that the playground we have purchased for the school as the target of our fundraising efforts will be delivered tomorrow.  We remain flexible but optimistic in that expectation. 


I will update with photos if I can get a better connection.  Right now it takes so long that it keeps timing out, but if I can get a better connection, I would love for you to be able to SEE some of the great things we are doing as the hands and feet of Jesus In Haiti.


We continue this adventure, praying for servants' hearts! Please keep us in your prayers as well!


 

In Miami

We are underway! After a crazy morning, we had an uneventful flight from Detroit to Miami.  Since we are in Miami, I tried to convince them to get a Cuban sandwich for lunch. (Most of them had Wendy's, haha)
As we wait on our flight to Port Au Prince,   the kids are practicing their Creole and doing a lot of laughing.  Some are working on summer reading. The flight looks like it is on time and boarding should begin around 1:25.

Really Getting Ready!

We are wrapping things up and getting ready!  Ten days from now we will be on the ground in Haiti!!!   There is plenty to keep us busy in these last ten days, though.  Everyone is going over their packing list. We are busy collecting items from the wish lists of the school and orphanage.  We are still accepting donations for anyone who wants to partner in our service projects.  The fall athletic teams are helping us out by collecting items to pack in "hygiene kits" to deliver to homeless families and children!  There is a lot going on!   We will be wrapping up everything up this week though!  Haiti, here we come!  We can't wait to be there and serve!

Counting Down the Days!

Members of the Bishop Luers community will be leaving for a service trip to Haiti this summer, leaving July 27.  It is our goal to serve the people of Haiti and show them God's love through our service to them.
We have been preparing to go by having weekly classes to learn about Haiti, and we have also been fundraising for our trip.  It is our goal to build a playground at a school for homeless children, to deliver hygiene supplies and school supplies.  We will be serving at a school, at several orphanages, and visiting people in a village to help with the ongoing construction projects to help the people who were left homeless by the catastrophic earthquake of 2010.

If you wish to make a contribution to our projects, please contact our moderator, Ms. Bubb at Bishop Luers High School  (cbubb@bishopluers.org or 260-456-1261)  Please pray for us as we undertake this trip and we hope you will follow along with us on this blog.