20 minutes in a Haitian's shoes

Yesterday Luke and I needed to go to the store to get some groceries. We decided that we were going to go on an adventure. Now just about every time you go out in Haiti you encounter an adventure, but this time we decided that we were going to tap-tap to the store! Yes, that is correct, I said tap-tap to the store! Now those of you who do not know what a tap-tap is; it is a truck or sometimes a van that has been converted in some creative way to hold WAY more people then it was ever intended to hold. Tap-tap's are the primary way of getting around in Haiti, (like a taxi) and they are every where!! Luke has been on them before, but since I have not I decided that I was up for the adventure!

First thing we had to do was walk up our road to the top (it is up hill the whole way). Once on the top, we waited with a group of people on the side of the road for a tap-tap to drive by and pick us up. This did not take long, and before we knew it I was having my first experience on a tap-tap. We went a few blocks then stopped. We had to walk up another road (hill) to catch another tap-tap that would bring us to the store. While waiting for this tap-tap there were several people around, and lets face it, when you are the only white people on the street you stick out a little! We were getting some weird looks, and a lot of second glances :) Finally there were some tap-taps that stopped, but no luck! Either everyone jumped in before we got to it, or it was full, and no matter how many times the driver told us he had room the people hanging (literally) out of the back made Luke and I think we could wait for the next one.

We did finally make it to the store and purchased what we needed, now it was time for the adventure back! We succeeded on getting our first tap-tap, and once on our second I felt pretty good. I have seen and heard stories about tap-tap adventures and how crowded and smelly they get, but so far I had not encountered any of that....until my faith was tested! We had to wait a little bit on our second tap-tap so it could fill up. When I saw that my row was full (I was on the end, so we could get off faster), and Luke's row was just about there I was ready to go. I was waiting for the driver to crank the engine and we would be on our way. The driver never started the truck, in fact, he was not even in the truck! He was off getting more people to fill his tap-tap even more! I already had five people on my row and I was squished! Then the driver came with two more people! One for my row and the other for Luke's! Once everyone was seated I realized that the only thing that was keeping me in the truck was a bar that all my weight was leaning on! My feet were in the way of the lady who was sitting next to me, so they were hanging out of the back of the truck! Once I lost the feeling in my left leg from being pressed up against my life saving bar, the tap-tap starting going up a hill, and there I noticed that I had not only the weight of me, but also the six other people in my row on this one bar that was now embedding itself into my leg! I was praying so hard that the bar would not break off!!

After a few minutes we were at our stop and walking back to our house! It was definitely an adventure, and I am excited to say that I have ridden on a tap-tap. I can also say that I am not excited to go on one again :)

Still Working

Sherry has a team of four people in from the states to do a VBS with the children from the school. Since they are here and we needed help clearing the spot for our soccer coach, we decided to allow them to help :) They were so tired after the first day! The team has never been to Haiti before and they also said they have never worked so hard in their lives! This is HARD work! They helped move the rest of the rocks, and the gravel pile! The only thing left was to cut the grass and get rid of a dead tree. Now in Haiti they do not have lawn mowers, so we had to use what the Haitians use....a machettie!! We did not allow the children to use them (although some where pretty skilled with one). The adults and workers cut the grass, and after pushing and pulling the tree finally came down! We still have some clean up to do and trash to burn, but this project is coming to an end!! We are having so much fun, and I cannot even express my love and excitement for these children! They are amazing, and each day that I spend with them my heart grows more for them!

This is how we moved the big rocks! We moved ALL these rocks!!

Raking and mowing!

How many children does it take to take down a tree?

who needs power

Most of you who are somewhat familiar with the situation here know that electricity is not something to be counted on.  There is a government run electric company know here as EDH which is a french acronym for Electricity of Haiti.  It is the only company here and it does not have the capability of supplying electricity for everyone all the time, so we take turns.  Here in Port-au-Prince, the city is divided into zones and certain zones get electricity at certain times during the day.  Now, this wouldn't be too bad if there was a schedule that we could count on, then we could plan our chores that involve electricity around the EDH schedule.  Instead the power comes when it wants and goes when it wants.  Since we've been here, we've been getting it at our house beginning roughly at 8:30pm and ending sometime between 3am-6am.

There are ways of getting electricity when EDH is not on.  Some people have generators which are extremely expensive to buy and expensive to run as regular gas is somewhere between 5 and 6 dollars a gallon here.  Some people have a bank of batteries that are connected to an inverter system.  This is nice because the batteries automatically charge when EDH is on and then when it is gone, they are able to run the lights, fans, fridge and power outlets throughout the house for a day or so.  Others have solar panels, some have windmills, and many simply do without power.

We're lucky in the house we're staying in to have a good inverter system that is able to carry the house along with a backup generator.

Here at the Chapel, we have two large generators that can run the whole compound and an inverter system for the office.

We require a little more power at the Chapel on Sunday mornings as there are about 20 ceiling fans to run, along with a sound system and lights.  So, we run the big generator.

Yesterday morning all was going as usual, the generator was humming away and everything was working.  Then, about 15 minutes into the service, in the middle of a song, our power was gone. 

In a normal Haitian church, this would be no big deal and the service would go on.  In fact, I can remember one time I was sitting in an evening service at a Haitian church while a choir was presenting a special song and suddenly, mid song, the power went out.  The choir however did not miss a beat.  They just kept on singing away, and people took out their cell phones and opened them so we could have a little light.

Well, when you pack a few hundred people into the Chapel when it's 95 degrees out and then turn the fans off, it gets hot pretty quick.

So, the worship leader kept the congregation going, singing acapella, and since she had a few more songs to go before I needed to preach, I headed out to the generator house to see what was going on.

When I got there, Calixte, one of the chapel employee's, was pouring water into the radiator and there was a puddle of water underneath him that had spewed out of the generator.  He put the cap on and fired it up.  It ran, but there was water coming out and I realized as I got closer that it was spraying dirty, oily water on to my shirt.  Not the best thing to have happen when I was supposed to begin my sermon in about 10 minutes.  Luckily it didn't get me too bad.

So I went back to the Chapel and asked one of the elders if he could go check it out as I was about to preach.  He was able to fire up the older, smaller generator and it gave us enough power to run the fans and sound for the rest of the service.

It turned out that the water pump on the big generator was shot and is going to need to be replaced or rebuilt.  After the water pump quit, the generator began to overheat and shut itself off and that is when we lost our power.

So, hopefully we can get the pump fixed this week as we have a rental group using the facilities everyday next week, and they've paid for use of the generator.

So, just another Sunday morning here in Haiti.  Who needs power anyway?

Working for Ministry?!?!?!?

In a couple of weeks Sherry has a team coming down to help her with the new school she is building. On this team is a soccer coach. Soccer in Haiti is BIG...HUGE...GINORMOUS (yes I made that last word up) :) The plans are to have this man teach and play soccer, along with having a Bible study with not only the school kids, but also the boys on the streets! No one in Haiti can pass up soccer, exspecially when there is an actual soccer coach involved! Everything is set and ready to go....except for one thing.....there are two big piles of rock sitting on the exact spot that the soccer camp will take place.

Sherry told the students about the soccer coach coming, and how great it will be to play soccer, and have a Bible study with this man. The students of course were super excited...now the catch ....... " In order to play, we need to move the piles of rock". Those were her words, and no sooner did they leave her mouth when the students spoke about getting the workers that help at the school to move them. She smiled and said that she would like them (the students) to help move them as a ministry. WHAT?!?!?!?! Work and not get paid (were their expressions)? After Mr. John and I explained a little more about the job, the students became a little more interested, but still not thrilled that they had to work.

Today was the day that we as a team were going to battle the heat, smoke, dust, and ROCKS! When the students came to school I handed them work gloves. This got them motivated! Then we walked over to the new school and they saw the pike of rocks that we were going to move today....there goes their motivation :) It wasn't that the pile was so big, but the rocks in the pile were HUGE! To get started we made a line. Mr. John was in the front grabbing rocks from the pile, and I was at the end of the line piling the rocks into a new pile! Things were off to a great start! The children were all in line, and laughing, singing (if I hear the song "This is the Song that Never Ends" again, I will throw up; sort of like the Titanic song!), and suddenly taking off their clothes! About every half an hour or so, I would look up and see more boys with their shirts off, work gloves, and some pants (they had shorts on underneath)! It was funny! At one point Sherry asked me who I thought was stronger....obviously I said the girls were stronger! This made the boys go crazy! One boy imparticular (Val) told me that I was mistaken. I told him that girls were so strong, that we could carry a rock with one hand! He did not believe me so I started to move the next several rocks with one hand (they were small rocks, ok..medium size, I told you, girls are wicked strong). This meant a lot because Val is a tough kid! When I first started working with the children he was hard to deal with; disrespectful, deceiving, and never seemed to be paying attention. Yesterday and today Val and I really started to click, and have been having so much fun! So back to me being super strong; Val passed me a rock and it had a spider on it, so I dropped it because I do not like spiders! He laughed at me and told me I was not strong, so I pushed him, and tickled him until he said I was the strongest person in the world :) I won! After I told him that I knew a guy who had big muscles, and could probably lift the whole rock pile himself (John). Val said he would like to see that (looks like you have to come back to Haiti John! We have one more pile you could move for us). Then I was telling them that God can make you as strong as a lion, and told them some Bible stories. Sherry added to that and told the children that because of their hard work, that some one may accept Christ at the soccer camp. She went on and told them how neat it would be if someone did and how when we are in Heaven, God would tell them because they did ministry they helped someone come to Christ! They all thought that was cool, and that gave them the motivation to finish the job, I mean ministry!

Three and half hours later, two water breaks, one bloody finger, and one HUGE pile of rocks moved....... we were DONE!

Starting on the pile!

This is Val.

MacDonald showing off his muscles!

This is Sherry (the white lady on the right), not a good picture, but we were all working hard!

Taking a break!

They are so much fun!

Val and Mrs. Becca :)

thanks

The other day I was driving over this dirt road covered in trash on my way over to pick up Becca from the school she's working at.  As I was bouncing along I saw a young boy walking on the side of the road holding a basketball.  His basketball had a huge slice down the side of it and it has probably been a long time since it had held any air.  As the boy was walking along he was stuffing the ball with empty plastic bags he had found along the street.  If it wasn't going to work as a basketball, it sure could as a soccer ball.

Later on that day, Becca and I stopped at a nearby gas station to buy some drinking water.  While the guy was loading our filled water bottles into the back of the Montero I went over to talk with one of the pump attendants whom I'd gotten to know pretty well when I was here before.  He can speak english pretty well and would come to the Chapel whenever he had a Sunday morning off from work.  When I was here before, this guy was working 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day and making a little more than 100 USD each month.  Now, a year later, this guy is still working the pumps, but now he's developed some kind of allergic reaction on his skin from being around the gas.  He's found some medicine that helps, but his skin is still a little discolored on his face.  Long hours, little money, and a skin allergy, yet this guy still will not quit his job because he knows the chances of finding another one is pretty slim.

I know if my basketball was broken, I'd probably throw the thing away and buy a new one.

I know if my working conditions were like my friend's,  I'd have quit a long time ago.

I don't think it's wrong to have the things I have in the States.  What is wrong is when I take them for granted and forget to thank the one who has given them to me.

It is humbling to live among these people.

The Banana Tree Broke!!!

We were sitting down to dinner last night when Luke and I both heard a cracking sound. We did not think too much of it considering all the awkward noises we hear at all hours of the day :) Right after we prayed we heard it again, but this time looked in the direction it was coming from and noticed our banana tree falling over! We both shot up out of our seats trying to catch it before it fell. This banana tree has a huge clump of bananas hanging off of it, and we were just waiting for them to ripen before cutting them down. Well, I guess that clump got too heavy, because the weight of it caused the poor tree to (almost) break in half! I got to the tree first and caught it right before it completely bent over. Luke made sure I could hold it (it was SUPER heavy), and ran to get something to secure the tree. After what seemed like an hour, Luke finally returned with bungee chords! It took a little time to get it standing straight again, but Luke got it secured!

After dinner Luke had Julio (the gardener) come over to check out the damage, and to see if we should just cut the bananas off now, or wait.....Julio said to wait two more weeks. When Luke and I came home this afternoon the poor tree was bent over; the place where Luke had secured it was standing straight, but it had bent in a new place, and now is hanging over :( Poor tree, but no worries, the bananas are still doing great!

Here I am trying to hold up the tree :)

Luke is trying to secure it!

Almost got it!

Finally, secured!

Luke telling Julio what he did.

I brought the camera along with me this morning while on our way to drop me off at the school. There are always so many interesting things! My favorite is when the pigs are hanging out in the trash piles, and some times in the road (sorry Jenna, no piggies this morning, but I will find them and take a picture for you!) Most of the pictures are taken through the windows because if the people catch us, who would probably have to pay them money for their picture!

This is how most of the women carry things!

This guy was wearing a Drew Bledsoe shirt :)

(For all those who do not know who he is; he use to be the quarterback for the New England Patriots!)

Out and About

Three weeks from tomorrow Luke and I will be heading back to the states! Our time here in Haiti is already half way over! WOW! Where has the time gone? This is my second week working with the summer school students from Christian Light, and it is going great! Today was probably the best day so far. The teacher for the pre k class was not there today, so between Mr. John and myself, we had to cover everything. I started with the 4th graders. We worked on adverbs, reading comprehension, and had some conversation time. The students were super excited that they had me to themselves (I taught with Mr. John before). During our conversation time, I just sat at a desk and asked them questions about themselves and things they liked. As we were talking I would correct them, laugh with them, and answer their million questions :) It was fun! They think I am weird because I LOVE frogs, and most Haitians are afraid of them. Today we were watching a video on adverbs, and there was a discussion on frogs and toads! They all turned around, looked at me and told me that the frogs were only my friends because I am the only one who likes them! They all laughed and I told them I was going to get them each a frog! They were not really impressed with that :)

The other day Luke and I were sitting in our house, and I told him how I was happy that it seemed to be cooling off a little that day. He told me that it wasn't and that I was just adjusting to the weather. Of course I did not believe him, but he had me go to the thermometer and check the temp....it was 95 degrees in the house! I was shocked! So I guess we are adjusting to the heat, and now I appreciate air conditioning SO, SO, SO, much! I remember complaining this year at school about it being 90 degrees in May and that it was too hot for me! Sorry Mr.Clarke, I promise to never complain again :)

This past weekend Luke and I decided to drive around downtown and check out the sites. Here are some pics of our adventure, also, This afternoon Jacqueline showed me how to make picklies!

These are Tap-Taps (Haitian Taxi's). I was trying to sneak these pictures, so I took them through the dirty car window, but as you can see, they stuff themselves in tap-taps :)