Day 6 continued - Face to face with Haiti's harsh reality.

After lunch a small group of us accompanied Maureen on a brief trip down the street outside the mission to visit a family with 3 blind members. Maureen wanted to make sure they were getting along and if they needed any help. The house was small, messy, stale, and dark. It had 2 rooms, better than some there. It was very humbling to see the grinding poverty of their everyday life. And 90% of Haitians are in similar circumstances.

Along the way we were swarmed by several kids, including a few older ones who were very persistant in asking for dollars. They weren't rude, but they were persistant, which made in a little tough to just enjoy their company.

It really is hard NOT to give out a dollar to these kids but the missionaries were very clear that it is a bad message to sen to these kids. They are right of course. The mission has feeding programs for these kids and any others of need. We were told the mission feeds 2000 per day. But perhaps the wisest goal of NWHCM is to try and give a hand up to these people, not just a hand out. Handing out money would never be enough and it would not foster a work ethic among these kids. In all ways, this mission has the people of Haiti in their best interests!

At 4:00 we got togther another group for a walk down to the shut-ins of St Louis du Nord, led by Seramone. About 10 of us went down to the city. The images I saw I will never forget. The crushing, filthy, and abject poverty these poor souls survive in....my mind can't even start to comprehend.

The third stop was down by the ocean through a stinking, smoking, filthy day market. The oceanside is where the poorest of poor live (so opposite the USA!). The building by the ocean are crumbling and un-owned, thus providing shelter for the squatters. One of the ladies we stopped and gave rice and beans to was missing half a leg and sitting on a filthy stool. Her shack had holes everywhere and a torn blanket for a door. A couple of rats were by the doorway. Just after we stopped there a woman who was literally bent over and walking like a crab came up for her food. She couln't have been more than 3 feet tall anymore. She was literally bent over in half and walking with her feet wide apart like a crab. We were told she had Mott's Disease, essentially TB set into the spinal column. TB eats away the spinal stucture, thus causing the severe disability. It is unheard of in the states and entirely treatable, though too late for this women. I wanted to take a picture but I couldn't bring myself to patronize her like that. My heart breaks for her.

The alleys and market nearby are filthy and smell of smoke, rot, and urine. EVERYTHING is the image of poverty: the destitute charcoal sellers, trash everywhere, run-down decrepit building everywhere that were homes to these people. Rancid water running in rivlets everywhere you look. Dried fish, meat, and veggies for sale, covered with flies and fermenting in the heat. People in worn out clothing all with a look of quiet desperation.

Dave Simmmons had a great point during devotions! Even though we directly fed only 12 or so that afternoon, we were seen representing Jesus to countless others. Sometimes it seems like we can only do so little. But the important thing is to be the hands and feet of Christ!

After dinner, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Lisa and I hadn't had any alone time in days to we both went up to the tent about 8:30. It was good to to be able to share our experiences with each other. Unfortunately the wind was very strong again that night and we slept in the "dorms".

I got up for prayer time about 1:45. At first I prayed outside, the voodoo drums and chanting present but definitely farther away this time. The wind often drowned them out. It was downright chilly with the wind. I slept well that night, until 6:30, the latest on our trip.

Up next, Day 7, our last full day.

Day 6 Ansefoleur

Well, I woke up this morning and got a Valentines card from my very thoughtful wife. Her not very thoughtful husband did not have a card :( It slipped my mind in all the preperation until we were already in Haiti. There is a severe shortage of Hallmark stores in Haiti!

I felt so bad for her because I could tell it stung her some. She really deserved better from me. She is a WONDERFUL wife.

We had an early morning today. Breakfast was served and then we left at 7:45 for VBS at the school in Ansefoleur, about 10-12 miles east of St Louis du Nord. After the VBS, we were to have a prayer time at a spot called Voodoo Mountain a former voodoo sacred hill just outside of Ansefoleur.

Our morning got off to a rough start as just outside the mission, our tire started going flat. We stopped on the edge of the road in the town square and had it repaired by a roadside tire vendor. It took him a lot of mud scraping to find the source of the flat so we were delayed 30-40 minutes.

Of all the rough roads we travelled, this was the most brutal. The roads, if you want to call them that were atrocious. There were 18 of us sitting on the bed of the truck along with 6 (100lb) bags of rice and beans. We were jostled and bumped something fierce! It was the most scenic drive we had as well. Shortly after crossing the river where the market sets up we were going through Laforge and drove up to a huge, deep, long, wide waterhole. There was no way around it, only through it!

Everyone held their feet up and the diesel started chugging through. Very soon, water started filling up the bed of the truck as we were driving through nearly 4 feet of water. Right in the middle he got held up momentarily on a rock and we thought we would stall our and be wading through the muck for sure. But steadily the driver drove through and out of the mudhole. We immediately stopped to let water out of the cab and bed of the truck! We Michiganders think we have pothole problems. We got nothing on Haiti!

The remainder of the 70 minute drive was through gorgeous countryside up and down cliffs along the ocean. The view was spectacular! The road was not so we had PLENTY of time to soak in the sights.

We arrived in Ansefoleur about 9:30. It is a beautiful little town, hard by the ocean across from the far east tip of Tortuga. The school was well run and we presented the program to 100 kids ages 8-10. It went very well. The kids were very excited and well behaved. They really liked the program. Once again, Roland led them in a raucous worship song time to get them fired up.

Before we left for Haiti i had wondered "why VBS programs"? I thought there were much better ways to serve than this. However, I now understood how important this was. The kids (and Gran Moun) really responded to it and it showed them that God is the Father of the white man and the black man. All men are equal and we are here to serve and praise him! We had touched over 700 kids, the future of Haiti. Thank you God for allowing me to be part of this!

The ride back was equally uncomfortable to seemed a bit quicker and the water hole a bit shallower, though we had to stop again to drain water out of the cab and bed of the truck. After we got back, Mom, Lisa, and I had dish duty.

That afternoon I made a couple of brief sojourns into St Louis du Nord that I won't forget! That's up next.

Day 5- Witnessing the scope of Northwest Haiti Christain Mission

The previous night's voodoo ceremony continued until at least 5:30. The roosters were in full chorus by that time too. It is a constant cacaphony every morning by dozens of roosters in every direction, starting in the deep, dark of night. I will never hear a rooster crow again without thinking about Haiti!

We got a much needed reprieve Wednesday morning. We had been on the go constantly since we got there. We were tired but a good tired. We had seen and done so much. The missionaries had been awesome about exposing us to as much of the mission activities as possible. Today was to be a closer more intimate glimpse of daily life on the main compound in St. Louis du Nord.

I started by going with Seromone and watching as people were let in the gates starting just before 8:00. There was a very large crowd gathered outside as there is every day. Seromone and the two guards "sorted" through the people coming in. Several people went to the Triage area to either be treated for either minor injuries or sickness. Many came to get appointments for surgical, dental, or eye procedures that would be performed when the appropriate medical missions were present from the states. They were given an appointment time for when the teams would be there. I saw several people who definitely did not look well and one boy about 10 holding a very bloody towel to his head.

Also arriving were women who were receiving pre-natal help. The NW Haiti mission is the only place for many, many miles that provided such help. It also is the only place for birthing. Since the hospital in Port de Paix charges for birthing, the mission is the only place to have children besides at home in the huts and shanties. The mission helps with 4-6 births per day! No one is turned away.

Others arriving were there for feeding programs for both kids and adults. Also, some women were there to pick up our laundry. As a part of the mission's empowering of the Haitians they serve, we as American visitors were encouraged to have our laundry done by local Haitian women for $3-5 per day. This is a very good wage for these women and work is so hard to come by that the women will start lining up outside the mission at 4 am in order to get this work. They take our laundry home and wash them (usually in the river) and then lay them out on rocks to dry. We really were glad to help out and daily put out clothes, even if we only had a few to wash.

One of my most vivid moments was observing the morning devotions they have with many of the workers. At the end of the devotion time, these 50+ workers all started their one prayers out loud. The sound of 50 different prayers being simultaneously uttered (in a foreign language to boot) was AWE INSPIRING. God hears millions of these prayers everyday in hundreds of languages. This one event may have shown me God's awesome power more effectively than anything else I have ever witnessed!

Lisa and I went with a few others and spent some time in the baby orphange on the grounds that morning. Lisa was holding a baby girl named Angela who had been brought to the mission near death. Her mother, who had AIDS, died shortly after her birth. Angela herself has HIV. While the father struggled to even feed his family, now without a mother, a rat had chewed on her face during the night. Desperate because he could no longer feed her or take care of her, Angela's father brought her to the mission. It is one of those stories most people only read about. Here was one of those little ones right in my wife's arms.

I was holding a plump little boy named Gevensky. He was the cutest little kid. I held him and talked to him for quite a while. Once I put him down and he immediately started fussing and crawling furiously back to me. I picked him up and sat down in a rocker for another 30 minutes til he fell asleep. Gevensky was from another sad though entirely too common situation in Haiti. He was the last of 9 kids. His mother died in childbirth with him. The father simply could not take care of the kids and desperate, brought Gevensky to the mission.

After lunch we spent the afternoon loading up 4 truckloads of formula, nutritional supplements, ensure, and other food to consolidate in a stock room on the mission grounds. Box, by box, by box. No fork lifts, no master cartons, no skids. 4 hours of hard, sweatly, dusty work. It felt great! I don't get to do that much in my real life and I loved being able to show the many Haitians inside that we Americans are here to serve them in Christ's name by doing the dirty work.

I was very thankful I had gotten in shape before the trip. I had lost 20 pounds and did daily pushups and situps. When we were finished I was exhausted but felt invigorated. The cold shower actually felt great!

After supper we had our daily devotians and played cards and chatted. We were blessed with a clear, calm night so Lisa and I finally were able to spend the whole night in the tent (no mosquitos!). I slept VERY, VERY well that night. In the middle of the night I awoke briefly and heard some distant voodoo chanting, though curiously they were not accompanied by drums.

Day 4 continued. Prayer against voodoo

We went to bed in the dorms that night at 10:00. I fell asleep right away. I was surprised because right after we went to bed, a voodoo ceremony started just up the hill behind the mission. The sharp thump of the drumming was constant and chanting and singing was frequent. I had actually "hoped" to hear a ceremony while we were there, though I felt guilty for feeling that way. The pervasive hold that voodoo has on the people of Haiti saddens me. It is perhaps Satan's strongest tool in this impoverished nation. But I wanted to hear a ceremony in hopes to have a deeper glimpse into the daily lives of these people and this nation.

That night (Tuesday night) the men had prayer time in the prayer chapel. My time was from 1:00-2:00 AM. Neal woke me up from a deep sleep. He said the prayer tower had a fair amount of mosquitos in it so he had prayer on the roof. I decided to do the same and it definitely was the right place for me to pray.

The voodoo cermony was in full swing during my prayer time. I stared into the hills behind us searching for the lights of this ceremony but saw none. But it was so close. I could clearly hear the chants (no idea of course of what was being said). The drumming was sharp and rythmic. Hearing the drumming and chanting during prayer time was a very powerful reminder of the evil gripping this country.

Haiti is surrounded by so much darkness. Crushing poverty and human suffering. So much of this is tied to voodoo and the people don't realize it. SO MUCH money and hope, both of which are far too rare in Haiti, are poured into this religion and its witch doctors and sacrifices. This is a religion now steeped in greed and desperation and anger. It is not a religion of loving one's fellow man.

Let me give you a brief history of voodoo in Haiti. Voodoo at its roots is the tribal religion of the African slaves from their homeland in West Africa. Voodooists DO believe in one supreme God. But they mistaking believe that this one God has no interest in the daily lives of people and that there are a vast number of lesser gods that "intercede" on the behalf of the people. Some of these gods are gentle, some seductive, some angry, some vulgar.

Unfortunately, one cannot fault the Haitians for there deep distrust, if not hatred, of the white man's version of "Christianity". Anyone who reads about the origins of Haiti will be absolutely repulsed by the unimaginable cruelty inflicted on the slaves by the French slave owners. When the slaves finally had enough and successfully revolted, they of course wanted NOTHING to do with the white mans God. Who would? So the practice of voodoo (vodoun is the proper term) grew in the 200 years of virtual isolation that struck Haiti.

Christianity, as taught by Jesus, is making inroads in Haiti. The same white people, whose distant descendants brutally murdered and mistreated these people, are now in many cases coming back to humbly serve the descendants of those so terribly mistreated. To me this is what a foriegn mission trip, be it short term or long term, is ALL ABOUT!

Looking out into the darkness, hearing the voodoo ceremony, remembering the images we saw, was the most surreal thing I believe I have ever experienced. So much mental preperation, many books and articles read about Haiti, had preceeded this trip for me.

Living it, hearing it, seeing it for only a few days didn't even seem real. And that tears my heart out.

SIDEBAR: To get a non-biased, secular detail of voodoo, read Alfred Metraux's "Voodoo in Haiti". It is considered to the most detailed view of voodoo from a white person's perspective. You owe it to yourself to read it if you want to understand these people.

I read it about a month before we went to Haiti. I actually approached reading this book "hoping" that voodoo was really not that far away from Christianity. I finished with a very deep, very clear conviction of the opposite, though that is not the author's intent. These spirits are real and they are from Satan. Voodoo is not the direct worship of Satan, but is a vast series of spirits under Satan that deceives these people. I finished the book feeling not fear or dread of those who follow voodoo, but instead a deep sadness for the deception of these people .

Day 4 - Far West Haiti back to St. Louis du Nord

Our first two full days in Haiti contained so many wonderful, exhilerating, emotional, sobering moments. Two days I will never forget as long as I live.

We woke up early on Miss Pat's roof. I'm an early riser anyway but when everyone goes to bed at 8:00, by 6:00 you have had enough sleep. Becky Kelley even saw what was supposedly her first sunrise!

We had over 4 hours to wait until our VBS that morning at 10:30. This would be to the schoolkids meeting at the church. This was a group of 30-40 kids (much less than the previous day). Many of them had already attended yesterday so Danielle Adamson spent the morning putting together another skit. She did a great job of instantly developing a play based on the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter's "floundering" faith.

Many of the guys and a few women decided to help the Haitian workers building Curtis and Danielle's house by carrying cement blocks from the pile made the previous day over to the house so the Haitains didn't have to carry them back. (sidebar: you don't buy cement blocks at Home Depot in Haiti. Cement bags of 100lb each are purchased in Port de Paix, 90 minutes away. A hole is dug in the ground and filled with water and the cement is mixed in these holes. When mixed, it is pored into cement block molds to set.).

We spent a couple of hours carrying block back and forth. I paused several moments to look around the countryside. I simply COULD NOT wrap my head around the knowledge that we were in a very remote section of the poorest country this side of Earth. Help of any sort was a long ways off. For some reason, looking at the mud huts and poor, dusty village in Haiti would not take form for me. It was surreal. I believe the mind goes into a "protect" mode. I really hate that it does. I am sure this happens to many people in many such situations and makes what they are seeing appear to be imaginary. Another subtle trick of Satan.

VBS started at 10:30. The kids are the lucky ones in this area. It is VERY tough for their parents to send them, even though it costs little as most of the costs are supported by the mission. We were told that many parents could only send one child at a time, usually whichever is the youngest of those old enough to attend. Thus school is increasingly not available to older kids. Several of these older kids watched from outside the school/church. This skit went well. We were impressed how well it went on short notice.

After a fish gumbo lunch at Miss Pat's we were ready to head back. Emotional fatigue appeared to be setting in somewhat. We had witnessed and participated in so many awesome and sometimes miraculous scenes and it was starting to sink in. We left about 1:30. It was a bright, gorgeous sunny day. The drive out was so picturesque. Small scattered huts, small corn plots, cactus with a few thin cows here and there. Very frequently you would see some threadbare children just pop-up out in the middle of nowhere. Obviously not the fortunate ones who attended school. We passed many donkeys with weathered Haitian women on the way to market in Beauchamp or Port de Paix. Again it was very desert like right up until we crossed the river outside Port de Paix.

Once more we drove the bus across a wide river! Weird. Women and some kids were bathing in the river. Kids were washing vehicles. Laundry was being done in the river. People gathered water at the river. The smelly, smoky market is at the river. The rivers are the life-blood of these towns in Haiti.

God then gave us a great faith experience! Right in the middle of the narrow one-way streets of Port de Paix, the bus broke down. The driver popped the hood up and a geyser of steam launched up. Initially I was concerned, a bunch of whites ("blans") stuck in a busy street in a third world country. But quickly I felt calm. All of us did in fact. Everyone of us commented on this fact. Without faith, we would be flipping out I'm sure.

We were definitely the attraction of the day down there. Dozens and dozens watched us. A few came up to the bus windows and asked for money or food. The driver had disappeared down a street after assessing the problem. About 15 minutes later he came back with the biggest Haitian we had seen the whole trip. He was either the mechanic or the defensive end for the Lions (his clothes suggested the former). He set to work right there in the middle of the street. About an hour later, he had fixed it (blown hose) and got the engine cooled down with a few buckets of water.

I couln't help but think about what an awesome faith test this was. We had been placed in an unplanned situation that could have been dangerous. God worked his power and we easily made in back to St Louis du Nord.

I hoped to finally spend a night with Lisa in the tent. Apparently they had a wind storm the previous night (25 miles away in Le Bay, it had been calm most of the night). ALL 3 of our tents were flat as pancakes when we went up to check on them. Rain looked immenent so we got the tents back up and zipped closed. The Simmons tent had a splintered tent pole but was able to stand up right anyway. The rain came, came hard, and came long. It poured almost non-stop for 4 to 5 hours.

One of our group dealing with a stomach bug had been feeling poorly and then fainted around 8:00 outside the bathroom. The staff there got some gatorade in him and gave him some Cipro. After 30 minutes or so, he looked a lot better. He just had to take it easy for a day and he was OK.

Next up, "praying against voodoo".

Wrapup of Day 3 in Haiti - Far Northwest

After chilling out for a bit, we took a walk down through Ti Charles to the beach. The beach was a village in abject poverty with a million-dollar view. Very surreal. We walked right by the mud huts and lean-tos in this dusty little forgotten town our our way to the beach. An old fishing boat was tied up by shore. Most of the group walked west down the beach. I stayed at the edge of town on the beach talking with Henry Joseph for about an hour. It was really great to get his first hand views on the government of Haiti, voodoo, the American government, and what can help turn Haiti around. Henry is "hope" for this country. He is a very intelligent, thoughtful, deeply Christian man. 26 years old, looks just like Ray Allen of the Celtics. He is a student of Haitian history and a more knowledgable Christain than I am. It was good to talk to him and we continue to do so via email.

The group that had walked on ahead found a nice collection of seashells in good shape. A couple of the Haitians found a live sea urchin and a fiddler crab and showed everyone before releasing it.

Dusk comes very early here due to the mountain range immediately to the west. Just before we left I saw another poignant snapshot: a young boy, naked but for a shirt standing on this beach with the gorgeous view, watching the white people as we stood in awe of God's beautiful work.

We got back to Miss Pat's about 6:00 and ate supper. It was already dark. We all headed to the roof at 7:30 where we would be sleeping under the stars. Miss Pat's is not a big house by any means. The 4 Haitian construction workers working on Curtis and Danielle's house slept in the living room/ dining room. The two interpretors slept on the bus.

The solar battery ran dry before 8:00 as predicted so we had nothing to do but sit under the sky full of stars and chat. We had a great time chatting and discussing God's work in our lives. About that time we saw the "ultimate" irony! Standing on Miss Pat's roof in a dirt poor little village on the coast of Haiti, no lights anywhere, we saw a cruise ship go by about 20 miles offshore, with 300+ lights ablaze! The people on that boat were living in luxury as they unknowingly cruised by poverty of which they had never known. They have NO clue.

After my 3 nights of poor sleep, it was very nice to go to bed early! Lisa and I slept behind JR and Anna's (short-term missionaries there) tent to get out of the wind, which was gusting up to 20mph. Right after we went to bed, it started to sprinkle. We couldn't believe it! It almost never rains there that time of year and we really had nowhere to go. Fortunately it was a very brief passing shower, hardly getting anything wet.

Unfortunately for Lisa and I the wind immediately died down after that and we soon found out how Le Baie du Moustiques (the Bay of Mosquitos) got its name. I had my head and entire body under the covers that night. I was so tired I actually slept very well. The rest of the group was out in the open more where the breeze was present and had only a few issues with mosquitos.

I woke up once that night and stared at all the stars. Without any city lights, it's amzing how much brighter the stars are and how many more you see! I woke up often but since it was a long night, I got caught up on sleep. Most of us woke up early. I watched the procession of people and animals leave the village for the market in the early dawn. Very peaceful.

Day 3 - VBS in the Far West

After lunch we did our our VBS skit for the Gran Moun at Miss Pat's. We were a little "rough" the first time at Sunday School at church. We did better this time! We told about Jesus: how he called his disciples after him, told them of his leaving, betrayed by the Jews in Jerusalem, dying on the cross, rising again from the tomb, and meeting Mary and Mary and the disciples. I narrated the story while Henry Joseph, our interpretor from Port de Paix translated into Creole.

Henry Joseph is one of the GREATEST persons I have ever met. Young people like him need to be the future of Haiti. He is very intelligent, detailed, friendly, and most important, Godly people I have ever met. He and I continue to email each other often. He attends college in Port de Paix and is training to become a teacher and pastor. Please pray for him that God would continue to guide him and he would continue to be eager in listening.

The Gran Moun (about 15, all women) were reacted very enthusiastically to our play. so much so that several of the women in our group were in tears watching how eagerly and happily these women reacted. I can only imagine the extreme trials these elderly Haitian women have endured. Lives spent in hard poverty. Yet they are so enthusiastic about our Savior! They commented frequently during the skit and gave a big applause when we were finished. It was very memorable for everyone.

What happened that afternoon though was nothing short of a miracle. We were doing VBS at the church for what we were told to expect was 120-150 kids (all from the area). Well, the word must have travelled quickly. 30 minutes prior to 2:00 there were well over 100 kids of all ages outside the locked church waiting to get in.

Roland, one of the workers at the mission had to let the littlest kids in first. Many were in tears due to the commotion and the crush of the crowd. It was getting to be an unsafe situation. It was clear we would have way over 150 kids. Roland patiently held the crowd outside and let the littlest kids in a few at a time. Soon the church was full and many of the older kids had to watch from outside. Some of the nursing mothers were let in and they stood along the back. We planned for 150 kids but God had a different paln. He brought about 350 kids. We had made peanut butter sandwiches for them and brought a goody bag for 150 kids with toothbrushes, shampoo, and toys. We frantically divided all the sandwiches in two so every kid could have some.

For many of these kids, this would be there only meal of the day. You could tell that some of the kids were definitely malnourished. It broke our hearts to have to divided the sandwiches up. We figured that some of the kids would just have to go without and that would break our hearts. You know what, God provided. we actually had enough for every kids and a fair amount left over to give to the nursing mom's and some of the older kids! We were amazed! Not one kid or mom complained and each took the half-sandwich graciously.

Before all this, Roland had led the kids in a raucous song service. Roland, who I thought at first was kind of rough and distant, did an excellant job of crowd control and was great with the kids as he led them in singing. The kids were SO INTO the song service. Here it was, a Monday afternoon, and these kids were eagerly praising God at the top of there lungs. These kids who have almost nothing. God was there in all his glory! Each of us was moved by the joyful worship of these people.

We gave our skit for the kids. We had it down cold by this time. Bob Helm (our 300lb soldier) virtually threw Ryan (Jesus) up against the wall when it was time to "nail Jesus to the cross". The kids got a real kick out of it.

After this was the feeding of the sandwiches and then handing out the now divided up toys and toothbrushes. This went well also and every child was able to get something. The amazing thing was that a good many of the kids didn't want the toys (balls and pencils) and instead insisted on the toothbrushes. Again, another sobering reminder on what a luxury item toothbrushes are to these kids. They are so grateful for even the smallest item!

After we let the kids out, Ryan threw up a couple of kickball we had brought for the kids. The kids mobbed after these and got into shoving matches for the balls. We should have listened to Dave (Danielle Rogers' cousin, a missionary out in Le Bay). He had wanted us to give them directly to him so that they would be better taken care of. We did leave two other balls and a ball pump with him.

Our entire group was stunned after all this had happened. So many emotions were present. Joy over all the kids who heard the of Jesus and were fed nutricious peanut butter sandwichs and the Holy Spirit. Sadness at the desperate needs of these people.

This is the third world we hear about but never take the time to visit and help. A good many kids were running around with pants or underwear and over half without shoes. As difficult as it was to believe, Ti Charles and the Far West are even more desperate than Port de Paix and St Louis du Nord.

Wrapup of Day 3 to come.