Day 3 - Wednesday

Day three was one of highs and lows, one of change and growth, and finally one of understanding and respect. At the beginning of the day we started off with yet another great breakfast cooked by our world famous guest house chef's, made with their chicken bullion eggs and ripe mangos. After breakfast we had down time to fill our water bottles and get ready for the day, while our leaders talked with our translators to figure out the current situation with the water truck. One of the filling stations was down and we needed to get to the truck so we hopped in our trusty Tap-Tap, and off we went.

When we arrived at the filling station we spent little more than seconds waiting for the truck which came out with it's horns bellowing speeding into the busy intersection, we followed hastily behind in an attempt to match the truck speed. As we drove we passed many roadside landmarks some of which will remain in my mind forever. To give a little background my first time in Haiti was about this same time of the year in 2014, it was only four years after the earthquake and Haiti was still in shambles it had a corrupt government and there was only ruin and despair, it was an arid desert with little more than crumbling infastructure and a people in a national depression (both in a physical and spiritual sense).  That is why it was so relieving for me to come around Haiti and see a land bustling with life and happiness. See America is a place with a more materialistic culture and scale of happiness, however in Haiti you see a culture built on community and spiritualism, which is why while we were driving when we pass such communities with trees and grass and the simple things you can see how much Haiti has truly grown, from despair to a relative happiness, you can again be proud to be Haitian.

When we arrived in Citie Soliel, the vast trek through open sewers, past U.N. guards with assault rifles and past market stalls with pigs heads seemed to initially bear no reward, but one of the great things about the Haitian people is that the beauty is not always on the surface, what may seem a hard and unforgiving land can truly blossom into a picture of beauty, the trick is that it is in the eyes of the beholder.

With our first stop morale was high, delivering water to a people with such hope tends to rub off on you and being the reverse missionary truly sets in. we left the Tap-Tap only to be greeted by un-clothed children desperately needing to be held, these are loving people who live on nothing but prayers to get by. It was a stop 17 one I had been to before, this stop was a great example of the warmth of god and the prayers of a people, not to mention the change the Haitian people have endured in their last year. the church was still being built but its mere existence was a triumph over poverty itself not to mention a symbol of hope to the Haitian people that the earthquake was just a veil of darkness over the Haitian peoples otherwise bright future.

When the bellowing horn sounded that was when the people came flocking from all about through routes that most of the team didn't even know existed, and in seconds a gravel street corner had become a vibrant and bustling hub of energy and movement. Within the first couple of seconds water had filled the streets, turning the whole vaguely tiled floor into a mess or wet dirt and slippery tiles. People had began to crowd around and it was time for me to make my choice as to whether I was going to be on the hose or with the children, though I chose the hose initially that is not to be said that I couldn't be swayed to find a different place on the line. In the beginning Nate was working the front end where the business happened but he kindly moved offered me the front end so that I could experience the hectic rush for water myself. Though there was a kind Haitian man to help show me the ropes, we built up a rhythmic order and in the end it was just our Haitian guide and the locals moving buckets into order and me holding the giant hose in place while the water rushed out in a white current.

After encountering no problems at that stop we moved to the Haitian Initiative, where I had the most memorable experience yet in Haiti. When you walked into the steaming hot room you saw that there was little more that a makeshift kitchen and a table in a space large enough to be a warehouse. To give a little more background, I moved from Saint Paul to Edina in the summer of second grade, where I made what would be my home until I graduated high-school, In Edina we often hear of the Haitian Initiative, not only in how they would destroy us in soccer but also how many sponsors would bring these children from Haiti to Edina, where they would live during soccer season. Needless to say Edina is very connected in the Haitian Initiative organization, so it felt quite good to see Edina's loss had gone to some worthy players, these kids were kinder, more playful and more joyous than any kids I had ever new. With countless games and ways to entertain themselves they must keep themselves in shape and quick on their feet come soccer season.

While inside the Haitian Initiative organization I sat down with my grandmother, Pam and a man I had never met before, we sparked up a conversation and though he looked the part he had to good of english to be born here, it was as if it was his first language with little to no accent and using words that a gifted scholar might use it warranted the question of "where are you from?" the question was of course met with a toothy grin and a heavy laugh followed by an explanation and short summary of his life.

He told us how he was raised in New Jersey and was an avid reader of many holy books, he found his calling by doing missionary work down in Haiti after reading a particular book that listed quote from the bible. "I am working for the lord" he said, making his mark as an true christian.

While majority of the Haitians ran into a circle to play a group game some of the players and I snuck off with David to get some photos, they all had Edina jerseys on and when I told them I was from there to they burst out in somewhat laughter and somewhat amazement as they seemed to never expected than someone from Edina would come to visit them.

As it grew later in the day we socialized some more and gave the kids some more amazement when I told them I was 15, and 5'-8'' they thought that it was not possible that I was 15 as the nearest kid a 16 year old was barely 5 feet tall. However at that point the amazement and fun was only to be continued as Micah busted out his dance moves and showed the whole team what fun really was.

Chris Lethert

Day 3 of Haiti - By Caden Boike

Today was a really fun and it was also a very emotional day for all of the people in our group. One of the things that we did was deliver water to a poor shanty town called Cite Soleil. The first stop was a lot of fun! We all enjoyed playing with the kids and helping people get water. The thing that I really liked about the people of Cite Soleil is that they have so much joy about everything that goes on. For example when we got to the place where we would deliver the water all the kids crowded around just wanting to get hugged and held. Then when they would get that hug it would bring them so much joy and happiness. So if we weren't carrying kids or playing with them we would be helping people get water in their buckets and carrying it for them. The second place that we went was a little more emotional for the group. It felt a little more intense. The kids and people were a little more aggressive in wanting our attention and love. They also had different boundaries then we did. For example, they would grab at us and want to stroke our hair. This definitely showed their high need for touch and attention. But sadly we had to leave this stop a little early because of things starting to heat up. Afterwards though, this experience led to a lot of bonding and help our group grow closer to each other because we were able so share our thoughts and feelings about what we had gone through.

Another thing that we did today was go to this place called Haiti Initiative, also called H.I. This was a place for kids to get schooling, food and also attend a soccer academy. This place was also in Cite Soleil. The thing that I like so much about H.I was that the kids had the most joy that I have ever seen. The boys would like to arm wrestle and they were a lot stronger than you would think! They beat me almost every single time! Then the girls would have a fun dance party where they would get in a circle and clap and dance (There may have been some Whipping and Nae Naeing involved). Despite there was a big language barrier we were able to have so much fun through playing and interacting. To wrap up I think that the biggest thing that I learned was that we can find joy in the littlest things, just like how the people in Haiti do. Like they don't have as much as we do, but they have the most joy and love I have ever seen. The Lord is at work in Haiti and I can for sure see it.

Day 2 Haiti

           During the day our group split up in to two groups. One went to Gary's, and one went to the home of sick and dying children.

            The home of sick and dying children was really an eye opener for me. You would walk by their crib and they would just stick out there arms wanting to be held. We would feed, them carry them, or just sit with them. At the time we were there, it was the time when the kids parents would come visit them. They left before we did and when they left the kids would just scream and cry, there was a time when I was just sitting in the toddler section without a kid. When a little girl just came and laid on my legs just saying "Mama no" that was all she say for the last 45 minutes. She really clung to me and when I had to go it was really hard, I was just about out the door when I looked back. the girl was standing maybe 10 ft away with a tear going down her cheek. But over all it was a great experience for me that showed me that these kids just want to be loved and cared for. -Jack Boike

            The other half of our team went to Gary's orphanage for kids with special needs.
This was a newer destination considering only four teams have been down there. When I got out of the tap-tap I could already hear the cries of delight from the kids in the orphanage. We walked in, found 17 of the kids in the orphanage. Some of them were very stiff and couldn't completely move all of their muscles. Those were the ones that I loved to be around, because all you needed to do was stroke them, or massage them and they would be happy. I held a kid for a while, and she only smiled when we sang. I helped a little boy make a mighty fortress, using four chewed up legos. I also helped spoons feed a different little boy. I guess i need to practice before I have a child, because i didn't do the best. I had to leave right in the middle of struggling to feed the boy. At the start I was an observer, the trick is to jump right in. -Micah Stoerzinger

Arrival

After a relatively smooth pair of flights, we have arrived safely in Haiti.  The kids were excited and seemed to love the tap tap ride to the guest house where we will be staying for the next week.  After settling in, about half the team challenged the neighborhood boys to a soccer match while the other half walked over to a neighboring hotel pool to take a refreshing break from the heat.  All seemed to be looking forward to tomorrow where we will face our first day of serving.  I'm sure more than a few hearts will be broken at the home for sick and dying babies and the handicapped orphanage that we will be visiting.

Our trip that we have been preparing for these last months in now upon us.  I can't think of a better way to close out the summer for these kids.

The Fruits of Labor are on the way to Haiti

Several months ago a group of students from three different schools scattered across the Twin City area came together to bag groceries on an afternoon for the kids and people of Haiti.  Most had never done this before and most had probably not worked all day at something for which they wouldn't receive any compensation.  All nine of them worked hard, laughed and felt good about what they had accomplished.  For they had raised over $700 and this money was used to buy over 40 pairs of leather  church/school shoes, backpacks, socks and playground shorts.  At the end of the day, they walked away with empty pockets but with full hearts.  One of the kids will be able to see the reaction of the Haitian kids when they receive these items and I hope that he will be able to express to his fellow baggers the gratitude and joy that will be shown on the day that they are delivered to those orphanage kids in Haiti.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.      Anne Frank

Sometimes All You Need Is A Comforting Bosom 

Mission work is a complex amalgam of love, hard work, spiritual warfare, travel, giving, and joy. Throw in some pain, terror, sacrifice, heartbreak, privation, and laughter and you start to get the idea of what it really is like to leave your home behind, get on a jet with a bunch of strangers, and then eat Pringles as you bounce across rotten roads with a load of orphans.

This week in Haiti was my second one in three years. It won’t be the last unless I get lucky and meet God in person before next year. It cemented my impressions and love of the country, and people, that occupy this fragile island.

Two years ago it was a different place. Where there were stinking canals full of garbage on the first visit, there is water flowing and backhoes clearing away the sewage. Pounded collections of rubble from the 2010 earthquake have been replaced with small markets, new homes, and plantings of corn and sugar cane.  Smiles have replaced frowns. Blue skies are no longer darkened with the clouds of burning plastic.

Best of all, the national color of Haiti has changed from the blue of tarps in a tent city to the reflective vest of the construction workers and their matching hard hats. The country is cleaner, more vibrant: they are coming back from a terrible tragedy and a history that mixes despair, despotism, and liberty in unequal parts.

One thing hasn’t changed: the hearts of the people who come here on missions. Tender, caring, broken people who give their time and money to help Haiti climb out of the pit. A national mass grave has been left behind in a move toward a future of growth and tourism.  All with the help of people like Tamara and Stefan.

They are the two very tired missionaries who have children, also asleep, draped all over them. A soft bosom to comfort the children of Haiti, as they grow toward a future of joy. Two very different bodies, two different people. One spirit. The spirit of Jesus as he uses us as his hands and feet. And his comforting breast.

Joe

Saturday, April 18 

Love Thy Neighbor...

We made our way back to City Soleil to bring water, one of life’s most precious resources, and good will, to the people that live there.

As we maneuver the creaky Tap Tap and sister water truck into place, the residents of the city gather. Children smile and reach up and out, toddlers wait, for something--they don’t seem to know just what; and grown-ups are all business.  They line up their buckets quickly, looking for any hole in the line to slip into (we call it butting)--some succeed; others are reprimanded by the water truck driver, or our Haitian translators.

There is an energy circulating within the gathering--not upbeat as it was earlier in the week.  More unsettling, as if a storm was far off but brewing.

Our group begun to help;  carrying buckets, hoisting gallons of water to impossible positions on top of small heads; holding small children and babies, praying to infuse everything good thing that we held in our souls into these lovely beings as if for storage when needed.

Two young ladies shielded my team mate and me as we sat  in the hot sun, with a rag just big enough to cover our heads and the young children we were holding. They reminded me of sentinels; their sole duty to give back something to these strange white people whom they trust are here to help.

Later, a man vehemently slaps a young boy about the ears and on his head repeatedly.  I stand between them, helpless--to do much of anything else.  The man leaves; the boy begins to whimper, then sob.  I try to comfort him, to no avail.  He is distant--perhaps anticipating further unrest when finally he must go home sometime today for shelter.

Shelter.  4 by 5 feet, perhaps.  A couch. No bed. Dirt on the floor.  A chicken pacing in front of the towel hung in an opening to constitute a doorway.

The morning grows chaotic as the water begins to run out.  The people quicken their pace to retrieve water that they pray will get them through to the next delivery.

The water runs out.  Our group makes their way to the pier, as our driver tends to a flat tire.

When we return to the tap tap, we find waiting an injured woman, her head gashed and bleeding.  As our team mate,who is a nurse practitioner, and one of our leaders tend to her injuries, our translator explains that a man has intruded into her house and attempted to rape her 12-year-old daughter.  When the mother fended the man off to protect her daughter, he beat her severely. Our skilled nurse patched her up with with what tools we had from the tap tap first aid kit.  The woman would go back to her house.  No hospital--no money.  No police--there are none.

Love thy neighbor...

I stand by the tap tap. Lost. Where is God today, I’m wondering?

I feel like crying, and then I do. Stuck. Helpless. Saddened. 

A little girl in a dirty white dress sees me from the other side of the tap tap.  She makes her way over to me, looks up at my tears with genuine, adult--looking concern.

Beautiful, deep brown eyes, furrowed brow.

Genuinely concerned.

She takes the hem of her dress and lifts it to my face to dab at my tears.

I hug her close, wanting to savor the utter, simple humanity of this moment.

The injured leaves, the crowd begins to thin.  we board the tap tap.

A morning of tension, a morning of violence, a questioning of faith--redeemed by a small child reaching out--an act as large as God--an act of loving thy neighbor.

After all...

Marj Hellweg