Haiti

"I don't want to glance over poverty because I have seen it before. I don't want to overlook those I encounter because I think I already understand. I don't want to ignore what is right in front of my face because I feel like they hold lessons I've already learned." -Alece

This was my fourth trip to the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission in Saint Louis du Nord, Haiti. The Northwest is the poorest region in Haiti; I saw this more this time than any other trip. Our team of 15 people traveled six hours by school bus from Port au Prince to Saint Louis. We arrived around 10:00 at night. We blew up air mattresses and found sheets and pillows while trying not to wake everyone else that were already in bed. When we took our second flight into Haiti the plane was full so we had to check our second carry on at the door. We didn’t see those bags again until Saturday, the seventh day of the trip. God taught us all many things from not having everything we thought we would need for the trip. A few of us had all their things so we shared and did laundry frequently. Not many teams can come back saying they went shopping at a Haitian market for underwear.

I was worried and didn’t want to put too much expectation on seeing some of the Haitians I had met last year. A lot of the interpreters only work for one summer or just a few weeks at a time. Anything could happen in a year since I last saw the boys who stand outside the mission selling bracelets. I was so excited when I saw Rodlen. He came up and gave me a hug when I was playing with some younger kids in the nutrition program. He told me he got to attend school this past year and I noticed he had on a lot nicer clothes on. I didn’t see him for the next couple of days and the other boys said he was sick. But he came running up to me again when we were watching the soccer game.

Every afternoon at the church across the street the mission teaches an English class. A few of our girls went every day. I went once to the beginner class and once to the advanced. In the beginner class we were paired up and helped our partner read through a children’s book. We then asked them to retell us the story to make sure they understood what they were reading. In the advanced class they have been reading through “Hatchet”. Melissa, the teacher, wrote out vocabulary and explained each word. It put in perspective for me how hard it is to explain the meaning of words we use all the time. I was partnered with Tony. He was a really good reader and when Melissa asked a question I was proud of him for the answer he gave. I talked with a few of the other guys as well, Sonny and Taylor. Some of the interpreters for the mission grow up going to an English speaking school but these guys are taking this class so that hopefully soon they can start working at the mission.

At the mission we have devos in the morning and at night. Some of the guys and girls from our team lead worship every night. I don’t think if I can describe the difference between worshiping staring at the mountains with the wind blowing compared to standing in straight rows, inside, staring at the words to the songs on the screen. It was incredible.

My Bible was in my second carry on. I couldn’t use my phone for any sort of daily Bible reading. Even being on a mission trip where the point is to commune with God all day and with devos twice a day I wanted more than anything to be in God’s Word. This past year I went through the James Bible study by Beth Moore. I memorized James 1 so for seven days that was the Word of God that I had and I can’t even count how many times I repeated it.

When people talk about mission trips, and changing the world, and sharing the gospel, and giving to the poor, the glorified stories that come are about relationships made and kids held but there are things that happen behind the scenes that make all of that possible. A few days we stayed at the mission and did projects they needed to get done. The church across the street needed to be repainted. First though the current paint had to be scraped off the concrete walls. When you sign up to go to Haiti this isn’t one of the things you picture yourself doing, but our team had good attitudes and started scraping. After about two hours there were 15 eyelevel, about 2’x2’ patches of exposed concrete on the brown walls. Each team worked on the church while we were there and by the end of the summer the teams will be able to start painting.

The grocery ministry is when you go to the market and buy a bag of groceries, pick a house at random and ask if they need groceries today, then ask if you can pray with them. We bought three bags and had passed out the first two. We arrived at an intersection in the road. Someone yelled out left so we turned and stopped at the first house we came to. I figured this house got stopped at a lot and we should go down further down the road but the woman told us she was the grandmother of the house. Her daughter travels an hour one-way to work every day. The grandmother takes care of the kids at home. She told us how the day before someone had stolen her money so she couldn’t buy food for the day. All they had eaten was the fruit growing from the tree in their yard.

 The brothel in Saint Louis is walking distance from the mission. The girls on our team went and met the women in the common area with their kids. I shared a story from 2 Kings 11. I wanted to share a story about a woman who followed God but is also lesser known. Even growing up in church I don’t remember hearing any stories about Jehosheba. She saved the heir to the Israelite kingdom. She didn’t have any power in the kingdom but knew that the boy needed to be protected. We may not think we can do great things or we are beautiful but when we think those things it breaks God’s heart because we are his daughters and he calls us beautiful and created us to do great things. A team went to the brothel every day and on our final day we invited the women to the mission for a Princess Party. We decorated the chapel and had cookies and muffins. The women received jewelry and decorated crowns. More teams shared what it means to be daughters of the King. I think the women really enjoyed it.

The Neighbor’s Project is where a church in America partners with a church in Haiti. A group from a church in Fredericksburg, VA traveled to the church in Berger, Haiti every day. I had the opportunity to join them for two days. The church in Berger is a tarp attached to the pastor’s house held up by bamboo poles. The group from VA was able to provide a tin roof for the church. Amazingly, maybe for the first time in history, the roof was on before church on Sunday. After Sunday service the team brought water purifying systems to pass out to twelve families. They were so easy to use I was able to help pass them out and show how to use them.

A lot of the times when we show up at a church a lot of young kids come to hear a Bible story and receive a snack. In Berger we had the chance to talk with the teens on a deeper level and gave them a change for them to ask us questions. It was encouraging to see so many show up and have questions for us.

We traveled to Anse a Foleur, where the voodoo temple is. The Haitians who worship at the temple believe in the God we know but also offer sacrifices to spirits they believe protect, heal, and seek revenge on their behalf. We view the temple and walk to the monument to pray for the one true God and truth to be revealed to these people.

On our last day we went Hut to Hut asking if we could talk with and pray for people. Our whole team went which can be intimidating so a few of us stood back at each house. At one house I was standing back from a man from a neighboring house came out and asked what we were doing. We told him and he told us his name was Gin asked if we could pray for him. Of course! He invited us into his home and introduced us to his wife, Finel, and new baby, Jaylen. After we finished praying we put TOMS on Jaylen’s feet. Haiti received 100,000 pairs of TOMS and 30,000 went to Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. My backpack was full of little kids shoes we were able to deliver to many families that day.

We were supposed to arrive back in America around midnight Thursday morning. God had other plans. Our plane from Port de Paix to Port au Prince was late so we missed our flight from Port au Prince to Newark. This isn’t the first time anyone has been delayed in Haiti; we were in good hands with the mission. They knew what hotel to take us to and bought us hamburgers and French fries for dinner. We stayed at Coconut Villa. I was surprised at how nice it was. They had a pool to swim in! I saw a lot more of Port au Prince than I had ever seen before. Contrasted with the Northwest region, everyone living in the capital looks like they are living the “good life” even though they are poorer than both you and I.