I'll admit, this post is more for me than for sharing information or insights with anyone else. My trip to Haiti had a huge impact on my life - where I wanted it to go, where I hoped God would lead, things I needed to change, etc. It was exactly a year ago that I was in Haiti (Dec. 30th 2009 - Jan 7th 2010). So many things happened. Some things that are easily forgotten, some things I couldn't wipe from my memory if I tried.
About a month after our return, I sat down with the intent of given a report of sorts to those that had supported me emotionally and financially on my trip. I had tried to give a brief overview, but found it was impossible to contain the content of those 9 days into just a few paragraphs. What came instead was a series of e-mails, one for each day I was gone, that were a reflection on an amazing time in my life.
I'm so grateful for those e-mails. They helped me get into writing thoughts and experiences that I would have forgotten otherwise. They also allowed me to be a witness for the work being done in Haiti.
So, as I reflect on the changes 2010 has brought and the path God has laid out for 2011, here are the original e-mails - to remind me of the calling God has given me - and to be a witness to you that God is alive and well in Haiti.
Thursday, February 04, 2010 2:24 PM
Subject: Long Overdue Haiti report
I intended to get this out a while ago, but honestly, there were just so many emotions and thoughts that I needed to process before I could even begin to write to tell you about the trip. And then five days after we returned (we got back on January 7th) the earthquake struck Haiti which brought about so many other things in my mind. In a way, I think I was dealing with survivors guilt. There were a couple of weeks where I was really struggling with depression. It’s one thing to come down off a “spiritual high,” it’s another to be doing that at the same time knowing that thousands of people you have a vested interest in are now homeless, orphaned, maimed, or dead. It was simply overwhelming. The good news is that Jan (the missionary we stayed with) lives in Gonaives and was not directly affected by the earthquake. Although they felt it (and all the aftershocks) no one was hurt, their house is undamaged, and by the grace of God they were able to stock pile food and fuel in the few days following the earthquake. So, they are okay. Though, some criminals that escaped when the prison in Port-au-Prince collapsed have returned to Gonaives. The risk these criminals pose has prevented Jan from doing some of her ministry work as it is simply too dangerous to be working in the Bor Kanal slum. Food has started trickling back into their market, though some of what they need has always come through Port-au-Prince. But we praise God that they are safe.
So, that’s a short recap of Haiti and Jan’s family since I’ve been back, but here is a condensed version of what happened while I was in Haiti. I don’t have the time to give all the details, and I’m not sure your e-mail servers could handle it anyway!
Don’t hesitate to ask if there is something you have a question about or if you want to hear more about a particular event. Just be warned, I may talk for hours!
Our flight was supposed to leave Wichita around 6:30am. Unfortunately we were about 30-45 minutes late departing due to waiting for the plane to be de-iced. So, after running through the Dallas airport and getting to our terminal as they were announcing “Final boarding call” we made our connection and were off to Miami. Then after just enough time for a really expensive airport sandwich we were on our way to Haiti. Sitting in the plane to Haiti I realized that this was the first time I had ever been a minority – racially at least. It was a little uncomfortable.
Once we got our bags from baggage claim it was time to head out into Haiti civilization. Wow! Culture shock. Immediately in front of the exit was a loading/unloading zone. On the other side of this was a metal fence about waist high. People were standing there yelling at the people coming out. I’m sure some of them were yelling at family members who had just deplaned, but I’m also pretty sure some of them were yelling things at the white people.
*side note* One thing I noticed about almost everyone in Haiti is they look mad all the time. I pondered this a lot while there and I think I figured out why. In America, most people usually look happy or content all the time. But there are those few that look ticked all the time. Often those are the people that have had the hardest life. That describes everyone in Haiti. With an average yearly income of about $350, they often don’t know when they’ll get to eat again, let alone when they’ll be able to feed or cloth their children. There is no government assistance, no food stamps, no… well… there’s just nothing. No wonder they always look mad. But when you could get them to smile they had the most beautiful smiles! And the kids, they smiled all the time. Life hasn’t had time to hit them hard enough to kill their innocence. How I loved the smiles of the kids!
Okay, back to the airport narrative. We had been told before hand not to let anyone help us with our baggage carts (we had brought lots of extra clothes, tools, toiletries, etc.). Immediately upon stepping on the sidewalk someone tried to take my cart from me. “No, no,” I said, “Pah to shay!” (creole for don’t touch – not sure on my spelling though). But within a few feet there was someone else trying to “help” (and then demand money when they were done helping). I’m horrible at judging distances, but I would guess it was about 50 yards from the airport door to the parking lot. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to see Jan standing by her truck. As I approached her she said, “You must be Naomi.” I just nodded and started crying. I think the culture shock just hit me at that moment.
After a quick tailgate lunch we got on the road to Gonaives. We expected it to be about a five hour drive (via road it’s about 100 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince). To our surprise some of the roads had been improved so the trip didn’t take that long. However, it wasn’t without event. After roughly 1- 1 ½ hours on the road the rental car I was in started to overheat (we were in a caravan of two rental vehicles and two trucks). It was about 8:00(?) at night so it was dark. Keep in mind this is Haiti so there aren’t street lights, or at least very few. Nothing like being in the middle of nowhere with a dying car, no knowledge of the language (except “don’t touch” and “thank-you”), and no Autozone or repair shop nearby! But this was the first vivid instance for me of how in control God was of our whole trip. In all honesty, if I were back in America and this had happened I would have been freaking out. But I felt God’s presence so fully that it was a very cool experience. It’s hard to put into words. Ron and Dan B. were dealing with the car (turns out is had no radiator cap!) me, Maegan, Ashley, and Matt just sat in the car and started praying. Then we girls just started singing. We sang every praise song we could think of, including one I learned from working in the preschool (which ended up being used in VBS in Bor Kanal – but that’s a later story). As we sang I just felt so much joy. We also drew a crowd of about 4-5 kids that were just grinning from ear to ear at us. They spoke a little English, but not enough for us to truly communicate with them. Have you ever been in a situation where people were smiling and laughing and you just knew they weren’t laughing at you, they were just soaking up the joy that was emanating from you? Not really sure I’ve ever felt that here, not in the same way at least. But these kids, their smiles (I told you about the smiles), it was genuine. As we sang and looked goofy and made fools of ourselves, these kids were having a blast right along with us.
A truck with three men stopped to see what was going on. Immediately my thought was, “Are they going to rob us?” but God immediately took that thought captive and just reassured me that he was in control. A little while later this truck of men returned with a radiator cap for us. Remember I said there was no Autozone nearby,so where they got a radiator cap at that time of night, I have no idea. But I felt so blessed that they helped us. I had anticipated such animosity that it was almost as if God was using that truck full of scary looking men (remember everyone in Haiti scowls) to show me that there is hope for those in Haiti.
Once the engine cooled down we got back on the road. Within five or ten minutes the engine was overheating again. And what did we girls continue to do? We sang the entire way to Goniaves. Amazingly, God made that car last another 2 ½ -3 hours to the outskirts of Gonaives. (Interesting fact: the car finally died right about the same time we stopped singing…. Hmmm…) So, with about fifteen minutes left in our trip, me Maegan & Ashley piled into Jan’s vehicle with the other women while the men stayed with the vehicle on the side of the road which eventually was towed that night to Jan’s house. We had such a blast traveling that last little bit Haitian style. Keep in mind that although this vehicle had two seats in front a middle row and 4 seats in the back/storage area, the entire back was filled to overflowing with luggage. So we fit all 10 women in the space meant for 5. (3 in the front – sorry Stephanie that you got stuck on the gear shifter and 7 in the middle seat.) And the laughs we got from the other people on the road just made us laugh that much harder!
In my journal that night I wrote that one of my blessings was knowing that, “we are in His hands and He was, is, and always will be in control.” I’ve found that since being back, sometimes I have to remind myself that that is just as true here as it was in Haiti. I just have to let go of it (whatever it may be) first.
Well, my kids are running crazy through the house so I think what I may do is just send this now as it is. I promise to send the rest of the update later, though it may be in daily installments. Especially since day 1 was one of the least eventful days and you see how much I was able to say about it I look forward to telling you more, I hope you look forward to hearing about it!
Naomi
No comments:
Post a Comment