I've tried in the past to tell others about Haiti, but I can't capture exactly what I want to communicate in order for them to feel my passion for Haiti. On my return trip, in the airport, I was talking with a gentleman and I told him I was returning from Haiti. He looked at me with shock and said, "You mean you went there because you wanted to???" I had no words to help him understand what I feel about Haiti and why I return. Haiti is people. Haiti is not just a piece of land ravaged by numerous injustices over the years...Haiti is the children in Bercy, in Carrefour, and in Leogane. Haiti is friendships and love. Haiti, for me, can't be described. I had been four times prior to this most current trip. I had always gone to the orphanage and stayed there for the most part, except the occasional trip to the market. This trip was with Missions Of Love- Haiti. "Missions" because they support at least 6 orphanages not including churches and individual families. Haiti is to them what it is to me...friends and family! We traveled a good bit on this mission. I enjoyed seeing more of Haiti and meeting more of her wonderful people.
On Monday, March 28, 2011 a team of six men and women arrived in Haiti. This was the first trip for one young man and the 5th trip for me. The other team members have lost count as to how many trips they have made. Haiti is family. When I see Haiti, I see the precious children and match their names with their faces. I met new brothers and sisters in Christ on my most recent trip. The children are precious in the Lord’s sight and it was so wonderful to drive into the yard of the Children’s Home and call out the children’s names as they curiously peered out to see who was going to emerge from the “mission van.” I didn’t want to disappoint the children so I didn’t Facebook my trip. I would have never wanted to have to tell them that I wasn't going to visit.
The second day of our trip we spent loving on children. First, the children at the Fond-Blanc Orphanage. It was located above Cazale. I had been to Cazale on one of my previous trips and had remembered the roads as being steep and very rocky. I had a funny feeling that we were on that road again when I saw the path of the water down below. Sure enough, I saw the sign to Cazale and breathed a sigh of relief…too soon. We drove up and up and up until we finally brought the van to a stop in the yard of the Orphanage. The children knew that Mom and Dad Higgins had arrived with snacks and candy. We toured the new school and orphanage that had been built. It looked much like the school in Bercy. The area was beautiful and full of mango trees. The mangos were so ripe they were falling off of the trees. I have to admit, I was near heaven! I love mangos!
After changing a flat tire and eating lunch, we packed ourselves back into the van and headed to “My Place” as my new friends like to call it. My excitement was building as I passed through the markets and remembered my previous four trips to the area. I could not contain my tears as I saw the old blue truck sitting on the side of the orphanage. I cried out the children’s names as they surrounded me. It took some of them a few minutes to recognize me, since they had last seen me in June 2008. Of course they wanted to know where Dr. Mike and the children were. Everyone inquired about Clifford. I had taken a book of pictures with me to give to his mom, so I showed the children how much he had grown. I felt right at home as Baby Mac – who isn’t so “baby” anymore took my hand and walked with me through their home. I didn’t expect the emotions that I felt. My tears would swell when I tried to talk. It was so exciting to be able to leave two 50lb. trunks of toys, diapers, formula and clothes. This was the first time I could take 100lbs of “fun stuff” to the kids. It felt great to be there and to see the new hospital that is ready to open across the street.
Wednesday, March 30 marked our third day. I met new children and families and we toured the orphanage that is located down the street from the mission house where we were staying. We were on the southeast side and from the orphanage, we could see the boats coming into port. We were on a main road which made it noisy and loud but it gave me a new opportunity. I walked the streets and smiled at and talked to the people on the roadside. “Mom Higgins” hugged many of the shop keepers as we walked along. I later learned that they were church members. I met all of them that evening when we held services in the makeshift church located in the school.
The church is under repair from the earthquake. We toured the sanctuary and saw the huge cracks in the walls. The leadership of the church took the opportunity to expand the sanctuary during the repair process. The church will soon have it’s own bathroom and an entrance from the main street. This will keep the church members from having to walk through the orphanage to go to the church. There is no set date for completion of the sanctuary. The area where we visited reminded me of St. Augustine. The streets were brick and the houses were built so closely together that there was no yard. The “pet” goats were hanging out in front of the houses. When the neighborhood realized that the missionaries had arrived we were hugged, kissed, thanked and prayed over. We came upon a pastor’s wife who was laying on her front porch, curled into a ball trying to sleep. She was sick and there was no one there who could diagnose her illness. Our team prayed with her and her family. At church that evening, I gave her husband some Tylenol samples. He was so grateful. Two days later, she was reportedly feeling much better and had gone to the market in PAP to sell her goods.
Upon our arrival, the school was full of children wearing red t-shirts. There were so many children that I could not count them all. The older students had not arrived for their afternoon classes so we saw the preschoolers and kindergarteners who were finishing up their lunches. They were treated to several lollipops, but didn’t know how to remove the plastic. I was busy unwrapping candy and watching the children’s faces light up. There were a few children who put all of their candy into their pockets and didn’t ask for them to be opened. I had many thoughts on why they did this…I was glad that we were able to at least be a bright spot to the children who have a very hard road of life ahead of them. It was so good to see so many children who were learning to write their names and read.
Odd as it may seem to say about Haiti and with all they have faced and will face in the future, I heard hope for the future and I heard rejoicing for the past. My love for the Haitian people was only made stronger through this trip. One family wanted to show us their home. It had survived the earthquake but needed a roof. They had never had a roof on their house and they were getting wet everytime that it rained. With mission gifts, we were able to buy the supplies and the men from the church donated their time and talents to give this family shelter. A very proud Haitian father of five and additional caregiver to three other relatives smiled as he showed us where his “big” house was being built. It was partially completed, but he was using his time, materials and talents to repair the sanctuary of the church. He looked forward to the home he would live in someday, but focused on rebuilding God’s house of worship. We saw tents, little wooden “huts” and the families who inhabited them. Each one would always reference the earthquake and tell us how God brought them through safely. I was amazed that at their loss, even of family member’s or friends, they saw God as their protector and provider.
Thursday’s trip to PAP did not turn out as we had planned. I joked to the team that I wanted to see some of the city that had been damaged by the earthquake and also to ride in a Tap-Tap. I revealed my desires when we returned to the Mission House…after 8 hours on the roadside in Carrefour Feuilles. Before the earthquake, there was an orphanage located in the area that Missions of Love-Haiti supported. All of the children perished during the quake. The pastor who directed the orphanage had been trying to build a church in the area but it never came to fruition. After the earthquake, a church was built and it became home to many displaced Haitians who had lost their homes in that area. The pastor rebuilt the orphanage, but moved it from it’s original location. As you can imagine, it was impossible to go through all of the rubble and also rebuild. The new location was not in Carrefour Feuilles. Our driver, Son, was directed to Pastor Mombien’s orphanage. He didn’t know about the new one so he took us to the old one. The streets were damaged from the quake and were very hard to maneuver. We drove through a marketplace which had migrated into the street. We made our way, up the hill through the people as they were grabbing their baskets out of the line of the tires that were about to run over them. We didn’t make anyone made enough to hurt us and it was a good thing because when we arrived at the top of the hill where we were going to park and walk up to see the orphanage, the starter went out on the van and we were stranded.
Pastor Mombien had made arrangements to meet us at the new orphanage. He waited and waited for us…we did not arrive. We were able to contact him and tell him what happened. He sent a repair man to help find a new starter. In the meantime, we waited. We waited on the side of the road. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Herby was by my side the entire day. I enjoyed waving to the children who were going back and forth to school. Some of the people just stared at us and others ignored our presence. We were parked beside a shoe shine business. Many people stopped by the have their shoes shined. It had not rained lately and it was very dusty. The Haitians that traveled with us bought drinks and snacks from the people we were mixing with and that seemed to bring a few more smiles our way.
As nature would have it, I had to go to the bathroom. There was a huge gate behind where we were sitting and it looked to have a home behind it. I asked Son if he could ask if I could use their bathroom. He was gone for a good while and finally when he returned he sent me into a home that was across the street from where we had been sitting. A nice young man offered to show me to the “room”. He stopped along the way to fetch some paper for me to use. I wish I would have had my camera. My heart sank as I looked at the cement block with the large hole in the middle. There was little light coming in through the openings in the roof so it was difficult for me to see. From what I could sell and smell it that had been used many times before. When I realized that it was too tall for me to climb up on, I stood there for what seemed like forever and couldn’t think of a way that I could safely balance myself to do what I needed to do. A pan, similar to the one I bake cookies on, was beside the hole. It had a rusted out area in the middle of it. I can only guess that perhaps it was for young people so that they would not fall into the hole. I accidentally dropped the roll of toilet paper beside the cement. Since, the house had been built on the side of a mountain, the paper rolled away. It rolled and rolled until I didn’t think it was going to stop. I didn’t need it because I decided that I would be ok if I didn’t use the bathroom at that moment. I must add that I had heard about bathrooms like this, but until you’ve seen it, it’s hard to believe. I gathered up the paper as best as I could and tried to salvage it for someone else. When I exited the room, the young man was waiting on me and he offered me a bar of soap and some well water with which to wash my hands. I somehow made it through the rest of the day, but I began to limit my fluid intake!
Pastor Mombein had arrived and he wanted to show us the new church. A large donation of oatmeal had been donated and we had a lot of packets that we had taken with us to leave at the orphanage. We noticed that a chalk-board and benches were arranged for children to go to school inside of the church. We offered the oatmeal and it was gladly accepted. We didn’t know how much we had taken, but one of the missionarie said it was probably like the time that Jesus multiplied the fishes and bread. It blessed us so much to be able to provide the next couple of meals for the school children. God impressed upon my heart that we should conduct a medical clinic there in the future. The pastor and his wife shared that the area is in need of Christ. He has plans for teams to visit the area to share the love of Christ.
The hours passed slowly. As we waited for the mechanic to return, we had settled into our spots on the back bench of the passenger van on the side of the road. Suddenly music began to play. The radio in the booth beside of us had come on. We wondered what Haitan song was playing and Herby said it was Christian. He translated the song for us. We were encouraged with the words, “Christ will be coming back soon and we will all go home!” A Tap Tap had arrived to take us back to the mission house. Several of the men and the driver were going to stay with the van until the mechanic returned. I gave them all of the snacks that I had stuffed in my backpack. I had so many because that morning I said to myself, what if we go somewhere and we don’t have access to food…
The ride through PAP on the Tap Tap can’t be described. From the first acceleration to the last we prayed for the ride of our lives. Tap Tap drivers are some of the most talented and focused people. We slid between semi-trucks and buses with just the blast of his horn. After the initial thoughts of a head-on collision passed through my mind, I decided that if I were to die, I would die doing what I love…being in Haiti!!!
A blog about our adventures in Haiti...what God calls us to do and how He equips us to help this generation and the next.
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