Tuesday, March 17 & 18 - The Road Going Home

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Tuesday we all got up and prepared to travel back to PAP. It was hard to believe that this adventure was coming to an end. We had another unusual breakfast. I don't mean that in a negative way. In America we definitely have our own ideas of what to eat for breakfast. For example one morning we were served squash soup, on Saturday they served a dish that was made from polenta, spinach and herring. Again - God provides. They use what they have to prepare meals. Fruit is abundant there. We always had mangos and oranges. They were wonderful! Most often I had their bread with peanut butter and a sweet jam. I absolutely loved their morning juice that tasted like grapefruit. It's obvious that the fruit is riped on the vine. That was such a treat.

One thing I will remember is how our hosts in Jacmel and Orneau served us "American" food. They went out of their way to serve us french fries and tuna salad sandwiches. There was the struggle knowing that this was done to please us but at the same time our translators were served rice and beans. Again, it's the graciousness of the Haitian people.

Before leaving Jacmel Pastor Marky and his wife Sydney took us to some shops where we could purchase gifts from local artists. I was told early on that Haitian vendors want to dicker with you over prices. I've never been one to do this but I must admit that it didn't take long and I was dickering with the best of them.

The trip back to PAP was one of our shorter trips. It took a few hours but it was a quick ride. Pastor Marky traveled with us as he had a meeting there.

Our driver, Gary, gave us a ride through PAP that was one to remember. I think I explained earlier that there are no road signs, no speed limits, and negotiating traffic is done with your horn. At one point we could see a traffic jam forming. Gary took us into the lane of oncoming traffic. I trusted this guy - I never once felt threatened or unsafe. We went down the street with one side of the bus up on the curb. The poor pedestrians that were attempting to cross the street would give him a nasty look and shake their hands at him. Gary was on a mission and without any problem he got us to the head of the traffic jam and fortunately back on the right side of the street.

We pulled into Wall's Guest House safely. The night was short with few of us sleeping. After a week and a half of not getting bit up by mosquitoes, I finally got eaten up. It was a small price to pay after all this time.

We made it through the airport at PAP and finally were boarding the plane. I was surprised when I walked past an Oshkosh Truck fire engine. Had I been smart I would have had my photo take in front of it.

As we flew over Haiti I cried. I cried when I left Peace Lutheran on that Sunday. Now the tears ran because I was leaving a place I'd come to love. A place that was feeling like home. A people that warmed my heart. I hope to go back to Haiti again. I can't imagine not going back. God blessed me greatly during this trip. Being in Haiti and seeing the people our efforts are helping meant so much.

Peace Lutheran has a lot to think about. There's so much work to do for God's kingdom in Haiti. What we know is that we will see so many familiar faces when we get to Heaven. I told Pastor Ahlmeyer I now understand being one with another church... the holy Christian church. God is good. I don't know how we thank the congregation at Peace Lutheran Church for giving the four of us this opportunity. We hope that our visit will make our work here in Neenah easier. I can't wait to get started!

Monday, March 16 - Medical Clinic in Orneau

Monday would be our last medical clinic. Each one has been so different. This clinic was held at the Lutheran Church of Orneau.


This was a much smaller church and space was limited. As in all things the Lord provides what we need and in a short period of time things were set up and we were ready to roll.


The people here suffer from many of the same things they did in Les Cayes and Jacmel. We had one hydrocephalic child present. There was also a man with a large tumor on his leg. With special cases like this we made sure that Pastor Marky and Nora met with them so further care could be coordinated. (It was fascinating after returning home the questions that go out to physicians in America to try and understand what these cases could be. It impressed upon me that they would do everything they could to help people.) I was so grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary project.


After the clinic I was able to walk around the area and just enjoy the beauty of the trees and flowers. Some may look at this and wonder why would you bother. I look at the people and the land and feel like God has blessed them in so many ways. Yes, they live a very difficult life and soon will have the threat of hurricanes, flooding and mud slides to deal with. The strength of the people in Haiti is amazing.

The drive to and from Orneau was through an area where you could see the damage done by the flooding, heavy rains and hurricanes. Our vehicle drove over washed out roads and there were times when I thought we might not get through. Gary (our driver) did an great job. Often the bottom of the bus would scrape.

One question someone had on the ride home that day was about all the animals we saw tied up with no one watching them. In America the animals would probably be stolen or harmed. "Bob" one of the lay pastors from Jacmel explained that people won't steal them because they are threatened with curses or being turned into a zombie if they steal them. What an amazing thing! Vodoo is so strong there that fear of it curbs crime.

Learning How We Can Help

Sunday after church we had the opportunity to see the work being done on the large church. Pastor Marky was so happy to show us how far they've come. There's a great deal of work to do but it was so exciting to finally see what we've only been able to share by photographs.

In 2008 Peace sent a truck that was loaded with building materials. Boxes of tiles for this very floor are in Haiti waiting for the time when they will be layed.

We walked through the church and Pastor explained what the different rooms would be. He felt that in two years after completion of the church he would have this church filled. Seeing and hearing the passion he has for the gospel I don't doubt that it will happen.

Pastor explained their hopes to purchase extra land so they could have access from both sides of the church. This area is growing and will be plotted out for homes. Without the access on the other side, parishoners will need to travel an extra 15 minutes to the other access road.

As members of Peace Lutheran we needed to get a sense of what the needs are for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti to grow. Pastor Marky has 3 other churches in the area that he's growing. With the help of lay pastors the word of salvation is being shared.

Thursday, March 12 - Spending Time With the Boys at the Children of Israel Orphanage in Les Cayes

Thursday, April 2, 2009

What a wonderful time this was! I had so much fun just watching the children, their caregivers, and my translator (the big kid on the corner of the first table) sit down and have fun with the Crayola paints.


I was afraid the children may not know what to do with the paints or even have ideas in their head of what to paint. Was I surprised! Once they learned how to bring the colors to life they jumped right in and began to create beautiful pictures.


Boys are boys everywhere - they all love their machines. Machines are trucks in Haiti. What little boy anywhere in the world isn't fascinated by dump trucks, buses, jeeps and cars.

There were definitely some artists in the group. A few got out pencils and drew designs that they then painted. There were suns, tap-taps, people, and machines. I brought the artwork home so we could display them when we make presentations to anyone who will listen to our experiences in Haiti.

Needless to say that anytime you have small containers of water around children at least one has to end up all over the table or on the floor. After the first two containers were dumped over the caregivers smiled at me and removed the canvas-like table covers and let the boys have fun.

The only instruction the boys needed was how to get the brush wet in the water and work the water into the paint cups. From there they proceeded to amaze me. I would love to be able to frame the pictures and return them to the orphanage one day to be hung on their walls.

My translator, Babout, was getting calls that the others had returned from Ile A Vache and dinner was ready. He was having so much fun with the boys that he had a hard time leaving. I didn't push him to leave because I felt like we had just gotten started so I began taking pictures of the boys with their artwork. They were so proud and laughed when they saw the image of themselves in the camera. I wish I could be with them now and bring them more art projects they could work on. There's so much that they've not been exposed to, so much they would enjoy.

A Hospital in Les Cayes - Thursday 3/12

Monday, March 30, 2009

She looks like a child herself, doesn't she? This mother is very proud of her beautiful child. The moms were happy when I would ask to take a picture of them and their baby. Some children were so very sick that I couldn't bring myself to ask for a photo. This photo doesn't even come close to telling the story of health care in Haiti.

We often criticize our always rising health care costs. In Haiti you can stay in the hospital for $2. Sounds crazy doesn't it? What I realized is that the families give the care. They bring the food the patient eats. If the patient needs an x-ray, the family has to take them outside the hospital to a place where x-rays are taken. It's the same situation for medicine. The patient gets dressed and the family takes them to a local pharmacy for the medicine they need. You can't even compare our health care system to ours. We pay a great deal of money but look at what we get.

I toured the pediatric unit first and found an intake area followed by a smaller area where healthier children were being cared for. Here I saw three babies that had been abandoned. Because the families are expected to care for their children, the abandoned children were laying or sitting in soiled sheets. Their blessing is that there are health care workers who care enough to give them what they need. One baby layed in a diaper that was overflowing with feces. I wanted so much to grab a diaper and change this beautiful baby. You are tempted to take the children and hug and cuddle them. Given the looks I was getting I felt like an intruder and didn't want to appear critical. In my heart I know that the staff are doing the best they can with what they have. I don't doubt that they care greatly for their patients. They would probably be amazed at what we have here and would wish they had it for their patients. How different their patients' lives would be.

Another section of the peds unit was for children that are malnourished. I felt most uncomfortable in this area of the unit. Here you saw children that looked like they were at death's door. They very well may have been. So many lifeless looking bodies. As beautiful as Haiti is the true story is in what is lacking for these people. When I left the peds unit I didn't want to continue the tour. But if I wanted to get a better sense health care I needed to keep going.

Another unit we went through housed women. One women was happy to show off her newborn twins. A few beds down from her were two women attempting to transfer a young woman from a wheelchair to the bed and failing miserably. One had her ankles and one had her shoulders. The patient was moaning with pain as she was rolled onto the bed. My fear was that in trying to help their family member into bed they could very well have been doing her more harm than good. Again - her family was doing the best they could for her.

There were several buildings on the hospital compound. The buildings are made of cinder blocks and stucco. There aren't windows that keep out dirt or dust. I went in the morning and there were many family members outside looking in at their loved ones. My ride home was a quiet one and it left me with a better understanding of the struggles Haiti has with providing adequate care for the sick.

Paper Bead Project - Thursday 3/12/09

While my fellow missionaries went to Ile a Vache I stayed behind to spend the day in Les Cayes. Knowing they would be climbing up the side of a mountain made me think twice about attempting that with two bad knees. My plans for the day included a trip to the hospital in Les Cayes, spending the afternoon with the girls from the orphanage teaching them to make paper beads and then late afternoon with the boys at the orphanage doing an art project.

The paper bead project is one I had been planning for a very long time. One problem I encountered, which didn't surprise me was that the television was on in the administrative dining room and the "Bee Movie" was on. While I was trying to get the girls to focus on the technique their eyes often wandered to the television. What I found fun was that Babbout (my translator) loved art projects and while he was to explain the process - he did so while working on the beads himself. While it was fun there were moments when I wished so much that I could speak Creole. The language barrier was so very obvious.

The girls were mindful of each other and happily waited their turn to use a glue stick or brush.

Later that evening some of the girls wandered up to the dining area. We had finished dinner and I was enjoying a Coke made with sugar cane sugar (yum!). The beads had dried and I began trimming them so they would have the finished beads for the next day. With the television being off several girls crowded around and they began helping by pulling the plastic center stick out. They were tickled with the finished product. I would love to have had another afternoon to do it again.

Sunday, March 15 - A Special Time

Sunday, March 15, 2009 we experienced the joy and fellowship that comes when you can look into the eyes of fellow Christians and see the Holy Spirit shining from their souls. That's what I saw in the eyes of our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ.

I was able to understand on a spiritual level what Pastor Ahlmeyer has often taught us about - "the Holy Christian Church" and the "Communion of Saints." What a joy it was to pray the Nicene Creed and the Lord's Prayer with them. Different people from very different parts of the world praying in different languages came together in one voice to praise and worship our God.

To stand with this congregation as Pastor Marky Kessa distributed Holy Communion made me feel honored and so blessed to share this precious sacrament with them. At that moment we were all the same - children of God, each one shaped and molded by His hands, every soul created for His purpose - to bring him glory. No doubt our heavenly Father was pleased to have His children from Peace communing with his children in Haiti. I know he felt the joy that each one of us felt to be there.

The choir was exceptional. Their voices were strong and trust me the poor quality of the video above doesn't do their voices justice. Nor can you see the joy on their faces. What you can see are the choir robes that Peace donated to Pastor Marky's church. That is one thing I've had members of Peace ask me since I've returned. It obviously means a lot to them knowing those robes are being worn each Sunday as the choir in Jacmel raises their voices to God.

This was a special Sunday for the church is Jacmel. It was their anniversary and a special meal was prepared for everyone in attendance. A line of people was started from a large table outside the kitchen (a separate building from the church) and containers with food was passed to everyone inside the church. When that was finished another line was made from the kitchen building and drinks were passed until everyone was served. We had a wonderful meal of beef, rice and beans, plantain and potato salad made with beets. You could tell by the smiles on the women's faces that they were delighted to be able to serve everyone this very special meal.