Back Tracking Haiti~Day 6

BEACH DAY!!! This day was supposed to be a day of complete relaxation as we drove through Haiti sight-seeing on the way to the beach. Every year we go, we set aside this special day to recover, recoup, and rediscover what God did through us the week we served. It's really quite needed as Bob, Dr. Dada, and I agree. However, my body decided to pick up a bug and I spent the 6 hour truck ride, hunched over in pain, barfing out the window. It was pretty gruesome so I'll spare you most the details.

 Roadside Art Seller

Our first stop was a little hideaway atop the mountain where Haitians hawk their goods for a price. I LOVE bargaining with them and even though I was deathly ill, I made it a point to step out and buy a few things. Nothing can ever get in the way of a lady and her shopping! Nick bought two lovely little jewelry boxes and I bought a statue of a woman balancing a baby on her hip and a basket of goods on top of her head. This fits in perfectly with all the other little statues I have collected on our trips and was a tribute of all the things we women tend to balance in our lives. In fact it's kinda a remembrance for me of the last year. While we there, we were able to take a good look at the city below with a breath-taking view that included the shoreline and farther islands. It's a great spot to pray that God's will would be done over Haiti...

Mountain-Top View of Port au Prince

As I was about to fall over, we hopped back into the truck and headed towards the fallen capitol of Haiti and some shopping for those who could stand up straight. By this time it was only Fi, Dan and I in the truck. As we pulled up to the capitol building I made myself look at the ruins. It was in that millisecond of a glance that I felt overwhelming shame. Here I am an American, facing the devastated capitol of another country with it's countrymen living in squander right outside it's gates, and I'm gawking like a school girl on a class trip. I began to think upon the images that burned themselves into my head last year of Haitians sobbing at the capitol gates thinking there was no hope if this happened to their countries main government building. No direction for their country. I began to think about our response as Americans to the rubble of the Twin Towers and Pentagon. Will we always remember? Will we always be so patriotic? Will we always fly our flag with pride? Do people my age even care? (I think patriotism for my generation is another blog topic you will see soon so stay tuned!) There was so much to think about while taking video of the earthquake survivors who set up camp across their capitols gates. This ladies and gentlemen is the worst of it.

Haiti's Capitol

We were on the road again and this time inching along due to market day which everyone and their mom come out for and trucks without tires stuck in the middle of the road. The truck ride for me was waaaay more comfortable than those in the cage. In fact, one team-member said that the cage ride was "quite traumatic." We soon found ourselves free of the traffic, diesel smells, swirling dirt, and moving out into the country where the sight of the ice blue ocean greeted us on one side and displaced "city-Haitians" on the other. Not sure why, but the sight of the blue and gray tents dotting the mountainside with the occasional open fire and woman giving herself a bath in broad daylight, disturbed me more than in the city. See, these people are disconnected to their families and friends, the city, schools, it's market's-meaning fresh food and clean water, and placed in a new community of people they may never have associated with before and without the "assistance" other tent-cities are getting. My heart goes out to those families and I pray that they will have the strength and courage to rise above their situation and choose to live the life our God wants for them.


Finally, we pulled up to the Indigo Blue Resort! After getting our keys, Nick and I bolted for our room and left the newbies oohing and aahing over the ocean view. Not that we didn't care, but we new the ocean hadn't changed since the last time we saw it and we also new that there was air conditioning in the hotel room! Besides, the faster you change into your suit, the faster your your having fun. We were soon squishing white sand between our toes only to find half of our team with huge grins-heads bobbing in the salty cool water, while other's were fascinated to just walk ankle-deep in the waves looking at the fish and shells that washed up on shore.

The sight always catches my breathe as islands float in the distance beneath cotton candy clouds with the occasional sailboat dotting in and out of the scene. It's quite poetic really, the long wooden boats with their dirty sails swaying in the wind make me think of pirates, and the half naked men casting their nets and fishing lines to real in the nights dinner. It's such a beautiful place to reflect about God's provision through creation.

Arg! The Pirates Are Coming!!!

We the spent the remainder of the evening in the pool-due to jellyfish spawning starting at 5:00, sipping freshly squeezed fruit juice, kayaking, playing pool basketball, taking pictures, and just hanging out. Then we gathered for a scrumptious buffet style dinner and the last session of Dr. Dada's teaching on Nehemiah.

Da' Mayo Boy's  Kayaking 

Da' Mayo Girls Chill'n

Da' Mayo's

It was a wonderful way to end a trip filled with sights, sounds, and smells that will be forever burned into our senses and a way to say goodbye to a people whose faces are etched upon our hearts. A people who live in a country of such contrast between devastation and beauty, rich and poor, sick and healthy, good and evil. A people who God wants to use to change Haiti.

Back Tracking Haiti~Day 5

Wednesday in Haiti was one of the most exciting days for Nick and I as we were finally able to work together!  I joined Nick, Femi, and Dan at the marriage seminar as they would begin discussing a very interesting and detailed topic for those who are married~Sex. I won't go into to much detail due to all the virgin eyes reading this, but just know this, it is important to share this beautiful gift with your spouse and learn how to read each other's needs, and be able to communicate your wants.  It was a morning filled with basic information, laughs, stories, and questions. Who knew a Haitian could blush?!

Dan, Femi, and Pastor Cyr~2011 Marriage and Family Seminar

One very interesting turn of events came around lunch time when a man, who runs a local/Haitian Friday morning family radio show, found out what Femi was talking about and wanted to interview him. Instead of asking us to leave, Femi asked Nick and I to stay and see what would happen. This man showed up with no equipment, paper, pen, etc. and we realized very quickly that there was a break in the communication. He wanted all of us to come to the station on Friday morning. This would not work as we would be leaving the country. So, he asked Femi to just talk with him over lunch about the topic of: Infertility. My heart raced as we sat there. See, this topic is so close to my heart and one I feel we do a great disservice by ignoring it and letting God's people suffer in silence. But then, much to our surprise, Femi asked us to talk to the man about our experience. This is where my heart swelled even more as my husband-my Nico-began telling this man a condensed version of our story. This is completely unheard of in the Haitian culture-the man confessing that it is his body that is the problem-and a lesson for men everywhere that it's OK, your not alone, and there's help out there if you need it.

While we are not blessed with children yet, we are blessed in our love for each other and the work the Father has us doing for others.

We talked about how you first have to give the situation completely to God-total submission in this area. Second, you have to realize that it's no ones fault-husband, wife, God. Thirdl,  you need to make sure to continue working on your marriage as it's so easy to let this issue take over and have it create walls and barriers that become hard to cross or knock down. Finally, talk about it. Find someone who you can trust to pour out to and who will lift you up in prayer daily for this issue. Nick and I have been so blessed to have two older-mature couples who have made it a point to pray everyday for this specific area in our lives. We know there are many more people praying and supporting us the best way they know how in this area, but look forward to the day of our healing so that we may share with you about how God's mighty power worked within us, knowing that He accomplished infinitely more than we ever dared to ask and dream for...

Ephesians 3:20 "Now Glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope for."

After lunch, Nick got crack'n and created a certificate for each participant of the seminar with which we ended by acknowledging each person, each couple, with a certificate of completion. This was a joyous event as the Haitians laughed and cheered with each person receiving their picture taken as they shook Femi and Dan's hand's. However, as the afternoon wore on, Nick became visibly nervous. He had been asked to prepare to give the evenings message at Sister Elsie's children's church. So, we found him walking the grounds of the church in the late afternoon sun, practicing his preaching to the almond tree's, the baby blue sky, and the cows.

Nick preaching to the cows~Their behind the play equipment.

Once again we found ourselves in "the cage" rattling the street's of Haiti to Sister Elsie's. We arrived to the church filled with little one's who ages ranged from 3-26. There were a few mother's and a few set's of grandparents in the audience as well. But the majority of this church is made up of children who live in the neighborhood slum across the street. The leaders of this church are 16-26 and run their meeting with such ease that you KNOW that the Father has His hand upon them. We settled into worship with 100 little voices praising the father for His mercy and love. A quick hit amongst the group became a song that says:

"I bless your name, I bless your name, I give you all, I give you praise. You are the light, the truth, the way, I bless your name, I bless your name. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I bless your name, I bless your name."

It was such a powerful song because of the way these children sang it-with such passion in their voices, with such belief in the reverence of their closed eyes, with such submission in the way they raised their hands as if they were reaching for the arms of the Father. It was humbling, it was convicting.

And then, it was time for Nick to preach. He worked through our interpreter Mois-which is Moses in English-and gave a message that told people about the horrible year that just took place and how God used it to show us where our foundations stand. That now is the time to begin to "dream God's dream for Haiti. Not America's dream, not the government's dream, but God's dream for Haiti."

Nick and Mois working together to bring the message

He encouraged these young folks that NOW is the time to rebuild on the solid foundation of our Father. It was such a good sermon and you could tell Holy Spirit lead because it matched up perfectly with Dr. Dada's messages and teachings, the studies that Dan and Liz's friends were taking part in, and you could tell because of the "amens" and "hallelujah's" that came from the mouths of babes sitting on their seats. And finally, you could tell by the look of pride and gratefulness in the eyes of the old man who came to shake Nick's hand and from the word spoken over Nick by our good friend Fredrick. He told Nick that God was going to "expand" his territory-so be ready! This brought tears of confirmation to our eyes as this is the same message one of our home pastors has been teaching on. Whatever it is Lord, we are ready!!!

Our good friend Fredrick whom I've known for ten years. He is a Nehemiah in the making!

We ended the day with a late dinner of spare rib's, cake, and ice cream in honor of Joey's birthday. We then hit the sack early so we could pack up and head to the beach for a day of rest. What a great day!

Back Tracking Haiti~Day 4

While Kass was off working in the medical clinic... I spent much of my time gleaning what I could from Femi's marriage conference. Sunday, was for the singles talking mostly about the kinds of decisions there needs to be made when choosing a spouse. Make sure your not unequally yoked, don't base your spouse decisions solely on attraction, and make sure you decide before hand what characteristics you can and cannot live with. Monday, was the start of the marrieds portion. Femi talked about the types of love languages we speak: Acts of service, Words of affirmation, Touch-not sexual, Quality Time, and Gifts. Do you know what your Love Language is?

Femi speaking at the marriage conference

Tuesday, I was needed in the physical labor department and helped Bob, Joey, and Fi paint Dan Carls office. Even though more sweat than brain was expected for the day, I found it to to be a day of learning. See, Joey and Fi are eleven years old, or close to it, and if you've ever tried to get an eleven year old to do manual labor-it can be like pulling teeth. Bob did an excellent job staying patient when paint spilled or when "encouragement" was needed to refocus the young ones back on task. I pray and hope that I will have the wisdom and patience's to see similar situations with my kids one day as teachable moments rather than getting mad. ~Nick

A picture I took of some buildings that fell in the earthquake.

Back Tracking Haiti~Day 3

Our first "real" day working in Haiti. After a hearty breakfast of sweet mango's, banana-nut muffins, and extremely strong coffee, we parted ways again with Nick taking off to work with Femi at the marriage seminar and I with the rest of the team to Pastor Cyr's school for a medical clinic.

For some reason the picture won't rotate, but I wanted you to get the idea of the good's we were eating!

I will be writing about my experience in the medical clinic and with the orphanage girls today and Nick will write about the seminar tomorrow.  As we traveled to the clinic, I was amazed at our drivers skill as he drove through people packed streets and manoeuvred into tight places that no truck should ever clear. And yet he did!  As we pulled into the alley that leads up to the school, I began to take in the environment which these children live and learn in. A small opened concrete room connected to a badly damaged house provided the children shelter under a tarp roof to study. Three large pieces of foam  board connected to a stand provided a divider-like wall for each "classroom."  Overused badly hung chalk boards stood at the head of each section while painted Disney characters graced the walls with their mocking grins.  Hard wood chairs or long desk's were the only furniture within the room. All this surrounded by a nice pool of sloppy slidey mud, all this to move and manipulate into a make-shift medical clinic for the next two days.

The school room turned Medical Clinic

Within no time, our team worked together to produce a well oiled machine where 250 patients were seen during the two days. We had two team members working with patients to get free eye-wear, two team members with interpreters checking blood pressures and getting information from the people, two doctors with interpreters looking into every patients need, 3 team members with one interpreter to fill prescriptions, and a dentist/doctor/jack-of-all-trades guy(Dr. Ed, who lives in Haiti)pulling teeth with a team member. During those two days we saw a little girl dying of cholera, a patient with typhoid fever, several malaria cases, a man who had been ran over by a truck, a woman with an abscessed tooth going through her beautiful cheek, extremely high blood pressures, and countless bodies who were damaged during the earthquake. Thank God He is our Jehovah Rapha-God who heals!

Our good friend Dr. Dada working with patients

After a pretty full day at the clinic, Saidah, Abby, and I piled into the truck and headed off to the orphanage to work with the group of girls. Once again we pulled out art materials and let them at it! We painted mini canvases, participated in large group projects, and passed out gift bags filled with individual art supplies for each girl to continue her creative expression. Someone asked me the other day, "why did you bring art supplies? Why did you do crafts with them?" I told them how art and the freedom of expression got me through a tough time in my life and made me feel somewhat normal, like I had a voice to tell my story.

Working with some girls on a group painting. The one in the ball cap is twelve years old and gave birth a week before we got there.

Which is exactly what I wanted for these girls, a chance to tell the world whatever it was they were feeling. I asked some of the girls to paint me a picture of how they felt during the earthquake. One painted several rows of dark colors while another drew a picture of an armless girl and wrote about her friend losing both arms in the earthquake but "never forgetting that life is still possible with God and His promises never change." Some girls drew self-portraits, Another girl wrote me a beautiful poem about her outlook on life after all she's seen and witnessed. To me, this is what the whole purpose of the art lessons were about. To bring a voice to those who are not heard. Ponder on this:

I want to be the sun,
For it to be in my heart, So that everywhere I go,
My heart is open and shining the light out.

As the afternoon ended and we started packing up, some of the girls decided to attack, and I mean attack, Abby and I's hair with such force that we were instantly glamorized into beautiful Haitian mama's. A baby appeared out of no where and as you might have guessed, wound up on my lap for some lov'n. It was soon time to say goodbye and as tears threatened my eyes, I said a prayer of thanks and blessing for these young girls. I know they are in my Father's hands...

Rock'n my new hair do and this lil mama

Back Tracking Haiti~Day 2

Day two-Sunday-in Haiti started off with a semi-short ride down the mountain in the back of what we lovingly refer to as "the cage." Literally, it is a steel cage with not so comfy seats, mounted on the back of a truck. As we prepare for the ride filled with diesel fumes and all other types of smells we cannot put names to, the driver locks us in and takes off. The locking of "the cage" is always somewhat of a mystery to me. Is it to keep us Americans from handing out everything on our persons to the children begging between stopped traffic which could start a riot or is it to keep the Haitians from grabbing everything within the back truck-including the people? Hmmm...something to ponder about.

See the cage around us?

We soon pulled up to our morning destination, the tent-camp of Petion-Ville. Otherwise known as Sean Penn's "Hollywood" camp. This tent community was shortly established right after the earthquake on a golf course. We were going to visit Pastor Cyr's church within the middle of the camp. Let's just say, you heard it before you saw it! Do to the pastors love for sound equipment, he had HUGE speakers blaring out the message for the day, which was given by Dr. Dada. As we traveled into the camp, the roads were so muddy that we had to take two trips with Dan's smaller truck. The tents we're a colorful mixture of gifts sent from America, Korea, and Brazil. They were all jammed up against each other in a way that made me feel suffocated and confused about how daily life was lived there. As the morning went on and the rain softly fell,  I was overcome with emotion as I watched children wading calf high through the mud, old folks sitting talking to themselves in a crazed state of loneliness, middle-aged men shouting and sweating to move the muck away from their front stoops, and heavy bellied women balancing the days fare atop their heads. It was too much and yet, I saw Haitians around me continuing to lift their hands in worship of the Father, thanking them for His love and mercy.

Could your family survive in these conditions? They are.

Nick and I soon parted ways after the rousing church service. Nick stayed to take part in Femi Awodele's study on living holy while single and I left  to go work with a group of 30 young girls in an orphanage.  Nick has had a burden lately for marriages and has studied Femi's materials thoroughly. Forgive my small plug here, but if you or someone you know could benefit from some teaching on Godly marriage principles, please visit: http://www.christiancouples.org/ or give Nick a call, he would love to talk to you!

Our team leader Bib and my soon to be sister-n-law Saidah, came with me to the orphanage to work with these young girls. If you don't already know, they were sexually abused and misused after the earthquake last year. Some were even sold. Some as young as 11. We got there in the heat of the afternoon to find all these shy girls sitting in a room waiting and watching us with calculating eyes.  I have to be honest here, I was a wreck! A bag of supplies was missing, I was tired, and I didn't really know the emotions that would wash over me as I looked into their hard tired eyes.  I was angry. I was heartbroken. I was motivated to make this short time with them matter.  Teacher mode soon took over and I shared with them a quick little ditty about how God allowed art and writing to help me get through some of my toughest times. We then broke into three groups with Bib leading portrait drawing, Saidah leading colored pencil drawing, and I leading watercolors.

The girl in the striped shirt is looking for someone to adopt her baby, is it you?

It wasn't long before secret smiles, soft giggles, and the desire to create washed over them. I watched in amazement as they transformed from hard women into mischievous teenagers-kids.  Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and go with promises of coming back the next day. Bib and I took some time to pray over the smiling 12 year old who'd delivered her baby days before and a 13 and 16 year old who were expecting as well. The 16 year old literally took our hands and placed them on her belly. That was rough.

Think about all that she's gone through and she still raises her hand in worship. Convicting to say the least!

As Nick and I looked back at the end of the day, we were never so thankful for the provision our Father bestowed upon us to see these beautiful people living a life we could never imagine. We were never so thankful to have the many blessings we do...

Back Tracking Haiti~Day 1

We arrived to an overcast Haiti on Saturday, June 4th, around 3:30 p.m.  The first thing we noticed was the airport. Our usual route into the building was a pleasant surprise as we were greeted with smiles, electric powered escalators and air conditioning. We looked at each other in complete shock, was this the same Haiti we visited 2 years ago and whose info structure was completely ruined over a year ago? Apparently, money from big corporations come with specific detailed instructions on how that money will be used. Customs was a breeze, however getting the luggage out to the waiting van, was another story. Lot's of men yelling, grabbing, and throwing gestures in the air was quite overwhelming to our first-time companions, we just smiled and shrugged our way through. It pays to be an experienced traveler sometimes.

Stepping out of the airport is always an emotional roller coaster for us. We never know what and who we will encounter. There is usually a wall that seems to be built just waste high though the faces screaming for money seem twenty-feet high. Arms and fingers grab at the air hoping you will drop something in their dirt-stained hands. This time there was a fence and outside that fence was a tent-city filled with people watching us arrive. It seemed as if they were to tired to beg, ask, plead, move, be denied. They just watched us load up and take off. That first image will forever be burned into our hearts.

After a bumpy two hour drive up the mountain, passing humanity living amongst rubble, we arrived at our friends Dan, Liz, and Joey Carl's house.  Their home is a beautiful sanctuary with views of the Almighty's handy work and creation. Bold fuchsia flowers paint their drive as well as manicured shrubs and fruit laden trees. Little brown geckos slither around as hummingbirds flit from tree top to tree top. The smell of a fresh fallen rain greeted us as well as the traditional Haitian meal laid upon the table, awaiting our arrival. 

As we laid our heads down that first night filled with anticipation for the work ahead of us and the people we would come across, we prayed that God would open our eyes, our hearts, our souls, to what HE wanted to accomplish. Boy, were we in for an amazing trip! Stay tuned for days 2-7....

We're Back!

After spending 6 days in Haiti, we both agree, it is sooooo good to be back home! Coming home was quite difficult as I was sick and throwing up with every step back into the homeland-literally. Nick was amazing as he held me up through customs and didn't bat an eyelash as I turned and barfed over and over into a airplane bag at his side. Not having been able to hold food down for the last 48 hours, I'm finally eating a little here and there, but still very weak. Thank God that He is our healer!

Coming home was also somewhat of a surprise to us as we walked into a totally remodeled front room and re-decorated house.  Our small group/Bible study decided to perform a mini Home Extreme Makeover-Mayo Edition-on our house while we were gone. Opening the door we noticed new hard wood floors, painted walls, crown molding, curtains, furniture, a tree, new kitchen knobs, pillows, bedroom curtain rods, and accented decorations all throughout the house. we were totally speechless! We are SO thankful for this blessing and thank our dear friends for their hard work and precious gift. This is a true example of the body serving each other in love.

As for the trip itself, it was quick, busy, and just plain different. We both are still trying to understand all that we saw and helped with in Haiti. We know it will take some time and look forward to what will be revealed to us in the process. We will be making several post over the upcoming week to share with you all that we took part in-so stay tuned! Again, thank you all for your prayers and support. We definitely needed it throughout the week!~Kassie

Love From Haiti