Thoughts in Boucan Patriot

We finally arrived at Boucan after our off-road excursion just a bit behind schedule. As a result, clinics and Bible studies were postposed until the following day. This village was quite a bit more established in that, this is where Living Water Ministries has their clinic set up. And instead of the church and school being combined as they were in Petit, they were two completely seperate buildings. As in the other villages, malnutrition was again a big concern. There was one patient who was only in her 40's but due to severe malnutriton she could barely walk nor did she have the energy to carry her frail body from the clinic to the bench outside the clinic on which she laid down. Of all the cases that we saw in that particular village this is the one that really has stuck with me because it started raising some new questions and concerns.Perhaps it is part of my take charge personality, but when I see a problem posed, possible solutions begin racing faster than I can even process them. Ok, so the children that attend the schools supported by ministries, such as Living Water Ministires, at least receive one meal per day during the school week. And throught supporting ministries like this we can at least addresses the threat of child malnutrition but what of the adults, like this young woman for example? How can a similar program be formed to reach those that are being forgotten? If ministries like this one can increase their funding, would branching out their meal program even be an option? Or even a priority? I think if we do not address this issue we are doing a great disservice because is it not this neglected generation also the ones who are raising up the children. We can teach children a lot in schools but what about their home lives where they spend a good majority of their time? Children tend to follow the path of their parents whether they are aware of it or not. The following story which various people have shared with me over the past couple years happens to be a prime example of this very trend.

There was a little girl who always loved to help her mom cook dinner at night. This little girl always watched her mother cook the roast but each time before her mother put the roast in the dish, she always cut off the last three inches of it and threw it in the trash. This was peculiar to the little girl and finally she asked her mom why she always did that. The mom was perplexed and did not have an answer for her young daughter other than, that was the way her mom always made the roast. Finally unable to come up with a logical explaination, the little girl's mom called her mother to find out why she had always cut the end of the roast in such a way when she had been growing up. Again there was no rhyme or reason as to why she too had been doing this same cut and disposing of what was seemingly good meat other than it was what her mother did. Then one afternoon the all of the ladies were gathered, the little girl, her mother, her grandmother, and this time her great-grandmother was there as well. When the question was posed by the little girl's grandmother to her own mom, the girl's great-grandmother responsed with, "...I cut it because the pan was not big enough to fit the whole roast."

It is a simple story that really does have a lot of truth to it. Often children follow blindly in their parents footsteps without even questioning because that's all they have ever known. I agree that feeding and educating the children needs to come first but I think that feeding and ministering the rest of the village should be a close second. Do they not also need to have Christ's love shared with them? And if you can perhaps begin instilling these values with the older generations all the subsequent ones might grow even stronger having seen those they look up to be converted from the culturally accepted practice of Voodoo to that of Christianity. And statistically speaking, Voodoo would be weeded out even quicker than if we were to wait for the children to get to this point to start the conversion. All I am trying to say is that I think something needs to be done to reach those being overlooked. Believe me the brainstorming does not stop here.

Note* The photo on the right is that of the young woman mentioned above and the effect that the malnutrition has had on her lower extremities.

I saw some of the sweetest interactions between mothers and there children here in Boucan Patriot. The photo of this particular mom and her daughter is one that always inspires a smile knowing that there some bonds that are cross-cultural, such as the bond a mother has with her children.

Road to Boucan Patriot

For those of you that have been waiting so patiently on me, thank you once again. I have been so sidetracked with organizing all of the photos that getting my thoughts organized appears to have fallen through the cracks.

The village on the schedule after leaving Guniaudee was called Boucan Patriot. It was supposed to be another hour and a half drive but shortly after departing from Guinaudee, the truck found its way into quite a rut that added another 3 hours to our time. Though we were out in the middle of nowhere in between villages you would have been amazed at how quickly word traveled. Within a matter of minutes from our first getting stuck, there were people coming from every different direction. All of the school children made their way down the road and in total there must have been 150+ people that now joined us along the narrow mountain road. A few of our Haitian brothers began digging with their hands in an effort to free the buried tire and it was also amazing to see perfect strangers who happened to be walking by, immediately stop and start helping. If there is one thing that resonates throughout this country, (no matter what part of Haiti I found myself in) it all comes back down to that idea of community and selflessness. Whether seen through the innocent interactions between children like those in Petit or the sacrifice of time as we saw this particular afternoon, it was moving to see people helping others without regard to self. "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." (1 Cor 10:24 ESV) I really cannot seem to say enough about what an inspiration the Haitian people have been for my own life. I apologize if any of this sounds repetitive but it is just that I can barely contain my excitement and it has had such a huge impact that I can’t help but put a lot of emphasis on this aspect of Haitian culture! I have learned so many simple lessons while I was there and even now though I have been home for a few weeks the Holy Spirit continues to convict me of new things each day. It blows me away that these have all been lessons that God has taught me time and time again, yet, much like the Israelites, my retention is not quite up to par. We, and when I say "we" I am speaking on behalf of myself, tend loose focus. Our outlook gets so skewed that we lose sight of those very simple concepts that form the foundation of our faith. So for example, since I have job-searching on my mind, is it not true that we as Christians sometimes feel that there are so many things that we are called to do that perhaps we need a "job description" written out for our Christian walk? It would just make things so much easier. We do have this so to speak through the Word but ultimately it comes down to following Jesus' example. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). This is so easy to talk about but when we actually go to apply it to our lives then it becomes an entirely different story. Even as Christians, we are often so consumed with our lives and what we need to get done that we are blind to all of the doors God is opening up right before us to serve and edify one another. How many times do we look the other way when God is calling us to serve to one degree or another because we just don’t feel like it? Are we embracing these as the opportunities they are or have they become chores that we dread? How do we forget that we are here for Him? When did we allow our will surpass His? I know I am guilty of this more than I’d care to admit. We forget that it is supposed to be all about Him. Everything! Not just bits and pieces of our lives but every single aspect should be reflecting this very thing. As John 3:30 states, “He must increase, I must decrease.” I am sure that I have referenced this verse in a previous post and it is also the message that appears every time I start up my phone, it’s just that I think it is such a pertinent reminder for our everyday walk. This is not to say that we don’t or won’t get tripped up with various distractions and fall into the trap of looking out for our own interests above the interests of others. But when all is said and done...“It’s all about You, Jesus.”

A Couple Days in Guinaudee

By the time we finally arrived in Guinaudee it was dark and when we went to open the back gate it was almost startling because all we could see was about thirty pairs of eyes staring at us as we started to unloaded. Some of the people in this village were friendly and welcoming but there was a large portion who were still very unsure about us being there. No matter how hard I tried not to compare the villages that we went to, it was very difficult especially since we had started out at the incomparable Petit Paradis. I had to be sensitive to the fact that we were strangers in their home. They were certainly curious about us but I am not sure they were as receptive. We set up camp in the schoolhouse with an extensive array of mosquito nets all over the place. I could not help but recall the original Parent Trap movie when the girls booby-trapped the other mean girls' tent during the middle of the night. It was a quite humorous parallel. So while we had our mosquito threat covered I soon uncovered an infestation of biting ants right on my slab of concrete were I was supposed to sleep. I did end up sleeping sitting up with my suitcase that particular evening because for whatever reason I could not get comfortable. However, it was all put in perspective as the night before we were in rat and scorpion territory. Did you know it takes something like 17 scorpion stings to kill you? I slept at ease knowing this little known fact. ;o) Rats were sounding pretty good by this point!

We were in Guinaudee to celebrate Easter the following morning. So for the four different Haitian church services that I attended while in Haiti, the one thing I noticed at all of them was that no matter what type of living conditions the people were coming from, their church clothes were always in mint condition. How were they able to keep these dresses stark white especially considering some of them lived in mud huts? And the fact that many of them had to walk for miles to even get to church in the morning? Just something interesting to note...the church service I attended weeks later in Cap Haitian held about 3,000 to 5,000 people but would you believe there was no parking lot??? Hard to believe, I know. Though we don't think much about our church attire and attendance back in the states, for people in Haiti this is something that is very important. It was awesome and encouraging to see where their priorities fell. Why is church something that we feel so flippantly about? Why do we take it so lightly? Is it again that we just have so much that is "more important" going on in our lives, that spending this time with God and our church community becomes an afterthought? It really is a sad thing that so many of us lack this motivation to put God first in our lives. As the pastor at my church here in Missouri spoke to this past Sunday, we need to put our "To Do Lists" on hold and focus on all the relationships in our lives. For those of you that know me, you know that I typically am one of those people who can have up to 5 of these lists going at any one particular point in time. I think that I really needed to hear this message especially directly following my return to reality, for there are so many things that need to be done. Since I have been back, I have really been trying to make sure that my priorities have been reorganized to reflect this very thing. When we look back on our lives, what is it that matters...All the money we've made? The house that we lived in? How kempt our front lawn was? Was it that we had that boat/rv come retirement?...Or is it the love that we shared? And the bonds that we made that are most important? Growing up with an alcoholic and workaholic parent, looking back you realize that you would have much rather had this parent spend time with you, rather than anything else in the world. We need to stop spending all of our efforts on those things that will burn up in the end and rather invest our resources in those relationships that far outlast the temporal. Investing in our relationship with Christ and those people God has put in our lives is something that doesn't depreciate after you drive it off the lot. Rather it is the only investment that means a darn thing as far as eternity goes. As pastor brought up and as referenced in Toby Mac's song, Lose My Soul, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

Ok, so while I was out for my run there was just one more verse God reminded me of..."For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) --Where is your heart...with those you love or those 'things' you love?

* Note: The above photos are from the clinic and children's VBS that we held there in Guinaudee the Monday after Easter.

A Very Real Voodoo Presence

Well I probably should have just thrown in the towel on ever getting caught up...but that is just so unlike me! I am now officially "home" (if you will). It has been a challenge coming back to reality and the many responsibilities that that entails, but I guess it had to happen at some point. I finally decided to take a break between calling insurance adjusters and phone companies, job searching, cleaning/packing, and trying to sort through oh so many photos, at least long enough to get one more post up. I have also been working on setting up the photos so everyone can take a look at them but have not decided which method I prefer so please be patient with me. The stubborn side of me wants to customize the interface but for practicality purposes I may have to cave and use something like Snapfish. I will post a link as soon as it becomes available.

The memories seem to get more and more foggy with each day that passes. So today's post will be picking up from our departure from Petit Paradis to our next village of Guinaudee. This next village was another three hours deeper into the mountains so it gave us plenty of time for our tears (from leaving Petit) to dry up but there was nothing that could have prepared us for what we would encounter on this drive. Apparently the practice of Voodoo is even more prominent in these mountain villages than it is in Port au Prince and it did not help that we were traveling through the mountains over Easter weekend (4/3 - to be exact). As we soon found out this is also the weekend that those who practice Voodoo celebrate what they call, Rah Rah . As one of my Haitian brothers explained, it usually consists of a parade ritual and is followed by cock fighting. Now when I say parade, it does not carry the same connotation it does in the States with candy flying and everyone having a merry-ole' time. Sorry, I really do not mean to make light of what is and was a very serious, not to mention dangerous matter. Along our drive we came upon, I think it was either three or four villages' Rah Rah parades. We did not think much of them at first because their numbers were slight and they did not do anything to disturb us other than yelling things at us, which again made me glad that my creole was limited. In between the parade encounters the drive was laced with the most amazingly breathtaking views. Once you were able to get past the tremendous drop offs on both sides, you could see the coast off to the right and then endless mountains off to the left. If one looked long and hard enough, what must have been hundreds of villages could be seen all around us on the sides of the mountains. It is safe to say that we were very easily preoccupied by the scenery between Rah Rah sightings, at least until we came upon the largest one yet. This group was much larger and much more aggressive than the others and refused to get let us pass. So we were forced to come to a complete stop and not long after that they had surrounded our truck. Since I was in the very back of the dump truck I was having trouble seeing exactly what was going on up ahead until they made their way down the sides and rear of the truck with not only their machetes but also blades attached to the ends of long poles. By this time taking photos was not really an option as I did not want to put our whole group in danger and anger the mob any further. Hence, I have no photos to document this portion of the journey. We were advised to get down and out of sight as these weapons could have very easily reached us as we were. The part that concerned me most was that they had access to the back latch and there would not have been much we could have done had they tried to open the back gate. I just remember immediately starting to pray that God would protect us. The only thing that I could see from this position was the witch doctor's flag upon the hill accompanied by the sounds of their shouts and drums. We did find out later from the portion of our group that was in a smaller vehicle that this parade actually had a man tied up whom they were whipping to death. In talking to our Haitian brothers in the truck with us we also found out that this is a common practice for someone to be chosen, drugged, and beaten during these celebrations. It was also pointed out that this same person is typically sacrificed later that night so as to make a mockery of Christ and His death on the cross.

Finally after what seemed like hours, but was really minutes, our Haitian brothers shouted a few things to the mob and they eventually moved out of the way of the front of the vehicle and we were able to get back on the road towards Guinaudee. After this particular encounter and many nights of trying to fall asleep to the Voodoo drums in the distance, I found myself really struggling and concerned that my faith was not strong enough to withstand such tests. As if it was not already, it became even more of a priority to pour into the Word and in prayer so that I might be able to stand firm in the faith and keep whatever evil was lurking, at bay. It is extremely difficult to try to explain this unsettling feeling so you will probably just have to take my word for it on this one. It's not like the the feeling one gets in a scary movie but a whole lot more real and all encompassing than that.

For obvious reasons, this experience was one that was utterly disturbing and still stands out in my mind. I will say that after going through all of this it really made me spend some much needed time reflecting. We know that God sent His son to die for us, but we often get so preoccupied with the busyness and self-centeredness of life that it is easy to loose sight of what an amazing gift that truly is. Why would He do such a thing? Who are we to be worthy of that?...That is just it! He does not save us because of who we are but rather because of who He is. How awesome is that!? This is something that I pray will permeate each one of our lives...that we might gain a better understanding of this Great Love."But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3:4-5)."

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)."

*Note(photo) - On our return trip from Guinaudee a couple days later, this boy and his grandmother were walking down the road as our truck was stuck. He carried a whip with him and according to his grandmother he had been put under a Voodoo curse beginning when he was submerged in human waste as an infant. Unable to even grasp why anyone would do this to their child, our Haitian pastor tried to explain just how alive Voodoo is amongst his people. It is very real to them and demonic possession is not something that is uncommon throughout Haiti. He went on to explain about his nation having been dedicated to the Devil by various public officials over the past couple hundred years which in turn has resulted in such a strong Voodoo presence to this day.

Last Days in Port au Prince

(Johnell...he just wanted me to follow him around with the camera)
(Jeremy to my front right, Orlando the right-behind, Fabinna to my left-behind, and Johnell in my arms to the left this was of course the only photo he was not being silly in)
(Jeremy sporting my glasses)
(Man those crazy kids!)











It has taken me a few days to get my bearings and I am still not sure that I have completely. In fact I'm thinking that it could be a month or two before I will...or maybe I am not even sure that I want to. Please don't get me wrong, I am thankful to be back in the US but there is still that piece of Haiti that I pray never leaves me. In addition to all of the sights and sounds, even more so, all of the acts of unconditional love that I witnessed are what I hope will remain. I don't think it's possible to go to a nation like Haiti, meet people like the ones I did, and not be moved and changed because of it. There is no way to know how it'll change a person or to what degree. It could be something as simple as a clarity never before experienced, an appreciation for things that you once took for granted, or it may be a new perspective entirely, but regardless of what takes place, there is no way to leave Haiti without being humbled by its genuineness. Upon arriving back in the States that was the one thing that I have struggled with the most. It is difficult to find people, myself included, that are as genuine and that have as much character as all those I grew to know and love in Haiti. What is it about our culture that keeps us so isolated? What keeps us from caring? Or is it that we actually do care but don't know how to express it?

So the last two days at the orphanage in Port au Prince I spent as much time with the kids as possible. We took photos and goofed around most of the time and I said my goodbyes which did turn out to be just as difficult as I suspected it might be. Though I had only ended spending half as much time as I originally planned with the kids at the orphanage, I still had become quite attached to so many of them. For instance, when I first met little Maralee, she would barely even look at you but by the time it came time for me leave she would not only cry when I would walk away but when I was around her she was now ten times more active than before moving her arms that once remained static. I am not saying that she would not have brightened up for anyone else but just pointing to the fact that there are just so many of these children and not nearly enough people to love on each of them. I can only imagine the progress that a child like Maralee could make if someone could invest that kind of time with her on a consistent basis. The possibilities would be endless. By the time Friday night rolled around, I could barely get myself to go pack for my flight early the following morning.

Now that I am back from Haiti, I am missing those kids soooooo bad, more than I even thought possible. Days later and it still has me tearing up writing this post. I think that the most difficult thing to swallow is the fact that I may never see these kids again or if I do they will very likely be all grown up. I pray that the orphanage there in Port au Prince can step up to the challenge to continue to give them that much needed direction and I pray that as the kids do grow, Christ will be in the forefront of each of their little lives. After all, God must have special plans for them to have even been spared from their, what must have been devastating circumstances, that they should even end up in an orphanage to begin with. As my favorite verse of Scripture states, and God promises for those who Love Him..."For I know the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope." (Jer 29:11)