In case you’re wondering what I’ve been up to, here’s a timeline of the last few days:
Tuesday, Oct 27
5:30am—Wake up
5:31am—Fall back asleep
5:50am—Wake up (round 2)
6:30am—Breakfast, highlight of which was Mango Juice
7:30am—Load up pastors in a van and go to rural area
7:45am—Fill up gas
8:45am—Fill up gas; Compassion’s Haiti staff (all Haitian, by the way) tell us there is a gas shortage and, if we do not put enough gas in the van, we will not have enough gas to get back to Port au Prince tomorrow
8:46am—Erase thoughts of van breaking down in Haiti’s countryside
9:15am—Fill up gas
10am—See beautiful views of Haiti from atop mountain roads
10:30am—Stop at hotel to use bathroom (lots of water + bumpy roads = bathroom break)
11:30am—Arrive at rural Compassion project; we are greeted with signs and a brass band playing selections such as the Haitian national anthem and “America the Beautiful”
12 noon—250+ kids and 66 parents (+ their babies) welcome us with a worship service at the local church (i.e. the church where the Compassion project is based). FYI All Compassion projects are based at a church.
12:15pm—Best moment of the service comes as we sing together “How Great Thou Art” in both English and Creole
1pm—Tour of this Compassion facility (both church and attached school); leave with the promise of returning
2pm—Travel to a second rural Compassion project where we are greeted with signs and a brass band playing selections such as the Haitian national anthem and “America the Beautiful” (note: not a typo)
2:15pm—Students at this project parade us to the house where we will be staying the night
2:30pm—Lunch! Including a Haitian treat: pumpkin soup!
3pm—Need rest but instead return to the first project
3:30pm—Play with the children at the first project; I played soccer but had no idea what team I was on, so I would alternate kicking the ball towards the various goals. I eventually subbed out and spend time attempting to communicate in Creole (a difficult task when the only phrases I know are “what’s up?” “I don’t speak Creole” and “Praise the Lord”).
4:30pm—Visit homes of families with children enrolled in the Compassion projects; I joined a group of 4 other pastors in a home that consisted of two 8’ x 8’ rooms
4:35pm—It begins to rain; the family’s chicken and her chicks come join us in the room where all of us are standing; the family goat also tries to join us and get out of the rain. He is denied access.
4:45pm—We pray with this family and I am struck/convicted about what simplicity can mean
6pm—Dinner at the second project; main course is goat.
6:01pm—Dinner interrupted by a group of children from a THIRD Compassion project in the area coming to visit; they sing us songs and give us all Haitian hats/hugs.
7pm—We all say “Merci” and “Adieu” to the children and their leaders. They leave and we resume dinner.
7:15pm—Several local pastors, all of whom have Compassion projects at their churches, join us for dinner. One man tells us about the successes and difficulties of ministering to people in this part of Haiti. Many people, he says, must choose between being Christians and practicing voodoo.
7:30pm—Some of us American pastors try to explain to the Haitian pastors that we minister to people who must choose between being Christians or materialists.
8:30pm—Haitian pastors leave; Haitian staff sprays down overnight cabin due to large mosquitoes; we all approved, not wanting to put our malaria pills to the test
9:30pm—Attempt to shower is thwarted by (1) trickle of water and (2) power outage and (3) large mosquitoes with mosquito spray immunity
10pm—Finis.
Wednesday, Oct 28
6:15am—Wake up as rooster crows outside window
6:30am—Breakfast; main course: goat’s liver (cf. last night’s dinner)
7:30am—Return trip to Port au Prince begins; gas gauge is looking good!
9am—Stop at Salvation Army to use the bathroom; pastor takes us to stalls (i.e. holes in the ground) in the back of the property but ultimately lets us use the toilet in the building when he discovers (in his own words) that our need is “just pee-pee.”
9:03am—Pastor shows little or no knowledge of LFC’s strategic partnership with Salvation Army.
10:15am—Visit Compassion project that has a micro-loan program
11:15am—Arrive in Port au Prince (gas fears relieved); visit a Compassion project that has a reverse osmosis water filtration system—very cool!! This project, in the heart of downtown Port au Prince, is able to purify 500 gallons of water per day and distribute it to the community; the children of the project also give us Haitian flags/hugs
12:15pm—Pile 11 people into Land Rover for trip to park for lunch; I sat with four others in the equivalent of the back seat of an SUV
12:45pm—Arrive at Sugar Cane Park; Unfold from Land Rover; pastors in our group who sponsor children in Haiti are able to meet their sponsored children here; those of us without sponsored children in this country get to eat with other sponsored children
1 pm—Have a conversation, through a translator, with Joanne (age 11); she attends a Compassion project in north Haiti, and her sponsor’s pastor is one of the pastors on the trip; I ask her what her favorite Bible verse is and she recites Psalm 1 (yes, the whole thing); she then sings me a song about Jonah; and finally I learn that she was the first member of her family to attend church (i.e. at the church where her Compassion project is); her mother is also a Christian—the story is that her mother was very sick but got well; when she returned home from the doctor after getting well, Joanne told her that she needed to thank God and accept Christ. So she did.
2:15pm—Say goodbye to a remarkable young lady
2:45pm—Tour Compassion’s national office in Port au Prince; come to realization that they are really organized, run a large-scale and tight operation, and have a clear and compelling vision (releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name)
4:15pm—Check into Port au Prince hotel
6pm—Dinner with Leadership Program students; these are students who were sponsored children and were selected for Compassion’s Leadership Development Program; they attend the University for free and receive training in Christian leadership
7pm—Pray for the young men and women who will change their country and our world—making it look more like God’s new creation
7:30pm—Team meeting with other pastors; discuss the whirlwind that was the last two days
9pm—Begin blogging
Pics and reflections coming over the next few days…
MFlake