Faith on Wheels

So it was now Thursday morning and our mission was to get to Justice Rescue.  Little did we know at the time, but this would be no easy task!

We awoke bright and early Thursday morning for the adventure we were ready to face.  This day would be a day of travel to Cap Haitian.  We were prepared for the five hour trip which we had been told we would take.

Our travel team consisted of Paul, myself, Shane (a 20 year old missionary), and Love (a 20 year-old Haitian who was to act as our translator).

Our crew conveined just after sunrise on Thursday and we walked up the road to the main part of town in Montrious.  We hopped on the back of a tap-tap that was to take us to Saint-Marc.  Click here to learn about a tap-tap.  This was about an hour trek.  It was rather delightful because we were lucky enough to score an open air tap-tap.  I love to feel the wind through my hair.  I love having an open view to check out the sites and sounds of this beautiful country.  More than anything, I love the fact that I don't get motion sickness in open air!  While much of this day trip is a blur (or blocked from my mind), I do remember one sweet young boy that jumped on our tap-tap mid-way through our journey.  He was a precious boy, about 8 years-old, that was obviously on his way to class in his private school uniform.  I greeted him with a traditional Haitian greeting and it was returned likewise with a huge smile.  We sat next to each other for part of the journey until he paid his fare to disembark.  While he jumped off of the back of the truck, I noticed his pants were wet.  Hmmm....  Then the kind woman across from me pointed to the seat and let the gentleman next to me know he was about to get wet.  That is right-that sweet little boy had wet his pants.  Paul humorously stated that he just didn't know what to do sitting next to "that beautiful white woman"!

Well, we finally arrived at Saint-Marc and had to get off our tap-tap because it was turning around in its route.  Saint-Marc is also where we were told that we would be getting on our bus.  Well, after some very loud discussions in a language I have yet to learn, we discovered that there was some traffic jams ahead due to a bad wreck.  The "bus" would not be able to make it around.  Love, our translator, was able to secure us transportation in the form of motos.  Motos are nothing more than a small motorcycle.  Now let me tell you we had 3 VERY large Army duffle bags weighing in at 50 pounds each full of toys, shoes, clothing, and high protein foods for the children of Justice Rescue.  We "hired" 3 motos to take the four of us and 3 large bags around the wreck.  (Truly a sight)  Just imagine a small motorcycle with our ebony skinned driver holding the large duffle in front of him on the handle bars.  Behind him was Paul and myself with out skin white as snow that causes us to stand out as an alien in this country. STOP LAUGHING-It's not nice!

Well, once around the wreck, we hope in yet another form of transportation.  Technically a tap-tap, this was a 12 passenger van.  Now, evidently the "12" in 12 passenger was just a mere suggestion because at my last count, there were 19 people in this vehicle.  Our bags were securely (or not) tied on top.  Here are the only two pictures I could manage to take while riding.

Eventhough it felt like we were sardined in here for hours, I believe we only rode in this for about 30 minutes until we approached yet another wreck blocking the rode.  We paid for our ride and grabbed our bags.  This time we opted to just walk around the wreck and see what was waiting for us on the other side.  Now remember, we thought we would be getting on a nice comfy air-conditioned bus back in Saint-Marc.

Around the wreckage, Love began talking to the locals.  He found out that there was another bus station in Gonaives, about an hour away.  Excellent!  We loaded on another open-air tap-tap.  This time I opted for the standing tour.  I found me a comfy (or not) spot near the cab where I could hold on to the luggage rack and ride.  The open air was pleasant-refreshing.

Among all this commotion, I still had not had time to realize how crazy our day had been so far.  When in Haiti, you do what you gotta do.  That is exactly was we were doing-whatever we could to get to the kids at Justice Rescue.

So, we finally arrived in Gonaives.  The tap-tap dropped us off at an area that looked like an old school bus junk yard.  I began to panic because I thought we would be getting on one of those busses.  (I have been told to NEVER get on the yellow school bus in Haiti.  They drive like bats out of #@**.  They are dangerous!)  Again, the loud yelling and shouting begins again.  I have now discovered that this is just how most Haitians communicate.  They yell!  Well, we were ushered to yet another tap-tap.  Shane, Love, Paul, and I all just looked around at each other.  No of us said a word but you could read it in our eyes-"You want us to get on THAT?  To Cap Haitian?"  We all knew the next part of our adventure was 4hours on winding mountain roads.  It appeared we had no other choice.  It was a tap-tap or no go.

Problem was-in our American eyes- the tap tap was full to capacity.  This was a covered tap tap so would not allow for standing room.  It was already FULL FULL FULL!  We expressed our concern to the driver.  I, for one, was NOT getting on that with that many people!  This was the one and only time that my "princess" attitude emerged on the journey but I am glad I spoke up.

The driver had a solution!  He started pointing at the locals and telling them to get off.  I am assuming he did this because he knew he could get more $$$ from the white folk!

A few got off and we got on.  I requested the end seat because of my motion sickness.  I didn't know what was about to happen.

Off we go.  Packed like sardine-or worse.  Winding road this way.  Winding road that way.  To the left, the mountain goes straight up.  To the right, a hundred foot drop off.  Winding.  Winding.  Winding.

Suddenly the tap tap comes to a complete and abrupt stop.

Traffic jam.

After 15 minutes or so, Shane and Paul decide to venture on ahead by foot and see what is going on.  Traffic jam was right!  Evidently a semi had fallen off the side of the mountain blocking other vehicles from going around.  Now, traffic laws are only suggestions in this country so other vehicles had started to try to pass because they simply were tired of waiting.  This had caused some head to head stand offs between busses and semis.  Mixed among those beasts of vehicles were smaller cars and tap tap.

Two and a half hours spent on the side of a mountain. After by-standers took over the situation using Haitian ingenuity, yelling, moving of cars by bouncing them to the side, and working together-We FINALLY got going again.

 This pic was taken while riding about 60 mph sitting on the back of the tap-tap.

This pic was taken while riding about 60 mph sitting on the back of the tap-tap. 

After traveling for a total of 8 and a half hours, we arrived in Cap Haitian.  We disembarked the tap-tap and waited along the side of the road for the security guard at Justice Rescue to come "Rescue" us.

And Paul wondered why I handed him a baby wipe!  HaHa

Near dusk we arrived at our home for the next few days-Justice Rescue.

Was it a crazy trip?  Yes

Did it happen how I thought?  No

Was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!

Continue to follow the blog to find out what happens next...

Faith Continued (again)

Picking up where I left off...

We awoke Wednesday morning and headed back to the original creche to continue working.  We were greeted with the same smiling faces-happy to see us yet again.

Paul and Shane quickly got to work on the playhouse, hoping to finish it up today.

I had the pleasure of observing Emily, the preschool teacher/missionary, as she led preschool.  It was very different from what we are used to here in the states.  That being said, Emily did a beautiful job leading these children through  songs, counting, ABC's, and site words.  She then took small groups of children aside to work on a more individualized level.  (Pictured above).  When small group time was over, I joyously watched all the preschool kids play simple structured games that helped them exercise their gross motor skills (jumping, crouching, stretching, etc) while also practicing standing in line and waiting their turn.  While these sound like very simple things, these children will need to know these skills in order to survive when they enter US schools.

The goal of Giving Hope Rescue Mission and creche is to prepare these children for life in the US.  This is difficult to do while in Haiti, but they do an EXCELLENT job with the resources they have!

While the preschoolers where working on their schooling, the toddlers had the privilege of playing with some toys that are kept for "special times".  Many of the toys that we bring are put out for the kids to enjoy daily.  This means they get broken and become trash very quickly.  (It's only natural for that to happen when so many kids are playing with them.)  Other toys are kept under lock and key for special times.  While I wasn't told this, I can only assume these toys were brought out because of our visit.  :)

Lego Fun

Nurse Perlienne with the children in the play yard.

Cheese!

Tillia is my personal favorite of all the nannies.  She beams with the love of Christ!  She is always thrilled to see us and vice versa.  I love how she knows each and every child in her care.  She goes out of her way to make them feel special.  She can discipline when needed and the children know she means business.  However, the next minute she is smiling ear to ear while tickling the belly of another child.  There is something about her-she is special!

We always try to bring her special treats and sneak them when the other nannies aren't around.

The big kids just couldn't stand it.

They had to get in on the fun too!

After lunch, I was taken to Ryan and Sheena's house.  They are the lead missionaries for the ministry.  We had a much needed informal meeting about the future vision for Giving Hope and how we can help and what we can do in the future.  

A brief overview of what we discussed:

• What to bring on future visits
• Diapers and wipes are NOT the best items to send
• While formula is better in the states, it is still able to be bought in Haiti.  Appreciated but not an absolute need to send.
• TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!!!!!  Toys are hard to come by in Haiti-especially well made ones.  Toys should be basic and durable and WASHABLE (plastic baby dolls).
• Protein powder
• No more peanut butter.  The kids prefer Haitian peanut butter.
• Clothing.  GHRM is attempting to switch to uniforms just for ease of dressing the kids.  The boys will be in khaki shorts with polo shirts (solid or stripe).  The girls will be in basic knit dresses (t-shirt style or polo style).
• Shoes!  While a more durable sandal is preferred by the adults, the kids tend to just go for the flip flops.  Therefore both are appreciated.
• The future vision for GHRM:
• We hope to soon purchase a chunk of land that is just outside of Montrious.
• The building plans are amazing!  They want houses for boys/girls in different age categories.  They are planning on having an "enrichment center" for the toddlers and preschoolers similar to an American daycare center.  They will have a great playground area, a school building, and a cafeteria.
• They will need many more missionaries willing to stay long-term (a year or more) to lead the programs with the help of the Haitian staff.

We also had a chance to discuss our visiting of the Justice Rescue Project.  Paul and I greatly desired to visit these children since we had seen them in their "Before" situation.  Read about it here.

There had been some miscommunication about this throughout our previous emails.  Evidently the driver expected to be paid $900 each way to Cap Haitian.  We were not prepared financially for that.  We didn't know what other options we had.  This place was NOT close and NOT easy to find.  (There really is no mapquest in Haiti!)

If you want to see what this treck looks like on a map, Click here.  Montrious is near Saint-Marc on the western coast.  Cap Haitian is on the Northern coast.

After passionately expressing my desire to see these kids, Ryan did a bit of investigate work and found out there was a bus that could take us there.

This created our plans for the remainder of our trip:

• Travel, by Haitian bus, to Cap Haitian
• Visit the Justice Rescue Home
• Bring toys and supplies to Justice

Faith Continued

So we finally arrived at our destination at about 7:30pm on Sunday after hoping to leave Tulsa at 4:00pm on Saturday.

As shown if the previous pictures, we were pleasantly surprised with amazing accommodations.  We had a full size bed, our own toilet, sink, and shower.  We were in Haitian paradise!  (Thank you Shane for giving up your room for the week!)  Thanks to these lovely accommodations, we got a much needed night of restful sleep.  We were even lucky enough to have A/C for a couple of hours thanks to the generator.

We awoke on Monday, well rested, and called the airport.  Thankfully, our bags had arrived.  We were told that they would be waiting for us in the Cargo building.  Ryan and Emily (two of the full-time missionaries) joined Paul and myself on a trek back into Port au Prince to the airport.

 The sites along the way.

 This is how many Haitians live.  See why I was so in love with our accomodations?

 My first time seeing the US Embassy.

"Tent cities" are still seen along the main roadways.  Please make sure you know where your money is going when you give after a disaster.  I know millions of dollars where donated after the earthquake yet some of these people will NEVER be able to recover from their losses.

Finally made it to "cargo" at the airport.  

I had a great fear that we would find our 4 of our large duffle bags nearly empty.  Things have a way of disappearing in this country.  Even the things that you would think would be useless to most can be sold on the street.  Anything is better than nothing.  For that reason, things disappear.

To our astonishment, the bags appeared to be untouched.  Thank You God!

So while we were in Port, we decided to visit the REAL hardware store to get some much needed items.  Last time we were here, we started a playhouse that needed to be finished.  There were also other things here and there that needed fixed.

Now that is real lumber!

Not badly priced either.  

Another blessing!

Having fun at MSC!

It is not uncommon to see people walking around with machetes in Haiti.  Little did I know you could purchase one for just $3!

Really?  A transformer?  

Why would you need such a thing in a country that does not have reliable electricity?

I dunno!

We then found a very nice restaurant not too far down the road.  It was an old sugar plantation that still had all the old equipment out to look at.

Checking out the sugar cane crushers.

Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to purchase a bag full of decent tools for Ryan.  We also were able to purchase a new water pump for their house so they would not have to pull water from the well with a bucket anymore.  Then we got all the wood needed to finish the playhouse.

By the time we made it back to the creche, the heat of the day was in full swing and we were not able to get any real work done.  However, we were pleased because we had gotten our luggage, purchased all the needed items to finish projects and we were able to bless Ryan and Emily to a delish HAMBURGER AND FRIES!

The rest of the afternoon was spent loving on some beautiful Haitian children who are waiting to travel to their forever homes here in America.

When we awoke Tuesday, we headed off to the original creche.  This is where we spent all of our time last September.

This is what we found in the playhouse we started.  Evidently they had decided to make it a "sitting area."  We removed these boards, put a roof on it, and added a bench to one side.  We also purchased some good paint to leave with Shane (the missionary picture with Paul), and he will be able to paint it very soon with the help of some of the older boys.

This is the toy organizer that we built last time.  Most of the toys have been VERY well used to the point of trash but that happens when you have 100+ kids playing with them.

We were happy to see the furniture piece was still being used even if it was not how we intended.

This is the play kitchen area.  Obviously well used and loved.

I am fascinated at the girls' ability to braid hair at an early age.

How can you not fall in love with that smile?

Beautiful smiles!

This was WITH bug spray!

Morning of Day 2.

I was thrilled to have my much loved pates for lunch.  I crave this street market food when I am in the states.

After a day of working in the heat, it was time to call it quits.  Shane called his favorite moto driver, Miller, to give us a ride back to Creche #3.  This was my first experience on a moto.  Super fun!

We then walked up the road to a restaurant.  I was so excited to see I could feast on lobster for just $8US!  It was delish and I enjoyed it greatly.

Then when I figured it up and realized that Haitians get paid an average of $5 per day of work, I felt a bit spoiled and frivolous eating it.  (But it was super yummy)

During our other trips to Haiti, we have been treated as visitors, as outsiders.

Not this time!  We walked the streets, rode tap taps, and traveled on motos.

I love being accepted as somewhat of a local.  I don't want to be treated differently.  When I am there, I was to live as a Haitian would live (well, a spoiled Haitian at least).

Storms are rolling in!

Stay tuned to hear about the rest of our trip.

Faith

You must have Faith and Trust in God in order for Him to prove Faithful.

We were scheduled to leave June 1st around 4:00pm.  The plan was to get to Miami by about 11pm and crash in the airport, wake early and hop on a 6am flight to Haiti.

That didn't happen!

At 4:00, we got on our plane in Tulsa.  After waiting for 15 minutes or so, they came on the speaker and said that there was some bad weather in Chicago (our destination).  They had a "stop flight" into Chicago until 6:00pm, so they were going to let us off the plane.  We deplaned and waited...and waited...and waited.  Finally at 6:30, we were reloading and then we were off.  It was a bumpy flight but we received a beautiful site upon arriving to Chicago:

This was actually a full-circle double rainbow.

An amazing site!

Well, since the flight was so delayed, we had missed our connection to Miami.  This is what ensued next:

1. Try to figure out what is happening to our bags.  Will they hold them till morning?  Do we need to get them?  Happily, we find out they will hold them and get them on the next flight to Miami along with us!
2. Get on the phone with my mom so she can use internet to book us a hotel room.  (The airline will not cover it because it was bad weather)
3. Wait for shuttle.  Wait.  Call.  No Answer.  Wait.  Call.  "It's on it's way."  Wait.  Call.  "Tell the driver you have a reservation."  Wait.  Call.  No Answer.  FINALLY-an hour later-the shuttle arrives.  The 16 passenger shuttle had about 25 people waiting for it.  We crammed on as many as possible.  Not comfortable.  At.  All.
4. Turns out the "LaQuinta Airport" hotel is about 25 minutes away.
5. Deal with snotty flight attendant that thinks she is better than anyone else.
6. Arrive at LaQuinta.  Ghetto-not updated since 1980-LaQuinta.  11:00!  (Should have crashed in the airport)
7. Get ready to enjoy my last warm shower before a week in Haiti.  Hear someone fiddling with the door.  Flip bar at top to lock it.  Good thing!  Someone uses a keep to open our door while I am in my birthday suit!  I scream and slam the door.  Paul goes into the hall to find nobody.
8. Finally get to sleep.
9. Get up at 4:00 to go back to the airport.

Our flight that morning to Miami went without problem.  We were scheduled to leave for Haiti around noon.  We got on that flight with no problem either.  It looked like all would be fine!  Notice I said "looked."

As we were probably half way to Haiti (that means over the ocean), the pilot came on the speaker and said, "Uh we are now turning around and returning to Miami.  We are experiencing mechanical failure. Flight attendants-prepare for landing."  Upon that announcement, the flight attendants put up the drink cart and HURRIEDLY came through the cabin having us put away electronics, put trays  and seats up and make sure we were all buckled in.  No other words.  They then went to the back of the plane and strapped themselves down.  We still had probably 30 minutes back to land.  Nobody knew what was going on.  We wondered.  Some worried.  I prayed.  I made jokes-that is what I do when I'm nervous.  

Thanks to God!  We landed safely around 2:00.

They informed us that they had another plane arranged for us but it would be at a different gate.  Let me give you some more of this story in a speed round:

• We had people waiting to pick us up at Port au Prince (PAP).  We couldn't get ahold of them.
• They said the new plane was smaller.  Not enough room for everyone.
• They were taking volunteers to get on the next plane.  It would leave at 3:25 and give us $500 each for taking the other flight.
• I figure we are already late.  That isn't too long away.  We can use the $$$ to our next trip.
• We volunteer.
• They assure us our luggage will make the switch.
• We head straight to the other flight, hop on, finally make it to PAP.
• Luggage didn't make the switch.
• Communication barrier at luggage counter.  They don't know where our bags are-no record of them.
• We file a claim.
• Still don't know if anyone is here to get us.  Call US contact (cringe at the thought of the bill).  Lots of calls.  Lots of texts.  Can't figure it out.
• See a guy with a small sign reading "Tami".  I say "Jami?"  "Oui.  Oui.  Jami?"
• They had been waiting for over an hour while we had been dealing with baggage stuff.
• Hop in van.  No luggage.  Just want to arrive to familiar faces.

We enjoyed some great conversation with Mollier, our driver, while on the way to Montrious.  It is about an hour drive.  He has decent English.  It's a relief.

We arrive at "Creche #3", where we will be staying.  It is delight.  One of the missionaries, Shane, has given up his room for us for the week.  It is delightful.

This creche is home to approximately 12-15 kids.  It is a gorgeous Haitian home.  We are pleased with our accommodations.  

A good night's sleep is what we need.  We will deal with the baggage issue tomorrow.

My Mind is a Flood

As I sit here at the airport, waiting to board my first flight on my journey to Haiti, I am trying to mentally prepare for what the next week will be like.

This trip is going to be totally different from either of the past two trips I have taken.
I REALLY didn't know what to expect the first time I went to this amazing country.  You can read about it here. 
For my second trip, we had a mission.  I travelled with a group of 3 others, my hubby included.  We planned to transform their front porch into a preschooler's dream.  It was a mixture of schoolroom and playroom.  Full of toys.  Full of color.  Full of excitement and joy.
Now it is time for trip #3.  We are flying into Port au Prince, as usual.  We will then take a hour and half car ride to Montroius, where the original creche is located.  We will spend maybe two days there making a game plan for the rest of our trip.  A game plan so we know what supplies we need to purchase, but a game plan that can (and will) change many times over.
On Tuesday of this week we plan to pack all that we brought along with other supplies purchase in Port or Montrious.  We will pack all of this into a very rusty and rugged Jeep Cherokee or similar vehicle.  I will then load up on my motion sickness pills.  Why?  Because the next step of this journey will be a 5 hour ride through the beautiful mountainous terrain of Haiti.
Our lengthy journey will take us to a location somewhere on the other side of Haiti to work with the children of Justice Rescue.  You can read about their story in this post.
I really don't know what the rest of our journey will look like.
A few things flooding my mind right now: Some are things I know.  Some are things I wonder.

• These children know no English.  How will I be able to tell them about the beautiful future their Heavenly Father has for them?  How will I tell them what He has already done for them?  What will I say?  What can I do to make a difference?
• The situation they were rescued from was literally a living hell.  However, the "pastor" who was in charge of them also ran a church.  Did he teach them Bible stories?  Have they be told about receiving Jesus into their hearts?  What have they heard about the Lord?  Most importantly, do they think all those stories are lies because of what they know first hand?

This is what I KNOW:

• The Lord has called Paul and me to this far away place.
• He has prepared our way.
• He will keep us safe.
• He loves these children more than words could ever express!
• He will give me the words to say, the actions to do, the love to show.

Please pray for us this week.  Pray that we will receive favor during travel and favor while making supply purchases.  Pray that He will guide our steps.  Pray that these children's eyes will be opened to the TRUTH of his love.  Pray for the children of Justice Rescue