Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Reflections on My Trip to Haiti, August 2011


This was a near perfect trip with good weather, a terrific team, and a warm response from the Haitian people of Croix des Mission neighborhood in Port au Prince.  It was also wonderful to see more progress on the church building.  The building of the roof is underway, and the security walls which fell during the earthquake are being replaced.



As I write this, I am sitting in my comfortable home surrounded by the forests and the loon calls of New Hampshire.  The sad conditions of life in Croix des Mission are far away and seem unreal.  There is a disconnect between the living conditions of the people and the joyous, friendly attitude of the people.  Where do they find the resilence to overcome their poverty?  It must be in their faith.  They take joy in relationships with other people and with their God.  I am glad that I have come to know them.


I am grateful that I have helped the neighborhood by feeding the people for a week, by teaching and playing with the children, by donating to the building of this church which will become a focal point of joy and love in the neighborhood.  When we said "goodbye" to the crowd on the last day, Bob asked them how many would attend the church when it was built.  Almost everyone raised their hand!




Friday, August 19, 2011

The Beverly Hillbillies in Haiti!


Our van looked like the Beverly Hillbillies had arrived in Haiti as we headed to the Croix des Mission neighborhood with luggage on the top of our van.  The suitcases were full of  Tshirts, gloves, ballcaps, and school supplies to give away to the families.





When we arrived at the church, Stevenson Theodore, our music man, was already rehearsing the children for their "show".  The children were wearing their Sunday best.  We had to hang a third tarp to make enough shade to accommodate the crowd that had come to see the children perform.



We distributed the peanut butter bread and took a walk through the neighborhood with Gilbert, the neighborhood leader.  Seeing the primitive circumstances in which these children live, is shocking.  Tiny shacks or tents housed extended families.  Very sad.  But the people were welcoming and very grateful for the repairs they made to their homes with the donated money that Bob had given to them for this purpose.



After a delightful show of songs, poems, and dance, we headed to the area behind the church building for a delicious meal cooked over charcoal by the church ladies.  The 140 children sat on benches while adults stood or sat on cement blocks.  A gentle breeze made the hot day tolerable.  There was a festive atmosphere which intensified when the Coca Cola was passed out.







Michelle Pierre called our team forward and each of us said a few words in front of the crowd.  It was a touching time for me and I choked up a bit as I expressed my thanks for a fine week and said goodbye.  Then we gave each child a bag of school supplies.






Next the adults moved to the front of the church to receive their Tshirts, gloves, and hats.  There was some pandemonium, but all in all, we successfully distributed everything and there were smiles all around!




Then it was waves and hugs as we said goodbye to our friends in Croix des Mission.  Everyone agreed at our team meeting after supper that it was a most successful week.  Every team member felt that they had built a meaningful relationship with the people.  We also felt that we had done our best to make VBS for the children a time of learning and fun.



 A refreshing swim in the pool topped off a most memorable and satisfying day.  We depart Haiti tomorrow with a warm feeling for its people especially the ones we met at Croix des Mission church and neighborhood.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Final Day of VBS

Things were reversed a bit today.  Our music man Stevenson was there when we arrived so after the peanut butter and bread breakfast, he rehearsed the children for their "show".  Then we presented our drama of "The Good Samaritan."  I was the story teller with Michelle translating.  All of the other folks on the team had a role with Don Goodroe starring as the Good Samaritan.  All the actors had a simple prop like a paper beard to help identify them.  The children were very attentive and when we were done 6 children volunteered to play the roles with a student narrating.  They did a wonderful job.  I believe that many of them will remember the story and its meaning.




We had a surprise treat of visiting a home two doors down from the church where a group of 40 pentecostal women were fasting, singing, speaking, and praying.  They sang some rousing songs and they danced with vigor.  Many were in uniforms and wore special bowlers made of straw.  They invited Bob to say a few words.



Lunch was served to 105 children and another 100 adults and workmen.  The food was spicy again.  We all enjoyed it.







After a few circle games and bubble chasing, the children waved goodbye as we headed out for some shopping at an artisans' coop.  The paintings, carvings, tin art, and beadwork were lovely.  A few folks bought some items, but when we returned to the guest house, we went straight to the peddlers at the front gate.  Most of the 6 men there claimed to be the creator of their wares.  All of us purchased items from them after some bargaining fun.

Tonight we organized our gifts for the people of Croix des Mission which we will distribute tomorrow.  We have so many shirts and school supplies that it took us 3 hours to sort them!

We are eager for the events of tomorrow.

Sharon

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Successful Wednesday at VBS

As we arrived in our van at the worksite, the 20 early bird children cheered and jumped with joy.  Our hearts leaped with warmth to think that the children were so glad to see us!

After the usual bread and peanut butter breakfast, 75 children waited eagerly on benches under the tarp for the lesson of the day.  Carolyn delivered the Bible story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.  Of course, Michelle translated.  Carolyn taught them a song with motions about the 2 fish and 5 loaves which they sang with gusto.  Then they created and decorated a fish from a paper plate.  Our team pitched in to staple the tails and distribute the googly eyes.  All ages seemed pleased with the results.

As we collected the paper plate fish, a sudden shout erupted.  The children had discovered Carolyn and Parker blowing bubbles.  Off they raced to catch the bubbles.  This continued for about 20 minutes!  Then we tried a relay race with beach balls and the children loved that too!  We learned that our music man Stevenson was unable to come today, but he sent 2 young men to teach 15 older children a dance for the Friday performance.

It was time for lunch.  Today the ladies served a spicy corn dish.  Very tasty!  Michelle tried a new approach to serving the food.  She had the benches brought to the eating area under the trees and had the children sit tightly side by side.  Young people brought the plates to them.  This worked very well.  She also handed out numbers to the adults so that we would know how many we had fed.  It appeared that 180 people were fed today.









 After some quiet circle games with young children, we departed the worksite about 2:30pm to see the Presidential Palace and other downtown sights.  The Palace looked just as it did the day after the destruction of the earthquake.  The tent city was smaller across the street and the Methodist school, College Bird, was partially rebuilt and the rubble cleared.  They will open on time on Sept 5th.

Then home we went filling our senses with the sights and sounds of  Port au Prince.  Haitian people purposefully walking, street peddlers selling everything under the sun, and cars and motorcycles moving as fast as they dared through the pot-holed streets.

Back at the guest house, we showered, ate, and planned for tomorrow.  We will be acting out the story of the Good Samaritan for the children and then giving some of them a chance to be the actors.

An amazing sight today was the cutting down of a tall, wide tree with a machete!   Unfortunately, the tree was in the way of the security.wall that is being rebuilt.  Bob and Don and Parker moved more stones for that wall.

This was day of fun for me!

Sharon

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Tuesday at Croix des Mission


We arrived at the worksite after an eye filling ride in the streets of Port au Prince.  After bread and peanut butter, 60 children gathered on the benches under our tarp.  Our team member, interpreter and friend from Boston, Michelle Pierre, was the teacher this morning.  Her job was to introduce Jesus (Jesi) to the children.  She did a lively job in Creole.  Another team member, Lissa Olbeiter, from Boston had created small books with the simple facts of Jesus' life.





After singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World", the youngest colored their small books and the older ones drew Jesus or religious symbols on paper, cut them out, and pasted them on paper bags.  All children were engrossed in these simple crafts.  This time we wrote names on their work and collected the projects to return to them on Friday.  (This eliminates mountains of trash because the children lay the work down to play games and run about.)

Stevenson Theodore, our "music man" arrived at the right moment.  Now 75 children were present under the tarp ready to participate in his games and his music.  He is very charismatic and the children loved every moment with him.  By the end of the music lesson, there were 84 children under our tarp.

While our VBS was going on, the men on our team helped with the rebuilding of the security wall.  They hauled rocks and pails of cement.  Skilled Haitian workers continued their work on the roof over the office roooms in the church.













The morning went very quickly!  Now it was time for lunch which the church women had prepared over charcoal under the trees at the worksite.  We estimate that 140 people had a hot lunch.

After lunch we departed for Grace Children's Hospital to deliver the comfort dolls that ladies of our church and Eastman friends had knit.  The traffic was horrid and we arrived late but the nurses allowed us into a ward with babies.  Some had families visiting but visitation hours ended and we stayed to hold the little ones.  It was a heartwarming visit as the children responded to our touch and hugs and games of peekaboo.  Many clutched the dolls and studied their colorful outfits.


 Every doll was given away!






It was an excellent day!






Monday, August 15, 2011

First Day of VBS

Our team arrived at the worksite ready for a day of teaching "Jonah's Story".  By the time we served our bread and peanut butter breakfast, tied up a tarp, and brought benches from the current church, we had 50 children sitting on the benches ready to learn!  As the morning continued another 20 children joined us.

Bob and I were thrilled to see construction underway at the church.  A cement roof was being put on the "office section" of the building and a security wall which had fallen during the earthquake was being repaired.

Bible School began.  Nina told the story in English as Michelle translated and the children looked at simple illustrations.  Then a ten year old Haitian girl retold the story as Michelle translated back to English.  It was a very effective teaching method.  Next Nina taught a song with motions.  They loved it and were still singing it as we left this afternoon.   Then we had the small children sit on another tarp for coloring (ages 1-4) and the older children made bead necklaces.  We had planned to make a paperbag whale but it appeared to be too difficult with the large number of children and vast age difference so we postponed that project for later in the day.

Lunch had not arrived so out came the soccer balls and jump ropes.  Little ones played Duck, Duck, Goose and did the Hokey Pokey and Ring around the Rosie.

We dined at 2:25pm on yummy beans and rice.  We fed about 140 neighborhood folks.



Then we headed home tired and dirty and fulfilled.

Sharon

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sunday in Port au Prince

Our team had a special day.  First we worshiped with the Croix des Mission congregation in their little church.  I immediately saw a physical difference in the building.  Benches and chairs were set up outside the front door with a blue tarp overhead.  Fresh flowers decorated the doors and windows and the altar area.  Huge speakers were at the front with a drum set.  We were ushered to the front rows on the left.  The service was full of music, Bible readings, and a firey sermon.  It lasted 2.5 hours!  We sang three songs and Don Goodroe from our team offered a trumpet solo.  They were honoring their youth choir which performed two powerful songs.

After worship we greeted many friends from last year!

Then we headed to our choir director's home for tall bottles of soda, and his young friends entertained us with some energetic break dancing.

We then moved on to the worksite and our new team members were amazed at the size of the new church and its shaded back yard.  Scaffolding was set up for roof work so we are expecting some construction this week!  The trees near the roof were trimmed and the branches were being transformed into charcoal at the back of the lot in a smoldering fire under piles of dirt.  Very interesting.

We also saw pictures of little Nainika, the baby who had an abdominal tumor last February.  Our team paid for her surgery.  She looked healthy and happy!

Lunch was at a restaurant.  Then we relaxed with showers and swimming in the pool.  After a spaghetti supper, the team gathered for debriefing on the day's sights and planning for tomorrow's VBS and game time.

A thunderstorm during supper brought lots of noise and torrents of rain.  We hope that doesn't happen tomorrow during our VBS!

For two more interesting blogs with pictures by our youngest team members visit:  parkersorenson.wordpress.com and madefromtheheart.wordpress.com.

Sharon

Saturday, August 13, 2011

August 13, 2011 We Arrive Safely in Haiti

Our flights went well and the entire team of 8 gathered together in Miami.  Once in Port au Prince, we hired several porters to gather our 19 bags of luggage and boarded the Guest House Tap Tap.  The streets of PaP greeted us with eye popping color, ear popping sound, and interesting aromas.

The city looked less damaged than a year earlier.  I saw new construction, but sadly many tent cities remain.

At the Guest House we met a team of 10 Methodist from Houston, Texas.  They will be our housemates for the week.

After a delicious supper, most of us took a refreshing dip in the pool.   Then Stevenson Theodore, our hired Haitian music director, rehearsed us for our performance tomorrow at the church.  We are lucky this year to have Don Goodroe and his trumpet!  I think the congregation at Croix des Mission will enjoy our songs.  It seems that it is a custom in Haiti to show their friendship through song.  So we will show ours tomorrow.


Friday, August 12, 2011

August 12, 2011

Tomorrow morning, we depart again for Haiti.  Our VIM team has eight members: Michelle Pierre and Lissa Olbeter from the Boston area, Carolyn Hale from Connecticut, Don and Nina Goodroe from Georgia, and Parker Sorenson, Sharon, and myself from New Hampshire.  Follow us as we work with the people of Croix des Mission in Port-au-Prince.