Thursday, July 18, 2013

Where Has The Time Gone???


I’m sitting in the Port Au Prince Airport smiling through the tears as I ask myself where has the time gone? I can’t believe it’s already July 18th, time for me to head back to D-Town. It was a bittersweet goodbye this morning, because I have a lot to look forward to with two trips coming up and an incredible job starting in August, but I feel like I could stay in Haiti forever. I have never felt so alive and so close to the Lord as I do now. My prayer going forward is that I can come back to Dallas and hold on to the lessons that I learned while I was in Haiti.

As I said goodbye to the 11 girls at House of Hope, Jessi, Nadege, Arnold, Madame Sterling, Mathane, Max, Jean Goody and Matt…. I can’t help but feel like I have my own little family in Haiti and honestly can’t wait to go back and see them again! Up until today, my trip has been lots of laughing; the kind of laughing that brings tears to your eyes, pains in your stomach and other side effects that I will not go into. The belly laughs of the girls from House of Hope are something I don’t think I will ever forget…. just a God is good, life is good kind of laugh.

So many lessons and different experiences, here are some that I hope to keep with me forever:
·      Pray often… everyday, every moment turn to the Lord for guidance. The Haitians praise the Lord for each day, give thanks for what they have and trust their everything to the Lord. In America it’s easy to get caught up in the “stuff” and keeping busy that we forget to put things into perspective!
·      Laugh often… every day! Find joy in the little things of life!
·      Relax…. It’s ok if we say we’ll leave at 8:00, but we don’t leave until 10:00, it’s ok to make a wrong turn, getting lost is part of the adventure, and it’s ok if things don’t go quite as plan, it’ll happen eventually!

As I sit in the air conditioning, here are some other thoughts going through my head:
·      I will not miss spaghetti for breakfast, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and rice and beans for dinner… but I will miss the people that I shared my meals with!
·      I will not miss crawling up to the top bunk and getting under my mosquito net, but I will miss my amazing roommate who slept in the bunk underneath me.
·      I will not miss waking up at the crack of dawn, but I will miss my Haitian alarm clock of roosters crowing, children singing and the hustle and bustle of the compound.
·      I will not miss not being able to speak with many of the children, but I will miss communicating with them through laughing, dancing and playing.
·      I will not miss the rocky, unpaved roads but I will miss all of the places these roads lead me to... House of Hope, Repatriote, Cite Soleil, and any of the adventures I went on.
·      I will not miss the random power outages, but I will miss the sunsets, lightening, and star filled skies that are enjoyed best by the loss of lights and power.
·      I will not miss the heat and the no AC, but I will miss the shock of the cold showers that nearly takes my breath away and the only thing I can do is laugh.
  ·      I WILL NOT MISS ANYTHING ABOUT THE BATHROOM SITUATION!

So with that, my time in Haiti comes to an end, but the adventure is just getting started. Looking back at the moments I doubted if I should even go to Haiti, I can’t help but laugh and smile at the crazy things the Lord has in store for me… when I doubted this plan most, I rested in knowing that He put this on my heart and has planted in me a desire to continue helping, serving and working with the Haitians however He can use me! There are about a million people I need to thank right now… the Lord obviously for giving me this amazing opportunity to spend my time in Haiti, my amazing family for supporting me on this adventure, my friends who gave me the courage to go through with this, HPPC-my young adults group and all the leaders who went out of their way to get me here and for everyone who supported me prayerfully and financially. I am happy to report that with the money I raised, I will be able to give $500 of it to House of Hope and $500 of it to the 4 HOM schools.

 I have included a few pictures of my last days in Haiti… hope you enjoy! America, see you in a few short hours!








Saturday, July 13, 2013

There's Always Room for One More



In Haiti, most people ride around in tap taps…. These are brightly decorated pickup trucks and in the back are benches for people to ride in. When you want to get out you “tap tap” and they pull over, you pay them and you go on your way. When we ride in them with teams, they are “private ones” and everyone is relatively spread out with their own personal space, which is very un-Haitian. When I drive around and see regular tap taps, there are Haitians crammed in, sitting and standing in any open space. While we usually feel that squeezing 10 people in is excessive, there could be anywhere from 15 to 20 people stuffed in the back of the trucks. Their thought is “there is always room for one more.”  I had always wanted to see if I could survive the crowded tap taps and until today, I had never had the opportunity.


I finally had the chance… Jessi, Nadege and I went up to her parents’ house in an hour called Delma, on to a coffee shop called Rebo and then to a restaurant called Pizza Garden. This required a motorcycle ride to the main rode (20 goudes), 2 tap taps to Delma (5 goudes each), 2 taps up to Rebo (10 goudes each)… and then we repeated the same thing going down! Honestly, it has been one of the highlights of my trip because I have never been able to travel like this, and I loved it! We were able to walk around Delma and Petionville and thankfully we got a little lost and were able to explore even more! I felt a little bit like a kid on Christmas morning because I was just wondering around smiling looking like a “blanc fu” (crazy white person). But I didn’t care, I just kept on going.



I think the saying “there is always room for one more” applies to more aspects of the Haitian culture than just tap taps. In the time that I’ve been here, I have felt so welcomed, whether it was squishing next to someone on a church pew, being invited to join a group of people at an already overcrowded table, pulling up a chair to join a game in progress, or squeezing just one more person on to the swings at the playground… it really has been incredible. They are so inviting and it has made me feel so welcome in this foreign country! I will truly miss these amazing people and will treasure the relationships and the memories for the rest of my life. I also think that as Americans, we could learn a few lessons on welcoming visitors!



Where has the time gone?? See you all in just 4 short days!!! 

Tap Taps around Haiti: 



 Fruit markets on the side of the street in Petionville:



Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Finer Things of Haiti


One of my favorite things so far about staying long-term in Haiti have been the various trips we’ve made outside of the HOM compound. In the past, I had seen some of the different areas, but nothing quite like I’ve seen this time. There have been several instances where it seems we’ve left Haiti and traveled to a four star resort. This past week, we had 4 days with no teams here and were able to do some exploring. One night we went to a Lebanese restaurant called Magdoos… we had hummus and pita bread along with frozen mojitos and a Greek salad! The next day we went to a hotel called The Oasis and had a wonderful brunch with champagne. We went there to celebrate Mathanie’s graduation, but never quite made it into the actual ceremony.

Magdoos:

 The Oasis  Hotel:



Yesterday we went up the mountain to the Baptist Mission where we had lunch (grilled cheese, curly fries and soft serve ice cream) and then up to The Overlook where there is an incredible view of the Port Au Prince area. The temperatures drop as you go up the mountain and there is an incredible breeze! Also as you go up the mountain, the houses get a lot bigger and nicer and you can tell this is where a lot of the wealthier Haitians live. The contrast between where I stay and what it is like up the mountain is somewhat upsetting. But the more I think about it, that is very similar to how it is in the Dallas area. Just a reminder, there are people in need everywhere we go.

View from the Baptist Mission: 

 On our way up the mountain:

Seeing all of these amazing sights and the progress that has been made over the last 2 years has given me great hope. The Haitians are a strong and resilient people, and they are always working hard to better themselves and their country. At times during these little getaways, I am reminded of the poverty all around me and can’t help but feel a little guilty as I enjoy my meal in a nice (sometimes even air conditioned) restaurant.

On a side note, celebrating the 4th of July in Haiti made me think about how much I take for granted in the United States and how very fortunate we all are. I am so incredibly blessed and the longer I stay in Haiti, the more I realize I don’t deserve everything I have been given. But the Lord is a generous and loving God and to whom much is given, much is expected. I will try to serve and use my gifts to the best of my ability, knowing they are all given from God. I have been here over a month and have just 2 short weeks left. I don’t even want to think about leaving this amazing country and these gracious people who have been so welcoming.