I've been getting many, many questions about how my trip to Haiti was, so here's a somewhat detailed rundown of my trip to Port au Prince, Haiti (April 30-May14, 2011)
On Saturday, April 30, I left Grand Rapids with one of my team members, Ryan, to go to Port au Prince. Later in the day, when we got to Miami, we met our other team member, Bill. We arrived in Haiti around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I must say, the Port au Prince airport (at least for incoming flights) was a little bit of a shock to me. I guess I unknowingly had higher expectations because of how nice the airport in Managua (Nicaragua) was. It was a bit chaotic, and everything went fairly smooth until we got outside. As soon as we stepped outside, there were many porters waiting, and wanting to take our bags. We just had to push through them and keep saying "No, no merci". Well, it ended up that one clever porter had copied our team leaders sign that read "Sous Espwa" (the ministry we worked with), and wanted our money. There were many people outside the gate of the airport begging for money, and I guess I was a little bit numb to it all. I wasn't feeling very well from the flight down, so I wasn't completely aware of what was going on around me. Our team leader, Ana, brought us to the Sous Espwa Ministry Center (owned by the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti-ECRH), and we pretty much just ate dinner and crashed for the night.
On Sunday, we went to a Christian Reformed church in Port au Prince. It was all in Creole, of course, but it was a very interesting service. It's always been a good experience for me to worship in another culture, even if I can't speak the language. It's a reminder that our God is not just in the United States, but He is living and active all around the world. After church, we met with some of the church leaders so that they could tell us more about their church, and some of their future hopes for a new building and location. They're in the process of raising money to buy land. The space that they're in now is being loaned to them, and it's not very big for their growing congregation.
We then went out for lunch with Ana and another CRWRC missionary, Kristie, who also gave us a tour of Port au Prince. I didn't really know what to expect driving around Port au Prince, especially since I hadn't been there before the earthquake. The devastation and destruction was shocking. I think that something that was even more shocking to me was all the tent cities. There are tents in pretty much every space that used to be open. There are 500,000 people still in tents, a lot of them too scared to go back to their homes, even if they've been deemed safe to live in again. Since the earthquake, and as a direct result of all the people living in tents, the percentage of sexual violence and rape has gone up pretty dramatically. There really is not security in a tent. While I was in Port au Prince, a 16 year old girl died because of her injuries from being raped. It really put things in perspective-how blessed am I to have a house that has locks on the doors? It's all because I was born in the U.S. It really hasn't been because of anything that I myself have done. It's something that I, and my team members, really came to terms with during the first few days. Something to think about.
On Monday, we went to Leogan with another group that was staying at the ministry center from Lakeside CRC (Alto, MI). Leogan is where the epicenter of the earthquake was, and is where CRWRC has their disaster relief site. We were able to do some home visits to some of the beneficiaries of their core house building project, and that was a blessing. It's so great to hear the personal testimonies of faith that these young families have. It was a very enjoyable day, and a favorite for all of us.
For the rest of the week, we did cement work. It was hard work, let me tell you. It was a completely new concept to me, which was a little frustrating at times, but it was a very good experience. They don't have any cement trucks there, and we were working on the second floor, so we had to haul sand, gravel, cement, and water up to the second floor. In the sun. HOT. And SWEATY. Wow. But, despite the constant wiping away of sweat, I felt like it was a positive experience to be able to work alongside a Haitian team. They are very hardworking and nice people, and it was good to be able to help them.
On Saturday (May 7), my team members both left, and I was picked up by the Tlucek's. They are missionaries from Idaho who have been in Port au Prince for 5 1/2 years working with Heartline Ministries, and have recently started a preschool program (2-5 years old) in their home. They have 5 adopted children (4 of which are Haitian) and a few other Haitian teenage boys living with them. There were a lot of boys, way more than I'm used to coming from a house with only 3 girls. It seemed like there was always something crazy going on, but it a lot of fun! They also have an 8 month old baby girl living with them, so you bet I had some nice baby bonding time! :)
Since January, they have added 15 children to their program, and they hadn't done any evaluations on them, so I worked on those for most of the week. It was testing things like fine motor skills, social skills, academic skills, etc. It was a lot of fun, and the kids were so much fun to work with!! I also got to hang out with the 2 year olds for a couple of days, and they are just so precious!! Some of their stories are so sad, and I could feel my heart breaking. I feel so blessed to have had the life that I have, and to be able to share Jesus with these little jewels!
It was such a positive experience. I could write many stories here, but my post is already pretty long.
I'm really excited to update soon about some developments that are happening concerning the "what's next?" question...but some of that is still hanging in the balance, and I'm playing the waiting game for a little while yet, but I'll let you know when I know! :)
For now, I'm sort of in love with the girl that I'm working with (and my sister, whom I also work with), and really enjoying loving my work! :) I feel so blessed to be able to say that.
I appreciate all the prayers that are still being said on my behalf!
Love,
Rachel
