Reflections on Haiti from Debbie

It's Thursday morning, and the truck has left with everyone in our group except for me. We have been pretty healthy so far with only the adults among us having any "issues." Lori and Bob have had sore throats, and last night I started having some stomach cramps with a bit of Montezuma's revenge, but now am definitely on the mend. The kids all seem to be fine So, I opted to stay at the Wall's to rest a bit and communicate to all of you from a parent's perspective.

Yesterday was really a full day. We left early for Pele and the GS school. Each time we go, the kids come out in even larger numbers to greet us, running along side the truck and yelling "hey you, hey you" with their lovely smiles and expectations of good things to come. They know by now that we come bearing gifts of balls, clothes, attention and mostly hugs. We are all "ou" (or you) to them, but many of them have learned our names, and call them out waving and hoping to get close to us. It can be quite overwhelming, especially at first, but I think by now, we would be disappointed if we weren't greeted in such a lovely way. The girls have been writing down all the names of the children we encounter (I think they have around 50-60 so far). Though we don't mean to have favorites (they are all quite wonderful), it's hard not to sometimes, as there are certain children that have definitely adopted us as their mother, father, sister, or brother (i.e tiny Carlos for Aaron, Kimberly adores Nikki, Mackinson and Janette for me). We definitely have relationships with these people, and they have become dear to our hearts. Though they have countless needs, sometimes it seems like the most important thing we give them is the gift of touch. They are constantly hugging and touching us and when we reciprocate it seems like it is a soothing balm for them that gives them much needed relief and even joy. I witnessed this the other day when we were at the children's hospital and we came across a tiny little girl who was extremely malnourished and according to the nurse there, unlikely to survive. She was a year old and weighed just a few lbs. Sitting up in her worn, delicate dress, she cried longingly to be fed. One of the sisters (from Mother Teresa's Order), who has devoted her life to taking care of these suffering, often terminally ill babies, handed me a bowl of mashed rice and beans to feed the little girl. As I fed her, she stopped crying and looked expectantly at me for every bite that she quickly swallowed until finally the nurse told me to stop, as she would only throw it back up. Her stomach, she showed me, was already hard and protruding. So, I stopped and took the bowl back to the kitchen. The only thing that could calm her from sobbing again, was when Bob began stroking her back, and even though her face was definitely one of the pain and suffering she had endured in her very short life, the crying stopped and she looked relieved, if only for a few moments.

Our kids relished the opportunity to feed, hold and caress these ailing children. I am sure there hearts were broken for them as they tried to comfort them the best they could, and that God's call to us to feed and serve the poor and hungry, was never more evident to them (all of us).

After we left GS, we headed back to Wall's, had a quick lunch and headed out again with Jeff (our jovial and generous Young Life Guide from Atlanta), and Wouby, our wonderful Haitian Young Life Guide and translator. We rely on these two heavily every time we leave the gated area of Wall's Guesthouse. Jeff, who by trade works in urban development and is in charge of all of the construction projects at Good Shepherd, has been coming to Haiti since shortly after the earthquake. He has made several trips here and seems to have a knack for understanding and loving on the Haitian people. I think they definitely appreciate his easy going style and his great sense of humor. Wouby is a charming fellow who is fast becoming a favorite with our kids. Wouby directs the drivers, takes care of logistics for us, helps translate the Creole, and together with Jeff, has come up with some amazing opportunities for us to experience that most mission workers might not get. For example, on Tuesday, when we wanted to drive by the palace, they managed to get us through the crowds of Carnaval so that we could stand in front of the palace and see firsthand, the tremendous damage it incurred as a result of the quake. Then, as we continued, we found ourselves walking along the Carnaval procession, and in some cases (as the pictures will show) actually part of the procession. We quickly discovered that the thousands and thousands of Haitians who had turned out for Carnaval, were actually as much intrigued with us (we did kind of stand out) as they were with the costumed groups participating in the parade. Then yesterday, after driving past the U.S. Embassy (4th biggest and most expensive embassy in the world--but not very attractive, in my opinion), we ended up driving through the remote countryside on some incredibly primitive roads to avoid the rush hour traffic in Port au Prince. This gave us a chance to see Haitians and Haitian life in places we would never have imagined. As we came out of the detour, we found ourselves stuck in a bumper to bumper round about, with trucks and and vans filled to overflowing with Haitian workers. Since we weren't moving for awhile--Jeff bought us each cokes from the local street vendor, as we waited alongside everyone else for the traffic to move.

But, perhaps the most interesting and eye-opening experience for us was visiting a tent village. We had passed hundreds of them driving through Port au Prince over the past few days, and though they looked grim, we had no idea what they looked like on the inside (as Julia pointed out). It turns out that Wouby lives in a tent village and is on the governing council of his particular tent village. We made our way into the village to where the council was meeting, and Wouby introduced us to the director. He proceeded to give us a tour of their tent village and explained the problems and challenges they faced in living in such a way since the earthquake (these are all people whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake and who have now been assigned to a tent city/village.) He helped us understand how the many resources that come into Haiti, particularly from NGOs (non govt. organizations world-wide) are not getting to the Haitians in a way that really helps them. One such need, and perhaps the largest, is clean water. The director showed us a water filtering tank that one NGO had provided, but pointed out that it was no good to them, because there was no mechanism for osmosis, that allowed the water to be purified. He said, often these organizations come and look at their conditions, but that they don't listen to them as far as their real needs. Instead. they decide what they want to provide and take such decisions on their own without consulting the leaders of the tent cities. I have wondered about this, as we often hear about the large amount of funds and resources that are coming into Haiti since the earthquake, but also hear that little progress has been made in actually getting that money to the Haitians where they need it most.

One thing I did find quite endearing--the council spoke to us about their plans to provide something for all the mothers in their tent city for Mother's Day, despite the fact that they have so many other crucial life-sustaining needs. But, we would love to find a way to help them with this special concern.

The result of this unexpected "side trip" to Wouby's home tent city, was that we got a much more "up close and personal" view of how atrocious the living conditions are for many Haitians (especially compared to what we have) and the overwhelming needs they have. This became the topic of conversation during our evening devotional last night, led by Danielle, as we reflected on what it means for us when Jesus says: "from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded: and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Well, the truck just returned with our Trinity group, and I am sure they have more adventures to share. So, I will sign off for now.

Thanks for all your prayers. They have been a blessing to us.

Debbie