May 2nd, 2010. About a week ago I had no idea of what to expect coming to Haiti. I never thought that right after getting my passport, this would be the first place that I would visit. I actually never even knew anything about this country before the earthquake and just a few short months after, here I am!
My first impression of the sights that I had seen coming off the plane was absolutely chaos. There were people just relentless to help with your bags or whatever you are bringing. I didn’t know that they would so much as go through the trouble of creating, “speed bumps” on the sidewalk just to make you purposely drop your cart of luggage so they could help you and then ask for money for that help. As I chuckle to myself I think, “What the heck did I get myself into?” A lot of this country, from what I have seen, reminds me of Iraq. Everything in rubble, people everywhere in tattered clothing, the smell of that choking exhaust from old vehicles. Oh and that awful unforgiving sun. (Just to name a few)
Today I had the pleasure of witnessing a sermon at a church that we finished building over the last week. The people in and around this neighborhood gathered under the sun during the hottest part of the day to hear the word. Just being glad to be there, to hear the word of the lord, and rejoice. We finished the pews on Saturday just in time and to be perfectly honest, I felt some sense of accomplishment and proud that I could help. Everyone worked very hard this past week and I’m sure they share some of the same feelings as I do.
After church we went out about an hour later to see the smiling faces of Cohena children’s orphanage. Mostly boys this time and I had a few small conversations with some of them in Spanish. It absolutely amazes me that a lot of these children are already speaking two and three languages when I had a hard enough time with English at that age. One of the other team members brought a Frisbee for them and we had a few throws before we left. I love seeing the kids so happy. I always wish I could do more.
The end of our night ended with a very short visit to a few “very different” markets looking for the ingredients for spaghetti of all things to make in Haiti. Around the market people look at me funny because I’m lighter skinned…( HA HA) I have never had that kind of attention before. Marie walked around those places like she owned them which in ways is a good thing. We got what we needed and left, but not before the first thunderstorm of the month, which lasted awhile. Riding in the bed of the truck getting soaked, we capped it off with a delicious dinner, lots of laughs, and one sprained ankle to which I still don’t know how it happened!
I have been truly blessed with the opportunity to come down to this country, with a team of angels with huge hearts and helping hands. I will cherish these memories. I look forward to coming back and helping more.
Matthew Johnson
5.02.2010
5.01.2010
Happy May Day....
Well it was my first MAY DAY in Haiti…..And it was unlike those in my past. Since I was a grade school student and into my married life it was always a time of gathering flowers, placing them on the door step, knocking and running. Maybe this seems strange to anyone else but to this retired man, it’s comforting.
As we awoke today, once again there was no power and it was like this off and on all day. The flowering tree outside our balcony helped make this day beautiful, in spite of not having any power. Once again, we loaded into the pickup truck and made a run to the business where we buy our lumber. Today’s load was much larger than we’ve had in the past, because today we were “scheduled” to build 20 benches that Bill designed and he and Tim made a prototype yesterday. As one might realize in this situation, power is essential in order to charge up batteries for the drills, saws and other battery operated tools. Without it, we are pretty well stopped, so we went as far as we could and then took a break, consisting of snacking, talking, cat-napping, and just waiting for God to intervene so we could continue His work her at “Maries church”…….and guess what He came thru one more time allowing us to have enough generated power for our batteries and the operation to plane the 2 X 4’s.
By 6:00 pm all 20 benches were complete and already some of the local ladies were enjoying the comfort of their new furniture. The acronym of TEAM was the t-shirt that Marie had on today and it was obvious this was the case (Together Everyone Achieves More). We ate by candlelight for a short while, some having their first taste of Haitian Goat, which is pretty tasty, when prepared properly with rice, and veggies. The power came back on momentarily, but in a few minutes the generator was blowing black smoke and once again, our power was gone. And people wonder why life in a third world country is at a much slower pace?? Take a trip someday and see for yourself, it’s a HUGE BLESSING for the people you are visiting, but especially to us Americans to have our eyes opened to how most of the world lives on a daily basis. For them it’s a survival technique every day of their existence.
The people we work with and meet is something that cannot be described in words, but believe me, it can change a person’s view on life as we know it back in the states. Not to mention all the smiling children that just want to be held and loved by anyone willing to spend some time away from the United States.
One other quick workman’s comp. story was how one of our team members brushed up against a piece of wood and received a splinter like I have never seen before. He was lucky that there were a couple of Fireman / EMT on our particular team and they were able to remove with extreme professionalism, along with 4-6 curious on-lookers with flashlights. When all the dust settled, a one inch pc came out and we all cheered.
OK, so much for May Day and all it stands for. May God continue to bless you and your family in the days and weeks to come thru out the balance of 2010.
Terry A.
As we awoke today, once again there was no power and it was like this off and on all day. The flowering tree outside our balcony helped make this day beautiful, in spite of not having any power. Once again, we loaded into the pickup truck and made a run to the business where we buy our lumber. Today’s load was much larger than we’ve had in the past, because today we were “scheduled” to build 20 benches that Bill designed and he and Tim made a prototype yesterday. As one might realize in this situation, power is essential in order to charge up batteries for the drills, saws and other battery operated tools. Without it, we are pretty well stopped, so we went as far as we could and then took a break, consisting of snacking, talking, cat-napping, and just waiting for God to intervene so we could continue His work her at “Maries church”…….and guess what He came thru one more time allowing us to have enough generated power for our batteries and the operation to plane the 2 X 4’s.
By 6:00 pm all 20 benches were complete and already some of the local ladies were enjoying the comfort of their new furniture. The acronym of TEAM was the t-shirt that Marie had on today and it was obvious this was the case (Together Everyone Achieves More). We ate by candlelight for a short while, some having their first taste of Haitian Goat, which is pretty tasty, when prepared properly with rice, and veggies. The power came back on momentarily, but in a few minutes the generator was blowing black smoke and once again, our power was gone. And people wonder why life in a third world country is at a much slower pace?? Take a trip someday and see for yourself, it’s a HUGE BLESSING for the people you are visiting, but especially to us Americans to have our eyes opened to how most of the world lives on a daily basis. For them it’s a survival technique every day of their existence.
The people we work with and meet is something that cannot be described in words, but believe me, it can change a person’s view on life as we know it back in the states. Not to mention all the smiling children that just want to be held and loved by anyone willing to spend some time away from the United States.
One other quick workman’s comp. story was how one of our team members brushed up against a piece of wood and received a splinter like I have never seen before. He was lucky that there were a couple of Fireman / EMT on our particular team and they were able to remove with extreme professionalism, along with 4-6 curious on-lookers with flashlights. When all the dust settled, a one inch pc came out and we all cheered.
OK, so much for May Day and all it stands for. May God continue to bless you and your family in the days and weeks to come thru out the balance of 2010.
Terry A.
4.30.2010
Mid-Week Report...TGIF!
The commentary after dinner went something like this: “Megan, are you writing the blog tonight? OK, great!”, and my Dad saying, “Oh, good…we’ll write it together! What’s a blog?” And then after reading through the last few postings, I am anxious about posting my (our) re-cap of the day across the internet and through cyberspace for all to see, but here goes!
We started our day at 5am, which is beginning to feel like a normal wake-up hour…breakfast at 7am (thanks for the scrambled eggs today, Dad!) and we’re all ready for naps and lunch by 10am! At 9am, we headed out towards Port-Au-Prince, hoping that by heading out a little “later” we would avoid the morning rush hour through the streets. Our intention was to go sight-seeing in the downtown, hardest hit areas that are still recovering from the damage of the earthquake over three months ago. Recovery is a tough word to use in order to describe what we saw…the general feeling is that the damage is done, and life is continuing on. It was eye-opening to observe the random devastation spread around the city. We could drive down one block and see two buildings standing and open for business, the next one in a pile of dust that people had to climb over and around in order to get to the next two buildings in the same row that are open and functioning. Rubble is piled in the main streets, making them nearly impassable, and the rubble is piled in the side streets, which are now closed to anything other than foot traffic. Morning rush hour was indescribable before the earthquake, and is now overwhelming to be a part of – thank goodness neither one of us are driving!! Cars that were crushed or have become broken-down, are stopped in their tracks, often in the middle of the road as an obstacle to avoid. We heard the occasional sounds of sirens, presumably coming to the aid of impaired motorists and the few car collisions that we witnessed, but no one could get through to help, and the rest of us were just trying to get by and move on. Roads that were probably designed to be two-lane roads hold 4 cars across, and tap-taps on the sidewalks! Very few traffic lights are visible and honored…we made several maneuvers that required easing our way through inches of space on either side of the truck.
We had the good fortune to stop at a restaurant for lunch and were able to get fries and ice cream – a real treat! Our other errands to hit on the way home included a stop at the “Eco Depot”, a personal favorite of Dad’s…I even lost him temporarily inside, which is typical…he was in his element – right Mom? One more stop at the lumberyard (third stop in three days at this same lumberyard – those guys start smiling and high-fiving when they see us pull up!), where we loaded up with 20 more 2x4x16’s to continue our bench and temporary church re-building in the afternoon. As a point of reference, the lumberyard stop also included a 1x8x14 and a 1x4x14 and the total cost for rough lumber that we will still need to sand, plane and paint cost us $330 (US, not Haitian dollars!) A quick stop at home to load up on icy cold beverages and we returned to the Orphanage – we were able to finish the extension on the church space and re-work the temporary classroom space being used by the preschool and Kindergarten children. Stable roofing, walls and tarps are now in place. One bench proto-type was completed, so our efforts tomorrow will be to mass-produce benches for church on Sunday. Megan and Brad joined the cast of Avatar, and painted the church wall blue…we were pretty messy by the end, but the girls were eager to help and supplied us with rags to clean up (“More blue here, Megan!”)…honestly, how did I paint a wall and end up covered in blue?!
14 hours after we rose, we were seated around our dinner table enjoying time to re-group and refresh our minds and bodies with the conversation and great food provided for us. We are still waiting for the power to come on today so that our batteries (for the power tools…we recharged during dinner!) can be charged up and ready to go for tomorrow…Marie says it will happen – she has FAITH! At this point, we’ve had electricity for about 6-8 hours total in the past four days since we arrived…our flashlights and bug spray are constant companions as the sun begins to set! We have 10 rechargeable batteries to operate our four power tools, and they need to be recharged more frequently than in the States because of the increased temperatures and heat down here. The temperature was a cool 97 degrees in the shade today, with climbing humidity and very little breeze…we’ve got our fingers crossed for a nice evening breeze and maybe even a little rain shower?!? We haven’t felt much of a breeze and have not had any rain all week…Isn’t this the rainy season?
Time to sign off, so we are ready for Bill’s 5am alarm – the one that sounds like a rooster downstairs….I (Megan) still need to try to get a shower in before the water runs out for the night! Until then…
Ed and Megan Grimaldi
We started our day at 5am, which is beginning to feel like a normal wake-up hour…breakfast at 7am (thanks for the scrambled eggs today, Dad!) and we’re all ready for naps and lunch by 10am! At 9am, we headed out towards Port-Au-Prince, hoping that by heading out a little “later” we would avoid the morning rush hour through the streets. Our intention was to go sight-seeing in the downtown, hardest hit areas that are still recovering from the damage of the earthquake over three months ago. Recovery is a tough word to use in order to describe what we saw…the general feeling is that the damage is done, and life is continuing on. It was eye-opening to observe the random devastation spread around the city. We could drive down one block and see two buildings standing and open for business, the next one in a pile of dust that people had to climb over and around in order to get to the next two buildings in the same row that are open and functioning. Rubble is piled in the main streets, making them nearly impassable, and the rubble is piled in the side streets, which are now closed to anything other than foot traffic. Morning rush hour was indescribable before the earthquake, and is now overwhelming to be a part of – thank goodness neither one of us are driving!! Cars that were crushed or have become broken-down, are stopped in their tracks, often in the middle of the road as an obstacle to avoid. We heard the occasional sounds of sirens, presumably coming to the aid of impaired motorists and the few car collisions that we witnessed, but no one could get through to help, and the rest of us were just trying to get by and move on. Roads that were probably designed to be two-lane roads hold 4 cars across, and tap-taps on the sidewalks! Very few traffic lights are visible and honored…we made several maneuvers that required easing our way through inches of space on either side of the truck.
We had the good fortune to stop at a restaurant for lunch and were able to get fries and ice cream – a real treat! Our other errands to hit on the way home included a stop at the “Eco Depot”, a personal favorite of Dad’s…I even lost him temporarily inside, which is typical…he was in his element – right Mom? One more stop at the lumberyard (third stop in three days at this same lumberyard – those guys start smiling and high-fiving when they see us pull up!), where we loaded up with 20 more 2x4x16’s to continue our bench and temporary church re-building in the afternoon. As a point of reference, the lumberyard stop also included a 1x8x14 and a 1x4x14 and the total cost for rough lumber that we will still need to sand, plane and paint cost us $330 (US, not Haitian dollars!) A quick stop at home to load up on icy cold beverages and we returned to the Orphanage – we were able to finish the extension on the church space and re-work the temporary classroom space being used by the preschool and Kindergarten children. Stable roofing, walls and tarps are now in place. One bench proto-type was completed, so our efforts tomorrow will be to mass-produce benches for church on Sunday. Megan and Brad joined the cast of Avatar, and painted the church wall blue…we were pretty messy by the end, but the girls were eager to help and supplied us with rags to clean up (“More blue here, Megan!”)…honestly, how did I paint a wall and end up covered in blue?!
14 hours after we rose, we were seated around our dinner table enjoying time to re-group and refresh our minds and bodies with the conversation and great food provided for us. We are still waiting for the power to come on today so that our batteries (for the power tools…we recharged during dinner!) can be charged up and ready to go for tomorrow…Marie says it will happen – she has FAITH! At this point, we’ve had electricity for about 6-8 hours total in the past four days since we arrived…our flashlights and bug spray are constant companions as the sun begins to set! We have 10 rechargeable batteries to operate our four power tools, and they need to be recharged more frequently than in the States because of the increased temperatures and heat down here. The temperature was a cool 97 degrees in the shade today, with climbing humidity and very little breeze…we’ve got our fingers crossed for a nice evening breeze and maybe even a little rain shower?!? We haven’t felt much of a breeze and have not had any rain all week…Isn’t this the rainy season?
Time to sign off, so we are ready for Bill’s 5am alarm – the one that sounds like a rooster downstairs….I (Megan) still need to try to get a shower in before the water runs out for the night! Until then…
Ed and Megan Grimaldi
4.29.2010
Gracious Uncertainty
Our natural inclination is to be so precise- trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next- that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in God, and uncertain in our certainty.
This is the devotional I began my day with today, while watching the sun rise… After reading it several times I gained the knowledge I believed was being expressed. It wasn’t until the experience of today that I now understand.
Even before we ate breakfast this morning a crew of several men arrived at Marie’s to continue rebuilding a security wall that was damaged in the earthquake. The old wall was broke into small pieces and added to the road where they had done the same with many of the damaged buildings, turning the dirt road into a gravel road. The upgraded roads appear to be an unseen blessing. With temperatures reaching near 100 today it was decided to wait until late afternoon to continue on the construction of the church at Marie’s. We instead took the opportunity to visit the water purification facility, where we purchased 100 bags, containing 60 single servings of purified water each. 90 of these bags were given to the orphanage, the remaining 10 will be used for the teams supply for the week. This trip gave me my first sight of large rural tent cities. Though they were in the distance what drew my attention was a group of kids playing soccer. No worries, just kids being kids. Traveling back into town I noticed the intricate metal workings of the gates entering into people’s homes. It seems almost signature architecture of the culture, where no matter how big or small the home, they share beautiful ornate metal work.
After lunch we decided to visit one of the tent cities, to visit the people and actually see the conditions they were living in. I, like all of you, have seen the pictures, and watched the news stories of these tent cities, but I was completely unprepared for what I experienced. The Haitian smell that has permeated my clothes and skin was intensified. The only way I can describe the smell is a combination of rotting garbage and burning tires. But meeting us at the gate was a crowd of kids. These kids had the same expression my kids do when I come home from work, and they run and meet me at the door, sharing hugs and laughs. All I knew to do was to hug them, and play with them, as they lead me through the tent city. I was overwhelmed by the conditions of the tent city… Tents were literally right next to each other, with narrow pathways wandering through. The tents are literally tarps being held up by tree branches, most didn’t appear to be much larger than 8’x8’. But as my heart broke for these people, I would look into their eyes and see joy. The smiles on their faces, the handshakes and hugs… they were joyful. Joyful in what we would perceive as chaos, and devastation, joyful in having their lives, joyful in their faith, and I was instantly humbled. It was described to me that the Haitians are resourceful and resilient. This is exactly what I have witnessed today. They live life one day at a time, as the devotional says, they have become uncertain in certainty, and instead rely on their faith.
This experience was nearly too overwhelming for me, and as we drove back to the orphanage I noticed I was becoming numb to the destruction that was all around, instead I saw businesses running, street vendors selling, kids walking home from school proudly wearing their uniforms, I saw a country that is striving and pushing on through whatever struggles, a country of proud people. Unable to understand and take this all in, I found myself shutting down emotionally. I was nearly unable to make heads or tails of this trip. Then we entered the orphanage, and the girls ran and met us at the gate, smiles, hugs, wanting to be lifted up and loved, and of course giving everyone a fist bump, which Brad and I officially brought to Haiti! The kids think it is the coolest thing! But having three girls climbing on me, fighting for who got the first hug just brings reality back. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Three things will last forever – Faith, Hope and Love- and the greatest of these is love. The Haitians in their uncertain certainty in everything but their faith continue to witness this to me.
Chris
This is the devotional I began my day with today, while watching the sun rise… After reading it several times I gained the knowledge I believed was being expressed. It wasn’t until the experience of today that I now understand.
Even before we ate breakfast this morning a crew of several men arrived at Marie’s to continue rebuilding a security wall that was damaged in the earthquake. The old wall was broke into small pieces and added to the road where they had done the same with many of the damaged buildings, turning the dirt road into a gravel road. The upgraded roads appear to be an unseen blessing. With temperatures reaching near 100 today it was decided to wait until late afternoon to continue on the construction of the church at Marie’s. We instead took the opportunity to visit the water purification facility, where we purchased 100 bags, containing 60 single servings of purified water each. 90 of these bags were given to the orphanage, the remaining 10 will be used for the teams supply for the week. This trip gave me my first sight of large rural tent cities. Though they were in the distance what drew my attention was a group of kids playing soccer. No worries, just kids being kids. Traveling back into town I noticed the intricate metal workings of the gates entering into people’s homes. It seems almost signature architecture of the culture, where no matter how big or small the home, they share beautiful ornate metal work.
After lunch we decided to visit one of the tent cities, to visit the people and actually see the conditions they were living in. I, like all of you, have seen the pictures, and watched the news stories of these tent cities, but I was completely unprepared for what I experienced. The Haitian smell that has permeated my clothes and skin was intensified. The only way I can describe the smell is a combination of rotting garbage and burning tires. But meeting us at the gate was a crowd of kids. These kids had the same expression my kids do when I come home from work, and they run and meet me at the door, sharing hugs and laughs. All I knew to do was to hug them, and play with them, as they lead me through the tent city. I was overwhelmed by the conditions of the tent city… Tents were literally right next to each other, with narrow pathways wandering through. The tents are literally tarps being held up by tree branches, most didn’t appear to be much larger than 8’x8’. But as my heart broke for these people, I would look into their eyes and see joy. The smiles on their faces, the handshakes and hugs… they were joyful. Joyful in what we would perceive as chaos, and devastation, joyful in having their lives, joyful in their faith, and I was instantly humbled. It was described to me that the Haitians are resourceful and resilient. This is exactly what I have witnessed today. They live life one day at a time, as the devotional says, they have become uncertain in certainty, and instead rely on their faith.
This experience was nearly too overwhelming for me, and as we drove back to the orphanage I noticed I was becoming numb to the destruction that was all around, instead I saw businesses running, street vendors selling, kids walking home from school proudly wearing their uniforms, I saw a country that is striving and pushing on through whatever struggles, a country of proud people. Unable to understand and take this all in, I found myself shutting down emotionally. I was nearly unable to make heads or tails of this trip. Then we entered the orphanage, and the girls ran and met us at the gate, smiles, hugs, wanting to be lifted up and loved, and of course giving everyone a fist bump, which Brad and I officially brought to Haiti! The kids think it is the coolest thing! But having three girls climbing on me, fighting for who got the first hug just brings reality back. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Three things will last forever – Faith, Hope and Love- and the greatest of these is love. The Haitians in their uncertain certainty in everything but their faith continue to witness this to me.
Chris
4.28.2010
Our First Full Day...
Our first full day in Haiti started at a bright and early 5:00 am to the singing rosters outside our windows. The wall outside Marie’s was being torn down as we all headed to the orphanage to hear the students sing their national anthem and watched the raising of the Haitian flag. They sang beautifully. It made me wonder why we stopped doing that in our own schools. The children there are so sweet and all seem so happy when they have so many reasons to be anything but. Its awe inspiring to witness and I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to meet these wonderful children. They are very inquisitive and the girls have taken quite interest in my hair. It makes me laugh as they pet my head.
Our mission for the day was to start on the extension of the church. After picking up some wood we were back at the orphanage and hammering away before we knew it. It’s amazing how much work can be done with so many helpful hands. We were able to finish most of the framework for the church and are making great progress. I didn’t understand most of the carpentry talk but I felt privileged to be able to help. Jim and his group are some of the warmest, caring people. At the end of the day we returned to Marie’s and the wall that was torn down this morning was almost completely rebuilt. The Haitians worked all day in temperatures well into the 90’s with little food or water. I thought of this as we were eating the meal cooked by Gina, which we are very fortunate to have. I am so very grateful for everything I’ve been provided. Thank you Marie!
This is definitely a humbling experience. It’s hard not to think just how well we have things in the US when you see how little the people have here. Their hearts are large and their needs are many. It will continue to amaze me how positive they are after everything they have been through. It will be hard to leave in a week knowing that there is so much more to do. I will definitely go home with a new perspective and be more appreciative of the many things I am lucky to have in my life. This experience will be something I hold in my heart for life. I look forward to what tomorrow brings.
Tina Miller
Our mission for the day was to start on the extension of the church. After picking up some wood we were back at the orphanage and hammering away before we knew it. It’s amazing how much work can be done with so many helpful hands. We were able to finish most of the framework for the church and are making great progress. I didn’t understand most of the carpentry talk but I felt privileged to be able to help. Jim and his group are some of the warmest, caring people. At the end of the day we returned to Marie’s and the wall that was torn down this morning was almost completely rebuilt. The Haitians worked all day in temperatures well into the 90’s with little food or water. I thought of this as we were eating the meal cooked by Gina, which we are very fortunate to have. I am so very grateful for everything I’ve been provided. Thank you Marie!
This is definitely a humbling experience. It’s hard not to think just how well we have things in the US when you see how little the people have here. Their hearts are large and their needs are many. It will continue to amaze me how positive they are after everything they have been through. It will be hard to leave in a week knowing that there is so much more to do. I will definitely go home with a new perspective and be more appreciative of the many things I am lucky to have in my life. This experience will be something I hold in my heart for life. I look forward to what tomorrow brings.
Tina Miller
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