Haiti Joy and Heartbreak

Patty Meyer 11/1/2012

It’s hard to believe a week has passed since we arrived. In one week we have witnessed the effect s of the hurricane flooding, preparation of bags of food to feed 1,500, and the anguish of seeing the suffering and effects of malnutrition, which took the lives of two little boys here at New Life on Monday and Wednesday. A constant reminder that seems unbelievable that FOOD, FOOD, FOOD is the greatest need and the cause of so much worry, anxiety and many times death. Yesterday we had the opportunity to go outside of New Life into several areas only to find the streets were like a parking lot. I tried not to whine from the back seat of our van as sweat dripped from my face, especially with the hundreds of people walking, who would have loved to have had a ride. 
It could be SO, SO easy to get overwhelmed – and I surely DO during every visit – listenening to the stories of need by nearly everyone you meet. Most stories are the same. “I have no job. I want my children to be able to go to school. I have so little to feed my family.” Or – even those with a job say their income is not sufficient to care for their family and to have food for them every day. EVERYTHING revolves around affording food. 
My joy comes from the time I spend with the kids. My dear Pierre continues to come running when he sees me walking toward the orphanage. YES – I do know that he hopes I brought him a few swigs of the rest of my coke and have a piece of bubble gum in my pocket, but his smile and tight hug around my neck helps take away my anger, disappointment, and frustration that creeps back into my heart and mind several times a day as I experience life here. 
The parts of today that brought the love of Jesus to others was a “store” we set up in the church. We had the girls come to “shop” and from oldest to youngest they came in groups of four. We had panties, socks, hair accessories, an assortment of clothes, purses and of course a piece of candy when they left with their selections. Our display was possible because of the donations of many people. How I thank those who responded to the list on face book and made their desires a reality. Being typical females, it took several of them FOREVER to decide on just the right thing.
The afternoon also ended with proving each employee here at New Life with a small monetary gift to purchase food from Impact For Jesus. I am SO thankful to each of you who responded to the opportunity to help with this need. Just to hear their words of thanksgiving was so humbling. One woman who I so adore shared that when she left her children and came to work this morning, they had no food and nothing to prepare for dinner. She was so excited to go home and surprise them with food. As people thanked Renee and myself I told them it was from many people in the states who care about them. To many I told them it was from God – He answered their prayers and just happened to use us to do it. I am so aware of how humble they are – but yet how humiliating it must be to admit to your life of being so destitute. Then there is ME – I complain at home if I don’t have more than 10 choices when I open the pantry door...
Tonight after devotions Renee and I gave all the kids and nannies a “freezer pop.” I know this probably sounds so goofy – but as I looked around and saw everyone sucking on these things it felt like we were one big family and while the days and nights can be beyond hard – THIS moment – all is good and refreshing.

Renee and I were both at “bug bite limit” so went to our rooms about 8:00 p.m. Renee ended her day (which included a bee sting and another 25 mosquito bites) with a cock roach landing on her arm. Let me just say that they grow them BIG here. I am glad I didn’t witness her experience! 
So – As the day came to an end and I thought about what it held – learning of a death of the little boy, all the stories, all the people in need I went to bed remembering little Pierre at devotions tonight as he sang “Amazing Grace” and I thought it couldn’t have been a sweeter sound. What might tomorrow bring?

Haiti-Huricane Sandy Aftermath 10/26/12

Patty Meyer

10/26/2012

I’m writing from Haiti, yet knowing it will be impossible for you to truly understand what I have experienced today. When we arrived yesterday we learned that because of the rain, there was no school and several of the employees were unable to get to New Life. Our dear friend Frentzy showed us a photo of the river water, whose depth was nearing the top of the bridge. Normally, this same river can have the appearance of a narrow stream, reaching the depth of maybe ones knees and is used by the locals for bathing, washing clothes and by pigs, goats, and an occasional cow, as well. If I was to guess – I would say the bridge is AT LEAST 40 feet above the river bed. Since it was merely drizzling at this point, I had no idea of the conditions around us.

It rained through the night and we woke to more rain. We soon learned that there had been significant flooding, which had already taken the lives of 11 people, with many more anticipated deaths. One of the employees here is in his 30’s and he said he has never witnessed this much rain and flooding.

Realizing there was so much devastation, nine of us ventured out to see if there was anything we could possibly do to help. Near New Life is a tent city which has been there for going on THREE YEARS. That was our first stop. As we drove up we could see pools of water and mud. There were probably 40 children mingling around – some half dressed, most without shoes. The man “in charge” came forward and explained that most of the tents had been flooded or filled with mud and people were in terrible need. With his permission, he graciously walked us around just the front of the “city” and we peered into tents, only to see all these people have to call their own was sitting in mud. The scene that sticks in my mind is looking into a small tent to find a young mother sitting on an upside down bucket holding a 6 week old baby. She stared back at me with dead pan eyes, not returning the smile I offered to her. Then she began shaking her head back and forth and her expression did not change. Someone tell me HOW are they able to withstand one tragedy after another? All I could do was say, “Jesus loves you.” and look back at her with the most caring expression I could offer, yet knowing she had no idea what I was saying.

As we continued, a wonderful Haitian man who was leading me, tried to keep a step ahead of me as he flung pieces of broken cement or a rock for me to step on so I didn’t slide or sink in the mud. Even without the rain, without the mud these tents would bring you to tears to look inside – but to see them with standing water and mud – was just about more than I could look at. We learned there are 133 families who live here, which includes 500 children! None of these families can afford to send their children to school. So – everyday is spent in the confines of these premises, with one tent right after the next. We promised the people that we would be returning later in the day with food. FOOD being their number one request.

As we continued down the main road, which is normally at a dead stop because of all the traffic, we found the traffic very light and where there would normally be people crowded on the sidewalks selling their wares – there was no one.

We went down a side street/mud road and found an area in even greater need. We learned 10 BRICK houses had already been washed away and a man with his pants rolled up to his knees was throwing bucket after bucket of water out of his house into the street that already held about five inches of water, which would soon rush back into his home. In this area, people were standing outside of their home – some in knee deep water. You could see their few belonging were all stacked in various ways to keep them from sitting in water. Without a doubt, the few articles of clothing they owned were surely wet.

Let me fast forward our day to share that by mid afternoon there were about 20 people here at New Life making up bags of rice, beans, spaghetti, cooking oil, and sardines which were then delivered to the tent city families, as promised. They were of course beyond thrilled to have the food. Wonderful yes – but what about food two days from now?

While that gesture served as a glimmer of light in all this darkness, I have to admit that as it CONTINUES to rain and now that darkness has settled in – I sit here wondering what are these thousands, upon thousands of people in this country doing? I had a nice dinner of chicken. I am sitting here with electricity – they have NONE. I have a suitcase filled with clothes, more than they would probably EVER have, AND they are DRY. I am having one of those times where I don’t understand the disparity – yet again. (GUN FIRE JUST WENT OFF! Another sound you get used to…) As I said in the beginning of this writing – I don’t know if you can even grasp what I am sharing to the level that it exists. What do we do? We do what we can with what we have to those we can. Quite truthfully – this is so overwhelming that it leaves you feeling like there is nothing you can do and it’s paralyzing. But at the same time – WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! I am going to assume that this hasn’t even made the news in the states. Or maybe it received a 10 second clip showing people up to their waist in water with all they own on top of their head. Millions of people MIGHT actually think – “Wow – that’s awful.” But the truth is – people are drowning, canals have overflowed and sewer water is running down people’s streets and into their homes. There is a HORRIBLE food and clean water shortage and it stands to reason that cholera cases will sky rocket.

IF this touches you and you would like to help – 100% of your contribution will be used to buy food and clean water for those we are able to help. By me being here, I encourage you to contact Jim, my husband at jmeyer9544@aol.com for specific instructions. For me to come home in two weeks and THEN share this emergency would be irresponsible of me. I send this offer to you to be part of a humanitarian effort so together we can do SOMETHING – it will NEVER be enough…but it WILL matter to those who receive it. I’ve only been here a bit over 24 hours and my chest aches for these innocent people. May the sun shine tomorrow.

Back Home by Angie

Today by far has been one of my favorite days of this trip and one of the best days of my life. When I first decided to come to Haiti I received tons of negative feedback from my friends and family. I did not receive as much support as I expected. It saddened me and even made me doubt my decision. Today though, I have no regrets. In fact I am happy that I came. My team members have been awesome and the entire experience has begun to restore my faith. I have never met so many people that trusted God so much. Their faith is so deep that it has motivated my very soul to do the same. For so many years I have been lost and as I sit here I can’t even remember why anymore. My personal problems are microscopic compared to the issues here in Haiti and despite the issues here, all the children I have met have always had a smile on their face.

During our devotions this week, Pastor Bob always spoke of God moments. Today I saw many, but there are two that have been permanently engraved in my heart. Before I get to those let me explain what our day consisted of. Our scheduled consisted of two feedings at two local orphanages. Our IFJ team was accompanied by the much loved Rene (the driver), the head nurse and four of the kids from New Life. At the first orphanage after we passed out sandwiches, goodie bags, and bracelets I sat down with a few little ones to watch the older boys play soccer. That’s when the first God moment occurred. While I was sitting down two of the little boys asked me if I wanted some of their candy and sandwich. My heart sank because even though they don’t have much they are still willing to share the little that they have. The second God moment happened not to long after. As we got up to get ready to leave, our beautiful Hava took the shoes off her feet and gave them to the woman that was in charge of the orphanage. Again all my emotions were stirred up again. I fought with everything to hold back my tears. I feel like we take our way of life for granted and we don’t realize that our true riches are the people that love us and the faith that we have.  These God moments that I have mentioned are simple actions that show the purity of our hearts and bring a sense of serenity in our lives. I wish more people were like this.

 
As this trip comes to an end, I am grateful that God has given me the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people that have brought peace within me. I may have been lost, but after this small chapter closes I can guarantee that as a result of these small gestures my faith is being restored and my heart is finally back home.

A Little Bit of Hava in our Life

Today was a good day despite a few obstacles during our journey to Respire. (See last week’s blog to learn more about Respire.) On our way to Respire, we had trouble with our transportation. All of us unloaded, eager for fresh air only to realize we had a flat tire: Hava to the rescue. Our teammate from Chicago stepped in and helped to change the tire. She is always very eager to help whenever she can. After our flat tire, we made it to our destination, Respire. It was encouraging to see God working through Megan and Josh. The view was gorgeous; we got to visit the school that is located on a mountain top overlooking the ocean. We prayed over land that they want to purchase in order to expand the school. The land is currently being used for voodoo worship.  In addition to the school, Respire is setting up a recycling station through the government.  Respire is doing great things to help Haiti.

After Respire, we headed back to New Life. Along the way we encountered another obstacle: the Port Au Prince Police. It seems they collect routine taxes on vehicles at will so we were pulled over for another hour because things needed to be sorted out. While we waited in the tap-tap (Haitian Taxi), we had an unwelcomed visitor approach us. It made the majority of the people in the tap-tap feel uncomfortable but Hava came to the rescue again. She helped to diffuse the situation a little by using her quick thinking, Bosnian language and good humor. Hava has been a constant source of sunshine in gray moments of our trip. She has been the humor we needed to get through tough emotions and is constantly bringing us joy. She is our ‘God Moment,’ everyday. God’s timing brought Rene, our driver, back just when we needed him most. We soon made it back to New Life, where we were all happy to have the opportunity to see the orphan girls again. Tonight, Maria and Hannah were able to share part of their life story to the kids and some were emotionally touched. The purpose was to encourage the kids and help them understand that God always wants the best for them.

The team is hoping to play a game of soccer with the girls from the orphanage tomorrow afternoon. We have planned to go to another tent city or orphanage in the morning and then connect with the girls. The girls are eager to play soccer with us but it will be bittersweet knowing we will soon depart. None of us are ready to say goodbye. Haiti has touched our lives in so many ways.  

Fell in Love in a Hopeless Place by Hannah

Yes, I know I stole a line from a Rihanna song, but tonight it fits. Every night we get together and we talk about God sightings from the day. Not going to lie, I was dreading tonight’s devotional time. For me today was filled with hard emotions, emotions I did not know what to do with or how to deal with. We started the day hopping into the back of an open tap-tap and driving to Village of Hope. It was really cool to see a different side of Haiti. We traveled to a more rural area with mountains on either side of us and the Dominican Republic across the lake from us. It was breathtaking. It always amazes me the juxtaposition of the beauty of Haiti in the scenery including the people and the ugliness of poverty, disease and corruption. We got to see the completed Medical Clinic and tour the school. The medical clinic is gorgeous with its clean white walls and bright green trim. You could just feel the energy of what God was going to do with that place just walking through it. I saw a first grade classroom and it made me very grateful for my own classroom and the resources that I have available for my students. I found that there are some similarities between what teachers in Haiti deal with and what I have dealt with in my own career; students whose only meal is the one that they receive at school, having to be creative with what resources you do have, dealing with state testing, etc. 

From there we went to Little Children of Jesus -an orphanage for people with disabilities. I will never cease to be amazed by how freely people with disabilities love and accept others making them the happiest people I have ever encountered. Their joy is truly contagious. We were privileged to be able to play soccer with some of the staff and kids. The only way I can explain that moment is one of pure joy. Staff and children both laughing and running around with the biggest smiles you have ever seen, just to be able to kick a little ball around. As we have seen time and time again, that little ball crosses cultural, ability, economic, and gender divides to connect us all. A favorite moment of ours was when Lavita, an 8 year old girl we brought from New Life, reached out her hand to a young woman with severe disabilities and how that young woman grabbed her in a hug. Lavita showed such compassion and love for that woman she is an example for us all.

You are probably wondering with all of this joy going around how could I have those hard emotions I mentioned in the beginning. Well, this is where it starts. Our next stop was Marie’s orphanage. I had stayed with Marie and worked with her girls 2 years ago with a group from my church. I was so excited to see some of the girls that I had made connections with that I almost couldn’t wait. When we got there, my heart broke more than it ever has in all my time in Haiti. Girls that used to run and jump into our arms with smiles and laughter were stand-offish, their faces hardened and their eyes blank with flashes of hurt and anger. My first reaction was anger. What happened to these girls to make them this way and what could I do to protect them? I felt as though I had failed them in some way. When you go on a short term mission trip you have to be careful. Saying goodbye and going home is hard on you, but harder on those you leave behind. If you are going to form a bond with someone, you better be prepared to follow through with it. Through circumstances that we could not control, Impact for Jesus has had to step back from Marie’s orphanage and just like in any other situation the ones who suffer the most are the children. They have had their hearts broken more times in their young lives than any one should ever have to encounter. Please pray for these girls that God will protect their hearts and that someday they will be able to run without reservation into the arms of those that love them with smiles on their faces and eyes clear looking toward the future.

In Haiti girls don’t play soccer, and that’s that. They might kick a ball around but when the boys come out to play, they are kicked off the field. You can only imagine how well that sat with 5 strong American women. For some of us, it was the first encounter with being discriminated against, for others it hit close to home after a life of fighting against the gender roles placed on them. Regardless of our backgrounds, we are on a mission to be an example for the girls for what they can accomplish and what they can achieve in the future and the confidence to dream.

At times, it feels like we are fighting a losing battle and it feels hopeless to continue. We have all fallen love with Haiti and it breaks our hearts that there isn’t more that we can do. I have struggled with not fully understanding why God has placed me here and the role He has for me. I have struggled with fitting all the pieces together of how God is working and understanding the cultural differences and the even the differences among all of the Americans here working to serve Haiti. I am only a small piece to the puzzle and sometimes it is hard not being able to see the big picture. What I do know is that God is continuing to change my heart and has given me a love for the people of Haiti that grows every day. As He teaches me every day to trust Him I will continue to take advantage of every opportunity He gives me as He directs my path.

As I sign off the sun is rising, we are getting ready for a new day. (No mom I did not pull an all-nighter, yes I did procrastinate.) I feel like I am back in college putting off writing a paper, setting the alarm extra early to wake up and finish it with coffee at hand. Let’s be honest I just wanted to feel young again like Lizzie and Marissa J. It is a new day, a day filled with hope and the chance to spread God’s love.