Two Additional Important stories from Haiti

The first comes from the short time I worked in the clinic. Since I am entirely devoid of any medical skills, they put me in the pharmacy, where I had the complex job of counting pills, and finding medicine. While I was working/waiting for work, three girls wandered to the back window of the pharmacy. I found them more interesting than the medicine, so I interacted with them some--taking pictures of them, letting them take pictures, and letting them write things in my notebook. I started getting hungry however, and took out a protein bar and started eating it. The girls stared hungrily at my food, and made it very clear that they wanted food. I had some trail mix in my bag, so I gave each of them some.

Game over.

There was no more happy interaction, or desire to play with the camera or notebook. They continued to ask for "pistache, pistache." I had reminded them that they were hungry, and more importantly, that I might give them food. I had to do the hardest thing--not give them food. I refused to make them, and eventually the rest of their friends, beggars. As desperately as I wanted to get rid of my trail mix, I could not become the man who gave them food. (I later entrusted the bag of trail mix to the host, to use as he saw fit)

My second story contrasts with this. Jim is a businessman who, with his wife, Sharon went on this trip with us. He and is wife came three years ago, and have become dedicated to the cause of helping the beautiful children of Haiti. In addition to raising money for the children of Haiti, he and his wife have sponsored at least two children. (Sponsoring covers the cost of going to school, and ensuring they are able to eat while they attend school)

The highlight of my trip might have been seeing the exchange of joy between the them and their two "adopted" Haitian children. Upon their first meeting there was as much or more jubilation as I had ever seen. They were able to see each other throughout the week, and each time was filled with happiness. Even the little things like gifts of english workbooks, bracelets, and time, were permeated with joy. The small ammount of money they spend to send them to school and feed them is really a priceless gift of love, for both. Indeed, I believe Jim and Sharon were even more blessed than their children.

If you would like to go healthy, and replace soda with water and love for a Haitian child, you can send a check for $200 per child to Church Under the Bridge (who helps sponsor a school in Haiti)

P.O.Box 323
Waco, TX 76703

Memo: Haiti school

Jim and his wife work to keep sponsors updated on the progress of their children through e-mail, and you can potentially even visit the children in Haiti. We work through Jackson Nelson, a native Haitian, who is in charge of World Hunger: Haiti, and he has room to fit large groups.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this, and I can put you in touch with the right people.

Haiti

My time in Haiti was wild. From sleeping in airports, to filling perscriptions, to being "stranded" in Cap-haitian, and needing to be driven to a bank by a haitian driver, to seeing "The citadel," to escewing the croweded inside of the bus-truck for its roof, to eating fish whole, to bartering, it was an adventure---but I suspect I would wear out most with the entire story--so here's a very condensed version.

The church service we attended the Sunday after we arrived was the highlight of the trip for many of us. The church building was basically a large warehouse. Their only decorations were long paper cut-outs that were draped across the ceiling of the church. They WERE fortunate enough to have generators, so they were able to have a microphone, keyboard and drums for their songs---which were beautiful. I have never heard songs sung with such passion and strength. I don't think too many of them were particularly adept at hitting the precise tune, but that didn't matter at all. The joy in the voices made the quality unimportant. They finished off the service with a perfectly executed song-and-dance by the kids--in english. I doubt they knew what they were singing, but they performed with all their hearts.

The joy I saw at the church service was not confined to a building, and defined my experience in Haiti. The threshold for happiness was so much lower in Haiti. A soccer ball and a jump rope were priceless gifts. Sticks, buckets, and metal objects were sufficient to creat a joyful "street band."

The other important things I remember from Haiti, in the order they pop in my mind:

1. The joy of simplicity: no cell phones, computers, video games, TV's, allows you to live at peace, and focus on what really matters--what is truly fulfilling, and fosters creativity

2. The joy of living in a community of driven people dedicated to God.

3. The fact that we lived in America made us seem comparably like millionairres, and therefore celebrities. (People would mingle around where we were just to look at us--kids especially were especially friendly--everyone hoped you would be generous us to give something from your wealth to help their poverty)

4. The beauty of the sky and stars when there is no electricity in the area

5. The fact that I get along better, and meet people better in foreign countries than in the United States---for some reason, I assume they are friendler--making myself more friendly. (When I walked through Ferrier, I would greet just about everyone, especially the kids, with a smile and "Bonjour," or "Bonsoir," and they would almost always respond in kind--this also lead to some interesting conversations, and my favorite nickname ever "Papa Gran")

6. Their joy in the face of hunger: Their ability to divorce their stomachs from their hearts.

7. My doubts in the church of America, that will spend so much on church buildings and administration, instead of on the hungry, especially the widow and the orphans.

8. That kids are a blast to play with, and give me energy.

9. Haiti is a beautiful country.

10. Seeing an albino child scarred and burned from the sun---then--right before we left--seeing another albino blessed enough to have a job at an airport. (We left clothes and sun screen for the albino child.)