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.)