"How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!"

Monday, January 24, 2011

unexpected adventure to Boval, Haiti

It all began when I arrived to work too early this morning. My typical routine is to unpack in my office around 8:25 and be in the class for devotional by 8:30. This morning I made it into work by 8, so I sat at my desk and began working on English lessons to pass the time. About that time, an older American gentleman entered the office who I had never met before. I introduced myself, and, curious as to his intentions, politely asked why he was there. I found out that he was helping one of the satellite schools start up and was in need of a working sewing machine, because the one they had previously received were missing parts. While waiting for Esther to arrive to approve the 2nd machine, we got to talking about the organization and he invited me to go along to see it. After approval from Esther, I grabbed my water bottle, and we were off on a trip to Boval about an hour west of Les Cayes.

Bill has been affiliated with Haiti for the past 25 years and his daughter's family are currently missionaries in Les Cayes (I met his wife and daughter last week at the ladies tea and quickly made the connection). Bill met Balade, the gentleman working in Boval, about 15 years ago, and his church in Ohio has taken Balade's ministry under their wing to help it grow. I learned about Balade's passion for sharing the Gospel and how he has planted 5 churches in the town where he grew up. He is currently building a trade school to educate men, women, and children in the community and has added a sewing ministry with the help of some graduates from Centre Lumiere. They were about to receive their first sewing machine today!

We made the drive through the countryside of Haiti; the first 10 miles was on a paved road, the last 10 through dirt and gravel. We arrived to a courtyard full of children dressed in uniform who were having recess from school. They have over 350 students attend and the school has been open for just 2 years! Only 3 of the classrooms were “finished” (walls and a roof), so the other students were meeting where church is held on a cement slab with tarps for walls. Multiple classes and students were squeezed into such small places that it's hard to imagine how any can focus and pay attention amidst the noise. Yet, everyone seemed so grateful to be receiving an education.

Because of the lack of a sewing machine, the economics school began this year teaching hand sewing and embroidery. Their embroidery samplers (fabric to practice on) are very impressive! After touring the grounds, Bill and I unloaded the sewing machine and set it up at the Orphan House on the grounds to get it running. We also installed the missing piece on the first machine to see if it would work. After correctly getting it threaded (those old Singers are a challenge), we found out that the belt on the treadle sewing machine was too dry-rotted and could not withstand the stress from the tension. But, fortunately, the newer machine worked like a charm!

We ended up staying much longer than intended as is always the case in Haiti. Pastor Juene's wife cooked us lunch and we enjoyed chicken, rice, beans, and fried plantains for lunch. I hung around with the orphan girls as they ate before their afternoon nap. Even with the language barrier, we were all giggling before I left. I also helped Bill conquer the copy machine mystery of only copying a half page. Pastor Juene and Balade were close by copying the instructions down in Creole in case the problem arose again. We also took a look at the garden that is part of the farming program in the trade school. They are experimenting to see what conditions are best to grow corn, sweet peppers, tomatoes, and chives in the Haitian soil and climate. Much has been accomplished, even in just 2 short years of being in existence.

It was such an encouragement to see so much work going on in a Haitian run organization. Quite often Americans hear in the news media how little that has been accomplished since the earthquake. Yet, I am coming to find out through experiences just how motivated these men and women are to educate their children and change their society for the better. Please pray for Balade and his ministry in Boval. As it continues to grow, they are in need of building supplies and classroom materials to keep up with the expansion. If you feel led to contribute, please contact me! By the way, Balade has planted 4 more churches since August. He is a man with a goal and no one will stop him!

Some ladies working on embroidery samplers:


Bill oiling the sewing machine:

The kindergarten teacher with a student:

The kindergarten class (42 kids!):

The church where 5 classes meet:

One of the classes that meets in the church:

Pastor Juene and Balade happy that the printer now works:

The orphan girls after lunch:

Friday, January 21, 2011

week 1 is in the books :)

It's hard to believe how fast the first week flew by. I have officially begun work at Centre Lumiere. On Monday, Olga gave me a tour of the grounds (beautiful, as you can see by the photos below), and we met with Marcel, another staff member, to discuss my responsibilities. Most of the week I designed lesson plans for the teacher training, but I have also helped with color matching for production and taking photographs to update their files. The students have been hard at work in class learning how to make patterns and sewing the final product. I will begin teaching English in February, and Karen, another missionary, will begin teaching a course on women of the Bible at the same time.

Aside from work, I have been spending time with Olga and her family, who left yesterday to return to Germany. Pray for safe travels for them, as it is a long trip! I will miss all of the German goodies that Olga's mother made for us. She was always baking something while the men were at work on the building project. The photo below was their last day in Les Cayes.

Tuesday evening, I attended a ladies tea with all of the missionary ladies of Les Cayes. It was a great time to get to know many of the women who have been here between 2 and 36 years, although I couldn't meet everyone (there were about 20 there)! All of the missionaries met together on Wednesday night (as they do weekly) for a devotional service. We had a special speaker in town from Canada who had worked in Haiti many years ago, and comes back every January.

This week has been fun. By far, my favorite thing happened yesterday morning. When I came into work, Esther (a staff member) informed me that we were going to surprise Louisa for her birthday. Louisa and her husband, Johannes, were the first missionaries who came to Les Cayes and started Saint Lumiere (all of the ministries, including a school, clinic, mechanic, etc.). A group of women who worked with Louisa had put together a gift basket for her with avocados, bananas, fried bananas, and other goodies. We walked about a mile to her house and “broke in” singing a song. We sat in her living room and chatted for about 2 hours. Each person had the opportunity to share about their family and life... very much a typical Haitian conversation. It was nice to get to know each of the ladies better.

I'm still working on my Creole. Picking up more and more each day as I communicate with Marie Joe, one of the workers that lives in the MTI house. I'm pretty sure I will remain tongue-tied for the next 5 months when you say phrases like “li li liv la” (She reads a book). It's been fun, though, and everyone's willing to help!

Photos of Centre Lumiere:


Some of the students studying in the center:

Ladies in class learning how to make patterns:

Jacob and Olga (Olga's parents), Olga, and Horace (a family friend):

American Girl doll sweaters matched with fabric:

My office mate :)

Louisa with her gift basket:

All the ladies that surprised her:

Sunday, January 16, 2011

finally settled in!

It is official! I am in Les Cayes, Haiti sitting on the balcony overlooking our neighborhood. People have been singing at the church up the road, motorbikes are speeding by, and currently a neighbor is blasting his TV/radio.

I arrived in Haiti last Thursday, two days later than planned. Customs and immigration was so much easier this time because I knew what to expect. They finally put luggage belts into the baggage claim area. Before, there was just one small belt in the back that Haitian workers would take your bags off and push them out on the floor for collection. Knowing that my boxes wouldn't be hard to miss, I stood to the side and waited for them to come out instead of jumping into the madness. The journalist and videographer must have taken my stance as overwhelmed, because they kept videotaping me! Let me know if I ever show up on some documentary on Haiti :)

I spent the first evening in Port-au-Prince at the MTI house (Medical Teams International). I met some wonderful medical missionaries who came together from various Evangelical Covenant Churches throughout the US to serve for 2 weeks in Haiti. They were expecting to help with cholera cases in the clinics, but, praise the Lord, it has gone down by 90%! Those who wonder about the effectiveness of short-term missions should know that the major reason for such a drastic decline is due to those who came in and educated the Haitians on hygiene and preventative measures.

The next day we had to wait until after noon to make our trip to Les Cayes (about a 5-6 hour drive). Many people were protesting along our route (mostly burning tires) because of soon-to-be-announced election results. It's sad that is their only way for their voices to be heard. We made it in to the city shortly after dark and moved in part of our luggage before dinner and bed.

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon and evening with Olga (my boss) discussing her vision for Centre Lumiere and what my job responsibilities will be. I will be working with various areas. From what I can understand, CL is divided into 2 areas: the self-help center and the teacher training school. The self-help center creates craft projects, teaches a short lesson to ladies in the city on how to make that craft, and then gives them the materials to do so. We sell the product for them to help them make money. I will be looking over the materials they have and designing products for the ladies to make.

The teacher training school has several parts. There is one school locally that teaches the women home economics skills and helps them to sell their products. It is a 4-year program, and they receive an education in Bible and basic life skills in addition to sewing, embroidery, and crocheting. Then, the most dedicated women that graduate from that program are chosen to help teach at one of the five other schools around the area. I may be responsible for several things: I will create and teach some of the life skill classes (like First Aid, organization, changing a diaper, etc.); I will assist in teaching some of the home economics classes; and, I will observe the teachers in the various schools and provide instruction based on what I see (discipline, classroom organization, teaching styles, etc.). All of this is to be determined within the next few weeks.

I am looking forward to getting started! As a side note, the language courses that I worked on before coming have been a help in recognizing some key words in Creole (thank you, Pimsleur!). Unfortunately, I'm hearing more than just that language here. For example, six people ate dinner around the table my first night in Les Cayes, and four languages were spoken (Spanish, English, French, and Creole). Then, Saturday spent with Olga was predominately in German (her family and the founding missionaries of the center here in Cayes are German). Please pray for patience with the language acquisition. I just need practice, practice, practice!

View from the 2nd floor balcony looking down our street:

Berkley taking it easy on my bed:

Olga's building project nearing completion:

The foundation for a Haitian house below Olga's property (laid by hand):

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

one year ago today...

One year ago today, Haiti experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook buildings off their foundations, leaving 230,000 dead and over 1 million homeless. One year ago today, I sat glued to the news watching the footage as rescuers pulled survivors out of the rubble. One year ago today, my heart broke for the people of Haiti, who I knew had poor living conditions before the earthquake hit. One year ago today, I was a first grade teacher, content with my job and no plans to change. One year ago today, I would have never imagined to be in the place where I am today.

Currently 150lbs. of luggage sits in my living room floor. I was hoping to be in Port-au-Prince today, but due to the icy and snowy weather, my flight was delayed to tomorrow morning. Today has been a time of reflection of how much has happened over the last year. It's hard to believe how much can change in 365 days. While my career has changed, I can't help but think of how the Haitian's way of life has changed over the past year. You see, one year ago today, they were living their life how they knew it, unaware that the walls [literally] would come falling down that evening. I can't imagine what an adjustment that has been for them over the last year. My career change seems so trivial when compared to the tragedy they have suffered.

Please pray for the people of Haiti. Although it's already been a year, they are still in need of so much. As I fly out tomorrow, I hope that my time over in Haiti will be an encouragement to those who are still hurting and mourning.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

God-given gift of organization

I just finished packing my first box in preparation for the transition to Haiti. 48.5 lbs and there's no way anything will shift as every single space in that box was put to use. If we all have a quirky skill we're blessed with, organizational packing is mine.

I love remembering Spring break my freshman year. Five of my college girlfriends and I went home to spend time with our families the first few days and then met at my roommates house in Bluffton, SC (close to Hilton Head) for the most memorable road trip I've ever been on to Florida. We discovered upon returning to Bluffton that we had more stuff than we thought could fit into the 2 cars to make the return trip back to Gardner-Webb. (Hey, with 6 college students, of course we had 2 weeks worth of dirty laundry that we took home to mom for the break!) So, it was either leave stuff at Laura's house to get later in the school year or strap a car-top carrier on the top of my 2-door Honda Civic. I knew, though, that if we thought out of the box, we could fit everything. Do you know how much can be placed around a spare tire in it's storage space? We do!

And now, as I'm packing, I'm trying to make good use of every square inch of space that I have. (Too bad weight is an issue when you fly on an airplane.) Couldn't that apply to our lives as well... put to use everything that God has blessed us with?

One thing that we tend to focus on when visiting a developing country is how those that live there are lacking in material possessions. Yet, I have seen how many of those individuals are not only blessed in so many other ways (freedom, opportunities, resources, faith), but how they put those blessings to use in furthering God's kingdom. I truly believe that God gives to His children so we can give to others. While I could list numerous ways of how I have been blessed by individuals during my time in China, Haiti, and Guatemala, I look within myself and ask, “Do I do the same with what I am given?” Unfortunately, I discover how selfish I tend to be, hoarding God's blessings for myself rather than helping others from my abundance. I am continually reminded of how much I have here in America. It's so easy to desire and pursue more and more if I'm not careful. It is my prayer that I cultivate faithfulness in the little I am given so that I will build wealth where it matters most (Matt. 25:14-30).