I don’t think I’ve said anything about roosters or lizards yet, so let me just say that it’s a MYTH that roosters only crow when the sun comes up! The one behind our house lets rip anytime from 10:00 pm on! And he starts crowing in the morning in direct proportion to how much sleep Kim needs! The place here is crawling (pun intended!) with lizards. I don’t know the difference between geccos & chameleons & lizards, but these things are really cute & change colors depending on what they’re on, & come in all sizes. Kim spent the week trying to become the next Lizard Whisperer. Alfred the yard man can just go up to them & they jump onto his upheld palm. So once Kim saw THAT, she spent every spare moment hunting the docile gecco. Tonight the baby gecco she’d been seducing all week in the kitchen finally succumbed to her wiles & climbed up onto her hand. She was going to show it to our dental patient, Kervin (you’ll read about him in a few paragraphs) but the little lizard got cold feet & literally jumped back to the counter & scooted under the stove! Poor thing, she’s heartbroken!
Yesterday we got back to work on completing our Four Projects: Travis & Jack tackled building the back screen door, which was tricky because of the big locking latch box in the middle of steel outside door, & because of the thick steel lock bars on the top corner of the door & the door frame, which we didn’t notice at all until Dee Dee did her final inspection & said how was she supposed to lock the door? After much head scratching & kicking around various alternatives, none of which sounded incredibly pleasant (because we had about exhausted ALL of our supplies from the hardware store & were about down to ripping apart box springs again), we decided to just NOTCH the door up in that corner, which worked beautifully. Travis was great working with Jack & Mac, letting them use the Makita cordless drill, teaching them how to cut boards, measure with a tape measure, use the staple gun & hammer. He was very patient & encouraging with them, but he only let them WATCH him use the Skilsaw! That just has too much potential to do serious damage!
Meanwhile, Wes (I call him Weezer) & I added a latch to the other screen door, & then split a 1×4 in half to make a 44 inch high Kenny Door so the baby (Kenny) couldn’t escape the playroom & hurt himself on the steps. We measured the opening for the tableau; the top was 36 1/4 inches, the bottom was 35 7/8 inches, so I took the opportunity to explain to Wes that sometimes we can’t always trust our eyes. The doorway LOOKED the same width, but in reality it was off by 3/8 of an inch. Just like a tape measure reveals reality, so too does the Bible: We need to measure our lives against it & make sure we’re in line with what God wants. Anyway, it seemed really wise at the time. But then again, did I mention IT’S REALLY HOT HERE?!!
I also taught all the boys the old carpenter’s expression, “Measure twice, cut Once.” Mickey learned that right away, & when I would rumble through the house yelling, “Measure twice . . .” he would be among the first to shout back, “. . . Cut once!” It was obvious the boys were eating up the male attention; I hope they’ve got some good memories that may make a difference some day.
Our final task of the day was to install the hinged doggie door & put the excess tableau up on the dog pen with wire; Mich was a big help crawling into the pen to help feed the wire from the other side. Kim had made lasagna earlier at Dotties & now it was cooking in Dee Dee’s kitchen. She reported later that ALL of it was gone, gone, gone!! They have all so enjoyed getting to eat something other than rice & beans! For lunch yesterday the boys all had Slim Jims, pudding & apples! Boy, was that different for them! And little Kenny is really coming out of his shell- tossing a soft football back & forth with Kim first, then me, & even laughing a little. He’s hardly said a word since he’s been there, but slowly the shell is breaking.
Kim spent the rest of the day painting another dinosaur with Nicky & Mich, & giving some more piano lessons to Jack, who she says is a natural! He’s only on his 3rd lesson but already he’s playing chords with both hands (I guess that’s a big deal!) She says his singing voice is also beautiful & that he has perfect pitch. Maybe music can be his ticket to a better life here?
Last night for dinner, Dottie had prepared some awesome cornmeal stuff that you put either chicken or black bean sauce on, or both. It’s a Haitian staple, along with beans & rice. For dessert we had pound cake & fresh strawberries & whipped cream. (And I wonder why I never lose weight on these trips?!) For those of you who have contemplated coming on a short-term mission trip like this- DOES THIS SOUND HARSH? DANGEROUS? UNPLEASANT?!!! Come on down!!
Travis went to bed right after dinner last night- he was really exhausted & quiet. We think because we had barely any water all day yesterday that he may have dehydrated a bit. He seemed more refreshed today.
Today Travis headed over to the church property about 7:30 to play with the boys, who go there every Friday to play before the day really heats up. Other schools & orphanages & ministries also schedule the property for the same purpose. The church has lovely shaded trees & playground areas, all within a safe, walled compound. It really is idyllic.
But a little bit later, Travis showed up back at the guesthouse: No one answered the gate at the church, & there was no one at Dee Dee’s when he walked down to her house, either. Right about then Dee Dee called Dottie on her cellphone & asked if Travis was coming or not! Turns out he hadn’t realized he needed to bang on the gate at the church property & wait for someone to let him in, & no one had heard him calling! His demeanor never changed, he just jumped up, got some water, & headed right back out the door, sorry he had lost some playtime with his new little friends!
Dottie, Kim & I then drove to the Caribbean Mart to pick up ice-cream for the boys, which was going to be a surprise. We also picked up some frozen chicken nuggets for Mich, who hadn’t gotten to go on the shopping spree with us. We didn’t want him to feel left out. And we grabbed a few bags of expensive chocolate for Dee Dee because she is addicted to the stuff but we knew there was no way she would have bought it for herself on the shopping spree. She used that opportunity to buy staples & essentials. It felt good to be able to give her a treat!
On the way to the church for the surprise ice-cream social, Dottie stopped at a bakery so we could have a quick tour. No electricity, a gas powered ancient machine did the mixing while in the black smokey room several men cut the dough & put it in brick fireplaces hot with the sticks that were burning. No one wanted their picture taken, but they did let me take a few of the machines & oven. We paid each of them a dollar (more than a teacher’s daily wage) & also bought a bag of bread. This is a local business right in Dottie’s neighborhood; it doesn’t hurt to make friends down here by being generous. (Next time I come, instead of mostly US$100 bills, I’m bringing a whack of $1 bills for exactly this sort of essential tipping!)
Travis & Dee & the boys were way over in the shady corner, waiting for us. They’d played football & soccer & other games, so they were ready for the chocolate & vanilla ice cream! Dottie had brought styrofoam cups & plastic spoons, & each boy got as MUCH as he wanted! Then Tasha & her bunch of charges showed up (from Dorothy’s baby-rescue mission) & we had plenty of ice cream for all of them, too! So, another nice surprise for some of God’s servants down here!
Dottie & Kim & I then drove down to Dee Dee’s house (about 3 blocks) while Travis hiked back with the boys, Mich staying especially close to him. We took pictures of yesterday’s completed projects, loaded the tools we’d borrowed from Dorothy into the Blazer, & got ready to head out on our next venture, a trip to the White House way downtown. I accused Travis of dawdling, so he took off sprinting up the street- he RAN all the way home! Needless to say, we insisted on his taking another shower before we hit the road again!
The trip to the White House was an adventure- bumper to bumper traffic, people inventing lanes of traffic where none existed, street vendors & beggars & pedestrians everywhere. Dee Dee had us pull over at one point & we bought some fried plantain, which she loves. I had the GD$250 bill in my hand, but that was way too much, so she & Dottie had to jabber away in Creole, & I had to be sure NOT to hand him the money until he had given us the change. Not exactly as efficient as the drive-thru at Wendys.
I didn’t catch on to this real fast, but Kim says she’s seen it all week: the men (& some women) just urinate right out in public. Once this was brought to my attention, I actually started seeing it, which explains why the streets smell like pee. Dottie says this is one of the problems they have with boys who come to her school- they can’t get them to use the bathrooms because, well, they have been trained to do it on the closest wall. And right across from the White House was an older woman bathing herself (fully clothed, fortunately) with water coming out of a pipe by the gutter (I know, you can see just about the same scene across from the OTHER White House, in DC!) I was going to take a picture, but didn’t want her to feel self-conscious, or the people standing & sitting all around to become hostile to me for shooting that picture. I have noticed that if they see me pull the camera out, they intuitively step away. Either that, or they want money for letting you take the pic. So I’ve had to learn to shoot fast & surreptitiously, even from the front passenger seat of the Blazer (which explains why alot of my pics might be a bit blurry!)
There were lots of police directing traffic at the intersections as we got closer to downtown, which made us all feel a bit safer. We parked about a block away from the White House & walked past a park with a fountain that Dottie said hadn’t worked in a long time. But today, in the 100 plus degree furnace of Port au Prince, it was like an oasis of refreshing spray! Except no one was playing in it or even taking advantage of its cooling power, which we thought strange. Maybe there’s a law against public getting wet, who knows?
Travis had an interesting observation as we strolled past the park: “All these people are looking at you guys like the people back in Maryland look at me. It’s kind of strange being in the majority & watching what it’s like for you to be in the minority.”
The White House itself was very impressive, & we all had our pictures taken in front of it (maybe THIS will be our 2008 Christmas card?!) Across the street is a building where Dottie said judges meet to discuss issues (lawmakers here are called judges), & that several years ago, after a regime change, alot of corpses were found in the basement during a revovation. This country has only ever known violence.
Also catty-corner to the White House is a monstrosity of a monument that President Aristide had built, apparently as a memorial to himself. It is triangular & very high, with a bowl on top that is supposed to have a flame in it. The center is a staircases, so the idea obviously was for people to go up to the top & look around, but there was no one up there. The consensus of the few missionaries that I spoke with who have been here a while is that Aristide was a thug, & that he was also a huge supporter of voodoo, which I think has since been officially named as the religion of Haiti. Tales abound of human sacrifice in connection with voodoo worship; I don’t doubt them at all.
Following our walk around the White House block, we stopped at Epidor for lunch. There were four or five separate counters, each with different types of food (crepes, hamburgers, fries, bakery, pizza, cheesteaks) but you only ordered & paid at one location, then walked around with your receipt & had the order filled, which seemed strange. I had a Royal Burger & Mega spicy fries, which tasted remarkably like they had been seasoned with Old Bay! The food was great, sorely needed (after all that walking in the heat) & was supposed to be very safe for us to eat (it must have been, none of us have reported having any digestive issues & it’s been 9 hours now!)
Following lunch Dottie drove us across town to the new US Embassy, built way in the middle of nowhere, right next to where the UN Transportation Depot is located. Dottie says the old location was very small, hard to park, & quite vulnerable. This location, while further away, larger, & easier to defend. She’s been in there on several occasions, & has yet to see an American working there!
When we got back, Travis & Kim stayed with Dee Dee at her house. Travis helped the boys finish painting the dinosaur & just generally messed around, & Kim did dishes & watched the boys so Dee Dee could enjoy a shower without having to wonder what the boys were up to! I stayed at the guesthouse to work on my blog but ended up reading a book & taking a nap! Dee Dee & Travis came back up for dinner (grilled Talapia, broccoli, salad & upside down pineapple cake) Then Travis walked Dee Dee home before it got late, came back & lost 2 games of backgammon to me.
That’s when the next adventure started! Dottie got a phone call from Dorothy, who runs the baby-rescue mission a few blocks away. Kervin, one of her 10 year old charges, had fallen & broken his front right tooth. The dentist was there but they had no electricity; could they come up & do the repair at Dottie’s house? So we met Dr. Marly Desire, a very pleasant man in his 30′s. He set up shop under the bright dining room light. Kervin looked so frightened, but he barely whimpered as the dreaded Novacaine was administered. Tasha sat next to him, but he didn’t much want her to hold his hand! The rest of us stood or sat around & cracked jokes & took pictures, & tried not to look at the blinding blue light as Marly slowly built up the tooth & bonded it with the UV light, just like Peter Trepper uses back in Frederick!
About an hour after they arrived, they were done, & Kervin’s tooth looked like new! He was cracking jokes too. Earlier in the day he had broken his arm in another fall, & had just had a cast put on it! So, it was a rough day for him! Dorothy knew the doctor at the hospital, who cut the bill from $120 to $60, which was great because small missions like those run on a shoestring budget & just have to trust God to provide in cases like these. We were happy to be able to slip the dentist a gift for his time & sweet spirit (he does lots of dentistry for the various missions here, as well as operates an office). We took care of Kervin’s hospital bill, too. We are just so blessed in the USA & take so many things for granted. It felt good to make a difference here; it takes SO little to do that. Marly gave me his card, I know we’ll be sending more gifts to him just because he is making such an obvious, loving sacrifice here for so many people who have so little.
The power just surged & the lights got brighter; we thought maybe the local electricity had come on, but Dottie just informed us that in fact it had gone off, & now the guesthouse is running on batteries (16 of them) & an inverter. She said she’s been running on the batteries most of the day so they’re low, & if the power doesn’t come back on, she’ll have to get up in the middle of the night & fire up the diesel generator right outside our window! (Did I mention we take so many things for granted in the USA?!)
Kim just remarked to me that it’s going to be pretty boring heading back to work next week- she’s met some amazing women of God here & what they do & the spirit of joy with which they all just love the daylights out of these Haitian people is moving, to say the least. We know we’re making a difference in our corner of the world, but it’s easy sometimes to just fall into the rut of playing church & going through the motions, & you wonder if you’re really making any headway or difference at all. But here it’s more like you’re on the frontlines: you know if you weren’t here, this child would be on the street, or starving, or sick or dead. There are frustrations & disappointments & personality clashes & all the same junk that everyone else faces in affluent cultures- but there’s also a tangible sense of fulfillment and, I think, of just being closer to the heart of God. “True religion & undefiled is this,” James wrote, “to take care of widows & orphans in their time of need.” It’s so easy to TALk the God thing, it’s a whole nother matter to actually march it out in a way that makes a real difference.
We leave tomorrow morning at 10:00 for our 12:35 pm flight. We arrive in DC a little after 8:00 pm. The boys are coming up at 7:30 so I can cook them my world famous Bisquick pancakes (the key is one extra egg!) Dee Dee’s not coming, so ALL the boys can be here (someone has to stay & watch the house.) We’ll see her when we run Mickey home; Tasha also just called a bit ago & said Kervin wants us all to sign his cast!
The lump in my throat is already beginning to form. Haiti is not the hellhole I thought it would be. It’s rough, yes, but as you get to know the people & see their smiles, something inside you just begins to melt. I will miss them. Their pictures will pop up on my screensaver, & I know many times during the day my body will be in Frederick but my mind will be here.
I am almost 50 years old. I am still searching for what God wants to do with my life. I am still struggling with me in ways that frustrate me to no end. But one thing I know: Kim & I are committed to making a Kingdom difference. And, we will be back.
Thanks so much for the great writing – I feel like I’ve been there myself and can picture so many visions of your visit there. I know it will be hard leaving. Rest assured that you HAVE made a difference and that you are doing what God has called you to do. You and Kim are a blessing! Keep up the great work! God is good!