Church in a Tent City

Sunday morning shortly after 7:00 am, some of us volunteers and staff of GLA headed down to Petionville to attend church at the Sean Penn Tent Camp, home to approximately 50,000 earthquake victims. 

We turned onto a beautiful, tree canopied street and arrived at a gate with the sign ‘The Petionville Club’, a golf course turned tent camp. It's a little difficult to find the words to describe what i saw, but i'll do my best!

We drove by tents used for medical purposes, and progressed down a winding gravel road that led down into the camp. The outer edge of the camp was lined with barbed wire fences. There were water drainage ditches that had been dug and lined with what appeared to be sand bags. I can’t imagine what the camp must be like when it rains! Tents, if they could be called that, lined the street. Many of them were simply crudely constructed shelters of tarps and poles. Those must be like ovens in the heat of the day! there are barely any trees to provide shade. One thing i now realize is that i never noticed an odor. Others have commented on how tent camps smell so horrible, but that’s one thing that escaped me. 

We arrived at the church, which was a blue and white striped tent located somewhere in the midst of all the tent houses. When we arrived, the Haitians wanted to empty some benches for us. That’s a really awkward feeling, to know that some people are being moved to make room for the white people! I think they were trying to be considerate by placing us at the front by the fans, but i would have preferred to be at the back where i could see more people and would not be in everyone’s line of vision! 

What struck me was how well dressed the people attending church were! somehow, even in the midst of such primitive conditions, they still manage to look great for church! On the flip side, there were also kids playing outside who wore too big shorts that were nearly falling off,  and long, holy shirts being worn as an outfit. People carried buckets of water back to their homes. I wonder what these people do all day every day? Is it simply an attempt at survival every day? Or are they able to go out and work? And where would so many people find jobs??

The service was wonderful! Even though i couldn’t sing along or understand most of the songs, i could still feel the spirit of worship of these people. one song that i was able to sing along with was ‘oh, oui, mwen renmen Jezi!’ ‘Oh how i love Jesus!’ 

After the singing, a woman went to the front and began speaking in creol. i was able to understand that she was explaining about the cholera outbreak and giving advice on how to best avoid contracting the disease. 

Following that, the message was given by Edward Smith, an American man who counsels victims of crime and disaster. It was interpreted by one of the men from GLA, so i was able to understand the message. There were many ‘Amens’ and ‘hallelujiah!’s! :-)

We left immediately after the service, so did not have a chance to interact with the Haitians. 

I hadn’t realized how emotionally draining the experience had been until the evening when i finally realized that i just really needed to get alone and have a heart to heart with God rather then trying to push the feelings away. i went out onto the darkened balcony alone and sat in the rocking chair, looking toward the city. i asked God ‘why?'. I prayed for those whose lives were turned upside down in a matter of minutes. For those who don’t know where to go from here; how to make a new way in the world. I didn’t get a definite answer to WHY, but i once again came to the realization that no matter what, God is still in control. Even when nothing makes sense, He is still God in the storm. He’s still God with the stars shine, and when the clouds roll in; when the thunder rolls and the lightening strikes AND when the earth shakes. He is God in everything, and nothing goes without Him noticing. When the rain falls, He’s there, and when the tears pour down, He’s there to be the shoulder to cry on. Not one of the 1.5 milling people living in tent camps goes beyond the notice of God. He knows their deepest longings and needs. I still don’t understand why this tragedy happened, but i know that when it feels like the world is crashing down around us, God is there, and if we allow Him to, He becomes our world. 

please don’t forget to pray earnestly for these people who have now lived in tents for as long as 9 months!

Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

Please keep Haiti in your prayers in the coming days and weeks! There's been an outbreak of Cholera in the north of Haiti. It's still a few hours away from where i am. The first cases were seen on Tuesday, and already at least 194 people have died from it! it's spreading fairly quickly, and i fear what would happen if it were to hit Port Au Prince and the tent cities! There are about 1.5 million people living in about 1.000 unsanitary tent camps. People living close together without proper waste disposal or clean water.......it would spread like wildfire. SO we need to be utilizing the power we have in prayer! God can do great things when believers unite in prayer for a common cause! DO NOT underestimate the impact that you can have on a situation like this!

There are lots of articles that can be found about this on the internet, so i won't say much more. Please pray that we here at GLA would remain strong so that we could be available for whatever part God may have for us to play in helping the people of Haiti. I just hope against hope that this will peter out quickly!

Here's one article that i found to be quite informative.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/23/1887953/more-haitians-sickened-by-cholera.html?

And here's one that explain Cholera and its symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera

I was just listening to some music as i wrote, and this song happened to be one that played. it's called 'Let Your Mercy Rain' by Chris Tomlin. This song is for Haiti! it would be better if the physical, weather rain would hold off for a while, though, i think. that could simply make matters worse!

God, You have done great things
God, You give grace to the weak
And bless the brokenhearted
With a song of praise to sing
You reached down and lifted us up
You came running, looking for us
And now there's nothing
And no one beyond Your love

You're the overflow
You're the fountain of my heart
Let Your mercy rain
Let Your mercy rain on us

You're the faithful one
When the world's falling apart
Let Your mercy rain
Let Your mercy rain on us

How deep, how wide, how long, how high is Your love ... is Your love
How deep, how wide, how long, how high is Your love ... is Your love
Oh, God

Let it rain


Praying that God will continue to do great things in Haiti.


Emelyne

The Demise of the Rats and Roaches

Over the past week we saw what we (if we are optimistic) hope to be the beginning of the end of the rat and roach infestation that seems to plague this place. This could also be considered 'the year of the ant', as they seem to be everywhere as well! Anyway, last Thursday everybody was out of the house while some guys sprayed for roaches. All the babies, nannies and volunteers were out on the balcony from around 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Thankfully it wasn't too hot! Many of us had hoped that when we went back inside we would see the ugly reddish-brown bodies of thousands of dead roaches lying on their backs; however, apparently the stuff that was used was supposed to make the roaches thirsty and want to run away, thus limiting the amount of cleanup that would have to be done. We heard for those who were involved in the spraying that there were areas from which there was a great exodus of roaches. How i wish i could have see it!

This past Wednesday, the group of us volunteers (8 girls) cleaned out the entry way at the main house, as it had been discovered that rats had been nesting back in one of the corners. it was pretty gross in there, but the finished product was a great reward! especially because there is now nowhere for rats to hide! before we were able to get everything moved back into the room, the rain started pouring down, as it often does this time of year. after about 45 minutes it had let up enough for us to finish.

On Thursday morning, another volunteer and i cleaned out one of the cupboards in our kitchen at the toddler house, as cockroaches have inhabited that space for at least two years! i remember that last time when i was here, i would always knock on that door before opening it so that i wouldn't have to see the roaches that i knew lived there. anyway, we cleaned out all of the contents, sprayed Baygone, shut the door, and worked on washing everything that had been inside. some roaches tried to scurry away, and when they did, we were ready with flip flops and paper towels to squash any hope of escape. I must have squashed at least 20 cockroaches in the space of two hours! that cupboard is now beautiful and roach free....and Haiti has about 30 fewer roaches!!!

So, on top of having the priveladge of being in Haiti, loving and teaching these beautiful children, i also have had the opportunity to help clear out at least some of the spaces that catered to some of the lowest and nastiest members of creation. i know some people would defend them and say that they have a purpose, too, but i have a hard time believing it. if they do have some purpose, well, i think we've come to the point of too much of a good thing! lol.

Sword flights and letters

Imagine that this was posted yesterday, cause that's when i wrote most of it!

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canadians! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

This morning I spent two hours helping with the preschool classes, along with another volunteer (which is something i do every day). Near the end of the first group of little students, some of them were given oversized stacking nails in a foamy mat with holes. some of the little boys started stacking them up, seeing how tall they could make them. then they took them out of their holes, and for a little bit some of them engaged in a little, un-dangerous 'sword fight' :-) I make no claim to understand the way boys work, but it is my understanding that boys were created to be warriors; no one needed to teach them. The important thing is for them to learn to chanel that warrior blood and direct it in positive directions!

Later, the next group of young students was working on writing their letters. some days it seems futile to even try to get them to do their work, as their minds are set against it, but today the three that i was working with were doing very well! One of the students, a little girl, was sitting beside me and as she worked, she would squeeze my arm gently and ask me in her sweet little voice to 'gade' and see what she was doing. When i would smile and congratulate her on her work, her face would light up and her beautiful brown eyes would sparkle. One of the others, a little boy, sat across from me, and as he worked, he would look to me for direction or confirmation. when he was doing a good job and got his letters correct, his face would split into a wide smile. :-D it's moments like those that make it all seem worth it!

If things aren't going well, often all it takes is an innocent smile and a hug from a child to renew the purpose and passion of serving God in this place!

A Sunday in Haiti

Three weeks. 21 days. Approximately 510 hours. That’s how long i’ve been in Haiti. And i don’t want to think about how quickly the remaining time will go!

This weekend was an interesting one! Sunday morning we were all prepared to head off to church when we discovered that the car wouldn’t start, so we (all 12 of us) were going to pile into the ATV which has six seats plus the bed. But then we found that the one tire was flat! (it was flat before we all piled in). A couple of us got a ride with people from the main house, but when we got to the main road we found that a big truck hauling a bulldozer had gotten tangled in the power lines and had downed poles for quite a distance! As one person in the car said, ‘the wires are holding up the poles’! we were able to get around the initial hold up, but for a good distance there were poles that had snapped or wires that hung really low. Despite all that, we made it to church and had a great service! 

Sunday afternoon the rain poured down. As the kids here say, ‘lapli ap tombe!’ We had to come up from the main house in the back of one of the pickup trucks that has a high cage around it, and we all got soaked! it was kind of fun :-) cleaning up afterward....not so much! lol.

Eventually the rain let up and we were able to go ahead with our plans for a BBQ and Campfire up at the property at Fort Jaques. 

When we got there, a bunch of us walked to the fort at Fort Jaques. The view from there over the Port Au Prince and the water is amazing! Some of us decided to pay for a tour of the fort. It was worth our ‘hefty’ 35 gourds! ;-) Sadly, there was some damage done to the Fort by the earthquake. As i recall, we used to be able to walk around the entire perimeter outside the fort, but we are no longer able to do that; parts of the one wall have crumbled. Inside the fort, some of the rooms have become blocked off by rubble. We climbed over some of the rubble to see inside one of the rooms. I didn’t realize just how maybe-not-so-smart that was until our guide told me not to touch the wall because the earthquake made it weak :-S Anyway, it was really cool to see the inside of the fort, to walk around the top and look out over the city; to see the canons; to hear a little of Haiti’s history. We learned that this particular fort never actually got used; it’s over 200 years old. 

We returned to the property, and there were a few people from another organization who were there as well. We had a great supper that included all the typical BBQ foods :-) mmmmm-mmmmm! After eating we went to the newly completed fire pit. The Haitian men who built it did a beautiful job! it’s like a sunken amphitheater around the fire pit; the stone work all fits perfectly like a puzzle. We had a great time hanging out on a beautiful, perfectly warm, Haitian evening filled with the wonderful people who make up the GLA family :-) The people i have the opportunity to know and work with are a huge part of what makes the experience of working at GLA so good! 

At the end of our evening (at 8:15 p.m. it’s completely dark and feels late around here) those of us who hadn’t left yet piled into the back of the pickup and had an open air 25 min. ride back to the Toddler House. I love riding in the back of trucks and having the wind in my face as we sometimes fly but mostly bump along the road down the mountain :-) Box cruises are something i wish were legal in Canada! Imagine flying along our smooth, pothole free roads! But it may just be Haiti that brings out the charm of such an experience. Some experiences just can’t be replicated!