Market Day

This is a picture of  how the market looked.

The last full day we spent at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, we were supposed to go visit another town called La Baie, but because of all the rain, the rivers had become too high for us to be able to go. One thing that you learn on a mission trip is to be flexible with your time and to try to have a good attitude no matter what happens. So instead of visiting La Baie, we walked 45 minutes to visit the Haitian market. Now, my group wasn’t the only group that went to the market, there were a couple other groups of Americans that went with us.  As soon as we walk out of the compound gate, a whole bunch of Haitian kids came up to us and would try to hold our hand or talk to us. We must have looked more like a parade instead of just a bunch of people going to the market. The market was a large rocky/muddy area near a river that is filled with wooden stalls. The Haitians working at the stands try and sell lots of different items like: food, clothes, shoes (mostly crocs), baskets, trinkets, and etc. We walked through the market looking at all the different stalls. After awhile, we decided to head back to the mission. Unfortunately, our guides lead us through the “butcher section” as we left the market. It smelled really bad and there were flies everywhere. It wasn’t that bad until we stopped walking to let some people go by. While we were standing there, I happened to look over at a stall right next to me and I saw a head of something sitting there on a table to be sold, with an eye still staring at me. I quickly turned my head away. Some ladies, who where selling some stuff at the stall on the other side of me, apparently had been watching me and thought my reaction was pretty funny. One of the ladies walked over to me and pointed to the head and said in broken English, “You taste?” I did my best to smile politely and say in my broken Creole, “No thank you.” I was really thankful that we had started walking again. As we were leaving the butcher section we passed a man who had just bought a leg of something and he had it swung over his shoulder as he started walking home. I was really thankful when we finally left the market. Although this was a pretty big cultural shock to me, this experience really made me realize how spoiled I am. I am able to pick which store I want to go to when I want to. It made me become more appreciative for what I have already taken for granted.

Thankful

Since this week was Thanksgiving, I have decided to take a break from my normal storytelling and blog about how thankful my summer trip to Haiti has made me. Going to a third world country really opens people’s eyes to see how blessed we are here in the USA, and it definitely made me more appreciative for a lot of things I have and realized how much I take for granted.

Here is a short list of some of the things that I am more appreciative of now since going to Haiti:

-paved roads

-seat belts

-road rules

-traffic signals

-warm showers

-having clean water/not having to worry about the water I am drinking

-a good home with a bed that doesn’t get soaked when it rains

-air conditioning!

-plenty of clothes

-flushing toilets

-good health

-plenty of food/I don’t have to worry about when my next meal is or how I will get it

-how accessible it is to go to a doctor or go to the store (ex; I don’t have to walk 45 min. to go to the store, the nearest doctor isn’t an hour away)

-a good education

These are only a few things I am thankful for! Just remember; it’s important, especially during this time of year as we are busy hurrying around trying to get things done, to keep in mind what we are thankful for and what is truly important to us. What are you are thankful for this year? Take some time this week to appreciate all the things you have to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Camp out +Tropical Depression= A Soggy Situation

When my team left to begin our mission trip to Haiti, we were expecting Haiti to be really hot and extremely humid. We were really surprised when we got to Haiti and it rained pretty much every day. Later, we learned that the reason for all the rain was because of a tropical depression that was passing through. When the eight of us girls finally got our tent set up at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (which is a completely different story in itself), we thought the worst was behind us. It wasn’t until that night when the eight of us piled into the tent, that we realized how wrong we were. We had set the tent up right next to the one of the walls of the dorm. Unfortunately, it was also near where the water poured out of the gutter, causing water to pool under our tent. Which caused everything in the tent to become wet. Then, because we were unable to use the metal stakes on the concrete patio when we were securing the tent, the tent wasn’t fully stretched out. This caused us to have an occasional leak, due to water pooling on the roof of the tent. By the end of the week we went from having eight people in the tent to only four. The fourth night we spent in Haiti was the last night the four of us spent in the tent. That night it rained really badly and we ended up sleeping in about an inch of water with water pouring on us from the roof. The following day, we took down the tent (which was a whole lot easier than putting it up) and spent about one to two hours getting all the water out and then we packed it up for the trip home. That night we all slept in the dorm which was so different to the four of us who had stayed out in the tent. It was so hot and stuffy compared to sleeping in the tent but it was definitely a lot dryer!

Eight Girls vs. A Tent

While we were staying at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission we had the choice of either sleeping in the “dorms” or we could set up the tents we brought, on the flat concrete patio right next to the “dorm”. The “dorms” were these big one room cinder block buildings that were filled with bunk beds lined up in a row, a couple of twin beds, and lots of mattresses. The eight of us girls, decided that we were going to try and set up a tent on the patio because we weren’t sure if there were enough bunks in the dorms for all of us. It looked like it would rain soon, so we wanted to get the tent up as soon as possible.

 We started taking the eight person tent out of the bag and realized that the instruction booklet had disintegrated because of all the rain on the bus ride. We decided that if we all worked together we should be able to figure out how to put up the tent. It looked like it would be pretty simple; lay out the tent, put the four tent poles through the loops, raise up the tent, and secure. Little did we know that the challenging task before us would not only test our patience, but our team work, and communication skills as well. We had no problem laying out the tent and we didn’t seem to have too much trouble putting the poles through the loops. It was when we were trying to raise up the tent that trouble struck. We ended up having to take down the tent because we had mixed up the poles. To make things worse, the rain had finally caught up to us. So there we were, scrambling in the rain, tying to figure out what poles go where and how to put up the tent. Finally, we got things straightened out and the tent started going up. It was looking good. As the rain stopped, we finished securing the tent. We had done it. Together, we had conquered the task of putting up the tent and were ready for whatever else would come our way.

 Even though we had to take the tent down the first time and put it back up in the rain,   we finally got the tent set up and learned about the importance of team work…. all in time for supper!

Tortuga

This is a picture of the kids at the VBS we did.

We made it to shore and were finally on Tortuga. We left the beach and started walking down a well worn path which took us to the village where the rest of our group was. In the village we did a VBS, which was where we sang some songs with the kids and did a skit then we gave the kids a snack and as the kids left we would give them a goodie bag. For snack we gave the kids these peanut butter sandwiches that we had made before we left Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. We had put them all in a big trash bag so they wouldn’t get wet when we were on the boat. When we opened the bag to start passing the snack out, everything was covered in peanut butter. It was a pretty messy task to try and get them out of the bag and pass them out to the kids. It was interesting to watch the kids as we passed out the snacks. None of them looked questionably at the sticky peanut butter sandwiches we were giving them but they gratefully took them. Some immediately began chowing down on the sandwiches while others held onto theirs to be able to share with their family. After the VBS we went down to the soccer field, which was clear dry dusty field, to play a game of soccer (or football, as the Haitians call it) with some of the Haitians. Let me tell you it was a really intense game! After the game it was time to go back to the boat and head back to Haiti. Because it was smoother sailing on the way back to Haiti, a lot of people spent the 1 ½ hour trip taking cat naps and resting. So it was a pretty quiet ride back to Haiti, except for the sailors having a rather intense argument about whether fish can fly or not.

This was a picture I took on Tortuga
looking back at Haiti.

Tortuga: getting to shore

We reached Tortuga and the anchor was dropped. We had to wait for a little wooden boat to come and pick us up and take us to shore. Since the little boat didn’t have a motor, there was a Haitian guy that had a long, thick stick that he used to pole the boat in the water. It kind of reminded me of a gondola. Because they were so many of us, the little boat had to take a couple trips. The first boat load of people left and while the rest of us where waiting, some of the guys decided that they didn’t want to wait for the boat to come back. So they decided they were going to swim to shore. The shore was a good ways away from the boat, but after swimming a little bit, you could just stand up and walk the rest of the way to shore. So they set off swimming to shore and had the rest of us take their shoes and shirts ashore. The boat came back and took the last of us to shore. As we were heading to shore we noticed that some of the guys who had decided to swim to shore, were walking pretty funny and they kept looking in the water. As we got closer we asked them what was going on. They replied by telling us that they were trying not to step on of the many sea urchins that were scattered all over the place. A lot of the guys that decided to swim to shore ended up with lots of sea urchin spines in the bottom of their feet. For those who don’t know, stepping on a sea urchin is almost like stepping on a piece of glass. The night before we left I remember someone who worked at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission telling my group to make sure we wear our shoes, it’s too bad that those guys had to find out why the hard way.

Tortuga: The Boat Ride



I took this picture on the boat
on the way to Tortuga.



During the walk to the boat I wondered why we were even being carried in the first place. As we got closer to the boat, I realized that the reason why we were being carried was because when you reached the boat the water was too high. You could still stand in the water OK, but by yourself it would be very difficult to get into the boat. I climbed on board the tiny wooden sailboat and found a seat on the deck as I waited for the rest of my group and a couple other groups to get on board. Once everyone was on the boat it got pretty crowded. We set off across the channel for Tortuga; we had been told it was only about 5 miles. It shouldn’t take too long to get there, right? Well, it probably wouldn’t have taken that long if the boat had a motor, but since it didn’t, it took us 1 ½ hours of being propelled by the wind and sailing against current to get there. For some, it was 1 ½ hours of lackadaisical sailing with a gentle breeze and the sun shining warmly on the picturesque blue-green Caribbean. For others, it was 1 ½ hours of pure torture spent with heads drooped over the side of the boat as you puked your guts into the ocean. Thankfully, I was one of the people that enjoyed the boat ride. I couldn’t get over how blue the water was!

I took this picture on the boat looking back at the Haitian shore.

Read my previous blogs to hear more about my many other Haiti experiences.

Tortuga: Getting to the Boat



This is a picture of a couple of people being carried to our boat

While my group was in Haiti, we got the chance to visit Tortuga (an island about 5 miles from the coast of where we were staying). In order to get to Tortuga, we had to take a boat. I was a little hesitant to begin this journey because the only boats I had ever been on were canoes and paddleboats; I wasn’t sure what to expect, or worse yet, if I would get seasick. When we reached the beach we saw the boat a little ways of in the water. It was a plain wooden sailboat, nothing really fancy, but it would work. We had been standing there for a little bit just looking at the boat when a thought came to my mind: How are we going to get on the boat? There wasn’t a dock and the boat was a little ways off in the water, were we just going to walk out to the boat? Not quite. My question was answered a little bit later when I noticed a big Haitian guy go up to someone and I watched as he picked the person up and put them on his shoulders and start carrying the person out to the boat. Next thing I knew, I was the one that was being picked up and carried out to the boat. At first, I was okay but when we got further into the water where the guy was walking against the waves, I got a little nervous that I would throw off his balance. My first reaction was to cling to his head but in doing so I was making it so he couldn't see which he naturally didn't like. So I concentrated on keeping my balance as we slowly made it to the boat.

A Tap-Tap Experience: Part 2

Here is a picture of what some
of the roads we drove on looked like

So there we were. In the back of the tap-tap trying to figure out how we were going to get up the hill. It had thankfully stopped raining for the moment. When we were told that the tap-tap driver wanted us to stay on the tap-tap instead of getting off, we all looked at each other thinking: OK, so what is he going to do? Our driver slowly backed the tap-tap down the hill and around the corner and stopped a little ways down the road from the hill. All was still for a minute. Then all of a sudden we heard the driver floor the gas pedal and next thing we knew we were zooming down the road. We all immediately held on tight and started screaming and yelling our heads off, praying that it would all end well. We barely made it around the corner and then started up the hill. About half way up we felt the tap-tap fishtail severely, as it struggled to make it pass the spot where we had kept getting stuck. Then the tap-tap actually started moving further up the hill. Next thing we knew, we finally made it to the top! We all stopped screaming and started cheering, happy that it had ended okay. This experience definitely made me a little bit more appreciative for seat belts.

A Tap-Tap Experience: Part 1



This is what a tap-tap looks like.
 I'm in the tap-tap behind this one and we are just
coming out of the river we crossed.



This is a little video clip of what it is like to be on
 a tap-tap ride, driving on the mountain roads in Haiti. 



Another way of transportation I experienced while in Haiti was a tap-tap. A tap-tap is a big truck that has benches along the edge of the bed that you sit on, you tap it if you need to stop, and you tap it when you are ready to go, tap-tap. These trucks would also go pretty fast, which got interesting when we would be driving through the forests and have to hang on and watch out for low-hanging branches at the same time. We would ride the tap-taps when we would go to visit other nearby villages. One day, I had a very interesting experience during a tap-tap ride. It was on a very rainy, hour long tap-tap ride back to the mission after visiting a village. Let me tell you, sitting in the back of a tap-tap for an hour in the rain was an interesting experience in itself! Because of all the rain, one of the tap-taps had trouble getting up a hill. It was, of course, the one I was on. When we went to go up the hill, our tires started spinning about half way up. Our driver backed the tap-tap down the hill and tried zooming back up a couple more times. After that not working, we asked the driver (through a translator) if we should get off to make it easier for the tap-tap to make it up the hill and then just get back in when it made it to the top. The driver told us to stay on the tap-tap. To be continued….

I Survived the Bus Ride!

This is a picture of our buses. 
They are probably the coolest looking buses I've ever ridden in.

Our traveling didn't end when our plane landed in Port-A-Prince.  As soon as we made it through customs, we headed straight to these buses that were waiting to take us (and other groups that have come from all over the U.S.) on a 6-8 hour bus ride to St. Louis du Nord, where we were going to be staying.  These weren't just any ordinary buses, they were like school buses on steroids!  These big,colorful buses were driven like tanks.  The only problem was although they look really cool on the outside, the inside is really small. You can fit 2 people per seat, but the isles are really close together so there is pretty much no middle isle to walk down, you have to walk on top of the seats to get to your seat.  Most of the roads we drove on were small, unpaved, pothole filled, one-lane roads. There weren't any stop signs and I only saw one traffic light during my entire stay in Haiti. The further we drove into the mountains, the more bumpy and crazy the driving became.  I've heard people say that New York taxi drivers are the craziest drivers; but they have nothing on Haitian drivers!  We were in a bus, on mountain roads, and our bus driver was passing cars in front of us and narrowly missing cars that were coming the other way!  They were driving the buses through rivers and streams and at times, it seemed like the bus drivers were racing against each other trying to see who would get in the lead. We were really happy when we finally arrived at our destination, but we were even happier when we found out that we didn't have to take the bus back to the airport when we would leave! 

The video below is a short clip I took on the bus ride of us going past a tent city in Port-A-Prince. The reason it's all tinted red, is because the windows on the bus are tinted red and mine wouldn't open.

The Adventure Begins

This is a picture I took of Port-A-Prince from the window of the plane.
All the blue dots are tents from tent cities.

This summer, I got the amazing chance to go with 16 other people from my church youth group on a mission trip to Haiti. We went to help out an organization in Haiti called Northwestern Haiti Christian Mission.  The trip was challenging in every way possible, but an amazing experience, none the less.  Getting ready for the trip definitely wasn't easy, either.  Thankfully, I already had my passport taken care of, but I had to get shots (I think it was about six shots....typhoid & flu hurt the most),as well as malaria pills, and I had to do lots of fundraisers and odd jobs to raise all the money; because I definitely didn't get to Haiti on pocket change!  Then, after all our hard work, my group boarded a plane to begin our adventure.  We first flew to Miami and spent the night there.  Then, the next morning we got up early and began our traveling once more, this time we would be leaving the country. We weren't really sure what to expect, all we knew was that we weren't going to be coming back the same.  Change in some way or another is hard to avoid on a trip like this.

Intro

My life has been filled with ups, where everything seems to be going great and nothing stands in the way of what I'm trying to accomplish, and downs where I feel like I've lost all hope of ever hoping again. It's filled with stories of life and death. At times, my life has seemed scary and I've worried if I'd make it out okay.  It has been surprising and exciting to look forward to see what will happen next.  My life is also filled with times of such joy and awe I can only stand back and try to take it all in.  The best way to describe my life? It's an adventure.  One thing I have learned along the way is: if God is at my side, then I don't need to worry about what tomorrow holds. I can stand confidently; knowing that it's all going to be okay because I know how much God cares about me and how much He loves me.  So I'm not going to just go through my life wishing I had a better car, or a better house, or a better job, or that I could be older, or younger.  Instead, I want to live my life satisfied with what I have and to be with God every step of the way.