5-31-14 Journal Entry Day One
Today pictures came alive. All of the images of a third-world-country joined real life faces and places. Haiti is not what I expected. Although I've only drove through over an hour ride from Port au Prince to Kalico Beach, I do not see what I thought. I thought I would be torn with sadness at the sites, smells, and sounds of the dire straights of poverty. But instead I saw women and children, boys and young men. I saw families together: women combing and braiding their children's hair, men watching their children play - Neighbors talking and families working at daily tasks of cooking, laundry, and cleaning. I saw a different kind of community. God gave me His eyes to see the beauty of people being people.
Upon arrival, the airport wasn't as dirty and gloomy as I thought. We had a difficult time with the luggage and had to tell many men 'no' to wanting to help with our luggage. They were looking to help in order to get a tip. One man, I had to grab my luggage back from as he started just walking off with it. After all, my food supplies for the week were in that bag. Outside of the airport we found our team who was forcefully telling other men "no help." The men working for our organization helped us to put the luggage on top the truck.
Prior to getting us at the airport, the team had gone to town to pick up supplies like pasta, rice, oatmeal, soap, and toilet paper. It was all in the center of the back of the truck and we were sitting on the sides of the truck.
Driving through the city and through town was absolutely amazing. Most touching to me was the children carrying water jugs or them playing in the water of the creeks and streams.
I saw women carrying all kinds of things on their heads, women cooking corn over open fires, and washing clothes in large basins. Many were just sitting and talking like it were a camping spot.
That's the best thing that I can relate it to - like each village or community was a camp site with friends and neighbors sitting around talking while the kids played.
Every once in a while I'd see someone with a cell phone and it was odd too see that in the middle of the otherwise primitive lifestyle.
One image I remember is this little shed size of a house. When I looked inside there was a kitchen table with a pink table cloth. Yes, that was home.
On our ride the roads were paved and very good but sometimes rough and bumpy to travel over. Each time the traffic stopped we all had a bit of anxiety that the people would come up to the truck, see the supplies stash, and plea for something.
One stop some men were selling water bottles and they grabbed on to the truck. They hung on, saw the supplies and said, "we are hungry." The gal with us told them firmly "no" and to get off the truck.
When we arrived at Alex's House we unloaded the luggage and took it to our rooms upstairs at the guest house. Our room had two sets of bunk beds on either side of the room and a bathroom down the hall. It was announced that dinner would be in a few minutes. I rushed to dig in my bag to find something quick to prepare for my dinner. (Long story here- but I have severe food allergies to the point of anaphylaxis so I packed all my own foods. Not to mention 4 epi-pens and tons of benedryl just in case!). I ended up in the kitchen boiling water in my sauce pot to make a boxed hash browns kit. Dinner was on a covered upper deck that over looked the ocean. It was breezy and nice to sit down and settle in.
God Thing: In the airport when we first arrived in Haiti, my phone music turned on by itself and was playing the Chris Tomlin song "My God He goes before me, He will be my guide. He sends His angel army, always by my side." When I worried about getting through the first leg of the trip, I was confident that the Lord was with me. He has held this trip for me since before I was born. He knows my every step and knows that this was in my life plan to do this work for Him. "He holds the whole world in His hands."
Today pictures came alive. All of the images of a third-world-country joined real life faces and places. Haiti is not what I expected. Although I've only drove through over an hour ride from Port au Prince to Kalico Beach, I do not see what I thought. I thought I would be torn with sadness at the sites, smells, and sounds of the dire straights of poverty. But instead I saw women and children, boys and young men. I saw families together: women combing and braiding their children's hair, men watching their children play - Neighbors talking and families working at daily tasks of cooking, laundry, and cleaning. I saw a different kind of community. God gave me His eyes to see the beauty of people being people.
Upon arrival, the airport wasn't as dirty and gloomy as I thought. We had a difficult time with the luggage and had to tell many men 'no' to wanting to help with our luggage. They were looking to help in order to get a tip. One man, I had to grab my luggage back from as he started just walking off with it. After all, my food supplies for the week were in that bag. Outside of the airport we found our team who was forcefully telling other men "no help." The men working for our organization helped us to put the luggage on top the truck.
Prior to getting us at the airport, the team had gone to town to pick up supplies like pasta, rice, oatmeal, soap, and toilet paper. It was all in the center of the back of the truck and we were sitting on the sides of the truck.
Driving through the city and through town was absolutely amazing. Most touching to me was the children carrying water jugs or them playing in the water of the creeks and streams.
I saw women carrying all kinds of things on their heads, women cooking corn over open fires, and washing clothes in large basins. Many were just sitting and talking like it were a camping spot.
That's the best thing that I can relate it to - like each village or community was a camp site with friends and neighbors sitting around talking while the kids played.
Every once in a while I'd see someone with a cell phone and it was odd too see that in the middle of the otherwise primitive lifestyle.
One image I remember is this little shed size of a house. When I looked inside there was a kitchen table with a pink table cloth. Yes, that was home.
On our ride the roads were paved and very good but sometimes rough and bumpy to travel over. Each time the traffic stopped we all had a bit of anxiety that the people would come up to the truck, see the supplies stash, and plea for something.
One stop some men were selling water bottles and they grabbed on to the truck. They hung on, saw the supplies and said, "we are hungry." The gal with us told them firmly "no" and to get off the truck.
When we arrived at Alex's House we unloaded the luggage and took it to our rooms upstairs at the guest house. Our room had two sets of bunk beds on either side of the room and a bathroom down the hall. It was announced that dinner would be in a few minutes. I rushed to dig in my bag to find something quick to prepare for my dinner. (Long story here- but I have severe food allergies to the point of anaphylaxis so I packed all my own foods. Not to mention 4 epi-pens and tons of benedryl just in case!). I ended up in the kitchen boiling water in my sauce pot to make a boxed hash browns kit. Dinner was on a covered upper deck that over looked the ocean. It was breezy and nice to sit down and settle in.
God Thing: In the airport when we first arrived in Haiti, my phone music turned on by itself and was playing the Chris Tomlin song "My God He goes before me, He will be my guide. He sends His angel army, always by my side." When I worried about getting through the first leg of the trip, I was confident that the Lord was with me. He has held this trip for me since before I was born. He knows my every step and knows that this was in my life plan to do this work for Him. "He holds the whole world in His hands."
Comments
Post a Comment