"Spring 2012 Haiti mission trip, a reward for the soul after my first semester of graduate school. The Intergenerational Rock Band concert finished past eight, then after stopping home, I hit the road towards my dad, the Peace Covenant Presbyterian team, and Missionary Flights International in Fort Pierce. We flew out (literally) a couple of hours later. We landed in Exuma and Cap Haitien (on earth and grass) before our final destination of Port-au-Prince. A missionary named Roger escorted us to the transport bus and drove the insanity he assured us are just normal Haitian streets. We were overwhelmed by the amount of struggle and hardship so apparent all across the city. The beautiful Baptist Haiti Mission compound was a miraculous sight after all we had seen.
"A house is your bank. It is your savings account. Houses are left 'under construction' for years as they're gradually able to be developed. Everything appears to be unfinished mounds of broken cinder blocks. The state of existence around the entire country is shocking. Words nor pictures could describe a third world country completely. Despite the conditions, I've observed the brightest of emotions. People seem so much more connected to one another. The cacophany is routine, but so is the the sense of community.
"Day 2 - We toured the compound, bartered for fresh vegetables in the local market, bought, loaded, and unloaded 600 cement blocks, and began construction on a home. Showers and food that night felt amazing. The food available to the compound is surprisingly delicious, and there's plenty of it. The BHM provides education (i.e., terrace farming), medical care, employment, housing, and more, but also nourishes our own American souls. We all bond and feel God's presence. We grow as humans and as Christians. We see what is possible in this world, pray before and after everything, and most powerfully, will sure savor the coming Sunday, the day of God given rest.
"I was much more awake this second night than yesterday, after a full day, rock concert, six hour drive, and a 4:30 alarm to get ready for the day's international transport. The evening devotional and reflective discussion was really nice, engaging and thinking aloud with a now intimate group. I'm much more spiritual than religious, and though I define God as the whole of existence, Jesus as the model symbol of and model for humanity, and the Holy Spirit as some learned intuition or phenomenological sense of morality with a call to action, I'm feeling very comfortable and connected with this Christian religion. So much depends on the company you keep. I believe religion is a human construct to explain and guide existence, but as a myth perpetually enacted, it becomes reality, and often a preferrable sense of reality. Religions keep us together, fills us with purpose, defines right from wrong, and establishes an everlasting humanity.
"Day 3 - We worked hard. Very hard. Heavy labor the whole day. It was a lot of fun. There are a variety yet limited number of jobs, and the group trades and works where needed. We depended on teamwork. We were a single machine, and each piece was necessary. After screening a pile of sand, I had the great joy of playing futball with a young boy and speaking pidgeon French-ish creole with the other kids. One human family.
"Nobody gives a back massage like a dad. After any strenuous day, I feel alive by stretching, and feel incredibly recharged after some breathing and opening up.
"Dinner featured a special pumpkin soup, with a slow spice. Locals celebrate independence with this soup composed of all things they were prohibited from eating throughout slavery. Such extremes of coordinated missionwork, discussion, and pure fellowship make us feel very unified and single-minded, through Christ. Mrs. Turnbull visited during dinner, a bright and clear witness of God. One memorable concept: Ask God not only for insight, but LONG SIGHT to think ahead.
"I'm excited to sleep because dreams have seemed so vibrant and frequent. I miss Katy very much; I think of her constantly. Well, quite often despite the cultural and communal stimuli. I sense her presence, even in the way I move and think, as if still with her.
"Day 4 - We attended a bible class. Residents sat against one wall, we upon another, Haitians at the center table, and the leader at the opposite end of the table. Though I appreciated the proverbs (and definiton of 'wisdom') we opened with, I did not agree with the didactic religious constructs discussed. Church service began while we sat in the class, and my focus was fully entertained. When we stepped out, I was carried to the sanctuary, wholly filled with the Holy Spirit. The music was so beautiful and divine, empathic and human. Truly, filled with the Holy Spirit.
"We spent our Sunday afternoon of 'rest' hiking down the mountain to a waterfall. Arduous trek, but gorgeous taste of true Haiti. I can't imagine this much effort just to access a source of water, or going all the way down and up to another peak altogether in suit and tie for church. We went to Elsa's for a third service. I got to play a baby grand piano on a mountain in Haiti. Roger joined us for dinner (and hot sauce) and brownies (with peanut butter) after the service. We've a tight group, and even Roger seemed to enjoy the intimate fellowship.
"Day 5 - We worked really hard. Always. Samedi was the roughest labor, but I definitely hit a wall today, fighting my muscles to move.
"This journal has certainly been a personal account, a selfish point of view, which has been the utter antithesis of my whole deeply social experience. When we first landed in PAP, I tried to photograph the trash and devastation, but now I hope to convey the inner simple beauty that one must experience to understand.
"How fitting that I open the bible to find Proverbs 24:3.
"Day 6 - BHM has pre-sifted sand, fine enough for stucco. Thank God, perhaps literally. Steve and I stayed on the compound to replenish the sand while the team (Dad, Bill, Niels, Randy, Libby, Jen, our translators Benjamin and Able, plus the hired construction crew) headed to the work site. My arms bore the heat of a thousand suns! Even without hyperbole, it was rough and I chose over and over again to exceed my limit, just to go on. I appreciate and do thoroughly enjoy the trip, but have reached a point now when I'm thinking of home more often than not. Especially during repetitive physical labor, I can think only of Katy. It is really tough to be without even any form of communication.
"Day 7 - The true day of rest. We dedicated the house through scripture, message, and song. The interior floor was inscribed with 'S 118,' meaning Psalm 118. Dad, Neils, Steve and I went to the schools afterwards. We met Valdo, the young boy Dad has begun supporting throughout primary school.
"After lunch with a gorgeous mountain view, we walked the streets nearby the BHM compound. I fell in love with one painting and knew how to settle on a $20 deal. I wanted a necklace for Katy, but all the jewlery was made of leather, braided, or beaded, and nothing befit my Katybaby. The painting is 'ours,' and either in Tallahassee or New Orleans where we will very soon visit, some small token will speak and serve as a physical reminder of my care and compassion while she studies abroad in London this summer. After laboring as hard as most Haitains do and knowing how little they earn, the thought of international travel is an astonishing miracle to be praised.
"We dined with the other BHM missionaries as usual, and tonight they shared another ongoing project: cereal boxes rolled, schlacked, and beaded into necklaces and bracelets. Several of us followed Elsa home for delightful conversation and to hear her incredible experiences with Vudou and with Christianity in Haiti.
"We've dedicated time to: a very enhanced awareness of universely human features, cultural differences, and all that is God's body; gorgeous human beings, the power of community, and the sum of a symbolic Jesus Christ; and a tempered will, heightened compassion, and a magnified communion with the Holy Spirit within us.
"Day 8 - A day of travel. It began with a double rainbow, a last hearty breakfast with coffee (oh! and we bought some bold mountain grown coffee to brew back home), and a newfound sense of spiritual growth. Dad took better note of names and details. Pictures will inspire memories. The bible will further inspire and offer a common language, however we may choose to speak it. The world will seem very different. Amongst the culture shock of returning home may we be wiser, more loving, and always strive to establish finer fellowship.
"Post Script - Haiti's history of leadership is rough. As an example, Papa Doc, who declared himself President for Life and convinced the Pope to appoint him Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, had the Lord's Prayer rewritten to be the catechism of the revolution: 'Our Doc, who art in the National Palace for life, hallowed by They name by present and future generations. Thy will be done in Port-au-Prince as it is in the provinces. Give us this day our new Haiti and forgive not the trespasses of those antipatriots who daily spit upon our country. Lead them into temptation, and poisoned by their own venom, deliver them from no evil. Amen.'"
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