Day 5 (August 14th) - Not Just Working...Walking

The day, for me (Shane Burgett), started off amazingly!  Not only was it the first night I slept in CLEAN cloths do to the fact we had just gotten our luggage the day before, but I woke up early that morning to simply have some “slow” time.  Once a typical day got started there was always something that could be done.  Sure, there were times throughout the day that we sat down and took a much needed break, but it seemed our breaks consisted of water, shade, and thinking about all that still needed to get done.  I wanted to have some time, where I did not have to think about what was coming next.

I woke up before the day had.  Most everyone was still asleep and there was literally nothing else to do, except take it slow and appreciate the present.  I went into the school and had some awesome time alone with my Savior.

At one point of enjoying my solitude, David walked in. The cool thing is that what was “my” solitude turned into “our” solitude.  We both sat there, bodies present, but our minds where beyond this world.  After a while, conversation struck and we started talking about what God has been doing in our hearts since this trip began.  What a blessing it was to sit there, and simply be the Body of Christ. I walked away from that time charged and excited to tackle that day’s challenges!

After breakfast, our morning basically consisted of spending time with the children.  This group seemed fluent in these kids’ universal language…playtime!  The girls played jump rope, blew bubbles, and colored, while the guys just did what guys do best…goof off!

Attempting to master the art of jumping rope.

I spent a good amount of the morning filming these different things.  At one point I was filming Josh playing with some kids.  I remember thinking about the time, earlier in the trip, Josh had mentioned how he missed playing with his son James.  As I was filming him, it hit me that he was loving these kids just like if they where James.  He honestly was loving these kids like if they where his own.  That made an impression on me.  At times I’m rather awkward with kids (might be due to my towering height) but I could see that Josh was simply showing them love and they understood.  God really showed me there that it was not about what I did with the kids, it was the heart I did it with.  These kids really did not care what you did with them. They just wanted love.  I knew I needed to get over this “awkwardness” and just love… and God would use me, like he was using Josh with those few boys.

Well, after lunch we gave the missionaries, Greg and Jasmine, the supplies we had packed into our luggage.  Prior to coming on this trip, we had found out that Kimberly Felix from Circle had actually been to this orphanage before!  She was able to fill us in with what the orphanage was really in need of and we made it a point to get as many supplies as we could.  Greg and Jasmine where quite surprised and blessed!  It’s amazing how so little can go so far when it’s truly needed.

Around 3pm we started hitting up the manual labor!  It’s funny, but everyday at 3pm the sky would fill up with clouds and we would have several hours of protection from the merciless sun.  The days prior we would work under the shining sun, and found our productivity to be quite disappointing due to the amount of heat and excess sun.  These few hours where very valuable because we could typically do at least four times the amount of work.  The guys hit up digging trenches and the girls started organizing the food tent.

Digging trenches as the afternoon clouds roll in.

During this trench digging, we guys ended up talking most of the time about chess.  You see, chess was the “thing” down there for most of the guys.  Due to it being ridiculously hot, we had no desire for playing any kind of sports, thus we still needed an outlet for our competitive natures.  We needed some sort of competition.  Well, now I understand why chess is considered a “sport”.  It can sure become a pretty intense sport!  It was just a fun time, because I remember being as a child, listening to Donnie share strategies, incites, and stories about chess.  You see, Donnie had really taken it seriously before Haiti, and had been part of clubs and even read a book on it.  Why that stands out, I’m not sure, but it was a blast and trench digging seemed to go much faster that day!

Donnie and Rigan locked in an intense game of chess.

The day wrapped up with dinner, worship, then Bible studying.  After Bible study the guys and girls started preparing for Sunday morning.  Both the guys and girls were going to do a skit or lesson for the children.  Besides that, nothing crazy really happened that day, which was actually a first!  It was nice to have a more predictable day, but yet it really wasn’t that predictable for me spiritually.  With God having been on my heart and mind before the day began, I remember actually feeling His presence throughout the day.  It was really the first day I felt like I was “walking” with Him and not just “working” for Him.  Throw that into any day, and it’s bound to be good!  So I think I can say with confidence, day five was a good day!

Day 4 (August 13th) - Luggage: It once was lost but now is found!

Michelle :)

The luggage came today!! Praise the Lord!! Some of it is wet (!?), but it’s all here!! Now we don’t have to do laundry constantly, and we can finally give them the supplies we brought! Hurray!

Breakfast was sweet cornmeal. I really like that stuff! All the food here has been really good. I attempted to feed Michelle. She has such a tiny mouth, and she loves to charm, chat, and socialize with anyone passing by, so it was a challenge for sure!



Hannah and I did laundry this morning.
It's pretty intense. Here, you fill a tub with water, add some super concentrated army soap, and you scrub and ring clothes until your arms burst with buffness. It definitely makes you appreciate your washer and dryer! Here WE are the washers and dryers! :)

Wilby!

The fan was nice :)

    Later, Hannah, Courtney, and I let some boys come into the classroom and color. Wilby looked me in the eye and colored on the table. I escorted him right out. The other boys played nicely. They kept saying "Finished!" and we'd say "Okay, then you can go." And they'd laugh and say "No finished!" and keep coloring. They really like the classroom. It's a special treat for them, and it's always nice to be indoors when it's so hot out.

While we were doing that, Regina sorted the MRE tent like a mad woman. :) Meanwhile, Josh, David, Greg, and Jasmine went to town in hopes of getting our  luggage (which we still weren’t sure we’d get).

For lunch, we got to pick out whichever MRE appealed to us. Hannah, Donnie, and I swapped around our Mac ’N’ Cheese, Beef Stew, and Chicken Cannelloni selections. I really don’t know how they do it, but the food actually tastes pretty good! Yay for food scientists!

The MRE Tent
O_O

Rigan!

It rained pretty heavily while we ate. Shane and I were sitting toward the middle of the food tent, so our chairs were submerged in about 2 ½ inches of water. After lunch, the boys and Rigan (an awesome nurse who helps out at OLTCH) dug trenches to channel the rain flow away from the dining area and tents.

After lunch (and some R and R in the form of cards) we brought supplies into the classroom and sorted them there. Pretty nice, cool (with the fan), and efficient. We were able to get a lot done.

 Some of the boys got in trouble today. We told Jasmine about the culprits when she returned, and she was truly thankful that we told her. She said most of the visitors let the boys get away with things, so she was glad the boys were able to see that others see what they do and that their behavior will not be tolerated. It made me sad to tell on them, but I know their behavior will hurt them and their country if it isn’t curbed now at a young age. Jasmine said the boys that have been there for a while are beginning to understand, and they don’t cause trouble anymore. She hopes the others will do the same.

Miracle! David said cars were being stopped and checked for insurance on the way back home. Their car has faulty insurance because of how slow and complicated it is to get any sort of paperwork through in Haiti, so the car, now containing our luggage and a bunch of fresh groceries, would have been impounded on the spot. They prayed, and they didn’t get inspected! Woot! Yay God! The inspector flagged them on and they were able to make it back safe and sound.

Gideon with paper fan :)

Gideon

For dinner we had rice, beef, and veggies with bread and German butter from a tube! Pretty fabulous. After dinner, we played with the kids. We didn’t have worship with the kids tonight, but they did break out into worship songs during the day. Especially Gideon. He led the boys in a long and rousing chorus of Amazing Gwace. SO cute!


When I went back to my tent, I noticed that the boys had dropped off my luggage. Hurray! I felt like a kid at Christmas! Clothes and all manner of wonderful liquids: lotions, sunscreen, bug spray, perfume, shampoo and conditioner, and more! There
was an extra flashlight and more clean socks than a woman could ever ask for!

(Side note: Special thanks to Christina Metcalf for suggesting that we bring one spare pair of clothes in our carry-ons!! I’m pretty sure that was divine inspiration!)

They say you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. Well I say you never appreciate something so much until you have it, lose it, and get it back again!! I feel like God used this to show us that He will provide for us no matter what, but loved us enough to reunite us with our stuff once again. If it had never come, He would have still provided everything we needed (and He had been through Jasmine and Greg while we were luggageless) but we’re so very glad to have the luggage again! :)

Before bed, we made our shower runs. I’m getting pretty fast! You have no idea how refreshing a shower is after a day in Haiti’s heat and dirt! (Side note: Americans, you live like kings! You have your own showers with hot and cold CLEAN water that costs you pennies. Be thankful!)

After that, we had some team time. We prayed and had some good discussion on the upper room discourse.

Soon after, we went to our tents, and I, for one, slept like a rock next to my once lost but now found luggage. Ah, sweet slumber! God is so good!

Sarah

Day 3 (August 12th) – Trying to fit into a new culture (and a small pair of clothes)

So cool!

This is Day 3 in Haiti, and we have definitely had an adventure so far. We still don’t have our luggage. Maybe our hosts could smell us, because today Jasmine gave us guys some fresh clothes to wear. Keep in mind, this is an orphanage, and the oldest male child is around 11, so guess what size clothes we wore! It’s a good thing we’re all pretty skinny. It was funny to see Josh wearing short shorts, a sweat band, and a sleeveless muscle shirt while walking a goat. Classic. These are some of the tightest clothes I’ve ever worn, but we are definitely blessed to have them! God continues to provide for us.

The boys helping us dig

For breakfast we had bread with honey and hardboiled eggs. The eggs provided us some much-needed protein which helped us dig trenches today in Haiti’s blazing heat. We hit rocks, so we had to break out the pickaxes. The little boys helped us out some, but Jasmine didn’t think that was such a good idea. We didn’t get as much done today as I would have liked. I think the heat kind of slowed us down. Tomorrow I want to wait until after the rain when it’s cooler outside so we can get a whole lot done all at once.

Sarah and Hannah painting

While we did that, the girls did a great job painting the classroom. Jasmine said they did such a good job that she wants them to paint her house too.

Thank God for the Canadians who brought OLTCH so many palates of water! The guys and I went through quite a few bottles of water today; it’s easy to get dehydrated here. Jasmine gave us a whole box of electrolyte drink packets in different flavors. I think I tried all the flavors today. The lemon-lime is my favorite.  

Lizard on the water palates 

MREs for lunch. The ones with “chicken” in them kind of frighten me. They’re well-seasoned, but the texture… hmm… not exactly natural. I poured mine over some rice and it was pretty good.

The girls were so kind as to do our laundry for us today. Unfortunately, a heavy rain came around 3pm and soaked all of the clothes just when they were starting to get dry. After that, the humidity pretty much kept them wet through the evening. Hopefully they will dry by tomorrow morning.

We had rice and beans for dinner. It was really well seasoned! I hope we have it again soon.

Gideon, Wilby, and me

After dinner, we sang worship songs with the kids. We all gathered in front of the girls’ building. Jasmine and some of the ladies who work there led the group in several songs, mostly in Creole. Some of it was in English. It’s really neat to worship with a group of people who don’t speak your language but still worship the same God with all their heart. It’s especially encouraging to hear the children sing and worship God. I’m not sure how much they really understand, but I pray that they will all be saved someday.

Later, we met as a team in the classroom and had our Bible study on John and the upper room discourse. We talked about the day and prayed that our luggage would come. I really hope it does. These clothes are quite tight. But God still provides, and I, for one, am really blessed to be here!

Donnie

Day 2 (August 11th) - Life without Luggage, but with a Great Provider

Waking up in an unfamiliar place is always a little disorienting, but waking up in Haiti seemed particularly strange to me.  Perhaps it was the fact that we had arrived in the dark and everything looked different in the daytime.  Perhaps it was because we had lots of kids watching our every move from the time we first stepped out of our tents.  Or perhaps it was just that I had traveled all day, slept all night, and gone to breakfast in the same set of clothing that I had put on yesterday morning…  Whatever it was, the foreignness of this land was soon overwhelmed by a deep love for the kids and the missionaries that we had come to serve.  I am thoroughly enjoying myself and am so thankful that God gave us this opportunity to come to Haiti!

After breakfasting on oatmeal in the large mess tent at 7am, Jasmine Martinson gave us a tour of the orphanage compound. Then she and Greg went over the rules, schedule, and possible work projects with us. 

Before the earthquake on January 12^th, the orphanage was located in a building that was just down the road a bit from the field that they are in now.  That building was seriously damaged in the earthquake, so the Martinsons knew that they didn’t want to stay there. They ended up renting this field from someone they know, and have set up camp here.  Although it is quite primitive, it is very safe and orderly compared to the rest of Haiti, from what we’ve seen. 

At this point, the Martinsons, the girls, and the babies are all living in temporary buildings, which are constructed out of 2x4s and plywood.  However, the boys are still in a tent.  If the supplies arrive, we hope to be able to work on a building for them to sleep in.  While we are here, we will be sleeping in tents too, so it looks like we’re in for an adventure.

As for bathroom facilities, this piece of land has a septic tank under it, which allowed the Martinsons to put in a nice double outhouse.  There is also a well, which provides them with water for showers and laundry.  However, in order to run the well pump, they must use a generator, which gets expensive. So, we’ll be taking some very short, but much appreciated showers.

After explaining everything to us, Jasmine encouraged us to spend the day getting to know the kids, rather than diving into big work projects.  Since we had no work clothes and also because we wanted to play with the kids, Sarah, Courtney, Regina, and I decided that this was a great idea and prepared to do a craft with the kids in the classroom building. We spent hours making foam crowns, first with the girls and then with the boys.  It was fun to call the kids princesses and princes and tell them how pretty or handsome they looked, and they seemed to have a wonderful time too. One neat thing about doing this on the first day was that crowns came with foam letters, and we helped the kids put their names on their crowns, which allowed us to start learning each of their names.  After we finished that, we just spent time with the kids, playing around outside.

Although David, Donnie, Shane, and Josh also spent most of the day playing with kids, they also began on one of the work projects.  Swinging picks and shovels, they cleared and enlarged some of the trenches that are around most of the tents.  These channels are very important, since they collect the runoff from the almost daily rainstorms here.  If the trenches aren’t there or they’re too small, the water collects in the middle of the tents, which disrupts everything, as you may well imagine.

Lunch was some yummy mashed potatoes and gravy, and then we spent more time loving on the kids in the afternoon. 

In the midst of the craziness of our first day here, we had many moments to talk with Jasmine and Greg about all the ways that God has provided for them.  One of the most amazing stories they told us was about how He supplied them with enough food and water to feed an army. 

Soon after the earthquake, the Martinsons worked hard to get everything set up here in this field, with just a few tents and supplies, and whole lot of uncertainty ahead of them.  They knew God would provide as He had before, but they had not an inkling of how He would do it. 

One day, some Canadian military helicopters flew too low over the area where the orphanage is set up now, and they destroyed all of their tents.  Discouraged and distraught over the loss of their shelters, the Martinsons just had to trust that God did know what He was doing. 

The next day, the Canadian military showed up at the front gate of the orphanage, asking if there was anything that they could do to help.  Day after day, these soldiers kept coming back, bringing new and larger tents, and enough bottled water and MREs to feed them for months – literally.  They have been eating MREs for months already and they have several months worth left; the counter-tops in the kitchen and the benches in the church tent are all made of stacked MRE boxes. As for the bottled water, there are pallets and pallets of it lining the walls of the orphanage compound.  It is amazing!  In addition to bringing tents, food, and water, the Canadian military also set up plumbing and electricity for the orphanage.

Adding to the already extraordinary tale, Jasmine, who is Canadian, told us that she met a couple of her distant relatives among the soldiers.  It really is a small world, isn’t it?

It was encouraging to hear how God has provided for the Martinsons and these kids, and we are continually amazed and amused by how God is providing for us while we are here without our luggage.  When we were at the Port-au-Prince airport, waiting for our luggage, I remember thinking that it would be slightly funny if it never showed up.  In actuality, although it is somewhat inconvenient, it has been a good experience so far.  If one of us doesn’t have something that he or she needs, then either one of our teammates does or else the Martinsons do, and we are well taken care of.  God is so good and He is providing for our every need! 

This evening we began our study on the upper room discourse in John chapters 13-17, led by Shane. During this trip, we will be delving into this meaningful passage of scripture and I expect some great discussions to come out of it.

Tonight, we are again going to bed hot and tired, but excited to see how God will use us here in the next several days!

Hannah

The mess tent

The girls' tent

Daveson with his crown

   

Day 1 (August 10th) - The Journey

Hello from Haiti! This has been, without a doubt, one of the craziest days of my life. It’s difficult to describe everything I’ve seen, smelled, heard, and felt in the last 24 hours, but I’ll do my best.

The team gathered at the church around 8:30 this morning, and after bittersweet goodbyes to family and friends, we were on our way to OIA. Our flight to Haiti was in two parts. We flew from Orlando to Miami and then from Miami to Port-au-Prince. Flying into Port-au-Prince was a breathtaking experience. Haiti is a very mountainous country, and from the air it looked like a giant, tropical paradise. That was the end of the “normal” part of the trip for me. From the moment we landed in Haiti, everything was far, far from normal.

The first abnormality was our method of exiting the plane. Instead of the usual “arm” that connects the plane to the terminal, we exited the plane on a ladder. We then stood awkwardly on the tarmac with the other passengers until buses came and drove us to the customs checkpoint / baggage claim area at the far end of the airport. The customs and baggage claim were all inside a giant metal warehouse. The building was hot, crowded, and dimly lit. After standing in line for 20 or 30 minutes, we made it through customs and walked the few feet over to the baggage claim. It was a madhouse. People were pushing and shouting, giant fans were roaring, and the baggage carousel was humming. We squeezed our way up to the carousel and started searching for our luggage. One by one, the other passengers located their luggage and disappeared. Not one of our bags had been found. Josh went to the baggage claim desk, but they couldn’t help us. The best they could do was tell us they’d call when the bags arrived. It had been about 2 hours since we landed, so we finally gave up.

For the drive to the orphanage, we split into two groups. Josh, Hannah, Sarah, and Courtney went with Greg Martinson, who runs the orphanage with his wife, Jasmine. Shane, Donnie, Regina, and I packed into the other car with two Haitian men we didn’t know. I had to share the front passenger seat with one of the men, who Greg referred to as “Johnson.” Suffice it to say that sharing a seat with another full grown man while driving on Haitian roads is not a exactly a pleasant experience.

Words can’t really describe the drive to the orphanage that night. We’d been warned about what we would see on the drive, but I was definitely not prepared for that experience. I was expecting to ride safely in the back of an air-conditioned van down a smooth country highway all the way to Leogane, much like we did in Mexico. Instead, I was hanging out the window of a beaten up SUV in the thick of Port-au-Prince traffic with swarms of people walking and running all around us. Trucks and other SUVs would come within inches of us on either side, and if there was ever room for a moped to fit through the gap, you could bet that a stream of them would come zipping through it.

After about 30 minutes of driving, it began to rain. Johnson, who was already agitated by the traffic, became even more jumpy and told us that if it continued to rain, the only road to Leogane would be impassible and we would have to spend the night in Port-au-Prince.

It rained off and on for the next 30 minutes or so. After about an hour, we finally reached the stretch of road that was prone to flooding. Thankfully the water was just low enough for us to pass. Johnson said that if it had rained just a few more minutes the water would’ve been too deep.

We got to talking with Johnson during the ride and found out he’s actually a Haitian police chief, which was comforting to know. We later learned he is chief of the Special Forces branch – even more comforting. He told us several interesting facts about what he does. He works closely with the president of Haiti and also serves as an escort and security for important politicians and diplomats during their visits to Haiti. He’s gotten to meet the likes of Sarah Palin, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. In fact, that very morning he’d seen George Bush off at the Port-au-Prince airport!

After three grueling hours of driving, we abruptly reached our destination. It had been such an exhausting day of travel that everything seemed more like a dream at that point than reality. Jasmine emerged from the darkness and helped us unload what little baggage we had. She then led us into a big tent with wooden tables inside and served us a Haitian meal of rice and an interesting “gravy”. We ate and had a quick team meeting before Greg took us around and showed us the basic necessities. Finally we split up and went to our tents, guys in one, girls in another. We’re tired, sweaty, and luggageless, but we can hardly wait for tomorrow!

David

The Beginning

Greetings!

This is the blog for the Circle Community Church College Group's mission trip to Haiti! We recently returned from our trip, the dates of which were August 10-19, 2010. On this trip, we served at an orphanage in the city of Leogane, about 20 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The internet connection was poor and unreliable, so we were not able to update this blog during our time there. Instead, we've decided to do the next best thing: record a day-by-day account as if we were there! Each member of the team will post a recap of a given day of the trip as if they'd just lived it. In doing so, we hope to recreate the trip for you as you read along.

For the team,

David Farrell