Haiti: Week Four.

Alright, here is the fourth and final week of Haiti!

Day 22 - June 10

Our final Sunday in Haiti.

Thankfully this week, 

we stayed and went to church in Boucan la Marre, 

instead of driving all the way to L'Anse a Galets. 

So we had church, 

lunch, 

and good ole chill time. 

There was the typical afternoon walk,

a touch a prank pulling,

but mostly just relaxing. 

That night started a week long revival at the church in Boucan la Marre. 

Some of the church members from Point Sable came for it. 

(Over a four hour hike through the mountains)

It was an unexpected surprise to get to see them again.

The revival was...interesting. 

Mostly it was just the young man who was preaching that night, 

he was only about 21, 

and he still has a lot to learn. 

After church was rather...eventful. 

Basically we saw a GIANT TARANTULA. 

And I had a hissy fit. 

(so did everyone else)

Kaiti was able to capture this moment on video,
hopefully it fully displays what we were feeling at this difficult time. 

Day 23 - June 11

This started our last full week in Haiti. 

Surreal. 

We started the day with the usual,

a few work,

and the rest try to find work. 

Some sifted sand, 

some carried water, 

some cleaned starfish, 

etc. 

Then we played with the kids at school. 

At the school I tended to sit along the wall and just kinda chill, 

I wasn't really down for playing soccer with 50 Haitians boys.

So I typically became the target of the little girls' favorite game,

"I dare you to touch the white person!"

That was always amusing!

She was my favorite, because she was the sweetest.

She would just sit there and rub my non hairy legs,

(they really surprised her, everyone is hairy there).

Day 24 - June 12

The day started out as usual. 

Work.

Sort of work.

Play.

Rest. 

Eat.

Rest.

Walk.

Eat.

Rest.

It would typically end with sleep,

except that this day did not end with sleep.

It ended with rain. 

Our first experience in the tents with a nice HARD rain. 

They held up for a little while, 

but not super long. 

The boys abandoned their tent pretty early,

(it was kinda sketch from the beginning).

And then the rest of us followed suit. 

One of the girls' tents held up pretty well,

(thanks to Kyle Johnson)

there wasn't any water in there and they slept in it all night. 

The other sleepers however, 

had to get creative. 

The boys went and joined Kefin (the guard) in his room,

and the girls (except Jill and Allie) commandeered the kitchen in Pastor Pierre's house. 

Day 25 - June 13

Well the night made for an interesting morning. 

Around 4 a.m. Jill came in and said she had a fever, 

she took Sarah's place in the house and Sarah went out to the tent. 

The next morning we went to survey the wreckage. 

I was surprised to find that it really wasn't that bad,

our tent had a few puddles, 

but nothing a mop couldn't handle. 

Nothing essential got wet, 

mostly just dirty clothes and a book or two. 

We didn't work in the morning. 

The rain had filled all the water drums,

and the sand was too wet to sift. 

So no work for us. 

Which was a good thing because everyone was exhausted.

But here's some pictures of what our carrying and sifting helped to accomplish over the two weeks there.

 These walls were all just cinderblock when we arrived.

Now they're smooth and ready for paint!

This room had no floor or interior walls.

Kevin, Jon and I did go and hang out during recess. 

I don't know what was going on that day,

but it was pure craziness. 

These two boys got into a fight about a soccer ball, 

and for whatever reason that lead to fights breaking out all across the schoolyard.

I felt like I was watching a prison riot, 

except I wasn't in a prison,

I was in a Haitian elementary school. 

It was crazy. 

Day 26 - June 14

We didn't work this morning either. 

There wasn't much for us to do and we only had a day or so until we left,

so we just took it easy.

I think everyone was still recovering from the rainy night too.

So we hung out.

We did take some bets,

(all in good fun),

Pastor Alfonso arrived today from the States,

and we took bets on what time he was going to get here,

(I won, I said 3:45 p.m. and he pulled in at 3:43 p.m. HOLLA)

and also on how many bags of alcohol wipes he would bring,

(I was way off, I said 4 and he showed up with 11!).

Later that afternoon, 

while Pastor Alfonso was resting,

we decided to pull another prank.

We took the dead tarantula from the other night, 

and placed it on his shoes.

He didn't react quite like we had hoped, 

but hey, it was still pretty good. 

Day 27 - June 15

Our last day in Boucan la Marre. 

Excuse me, WHAT?!?!

So our day was spent packing, 

sorting, 

resting, 

etc. 

We did make it interesting. 

We all voted on who was the weirdest.

We ranked everyone from weirdest to most normal,

9 being the weirdest, 

and 1 the most normal.

Here's how it went:

9. Hailey

8. Jillian

7. Kevin

6. Jonathan

5. Sarah

4. Chase

3. Allie

2. Me

1. Kaiti

That afternoon we also took our last hike around the mountain,

and went to all of our favorite spots.

Guillaume even joined us. 

We also spent some time with some of the church members. 

Day 28 - June 16

It was an early start at 4 a.m. 

We got up and packed up and started to head down the mountain. 

The taxi was supposed to meet us at 3 a.m., but he never showed, 

so we all had to pack it in the one truck,

in true Haitian fashion. 

The taxi eventually met us on the mountain, 

he was having truck trouble,

the trouble being that his truck didn't work.

We headed on down to L'Anse a Galets to catch a boat over to the mainland, 

where we would spend the next two nights at a resort. 

The boat ride was different from our past experiences,

it wasn't the slow pirate ship type, 

it was more of the fast treacherous type.

I don't know if I can fully describe it, 

but I would liken it to riding a mechanical bull,

while on a speedboat,

while people threw buckets of saltwater on me from all directions. 

We were able to document our experience with a short video

But we made it to the hotel where we were going to be staying, 

we all felt like feral children trying to be civilized. 

We all ate a delicious meal and went to our BEDS and slept. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent sleeping,

eating, 

or laying on the beach. 

It was awesome!

Day 29 - June 17

We got up and had some breakfast,

and we prepared to go into Port au Prince to do a little souvenir shopping.

It's not very safe for Americans to be in Port au Prince,

but we were in very capable hands,

Pastor Pierre had some friends on the police force. 

They were our ride into the city, 

the driver also called in some backup,

so there was a plethora of armed guards watching over us at the market. 

Legit, huh?

Day 30 - June 18

We got up nice and early and we went back to AMERICA!

It was sad to be leaving,

but it was also really nice to be going home! 

There really isn't any place quite like home. 

Haiti: Week Three.

Here's a rundown of Week Three. 

Day 15 - June 3

Our first night back in Boucan la Marre,

at some point during the night the dogs started going CRAZY. 

My thought process went something like this: 

"Holy crap these dogs are ripping someone apart...

...Or there's just a lot of dogs...

...Should I go look?...

...Could I even help?...

...This is scary...

...Stay in your tent...

...THIS IS HAITI!"

So after that "restful" night's sleep, it was time for another day of Haitian church.
However,
this go around proved rather difficult.
We start the Sunday morning early,
because we are going to L'Anse a Galets for church,
and it's about an hour or so of treacherous mountain non-roads to get there.
For an added bonus,
2/3 of the team are hit with "the sickness"
(a.k.a. hardcore diarrhea).
So we drive on down to church.
We get there with everyone on the verge of carsickness,
on top of "the sickness,"
and for the cherry on top,
this church has no toilet.
Instead,
they have the world's oldest outhouse.
Well, it's more like an outcorner with a lace curtain for a door,
it's covered in a lifetime's worth of "bathroom things,"
there is no toilet paper,
(luckily someone brought baby wipes)
there are flies EVERYWHERE,
and the "hole" is radiating and uncomfortable amount of heat.
Needless to say,
this day was not looking too bright.

Church was fine,
it was pretty awkward because of where we were sitting;
we were sitting kind of at the front,
so if there would have been a stage,
we would have been on it.

After church,
it was time for lunch,
the church members had cooked for us.
It all looked delicious,
sadly none of us really wanted to look at food, much less eat it.

Plus, the entire eating process was just weird.
We were seated in this room,
at a table that was way to large for the space it occupied,
with all the Haitians standing around us watching,
and the ladies standing behind us attempting to swat away flies with a towel.
And while they were getting the flies,
they were also getting us,
right in the face,
as they wave their undeodorized arms right above my head.

Thankfully we left,
and we returned to Boucan la Marre,
where we had a TOILET.
Hallelujah!

That night we went to church in Boucan la Marre,
it was more like the church in Point Sable,
which means it was loud and lively.
One thing was different,
the majority of the church members had leaves shoved up their noses,
we couldn't figure out what they were for,
so we just assumed it was because it smelled bad in the church.
We were later informed that they were in fact marijuana leaves.
Church was kinda crazy that night.

Day 16 - June 4
Our first day of work in Boucan la Marre proved to be VERY different from work in Point Sable.
The main difference being,
there really wasn't much work for us.
Every morning our task was to fill these three drums with water from the well,
and to sift sand.
Filling the water never took longer than 30 minutes,
and sifting required 3 people max.

Sarah and Kaiti sifting sand so the workers can make cement. 

So we settled into a routine of finding random things to do, 

until the school kids had recess from 10:00-11:00. 

So today,

Sarah and I tried to help in the kitchen, 

she helped with some of the dishes and then we both made juice.

Then they told us that was all and we were on our way. 

So basically the mornings consisted of random work, 

playing with kids, 

and chilling out until lunch. 

The afternoons consisted of reading, 

sleeping, 

playing cards, 

walks, 

and yoga until dinner. 

It was a nice routine. 

Today however was interrupted by the beginning of the plague that hit our team this week.

Chase got good and sick and had to be taken to L'Anse a Galets to the hospital.

So around 10:00 PM,

Pastor Pierre, Hailey, Kaiti, Kevin, Chase and Jillian,

all headed down the mountain to the hospital. 

Jon, Sarah, Allie and I were left alone. 

Which was perfectly fine, 

we learned how to play Haitian cards with Myriam (Pastor Pierre's daughter), 

and Madame Carmelle (Pastor Pierre's wife). 

Day 17 - June 5

The hospitalers didn't return until around 10:30 the next morning. 

So the four of us left behind were on our own.

We were going to work, 

but the Haitians wouldn't let us.

We were going to go for a walk,

but then discovered we had run out of water.

So we were going to help make juice for lunch,

but we had run out of water. 

So instead we just hung out until everyone got back.

When they did return,

Chase was looking and feeling much better, 

but everyone looked like they had gone to a hospital in Haiti,

a.k.a. well worn. 

So the rest of the day was spent resting and relaxing, 

and enjoying the few short hours of no one throwing up. 

Day 18 - June 6

I awoke this morning to the roosters, 

a very old lady sweeping mango leaves right outside the tent,

and Kevin puking. 

GOOD MORNING.

We still had some Cipro shots that the doctor had given to them at the hospital the day before,

so Pastor Pierre found someone in the village to give Kevin a shot in his pasty white butt. 

We don't really know who the guy was, 

we later found out that he was the bass player in the church band,

and was somehow qualified to give shots. 

But we were quite thankful for that strange man,

because Kevin's recovery time was infinitely lessened. 

So once he was safely asleep in his tent, 

the rest of us loaded up in the truck and headed to the market.

Market was a really cool experience,

we got to see a real Haitian market and not just a tourist one. 

There were many new sights, 

and many new smells. 

But it was fun to get some snacks and treats, 

we even got popsicles! 

That afternoon was filled with more rest and walks. 

Walks really became the highlights of my days! 

It was our chance to get out and do some exploring! 

This was one of our favorite spots to walk to in the afternoons. 

Day 19 - June 7

Today was the usual routine in Boucan la Marre. 

Work.

Try to find more work.

Rest. 

Eat.

Rest.

Walk.

Rest. 

Eat.

Rest.

Sleep. 

I don't recall anyone being sick,

but someone probably was.

Day 20 - June 8

Sarah fell victim to the plague today. 

So she slept and the rest of us "worked."

Some sifted and some helped the workers with the cement. 

Hailey and Kevin and I found ourselves jobless,

so we took to cleaning our captured sea creatures.

We worked out quite the system.

Hailey cleaning the starfish. 

After that it was more walking, 

exploring, 

reading, 

resting, 

etc.

Day 21 - June 9

Given that today was a Saturday, 

there was even less work for us than usual. 

So we opted for a morning walk.

That was fun, 

everyone except for Sarah went,

she was still not feeling well. 

But after the walk was the usual,

lunch,

rest,

dinner, 

rest, 

sleep. 

My home for the 4 weeks I was in Haiti.

Our home in Boucan la Marre. 

The area with the chairs and hammocks became known as our "living room."

Yes, our days in Boucan la Marre were quite busy.

Haiti: Week Two.

Alright, time to take you through week two in Haiti. 

Just a recap, 

we had just arrived and began work in Point Sable,

work that consisted of carrying really heavy things up mountains.

Day 8 - May 27 

Our first Sunday in Haiti. 

We were told church would start at about 7,

but what that means is,

church might start around 9:30,

so come when you hear music. 

I will say this, 

Haitians know how to praise the Lord.
Every person from the itty bitty babies,
to the oldest of grandmas,
was breaking it down for the Lord.
That church was in full on dance party for at least an hour.
It was awesome.

Later that afternoon,
whilst more hair braiding was occurring,
a young woman from the church came by with her new born baby.
The ladies told us that the baby was sick,
they kept telling us that he had a fever in his stomach,
and asked if there was anything we could do.
So we played doctor to this,
4 pound,
2 week old baby.
And yes,
it was very frightening.

The villagers told us that he was doing better after we gave him some medicine, 

but we don't really know,

they never brought him back out again. 

So we're just going to trust that the Lord is taking care of this sweet little baby. 

Day 9 - May 28

Our day of rest was short lived, 

it was back to work today. 

We broke back into team rock and team sand,

and we started carrying heavy stuff up the mountain. 

For the first 15 minutes, the Haitians switched us from team rock to team water, 

that is, until they saw how inefficient we were at carrying water up the mountain. 

We were promptly returned to team rock. 

After our morning of work, 

we took to swimming to cool off. 

Pastor Junior wanted to show us the rest of the village,

so he took us to a different beach than our usual spot.

It was farther away, 

and not quite as beautiful,

but it was fully stocked with sand dollars!

Everyone, (except me), found some. 

After the swim I got my hair braided again, 

this time in rasta braids.

I was not a fan.

My bangs formed a V,

right around my Y-vein,

and that was just one too many letters on my forehead. 

Day 10 - May 29

It was our first night with rain. 

It wasn't enough rain to really mess anything up,

but just enough rain to be really annoying. 

So no one slept well,

which made our morning of work a bit more difficult. 

And the fact that we now had to fetch sand from a beach

much farther away also made it more trying. 

But we always had our afternoons of swim and shade to turn the day around. 

Also, I found a starfish!

So that helped.

My rasta braids weren't cutting it, 

so Sarah and Jon helped me take them out.

And then Pastor Junior saw us and gave us COKES!

It was like he had given us a Coke made out of pure gold or something. 

It was awesome. 

That night at church, our translator wasn't feeling well, 

so I was called upon to translate. 

Oh snap.

Pastor Junior preached mostly in French,

but he would switch to Creole to clarify things,

so that tripped me up.

I think I got most of what he was saying, 

but translating is really HARD.

Day 11 - May 30

Work was extra hard today, 

and it was extra hot outside. 

Wahoo.

We did find that playing Twenty Questions helped to pass the time.

That afternoon, Pastor Junior sat down and wanted to talk with us. 

He told us how much he and the villagers appreciated us coming.

They know that things aren't easy in Point Sable, 

that's why there haven't been missionaries there in over 17 years. 

They understood that it was a sacrifice for us to be there,

they knew it wasn't easy for us.

They appreciated the fact that we were even there,

they didn't care how much work we got done,

 they were just glad we had come. 

It was a humbling thing to hear.

We went for the usual swim,

only a few of us went today,

the rest decided to stay and sleep, etc. 

Later that night, after devos,

Pastor Pierre (he had returned to Point Sable that morning) was telling us about how he and his wife met,

and all these other cute stories. 

As I looked up into the sky, 

I saw this falling green light,

it looked almost like a falling star, but it was way too big and close.

So we deduced that it was either:

1.  A crashing Columbian drug plane. 

(apparently that's a real thing here, according to Pastor Pierre)

2. A UFO. 

Day 12 - May 31 

It was our last full day in Point Sable.

Erie. 

Work was hard, hot and dirty,

as per usual. 

Our afternoon swim held more excitement than usual.

I finally found a sand dollar. 

I finally joined the realm of accomplished men and women. 

Also, this happened on multiple days, 

and I wanted to share. 

The kids would cover themselves in sand,

in an effort to be "white" like us. 

That night we presented the church with The Proclaimer,

it's an audio New Testament in Creole. 

Also, before church Kaiti and Hailey, 

in their stunning show of leadership, 

decided to play a prank on us. 

They told us that things had changed and that we were staying in Point Sable another week.

That was a rough 2 minutes. 

But praise the Lord because it was only a joke. 

Day 13 - June 1

We started the morning by packing up camp and all of our gear.

We headed up to the school to pass out some Crocs. 

Once we got there, 

we figured out that we grabbed the wrong bag when we left Boucan la Marre. 

So instead of having lots of little Crocs, 

we had a few little ones, and lots of big Crocs.

It turned out okay.

We gave out what we could and gave the rest to Pastor Pierre to pass out later. 

This was part of the wall of the church that we helped to build.

After the Crocs,

we went back down the mountain,

and had a long and tear-filled goodbye. 

Then we boarded the boat and began the journey back to Boucan la Marre. 

The water was a little rougher this time,

there were a few close calls as far as seasickness goes, 

but thankfully no one actually got sick.

Once we got to the port city of L'Anse a Galets, 

we were given a chance to call home, 

and then we loaded up in the truck and headed back to Boucan la Marre.

Madame Pierre greeted us with the most delicious meal we could have dreamed of.

As far as we were concerned we were in paradise,

shade,

showers,

toilets,

and chocolate.

What more could you want?

Day 14 - June 2 

We were ordered to REST. 

None of us were arguing.

So I sat in a chair and read,

I laid in the hammock and read.

Ate lunch. 

Sat in the chair and read,

laid in the hammock and read. 

And that's pretty much it. 

Haiti: Week One.

Week one is kind of a blur,

it consisted mostly of travel days, 

which all seem to run together. 

But I'll give you a timeline of how things went down: 

Day 1 - May 20 

We flew from Monroe to Dallas.

I received a nice surprise on that short flight,

I was seated next to my friend and former doubles partner,

Dacia Idom.

It was a rather sweet surprise!

From Dallas we flew to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 

We converted the baggage claim terminal into our temporary home,

and attempted to sleep for the night.

Day 2 - May 21

Up bright and early, we flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 

That flight came with beautiful views, 

it was early enough that we got to watch the sunrise over the ocean,

positively gorgeous.

Once in Haiti, we went through customs relatively easily, 

and then we got to wait,

Pastor Pierre (our Haitian father/contact/etc) 

was running late to pick us up, 

because that's just Haiti. 

So we got to chill in the "air conditioning" for a while.

Once he got there, we had a hectic time getting all of us, 

plus all of our luggage to the bus.

But we all made it in one piece. 

Next we had the hour or so long drive to the port city of Carriest.

Once we got to port we had to wait a bit,

 to make sure the boat was still there. 

Then we all loaded up onto the boat that would take us from the mainland to the island of La Gonave. 

And when I say boat...

...I really mean, mini-pirate ship. 

So we, along with about 75 Haitians set out to cross the 23 miles of bright blue ocean. 

Thankfully the Dramamine was in generous supply so the boat ride was actually quite enjoyable. 

Once we arrived on La Gonave, 

we loaded all of our luggage, and a few people, into the Tap Tap (a truck taxi),

and we loaded the rest of the people into Pastor Pierre's truck, 

and proceeded with the long drive,

up the mountain, 

on the non-road, 

to Pastor Pierre's home in Boucan-La-Marre. 

Once we got to his house we were greeted with a delicious meal and direct orders to REST. 

No argument here. 

Day 3 - May 22

Our major tasks of the day were to rest, and a Croc drop.

We passed out Crocs to the pre-k and kindergarden classes at the school in Boucan-La-Marre. 

That was an interesting experience. 

These kids were all under 6,

I don't know that any of them had seen a white person before.

So in walks a group of NINE white people.

Just seeing our faces was scary enough for them,

much less us saying we wanted to give them something, 

and trying to touch their feet and take off their shoes. 

But eventually they stopped crying and kinda sorta, enjoyed themselves.

Day 4 - May 23

We were scheduled to journey to our next location, Pointe Sable.

But due to the fact that Kevin decided to eat a Haitian hotdog,

and then proceeded to throw up for 8 hours,

our trip was delayed. 

So we were blessed with another day to rest and enjoy.

Day 5 - May 24

Another day of travel. 

We got up early, 

broke down camp,

loaded up the trucks, 

had some breakfast, 

and started the hourish long drive down the mountain, on the non-roads. 

We made it to the port city, L'Anse-a-Galets,

and met the boat drivers. 

Pointe Sable is still on La Gonave island, 

but you can't just drive on over for a visit,

you either go by boat (like Americans do)

or you walk (like Haitians do).

(We asked for them to let us walk and no one would let us, they all said it was too hard, 

only Haitians could do it)

So we started another mini-pirate ship boat ride. 

The water was gorgeous, 

in most places you could see straight to the bottom.

The ride was fun and enjoyable, for most. 

Although we all underestimated the intensity of the sun,

so we were all burnt to a crisp.

I do believe that was the most painful sunburn I have ever experienced,

it felt like my flesh was melting. 

But we made it to Point Sable, finally. 

We step up camp, in Madame Sigga's backyard,

she's a well-known and trusted member of the church in Point Sable. 

After that boat ride we all just tried to chill out for the rest of the day.

Day 6 - May 25

Point Sable is a very small, very remote, very primitive beach community.

There is no electricity, 

no running water, 

no cars, 

no shade,

and not much breeze. 

Our task in Point Sable was to help build the church there. 

The people in the village were already working hard on it,

but we were there just to help things along.

We never actually did any real construction,

we were mostly just the grunt work.

We had two jobs,

to either carry mini-boulders up the mountain, 

or carry buckets of sand up the mountain. 

This is the mountain. 

Thankfully, the Haitians knew we were weaklings, and would only let us work in the mornings. 

So our afternoons were spent swimming on beautiful beaches instead of carrying really heavy things up mountains. 

This was our afternoon spot. 

When Pastor Pierre first took us there, we were all shocked by the beauty of the beach.

Unfortunately that was not the only thing that shocked us.

As I swam out into the beautiful clear water, I was so positively happy,

until I turned around.

My poor little innocent eyes were more than startled at what was coming towards me.

Apparently, children in Haiti don't need swimsuits, 

it's au naturale for these kids. 

Needless to say, it took a moment for all those little uncircumcised Haitian wee-wees to come into focus. 

My plan of defense was to swim out to where the naked kids couldn't touch, 

so they wouldn't come and hang all over me,

and if a few would sneak out to the deep, I would just shove them off.

My plan worked,

the naked children did not cling to me. 

Day 7 - May 26

Pastor Pierre (Haitian), Pastor Alfonso (American), and Bill (American),

left us today.

We were on our own in Haiti. 

Oh good gracious. 

Aside from the goodbyes, it was a typical day in Point Sable. 

Carry heavy things up a mountain.

Eat strange foods.

Be really really hot.

Go swim.

Eat more strange foods.

Get my hair braided. 

Madame Enette gave me some cornrows,

and I'll tell you what, 

I liked those things!

Light, cool and easy!

We went to church for the first time,

it was cool,

Haitian church is very different from American church.

Haitian church is basically a huge dance party, 

with songs that last 30 minutes. 

They have a lot of stamina. 

That's about it for week one, 

week two shall be coming soon!