Looking Back

It's been a few days since we got back. It's been a blur. We had baseball and softball and t-ball and who knows what else going on, over and above work and taking care of 4 crazy people kids around the clock.

We were deeply moved by all the people that had stepped up to support the trip.  Many gave.  Many prayed.  Many gave themselves to take part in caring for our kids while we were away.  MomMom and PopPop were surely blown away.  Here is an excerpt from an email my father wrote to all who had served them as they served us as we served in Haiti:

An open letter to those who served 
    May 28
On behalf of the many friends of Tim and Robyn, we want to thank you for all your many kindnesses to two old folks that had the privilege of watching God’s teachings at work.

I felt like all of you were a part of the Haiti mission.  We all contributed to those things God had led Robyn and Tim to do in that impoverished land.

To those that prepared food.  You gave us time and opportunities to enjoy our four grandkids.  Actually, I think there were more than four children at times.  But if we can help children from off the streets it is an added blessing.  Mrs. Owen had  more opportunities to be Mom Mom and I had opportunities to eat and eat and eat.

For those that took our grandchildren and gave them time to play, be with friends and have a little time away from the old fogies.....thank you. 

For the Drill Sergeant (Robyn) who got all of it together, I am certain you know one of God’s creatures who  is dedicated to His calling.  I was overwhelmed with each day, when children disappeared according to schedule and reappeared according to schedule.

All week, during devotional time, we taught from Philippians on the UNITY through believers in God and through that belief we could do all things through that belief and sharing God’s love.  Finally, I want to thank all of you for your prayers for the Haiti team....that includes Tim, Robyn, the grandkids, and the exhausted Owen’s.

Doyle Owen

We haven't had a lot of time to look back.  But as is customary for me to sort of at least process the images in my head and on our camera, I made a little video. This whole past year waiting to take this trip, our family has been pressed to work through Psalms 91.  Esther Mui performs a wonderful scripture song taken from the New King James Version, which we found on youtube.  I used it as part of the backdrop for all that we had seen there.  Some of these images are on the blog, but I hope with this arrangement you can see a little of it through my eyes.

Thank you to everyone who took part and went with us on this missionary journey.  We'll not soon forget your sacrifices coming alongside our family.  God bless you as you seek His face, to dwell in the secret place of the Most High...

School and Learning

Wow, last day. It's been a lot of time in that truck!  I don't know which got more work out trying to get a grip: my hand on the strap above the door or my cheeks on the seat.  Probably the most workout overall has been my heart trying to get a grip on what it's like to live the life Andy and Jutta live here.  The pace, the unpredictable nature of travel and ministry in such a complex culture, and the unbelievable mix of contrast and absurdity.  Robyn and I are keeping a list of the all the contradictions we've seen, we'll have to post it after we get home. 

Just recently Jutta and Andy spent 10 days on a road trip across the north of the country.  They ran out of water, stayed in people's homes in various conditions, and traveled all over trying to visit SHGs and establish relationships and structure that can last long after they are gone.  Not know where your next clean drink of water comes from or what is in the meal you are offered that courtesy requires you to eat (sometimes in the dark). 

After a long talk last night about how in the world to consume all this experience and translate it into supporting the ministry from Woodbridge or bringing a team back here or just transitioning the lessons into our lives--none of which we resolved one iota--this morning seemed to be an awkward packing and starting of goodbyes.  We exchanged some small gifts (they gave us a New Testament in Haitian Creole, we gave them a water purifying straw). And it was off to the orphanage to drop off school supplies and see the kids in school before heading to the airport in the afternoon.

Everywhere you turn there are hillsides full of these kinds of homes.

At the school we were pleased to find Pastor Ronel. I introduced him to Robyn. He was disappointed that we were just seeing him and already on the way to the airport.  He had that look of "I had stuff for you to do!"  We toured the school in session and looked in on several classes and visited the occupational therapy room.  Here they play with the kids one-on-two doing puzzles and other fine motor activities. Since starting this practice, they have made a huge impact on the kids' development, both the orphans and the other students.  We dropped off a bunch of donated puzzles and crafts for the teachers to use.

We dropped the rest of the school supplies with the administration office, which was just recently finished with paneled walls.

The youngest class was practicing for end of school ceremony. We got to hear some songs and a prayer they were working on.  This class has four of the kids from the orphanage. You may not make out that Schneider (had chikungunya the first day we were there) is in the middle.  He was extra animated when he saw we were watching.

 

We peeked in on the water room where the well was drilled last year and water treatment system installed.  The orphanage can make some money back by bagging water and selling the bags.  What's interesting in Haiti is that when presented with the idea of selling the bags a few cents cheaper than the store across the street to get more business, Pastor Ronel said "no!"  The reasoning is, if it's less than somewhere else, they won't buy it.  They'll think a lower price means it's inferior quality.  Why they don't think that about chicken wire (we went to four stores with a range of $31 to $68), I have no idea.

These bags have individual servings, and you see them sold all over, including in the middle of the road during rush hour.  Guys will have large bags of them on their heads holding out handfuls to passing cars and motorcycles.  Today the men were a little crazy and water was all over the floor.   With just bits of broken English, one of the house dads I knew from the previous trip shouted at me "no photo!"  Ah, had to do it.

We said our goodbyes to some of the kids, though they were in class.  I wonder if they will think we've abandoned them, especially the ones that latched on right away, in particular the ones who were sick. Robyn made a comment how hard it must be for any child like these to be adopted and integrate into a home in another country.  I'm not sure I have a clue.

Early afternoon Andy and Jutta dropped us at the terminal.  We found one or two words of English from airport workers and figured out which incredibly long, slow moving line was ours.  It took over 2 hours to get to our gate behind a long line of other mission teams of Americans and various other travelers.  You go through two metal detectors--one downstairs, one upstairs.  Just when you get your boots on you have to take them back off.  I'm not sure why.  I didn't feel any more or less safe.

Traveling through Miami we stayed overnight (though really very little sleep once we got settled in and had to be up so early to catch our flight).  We talked a little while about what we had seen and felt, but mostly we just started hanging some of our thoughts onto the questions.  These are worth asking on any trip, because of any event, not just missions.  As far as I'm concerned, I have more questions than answers.  As the scripture says, "how now shall we live?"

1. What did I learn about myself?

2. What did I learn about God?

3. What did I learn about the people, the church, and the Christian community in the area where I served?

4. What did I learn about how culture impacts the ways people live and understand the gospel?

5. What did I learn about justice, economics, poverty, and politics?

6. As a follower of Christ, what did I learn that can help me be a more fully devoted disciple?

7.How might my faith be different if I had grown up where I was serving, as opposed to in my home community?

8. What did I learn or experience that will change the way I live and represent Jesus in my home community and church?

9. What have I learned about my own Christian calling?

10. How can I continue to support the ongoing work in the area where I served?

So what is the answer?  How shall we live now that we've been to the high places, been to the low places, been tested and found lacking, been exposed to our own excess comforts, been face to face with need, been in the unhinging presence of the Most High and felt the cool of His shadow on our necks?  How shall we live knowing what we now know?  How has the world changed? How have I?

To the Top of the Mountain

When we woke up this morning we thought the tough stuff was done for the week and today would be a little more on the relaxed side.  We left to go to a new SHG an hour or so away, seeing more sights that boggle.

Haitian Home Depot

This is the City Dump.  The sign in Creole says "Don't Dump Your Trash Here!"
(This dump is directly next to the "clean water source" for the city)

Part of the way there, we stopped on the roadside at one of Jutta's favorite metal workers.  They cut out metal figures from scrap and paint them beautiful colors.  Percy was also suffering from chukingunya, but like any Haitian, he can't afford to lay in bed and rest.  Forget medicine.  His daughter was painting a picture, practicing to learn her father's craft.  We got some beautiful butterflies and a gecko for the boys to hang on their wall.

beach homes

We went through the "beaches" area.  A lot of Haitians will go to the beach for some of the day on Sundays.  Not exactly the resorts we're used to.

welcome to Relax Beach Hotel

Yep, that's Relax Beach Hotel

We stopped at the "bottom of the hill" to pick up our Haitian coordinator.    What we thought would be a few minutes more drive turned into a climb to the top of the mountain!  The pictures just don't do justice to the incredible climb, hairpin turns, loose rocks, and narrow passages on the edge. It helps to have an amazing driver like Andy, who knows exactly what his vehicle can do.  Not only has he kept us safe on the streets with crazy people driving every which way, including massive trucks, and pedestrians crowding the road, he certainly kept us from going to some very bad places on that pass!

There is a remote clinic part of the way up.
They also sponsored the road. Once you pass it,
the roads get pretty bad.

pictures don't capture the climb very well

I told Andy I liked it much better when he
was on the downhill and I was on the
uphill side of the road! Look or don't look?

part of the way up, looking back down
how much further?!

Andy's truck worked overtime today!
We had to park and walk the last bit.

this church/school had three classes meeting

selfies on a mountain top in Haiti. Fan-tastic!

beautiful landscapes, lots of erosion (no trees)

Andy immediately went in and goofed with the school kids

three classes in one room!

 I won't tell every harrowing detail of this trip, but I will say that the four of us will not soon forget this day.  There is a natural bonding in a mission trip already, but at least for me, I don't think I will ever get over the feelings the Lord washed through me today.


It was cloudy when we arrived, and we expected it would stay that way, so for the last bit of walk we had to make to the church/school where the SHG meeting would take place, we didn't take hats or water bottles.  Mistake.  The heat came back and baked our heads on that mountain as if we were so high we were scraping directly against the sun.  When the group finally arrived, in their tradition, the meeting started with singing (How Great Thou Art) and prayer.  This is a tough place to live.  You can see it on their faces and hear it in their singing and prayers.

As we sat on a rock watching the meeting, a small block of cloud moved over, almost as if it only covered our rock.   The temperature literally dropped 10 degrees.  A single thought rushed through me, still shaken from the trip up, "He who  dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."  Shadow, the perfect image in Psalms 91 of protection.  It was if the thumb of the Lord Himself cast shade upon me, and I was broken.  What did I fear? What gripped me?  He sent me up this mountain, why would I not believe I was in His shadow?!  I will not ever forget the emotion of that moment.


As we descended again, going through those same incredible curves and loose rock, down down to the bottom, I was nervous.  But I was different.  It's not easy being so close to the very real Truth of Faith.  When we talked about it tonight and I'm sure while thinking of it a hundred times for days to come, I look back at the question in the devotional  "when you are in the high places, do the trials go away? move? change?"  Sometimes getting to the high places of faith involve the most humbling tests of faith, of real courage to believe in the One True God.  Sometimes approaching that kind of power, as gentle as He is, is unhinging, and we must lose everything that is us in order to survive the climb.  Including fear.

See that peak in the clouds?
We just came from there

Tomorrow is our last day in country before heading back through an overnight in Miami.  We'll go back to the orphanage one last time to drop off school supplies and see the kids in school. We hope to see Pastor Ronel as well.  But for sure, this place is etching itself in our being.  How will we live when we get home?

Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day in Haiti.  We started the day early by heading to a church outside Port au Prince where one of Jutta's SHGs was having a special celebration.  The famme d'action ladies do so many things for the community, including church work, evangelism, and projects through SHG.

The ladies sang "Jesu Vive Na Mwen" which translates "Jesus Lives In Me". 

One of the ladies was struggling with fever and joint pain from the chikungunya virus, but it was so important to her, she was there and gave it her all!  After the service we shook lots of hands, greeted smiling faces, and they gave us fruit to honor our visit.

In the afternoon, we went to Source of Light orphanage.  When we arrived we found out that there was a Mother's Day celebration going on.  Haiti is such an incredible mix of contradictions and absurdities!  A few of the kids in the orphanage were visited by their mothers, who for a variety of reasons can't take care of them at home.  The kids seemed genuinely excited about their moms being there for the celebration.  One little girl sang "How Great Thou Art" and another prayed to start the ceremony. 

Schneider is feeling better today. Big smile!

 

 

Several of the kids were still sick with chikungunya.  Others were feeling better.  We didn't have the chance to play bubbles and balloons as we had hoped, so we loaded the boxes we built the day before that will be used for planting vegetables, and put them on the roof. 




As we left, we went down the street one last time to see if the lady was home where Ric and I had built a house two years ago.  This time the people in the house said she was in the hospital and couldn't come.  We weren't sure what the full story was, but the resident invited us in to look around. We didn't take pictures, but it was neat to see what a home looks like inside.  Since Ric and I left before it was completed, I got to see the finished project.  They had a full size bed that took up over half the entire house, a table and chairs took the other half. They even had a little TV with a pirated cable connection.  The workers had completed the bathroom with a raised floor, a toilet that flushes with a bucket, and a basin with a drain to be used for a shower (also using a bucket).  The tiny kitchen area remained the same as we saw it last.




When we came out of the house, the man next door invited us in to see his house and to show off the concrete ceiling he had just finished that had been destroyed in the earthquake.  A woman was cooking a little rice and beans and had one small tomato in a bowl.  Another woman washed clothes in a big pail in the middle of the floor.  All six residents were in the house while we were there.  When asked if everyone slept on the one double mattress, the man told Andy, "no, we arrange on the floor."  It was a rare glimpse into what life is like in these tiny homes. 

Tomorrow we go to Sheridan, at the bottom of a mountain just under two hours west for a meeting with a brand new SHG.  Jutta suggests we stop at the "metal man" on the way to get some souvenirs. 

Source of Light Orphanage

Today Robyn got to meet the kids at the orphanage I've talked about the last two years.  The kids were excited to see us, jumping on us and clinging and wanting to climb on us.  They loved the balls and the sidewalk chalk. Robyn got a bunch started on hopscotch and I taught some of the older boys how to throw an American football. 

 

They gratefully received the underwear but were really excited about the mangos Andy and Jutta had collected from Pastor Paul the day before in Miraballais.  Some ate everything but the seed, and others put the seeds all over Andy's truck.


Many of the kids are suffering from chickengundra virus.  There were several we just held in our arms or sat on our laps because there was nothing that would make them feel better.  I can't remember the last time I or any of my kids had a fever for more than a few minutes before giving them medicine.  These kids have none.  We're trying to get some to them when we go back tomorrow.  Chickengundra is not treatable, but you can help the fever and joint aches with medicine similar to Tylenol.

After we left, we went the few blocks around the corner to find the house Ric Wyatt and I worked on two years ago.  A lot has changed and they have made tremendous improvements across Delmas (the area of Port au Prince where the orphanage is), so it was unrecognizable going down the streets.  But the little metal house in the front, the smells, and the tiny house we built with the little concrete windows was easy to spot.  The lady wasn't home so we'll try again Sunday to see her.  We'll see if we can get pictures.

This afternoon we went home to Andy and Juttas.  Andy and I built two boxes to be used for vegetable gardens.  We'll take those tomorrow and place on the roof of the orphanage.  Soil will come later, and someone will come teach the children how to grow vegetables.  We think carrots will be a staple, but I imagine the kids will want to grow mango trees and rows of corn in the narrow 14' boxes.

Tomorrow morning we go early to a church in the hills where they've been invited to hear a choir concert.  We were told it would last about 3 hours or so, which is common for services here.  Now that Robyn has tasted music from the SHG graduation, and that only being a handful of people, I imagine this will be an earth-shattering performance.  Not of professionalism but of power of the Spirit as people join in worship of the Amazing Master of All.