Tan Lines and Changing Times

Friday July 5, 2013 

After all the hard work we put in during the week, we got to spend our last day relaxing in the most beautiful resort I’ve ever seen. It was strange; after all the trash and devastation we saw, the Wahoo Resort was otherworldly. We got there so early that virtually no one else was there. It was just sunshine, tropical flowers, and the blue green waters of the ocean.

The main attraction for us was the pool that sat atop the hill with an amazing view of the ocean. If you were sitting in the pool, looking at the ocean, there were places to sit and a bunch of tropical plants to the left, and then the breath-taking mountains to the right. It was seriously the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Like one of those pictures out of a travel magazine that you never believe are actually real. They can’t be- it’s just too beautiful. Well guess what? I can testify: they are real and they are just as amazing as the pictures.

If you went up a small hill a bit, you could reach this little half-outdoor bar. They served most of us these non-alcoholic frozen mix drinks. Pina coladas, pineapple and pineapple mangoes were the three most popular flavors. They were even more interesting because you could actually crunch down on the sugar. To a kid like me, that was awesome.

Dave figured out the details so that we could rent out the jet-ski as a group. Everybody got to ride with a partner for about five minutes and then come back so the next pair could come back. I had a jet-ski when I was younger, so the opportunity to jump on one with Emi was absolutely smile-inducing.

Okay, so by now, you’ve figured out that I’m always one for telling stories. This one involves one of our translators, Danniton. So, earlier, he had discussed his fear of swimming because of the movie Jaws (although he didn’t actually know the name of the movie – he just described a movie in which a ‘big fish with big teeth” *cue the scary fingers in front of mouth action* “that ate all the people”). The poor guy didn’t even know how to swim! So a few of the dads tried to teach him how to swim in the pool that morning. For a kid who grew up on Lake St. Claire, and is a decent swimmer, watching him walking across the pool floor and swinging his arms in an awkward paddle movement was more than entertaining.

So fast forward a couple hours, and you have Chip, trying to find someone to get on the back of the jet-ski with him. You see, Chip’s a crazy college kid, and we all knew that he was going to drive like a maniac. Most of our group is made up of people over forty who don’t need to get hurt and younger girls who are too scared to deal with that. So somehow, the poor sucker who ended up getting on the back of Chip’s jet-ski? Danniton. Yup, the Haitian to learned how to ‘swim’ just this morning.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who saw it coming. This had bad idea written all over it.

Sure enough, a group of us watched as Chip took a turn too sharply and they both went tumbling into the ocean. Later I heard Chip explaining how Danniton had basically panicked the second they hit the water and tried grabbing ahold of Chip, pushing him down. The poor guy was flopping around and clawing like a cat in the bathtub. The funniest thing was when they came back; this time, Danniton was driving and Chip was the passenger…

There was more entertainment than just the jet-skis. You could also get on a small wooden boat with a group and have a Haitian take you out to the coral reefs to go snorkeling. Those Haitians are clever by the way. They tell you that they’ll take you out there for five dollars. Then when you’re headed back in, after you’ve used all the snorkeling equipment, they tell you that there’s a two dollar equipment fee. Sneaky guys… But everyone who went loved it. Lexi even came back with a piece of coral.

Lunch was already taken care of for us at the restaurant on the resort. It was this cute open-air place. I sat with Geary and Kevin… and some random Haitian man who sat down with us. I had never seen him before, but he said hi, and then played with his phone rather than talking to us for the entire rest of the time. I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Random, maybe a little strange, but hilarious. Lunch consisted of chicken, rice and beans, plantains, and coleslaw. Aka, the typical Haitian plate.

After lunch everyone got their fix of fresh King crab and lobster as well. Earlier that morning, all the men had gotten together to bargain for the best deal on the seafood. You see, Haitians were walking around with these giant, foaming-at-the-mouth crabs all day. You could buy one for fifteen dollars and they would bring it out to you in a plastic doggie box like the kind you get at a restaurant, all chopped up so that it’s easy to eat.

Our super-bargaining men got the price down to $11.50 each since we were buying so many of them. All of them arrived sometime in the afternoon. I tried a piece, but I’m not crazy about seafood. Emi on the other hand, dove in. She grabbed a chunk of crab and furiously dunked it into the melted butter.

“BLECH!” And with a noise like that, she spit it out. She hadn’t realized that the butter she thought was in the little cup was actually lime juice. Not exactly the same flavor. But Kevin and her devoured the rest of the box in no time.

Speaking of crab… There were all these tiny little crab along the shoreline where we were renting the jet-ski. It was awesome. They were just these tiny little things that we kept trying to catch. The only one that was having any real luck in the catching department though was Haley. She would catch them for the rest of us.

At one point, she brought one way out to me and a few of the other ladies who were swimming a bit farther out. This was all well and good, until it started crawling too far up her arm, causing her to scream before it jumped into her hair. Somehow, she got it off of her and we all calmed down. UNTIL someone decided to make the curious comment, “I wonder where it went now.” I was thinking that it had probably just swam to shore. That seemed logical. I was thinking that, and then I felt something on my chest. I looked down just in time to see the little crab run down the top of my bathing suit. I freaked out. I’m a girl, what can I say. I failed and squealed and flung it out of my bathing suit. It was great.

At the end of the day, our fun came to an end and we headed back to Bercy. However, we had just enough time to clean up before we were off again. Thanks to Tim Morton, we got a special treat that night.

Because of his connections with the Haitian family that he met the first time he was in Haiti, we were able to go to Villarson’s mother’s restaurant for dinner. This was an amazing treat! We basically had the same meal that we had for lunch, with better, super spicy coleslaw, and some kind of pasta salad. We also got a small dish of this sauce. I still don’t know what it was, or what it was made out of, but it was seriously to die for. Everything was absolutely delicious.

It was funny too, because the 26 of us took up the entire restaurant. A few of our group members even had to squeeze in to tiny tables on the side of the room because there wasn’t enough space for them at the long table that we were all sitting at.

The walls were basically boards in a pattern too, so we could see out most of it. Right next to us was another building with a big open window. There were children popping through the window looking at us and taunting us throughout dinner. When Paige wasn’t looking, Ed passed a chicken leg through the window. Immediately it was silent and we could all picture the kids on the other side ripping it up. The only problem was, one piece of chicken doesn’t last long between about seven kids. Soon enough, they were back in the window, demanding more.

But we ended up getting a mini speech from Villarson and we all got a picture outside with some basketball players before we left. It was so awesome to be able to go into a village that we hadn’t been to yet and get to go to a real restaurant. I went home happy and full thanks to Tim’s hookup!

Later that night we had a rather somber team time. I think we were all anticipating the departure, some more than ready to go home, like Anna who hadn’t been home in three weeks at this point, and some, like me, who just weren’t ready to go home.

Chip, Macy, Haley and I decided it was a good idea to stay up all night just for the heck of it. Well… I decided this because Emi walked over with a smirk on her face to warn me about the massive amount of ants in my bed. There was no way I was going back.

For all of you who think that Emi is evil for announcing that information with such delight, don’t worry. Karma got her. On her way back to her bunk, a big ol’ tarantula crawled onto her foot. HAH to you too Emily.

Anyways, we stayed up until about five thirty the next morning. Well, mostly up. We talked for most of the time while trying to play cards in the dark and I played with Balto a bit… But at some point it was just too much for us. I remember getting woken up by one of the other teams since they had an earlier flight home than we did. Macy was laid out across the top of the table. Haley was passed out on the bench, with Chip by her head, who had slouched down with his head on his arms on the table. I had curled up on the other side of the bench, using Chip as a pillow. It was lovely. Not comfortable, but definitely worth doing. Sleeping outside in Haiti, how many other people can say they’ve done it? Besides Haitians…

Guys! That basically concludes our week in Haiti. More posts to follow, random things I feel the need to share… But that was the bulk of it.

I’d like to thank all of you who were home praying for us. We all had an amazing time and I can’t thank the Lord enough for that.

Be sure to check back in every once in a while… Pictures are soon to come!!

Paint Splotches and Roman Candles

Thursday July 4, 2013

This morning after small group, Abby and I thought it was a great time to play some volleyball. I mean, who wouldn’t say no to a good, sweat-inducing game at 7 in the morning?

Surprisingly enough, we ended up convincing enough people to play. We got all hot and sweaty just before getting on the bus to head back to Source Matelas.

Today was a work day in the village. The task was painting! Muchhhh better than clean-up duty if you ask me. Throughout the day, we were supposed to paint two houses. We saw all the bright colors of the buildings of the MOH 500 houses, so we were hoping we were going to get to paint with some fun colors today. Pink, bright blue, green… Try brown and cream. Not the fun that we had hoped for.

But the kids were determined to make it fun anyways. I mean, with a bunch of teenagers, paint wars will happen no matter the color. Lexi and I were trying to paint the inside of a window cut out with brown paint. Almost everyone knows the consistency of house paint. It’s supposed to be thick, right? Well we were basically painting with dirty water when we got the first tray of it. It was ridiculously hard to work with and we were both getting extremely frustrated, let me tell you! Thankfully, someone else was able to make it a bit thicker by mixing in some of the other paint from the bucket that they had apparently mixed better. Still, we’re not claiming to be professionals by any stretch, and we were getting it everywhere. Thank God for tarps and the ability to wipe watery paint off a wall…

I was standing on a cement block trying to get to the top of the window when I heard a blood-curdling scream. I thought that either one of the girls had just found a tarantula, or someone was seriously hurt. Turns out, it was just Haley wailing her rage at Chip. She had started a new trend by painting her name on peoples’ shirts. Chip had walked up to Brian and swiped his paint-laden brush across the belly of his shirt, where her name had been so carefully painted. It was a pretty big offense apparently.

After we had started both houses, it was time to get lunch back at main campus. There was some pretty interesting rice dish waiting for us; Brian called it “lemon rice pound cake.” I’m starting to learn that the less eye appealing meals are usually the ones that are the best tasting. It’s strange, but a good rule to live by down here.  

When we came back to Source Matelas after lunch, we split into two different groups to finish the houses. I was in the group of the first house and we had Tami’s iPhone. We had a few watchers that turned into helpers. A little boy, for one, had come up on the porch and started dancing with me while I was painting a big metal door brown. He was such a cutie. I had a blast dancing with him. I’ve learned that, like a smile, dance transcends languages; it’s no longer a barrier once the music starts playing.

There was also an older youth there. I’d say mid to late twenties. He was also a sweetheart. Kevin and him talked for a while before I got into the conversation. Yes, he spoke English. His name is James and him and Kevin swapped information so they could reconnect on Facebook. I cannot believe how many Haitians have a Facebook. It’s so strange to me. They don’t have air conditioning, or clean water, but everyone is walking around with a cellphone and has a profile on Facebook. Crazy.

Another thing that was pretty crazy was this 23-year-old man who had quite the crush on Emily. He was chasing her around shirtless asking her if she had a boyfriend back home and whether or not she had a Facebook. Poor Emi was horrified. He was persistent though. He even came up and asked Kevin about her! It was absolutely hilarious.

We finished up at the house and walked – with all of our supplies, mind you – all the way back to the second house to meet up with the other half of our group. They were still finishing up, so a lot of us jumped in to help finish the job.

I think the most memorable part of the entire day, at least for me, though, was after all the painting had finished. We got in a huge circle and held hands to pray. The man of the house ended up praying. And this was probably the longest prayer I have ever experienced. I was standing on the porch, holding hands with of the Haitian men and Paige on the other side, who was holding the hand of an elderly woman. Maybe two minutes after the prayer started, this old women let out the loudest scream ever. I think she was saying something to the effect of “hallelujah” but Paige and I were not at all prepared for this.

Paige jumped ten feet and nearly landed on top of me. I had jumped a little and looked up in shock to figure out where the beast of a noise came from. When we finally collected the wits to figure out what exactly had happened, we tried desperately to muffle the laughter. Every time we thought we had our act together, one of us would start bouncing a little with quieted giggles and the other would lose her grip a little. For the rest of the prayer, Paige would have to keep pressing her forehead against my shoulder to keep us calm.

As soon as the prayer ended, Paige threw her arms around the old woman, laughing, “I love you!” The poor old woman had no idea what was going on, but it really was hilarious.

Earlier, we had all opted to just go back to the main campus for dinner, covered in paint. Oh my God, you would never believe my excitement. For all of you who stayed home and ate with your friends and family… I bet my simple fried chicken, corn and French fries tasted so much better than whatever you had. Even though it seems like a rather typical, boring meal, I have never been so excited for food in my life. Seriously. It’s not that the food we’d been eating all week was TERRIBLE… It was just that I didn’t like most of it and was living on granola bars most days. So this American food was like heaven to me.

On the way home, we all decided to sing loudly and obnoxiously. Haley and I happen to be musical soul mates. Apparently my iPod song list looks identical to hers. Teenage girls, man. We’re all pretty similar. However, it wasn’t all fun and songs. We all think we ended up getting a flat tire along the way. Which is really pretty scary considering we were in the middle of nowhere in some village. Who knows what could have happened. But someone was watching over us the entire time, and we made it out alive.

A big favorite of the night was the fireworks. So, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this or not, but airport security is really poor. I will get into more of this in post to follow, but for now: Chip managed to get a bunch of firecrackers and about five Roman candles through two different airports via his carryon. When he was looking for something else in his bag on the plane to Haiti, he saw them in a back pouch. It’s awful and hilarious at the same time. We had explosive fireworks on a plane with us… Shake my head.

However, I think the only reason we got them through was because God wanted us to be able to celebrate American-style on the Fourth of July. It was really amazing too. Along with our fireworks, God was throwing in a bit of his own show with lightening. The sky was clear above our camp but all around us, storms were flaring and lightening was shooting out of the clouds. It was beautiful.

After that, a few of us played cards and Chip, Macy and I decided to make a pact to stay up until two in the morning after Brian had called it a night. It was really awesome getting to know a couple of the kids my age better. We’re all on very similar walks, so it was good to know I wasn’t alone in all this. It was really relaxing and chill too… until one of the guards walked up with his shotgun. I was sure we were going to get in trouble. But thankfully, I waved and said hello, he waved, cocking his head in an obvious attempt to figure out what the heck we were doing out so late, and with a final shake of the head, was gone. It was epic. A comical end to a great day!

Droppin' Like Flies - The Explanation

Ok, I know you've all been waiting for it. With a title like that, how can you not want to know?

Going back into the village after lunch, we lost six of our group members. Don't worry, they didn't die or anything like that. But we had to leave them behind, so they could sleep off their ailments at the main campus. Shannon and the girls stayed behind as they didn't feel well enough to continue, Lexi stayed back because of the splinter-turned-infection in her foot, Mike and Haley stayed back because they both had headaches and with Haley's concussion prior to the trip, no one wanted to take any chances with that.

So we got back to the village a bit short. But we made it work! Lee led us through the streets to collect children. We were basically the Pied Pipers, calling out “oov-lay-jway! oov-lay-jway!” That’s obviously not how you spell it, but I tried looking up the translation online, and hey, what we were told we were saying doesn’t quite add up. I think we were calling out something with the equivalent of, “Come play with me!”

Kids lined up on the side of the street and followed us, jumping up into our arms (with or without our express desire to hold them) and smiling.

Once we collected all of our little friends, we headed back to this big empty area. It seemed to be the center gathering area between a collection of shacks. Part of our group, basically the men, jumped into an intense game of soccer with the Haitian teenagers while the rest of us ladies got swarmed with kids. This was after we had watched with huge smiles as Lee rallied all of the kids into a large circle and got them to dance and sing and stretch. He even made all of us Americans call out our names and introduce ourselves so that the kids could yell our names back at us. It was really cute and fun to engage in. Lee made fun of our all names, because to them, we have a funny accent, you know?

So after this whole circle extravaganza, Katie, Tami and a few of the other girls, along with myself, were sitting around with the little children. So basically there were the men playing soccer in the main open area, then a little lump of dirt where a lot of us were hanging out, a tree and then all the little kids and the rest of us. I had at least three little kids pulling on either my arms, my skirt or my shirt the entire time.

Tami and Eden got all the children to sit in a semi circle so that Tami could read a story out of the Bible and Eden could translate. She had just sat down Indian style and opened the book in her lap when Kevin came running towards us.

"Tami, we need you."

"Me?"

"Dave's hurt."

I've never seen someone up and gone so fast. I wanted desperately to go and check it out for myself, but I thought it would be better to keep the children calm and here rather than having them follow us to see whatever was wrong. Besides, it looked as though there was already a crowd around him anyway. So the task of leading the kids was left to Katie and I. Katie decided to teach Eden Simon Says so that we could teach the kids and then keep them entertained. Later we played Duck-Duck-Goose. The kids really got into it.

So I'm sure you're wondering what happened to Dave... While they had been playing soccer, a ball went up and Dave and Ed both went for the header. They smashed foreheads, giving Ed a small cut and Dave a large, open gash. He kept playing until he noticed the blood dripping down his face, onto his chest. I saw pictures, and I'm sure I'll post one eventually. But it was really pretty gross. Tami, Dave and Ed all went back to the main campus and they got all fixed up. Dave had actually needed seven stitches right above his eyebrow.

Our members really were droppin' like flies. It was awful.

So now it's time! This seriously is probably my favorite memory from the entire trip. I've been waiting to tell this since we left Haiti...

I was sitting on the ground with two little girls and a little boy with the most amazing eyelashes I have ever seen. They were literally so long that they curled back into his eyelids. And can I just point out that the fact that I was sitting on the ground was a testament of the change that was happening in me over my time there. I would have NEVER sat on the ground with all the ants and the unknown nastiness that I was well aware was there. I mean, about five minutes before I sat down I watched three little boys have a peeing contest on the very edge of the kids circle. Gross. Who knows what I was sitting in...

But back to the story!

So the little boy was sitting on my lap and there was a small girl in a ratty orange dress standing next to me. She was adorable and it had taken everything to get her to be comfortable with me. I could see it in her eyes when she first approached me. It was like, she wanted to be my best friend, but she was nervous, scared even.

All of the sudden, the little boy went after the hair ties on my arm. He bit them and was pulling back. Three things rushed through my mind: one, he was going to break them; two, he was going to hurt me when they snapped; and three, he was going to really get hurt when they snapped into his face.

So I'm trying to get them out of his mouth, and nothing's working. Even the little girl is trying to help me by gently smacking him on the hand and telling him to stop in creole. I finally stick my fingers between his teeth and try to pry his jaw open. It eventually works and I think I'm in the clear. But then he lunges again. I figured the only way to stop the madness was to get my hair ties off my wrist and into the backpack slung over my shoulder. 

I slip them off and reach for my backpack. Before I even know what's happening, the little girl rips them out of my hands and grabs my backpack. I thought, Great, now the little girl is going to steal my stuff... Luckily, I was wrong. She pulled my backpack off my shoulder and opened the front pouch. She stuff my handful of hair ties into the pouch, zipped it back up, and helped me put the backpack back on. 

I looked at her in awe, and she replied with a big smile. I hadn't met a child with as much maturity and awareness as she had. It was incredible. Needless to say, we were inseparable for the rest of the day. 

She even pulled me along behind her as she went up with the rest of the children to get one of the DumDums that Lee was passing out to the masses of children. It was a heartbreak to leave her at the end of the day. She walked with me to the truck and pointed out her mother. 

It was a great day that ended with dinner after some intense games of volleyball. Don't worry though. We picked up all the people that we had lost throughout the day and came back together for team time. Everyone's okay!   

Droppin' Like Flies

Wednesday, July 3, 2013 9:40 pm

Today was the first day all 26 of us went into the village. The guys didn’t have the option to stay back and work, so we all piled into the truck and drove to Source Matelas. We picked up the translators and headed to what I think is probably one of the nicest neighborhoods within the village.

Once again, we broke into groups, each with a translator and started walking. See, I thought this was weird. The past couple days we had been in what I would compare to the slums that we see in cities in America- only with more rustic living spaces. Where we were exploring today was more like the suburbs. The houses were actually nice and had real yards and fences. It was interesting!

Kevin, Emily, Kathie, Ed, Chip, Danni and I followed Joseph into the neighborhood. Ed stopped to chat with an old man by the basketball courts who was dressed in a soccer jersey and actually fixed computers for a living. He and Ed hit it off as they had similar interests in tech. A few of the others joined the conversation while they rest of us watched the intense soccer game going on behind us on the basketball court. About a dozen dark, muscular teenage boys were flying barefoot around the court, passing the ball, diving for any chance to get a shot in. I flinched as I saw a couple of them fall hard on the concrete. To all the soccer players out there, you have no idea how lucky you are to have grass fields to play on.

After Ed finished talking to him, we all said our goodbyes and continued down a narrow path, walking deeper into the neighborhood. As we were passing one house, Joseph kind of coaxed us awkwardly into the front yard where a couple of children were watching us warily against a wall as their mother washed clothes in a watery, sudsy bin on the ground. As soon as the woman gave us permission to come onto their property, a young girl in a pretty dress and short cropped hair pulled out chairs for all of us. The hospitality of that family was incredible.

Danni and I sat on a cement step to try and get the little kids to interact with us while the rest of our group sat in a circle and talked with the woman of the household through Joseph. Her mother was actually around the corner from us, making juice out of berries she was hand-squeezing into a pulp. I'm not gunna lie, the little kids were really difficult. They did not know what to make of us, so staying safe rather than sorry became their motto.

They huddled close to the wall and watched us warily - a similar relationship to me and a spider in the shower. One child was too young to really do anything though, and Danni and I sat by him. He seemed to have quite the cold. As he watched us like we were aliens right in front of his face, his nose oozed snot and the gnats were all over it. They swarmed in the goo, in his eyes, all around him. It was absolutely disgusting. Even these people, who I would consider the wealthier of the Haitian population, didn't have it all together. It was so sad.

We also met the father of the household, the woman's husband. He had his arm bandaged up and in a sling. Motorcycle accident. Broken arm. This is apparently typical for the people there. As I have said before, their driving is crazy...

Another man, who I THINK was the washing woman's brother, came and sat down in our circle. He didn't speak English, but he did speak pretty fluent Spanish. This was enough to make communication possible with little work of the translator. I could understand English, and respond limitedly, but it was enough for conversation. Emi and Chip could get out a word here or there too. But I did most of the communicating. It was really awesome. Kevin would ask questions through me and I would translate. It was just a really awesome opportunity. I only wish that I was better at it. Gives me more motivation to pay attention in Spanish this year I guess!

We eventually said goodbye to the family and moved on to their neighbors. It was actually pretty funny, because the kids from the first house who had wanted nothing to do with us, followed us around the back of their house and were observing us as we went into the next yard.

This second household consisted of a woman, who was cleaning the dirt ground with a broom, and her three children. She also had another one on the way. One of the older children tried to drag her younger brother over to see us, but the poor little guy literally freaked out. He was screaming and kicking and crying. I felt so bad. I didn't know how to tell her to just leave him. But she was actually pretty social, and with a bit of coaxing decided to sing for us. In the showering of applause following her performance, her face lit up. It was really cute.

After a prayer for the family and the safe delivery of the next child, we continued on. This is when I first noticed that the teenage girl with the short hair and pretty blue dress had followed us this entire time. I remember having the desire to talk to her the entire time, but I never found the words or the right moment. Later, however, we would find out that she could care less about me anyways, as she had another purpose for following our group.

We continued down the street until we came across another house. I don't think any of us were actually planning on stopping there, but Joseph kind of walked in, and we were supposed to stay with him, so what other choice did we really have?

I think the hesitancy came from the fact that it looked like more of a garage than a household and all we could see through the door was the front of a car and darkness. I decided to be brave and was one of the first of us to waltz in. And that is when I saw them.

Two amazingly beautiful little babies were on a rug on the carpet. A woman was sitting with them and the larger one was hunched over a little pillow. The look on my face must've given me up. Joseph laughed and told me I could hold one if I wanted. I wasn't about to steal the smallest one from the hands of it's mother, so I gingerly picked up the pillow-hugger.

I just remember the baby's eyes, as they watched us. The beautiful, big, brown eyes. Oh, she was beautiful. She got passed around between me, Emi, Chip, Kathie and Danni. Kevin and Ed just took pictures.

The younger one eventually got into the mix as well. One of the babies was in Danni's arms and began to be perplexed by her long blonde hair. It was the funniest thing to watch; she just pulled on her hair and stared at it. Meanwhile, the baby in Chip's arms discovered Chip's chest through his shirt.

For the record, I have this part of the day written in my notepad as "Chip's nips." Hilarious, I know. But the baby was apparently hungry, and was going after his nipples through his shirt. I started laughing, "Haha, he's hungry! Hon, those aren't Mommie's! They don't exactly work the same..." Probably the highlight of my day for its humor factor, not gunna lie.

After the males finally convinced us to leave the house, we continued down the road. Now there was another teenage girl along with the one in the blue dress. It was strange. I could not figure out why they stayed with us.

We came to our fourth and final house not long after. There were little boys in the front yard, along with a baby girl walking around in a little dress who was super cute. There was a woman sitting in this front window space who had a ton of canned and boxed foods behind her. It almost looked like she had a little shop going on from the front of her house.

Ed asked if he could have a coconut from the tree by her house. Joseph translated, while laughing, "She says if you can climb up and get it, you can have it."

So what does Ed do? Is it even a question? He drops all of his bags and cameras on the ground, and walks right up to the palm tree. Up the tree he went. Like a monkey. Literally, he looked like those Amazonian men you see throw themselves up trees to get to fruit on the Discovery Channel. It was hilarious. All the Haitian women were cheering and laughing like monkeys. It was awesome.

Joseph whipped out a machete and chopped the tops off of the two coconuts Ed had knocked down. We all got to slurp up the coconut juice inside. I was all about it - until a spider crawled over the top just before I went in for my third sip. After that, I wasn't having it. But I was back on for the coconut meat. That was gooooood! It tasted more like almonds than coconut, but I liked it. It was new and different! Raw coconut, knocked down from a tree by a climber, from the middle of a Haitian village, chopped up with a machete by a Haitian man. Pretty cool stuff!

As we were walking back along the road, the same couple of girls were still following us. They were whispering to each other and giggling - and THAT is when Kathie and I put it together. As the tried to figure out how to say "I love you" out loud in English, we smiled. Sure enough, when Joseph asked, they told him to tell Chip, "You have beautiful eyebrows!" They were crushing. Chip loved it.

As we headed back to the main area to meet up with our other group members, we caught a whiff of something. Now, Kevin has been to a lot of places all over the world. So he's not exactly a newbie when it comes to interesting food. When we finally came up to the vendor that was producing the smell, the adventurous Kevin couldn't keep his desire down. Working with Joseph, he purchased what was basically fried dough.

Now, as you can imagine, most of us were pretty skeptical of this Haitian street vendor food. We have been warned time and time again not to eat or drink anything not approved of, in fear that we might come down with the "Haitian Sensation." But I decided to take a chance. Besides, God would keep us safe. I assumed. Hoped. Prayed.

I am so grateful I took that chance. It was delicious. I kept asking for more, but Kevin pulled a magic trick and within the span of a minute, it had disappeared into the stomachs of about a dozen of our group.

It was just prep for the lunch that we were heading back for!

Tune back in soon to find out the reasoning behind the title of this blog!

-Katie Coming to You from Haiti

More Paiges... Big Book!

So one of the Haitian boys coaxed the spider into a bucket using his machete… and proceeded to run around chasing us and pretending to accidently dump the bucket or heave the spider out. It was absolutely terrifying. We were definitely the joke of the day; the Americans, scared of a wittle fuzzy thing. Yeah, well… I for one didn’t think it was very funny. I don’t think any of us American girls did.

But to be honest, it was a miracle in disguise. When we had been working, there was definitely a divide between the different peoples. This mixture of fear and laughter brought us together faster than anything else could have. The walls fell completely and we were just one big group, no longer separated by race or culture or language.

Thankfully, the village champions eventually chastised the boys into stopping their evil game. However, this gesture of peace was quickly forgotten. A slight air of irritation hovered around Tami as she tried to get very reluctant American girls back into the trash pile. I felt too bad that we weren’t doing our job as intended, so I climbed back in with Anna and a few others. As we were doing this, some of the Haitians were telling us about how we should be on the look-out for another tarantula, since apparently, they travel in pairs. I’m thinking, cute, a romance… between creepy, nasty, ugly creatures. Why? Sick joke? So I was a bit skittish and hesitant about the trash, not going to lie.

I’m bending down to pick up a plastic water bag when all of the sudden, I feel something crawling up the back of my leg. I release a piercing scream and take off running. An eruption of laughter reaches me from where I was just standing. There’s Papitas, hunched over shaking. “You like my spider impressions?” he chuckled. Once again, not funny. Not at all.

They were right too. We found the second one not long after. It was just as disgusting and unnerving as the first time.

Later we were all just hanging around with the kids and the translators. Our translators were literally taunting us with their silly creole. A few of them decided that Abby, Macy and I needed to learn creole fast. So they started talking in jibberish and asking us questions in a foreign language, expecting that we would be able to whip out the answers. I think we’re just pure entertainment for Haitians. We’re not really helping them in the way that we all think. We’re just a big comedy act that brings laughter throughout the nation. Shake. My. Head.

It was seriously a crazy hour spent with the people. Kids were everywhere, jumping on us, laughing at us and trying to interact with us. It was wonderful. There was a surprisingly large age range as far as the children went; some were just toddlers and others were my age, teenagers. It was awesome to see them all joining together in the same place.

Before we knew it, a dance competition broke out. One of the teenage boys had started break dancing and then physically passed the moves onto one of the translators, who then passed it to another translator, who then had the great idea of passing the dance torch to a white man. HAH. Lee, Tim and Ed all got involved. It actually got quite heated between Ed and Lee. They were back and forth, strutting around each other, mimicking moves. It was pretty hilarious. Whoever got videos of that seriously needs to share.

Ed claimed superiority, but we all know he couldn’t touch Lee’s moves. White dancing just doesn’t cut it, let’s be real here.

After the intense competition, it was back to the main campus. Again, many of us took naps and relaxed on the roof until dinner was served. And dinner was… soup. Really questionable soup. I saw a whole crab floating in a sea of seaweed and I completely lost my appetite then and there. Done. Crackers, anyone? However, there was one redeeming treat: CAKE!

We also had rain today! I can’t even tell you how good cool rain feels in Haiti… After all the heat and the limited showering experiences, this was like a breath of fresh air, a drink of cool water. Absolutely amazing.

I ended up going to Madame Cheap Cheap’s after and buying some beaded necklaces (although they were like beans or seeds or something, not beads), and bracelets. This was after shopping at the actually store inside MOH and purchasing a couple t-shirts, a wristband that says the school theme “mwen kapab” (meaning “I can”) and a 3-cord headband made by a Haitian women. All purchases I was very happy with, let me tell you.

Other people were with theirs as well. Many people in the group bought t-shirts; Ed bought a green bag for his sister; Lexi bought nearly all of the 3-cord bands (she knew where the hidden stash was in a box under the table); Brian bought a machete! How do you get a machete through security at the airport? But hey, if Chip could get the fireworks through, I have faith in Brian as well.

When we were headed back to Bercy that night, I thought we were all going to die. We were headed back in the pitch black and there was definitely something wrong with King of the Roads. It felt like we were about to lose a tire and get stranded in the middle of some random village. Sure enough, the driver actually pulled over and did something. I think they might have changed a tire, because there was some serious adjusting going on on the side of the road. I thought poor Haley was going to have a heart attack. She freaks out every time we hit a bump; this was putting her over the edge. But we made it eventually!!

The closing of the day was spent in team time. I can’t really express what happened without violating the trust we’ve built, but it was a very emotional experience for me. I don’t think I’ve ever cried that much in my life.

But shout out to all the men on our trip! You have all taught me so much. I know it’s kind of crazy, you probably thought I was just this other random girl along for the ride. But I appreciated you and many of the individual conversations I had with all of you. I saw the way most of you watched over your daughters on this trip, and it was like a direct reflection of God’s love for each and every one of us. Unconditional and always forgiving. You’re all amazing, and I thank God that I got the chance to meet you all. You’ve quickly become the additional family I never expected to gain. Love to all!

-Katie Coming to You from Haiti

On the Same 'Paige'

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Last night, Tami found out what our task for today was. She wouldn’t share. Why? Probably because she knew we would all opt to stay back and help pour cement instead of going. A task we would rather not know about, you know?

Picking up trash. Like convicts. How lovely.

To be fair though, Haiti needs this. Haiti needs brigades of people to just pick up trash daily. You see, they don’t have a garbage system. When you’re done with your trash, you toss it aside and leave it anywhere and everywhere. So as you can imagine, there is trash bursting out of the seams of this country. It’s on the streets, in the ditches, in huge mounds in open areas between houses. It’s disgusting.

Regardless, it was our job to try to lighten Source Matelas of some of its trash. We broke into small groups of about five and went to different areas with a translator for our first go at it. My group (Emi, Abby, Anna and Haley) somehow got stuck on the side of the road. All I can really remember about this particular area was the unbelievable heat and the ants. It was only around nine in the morning, but the heat was making us all drip with sweat. It was absolutely horrid. Then there were these terrible ants crawling everywhere. You’d move a rock or a piece of trash and a splash of them would come freaking out all over the place. You know me, the bug-a-phobe… I was having a hard time. But my sister Emily, was not having it. She was pacing around complaining about how she couldn’t handle the bugs rather than actually helping. It was both annoying and entertaining all at the same time.

The funniest part, though, was when I noticed a bunch of Haitian men looking over towards our group. They actually called our translator over, and when Eden came back, he asked Anna what her name was. “Anna!” he called back to the group. We all looked at each other and burst into laughter. Abby was the first to coin it for her: “Anna, the Haitian Hottie!” That was definitely a joke that lasted throughout the rest of the week.

When we were cleaning, we had two paint buckets and a garbage bag. We ripped a hole in the bag, so we ended up just having to fill the buckets and keep dumping them into this GIANT white trash bag around the corner. It was insane. It was taller than me and maybe five Katies wide. Pretty intense if you ask me. We basically filled up one every hour between all of the groups.

Thankfully, the second time was not nearly as difficult. There were less bugs and more kids. We all got distracted by them at one point or another. I was probably one of the first to get caught in their trap. I mean, we’re missionaries right? Building relationships with the children seems much more important than the trash, am I right?

Don’t get me wrong, we definitely got a lot of work done before this happened. A group of us were walking through a giant pile of trash and picking stuff up, commenting a lot along the way. There were plastic water bags, olive oil containers, broken plates, silverware, and best of all, some homework! Everyone knows the excuse “the dog ate my homework,” but what about “the missionary threw away my homework?” New classic anybody?

But in all honesty, there was definitely a lot of playing after this. Some people found a large jaw bone that was a fascination for both us and the little boys. Abby got her headband stolen by a Haitian teen (and I honestly don’t know if she ever got it back). I found a little girl who I just couldn’t put down. She actually spoke some English too! She knew most of her ABCs and all the numbers up to about 20. I decided to continue her schooling and teach her more English. She had a fetish for my sunglasses, so we started there. I pointed, spoke, and she repeated. Then we moved on to facial features. Abby actually got a video. She was a brilliant student. But she couldn’t get “ears” under her belt, as Haitians have a terrible time with the ‘r’ sound. It’s kind of hysterical. Just before we left for lunch, I taught her how to say “King of the Roads.” It was awesome, but it was heartbreaking to leave her.

By the time lunch finally came around, we were all completely exhausted. Bending over and rifling through trash and then physically running around and playing with children practically put us all into a coma. We ate and then headed up to the other building to take naps on the roof. It was wonderful- until it ended. Sadly. Painfully. Distressingly. But we had a job to do!

Back to the village for more clean up! We basically hit the mother lode of all trash piles and quickly filled up the giant bag. It was amazing. A truck full of us went to dump another bag while many of us stayed to continue. I heard they actually sent some of Chip’s firecrackers into the fire which was pretty exciting.

Yes, somehow, Chip managed to get a bunch of firecrackers and a handful of Roman candles through airport security and onto the plane. He didn’t know either, mind you, but still. Way to go security! I hope that makes you feel safe…

So back to the trash pile. I was standing around with a little girl clinging to my neck when all of the sudden, Anna’s scream pierced the air and many more followed immediately. I looked up to see the girls in a gazelle-paced sprint, speeding away from the trash. In this same moment, all of the male Haitians ran towards what they were running away from. I could tell, I didn’t want to know.

Anna had moved a piece of trash and out crawled a tarantula. Tune in tomorrow to find out what those boys did with the tarantula!

-Katie Coming to You from Haiti

Monday Night Homework

As I mentioned in the previous post, we had homework on Monday night. We were to all listen to or read the lyrics to 'Live Like That' by the Sidewalk Prophets. To make it easy for you, I've included the lyrics:

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of us
Was my worship more than just a song

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change our heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed
When they see me, do they see You

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that
I want to live like that 

Now, our homework was to reflect on what these lyrics meant to each of us. So please, feel free to join in and comment. What do these lyrics mean to you? What do they mean for the typical Christian? What is your first reaction, or response?