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| The little precious angel I got to help bring into the world our last night in Haiti! |
Saturday:
We were at the airport by 4:15 a.m. It was rough. We were all working on about 2 hours of sleep, so you can imagine the grumpy-ness we all felt. We flew into Miami and ate a late breakfast/early lunch, then shortly boarded the plane to Haiti. Were so stoked at this point. When we were flying over Haiti I suddenly saw all of these mountains and plateaus that I was not expecting. The man who was sitting next to me told me that, "Haiti has lots of mountains!" I was so excited. When we landed, we got off the plane and rode a bus to where we would pick up our baggage. When we finally got our bags, got to the vans, loaded up, and loaded into the vans, I knew it was going to be an experience. The roads there are just not what we have here in America. I'm not sure if they are damaged from the earthquake or not, but they're definitely rough. I actually got car sick a few times we were there because of all of the bumpy roads. After about a 2 hour car ride through Port-Au-Prince, and a few other towns/villages, we finally arrived at Haitian Christian Mission in Fonds-Parisian. We unpacked a few things, and checked out the mission, then most of us took naps, then dinner, then a small devotion. And the night was over.
Sunday:
We had 22 in our team, plus 2 from another college who came to join us for the week. So, we split into 2 groups of 12, plus a couple of translators to go with us to church. The group I went with went to a church in the mountains, which was extremely beautiful! The roads were windy, but they over looked an incredible view. It almost felt like our van would topple over at any moment. We arrived at church and there was a couple in the front holding their son, which we came to find out, was a dedication. It was so sweet to see. We sat down and listened to... we're not really sure! I couldn't tell if he was preaching or telling about our group, or, what exactly. So, we just sat and listened. They eventually called Scottie and Mandy, who were in our group to come up and sing. They did a great job and the people there really seemed to enjoy it, even though they didn't know what we were saying. Afterwards, Allen, who is the preacher at Bethany Christian Church, came up and gave his message. Betty, who founded the mission with the help of her husband, translated for him. He focused on the season of Christmas and how the gift of Jesus keeps giving each season, not just during Christmas. It was a short message, but it had a lot of depth. We sang a few of their songs, then wrapped up, and left. After, we (I) was starving, so I suggested we go to a store, so Betty decided to take us to the market in Port-Au-Prince. It was so neat to see their food and the food we eat too. After, we went back to the mission and hung out for a little while. We ate lunch and pretty much just chilled for the rest of the day. Later that evening, some of us went to the roof and lead worship for an hour or so. It was great to just praise the Lord without all of the instruments (though we did have a guitar and cajon, which is basically a drum).
Monday:
We woke up, ate breakfast, and figured out what we were going to do that day. The guys started construction on a house for this woman named Emily, who had 7 kids. They did that most of the day, while we got VBS supplies together, as well as fold up clothes to donate to villages and to those in need. When we were finished with that, the girls loaded up in the van to head to the village just a few minutes away from the mission. We were welcomed with open arms by the children there. The view from the school was breathtaking. It was completely surrounded by mountains. We talked about the birth of Jesus and had them color a picture of the manger scene. We left and went back to the mission to have lunch. We waited on the boys for a little while, then got together to fill ziploc bags with rice to hand out to families at the villages we went to. The guys went to one of the villages that afternoon to hand out rice, while the girls stayed back to work on the playground inside the mission. When the guys got back, they told us about how they were basically mobbed during the rice giving because so many families weren't given any. It broke our hearts. After they got back, we ate dinner, then got ready to head to another village to lead our devotion. We sand a few songs, then some of us told what impacted us that day. We sang a couple more songs, then headed back for the mission to call it a night.
Tuesday:
We woke up and ate breakfast, and basically did the same things we did on Monday. On our way to do VBS we expected for the guys to meet us there, and to our surprise, they didn't. Little did we know, Satan was about to get in the middle of the Lord's work. Right when we showed up the kids were going insane. They were screaming at us and each other. During the story we shared, they would not stop talking, and the teachers there did nothing to help. During the craft/activity, they were basically hitting each other over a glue stick. One child hit one of our girls, Mandy across the face because she wouldn't give him a glue stick. They were not receptive to what we wanted to do there at all, and the fact the teachers did not help, was really discouraging. When we got in the van, the kids chased our van while giving us the middle finger. We asked one of our translators there if the kids knew what that meant, and they told us yes. It took a lot of energy out of us all, and made us feel pretty down. When the guys showed up, we shared our stories with them, and they were all shocked to hear what we had to say. Then, to our surprise, the pastor of that village came to visit us to talk about how upset he was to hear what we experienced. He told us that we would continue to go back to that village to do the Lord's work, because if we didn't, then Satan would have the victory, and Satan gets no victory here. I teared up when he said this because it really showed us how big their faith in God is, and quite frankly, it made me envious. Most of us Americans would have thrown in the towel and said, "Screw this! No way I'm going back to those devil kids!" But what did we do the next day? (see next day) That evening we had another devotion at the village and it, again, was amazing.
Wednesday:
Starting our day, we just prayed for a better outcome. We went to this village across one of the lakes there near Fonds-Parisian (right near the Haiti/Dominican Republic border) to distribute rice together. We had to ride in a row boat across the lake, which was frightening and amazing at the same time. The kids welcomed us with open arms and we had a blast. We sang a couple of songs, danced, handed out the rice, and left. When we got back, we packed up some more rice for the kids at VBS. We went back to the village to lead VBS again (with the boys) and right when we walked into the school the kids were as quiet as a mouse. I'm not sure what the pastor said to the teachers or to the children, but whatever he said, worked. The Lord had the victory that day, because we were able to have a great last day with the children, and teach about the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ with them. It was an awesome and full-filling day. Needless to say, we felt much better leaving. We had lunch, then some of us took a short nap, and woke up to go on a hike up a mountain that a staff member there wanted to show us. It was a BEAUTIFUL hike. It was a marvelous view that none of us were expecting to see. We think of Haiti as being this destructive, damaged, torn, sad country that doesn't have any hope left after this devastating earthquake shattered it's bones; however, it is in fact one of the most gorgeous sights I have ever seen. I did not want to leave.
Thursday:
We had all planned on going to see the tent villages (refugee tents of those still affected/homeless from the earthquake) and to see Samuel's family (one of the guys who lives at the mission and translates). After some miscommunication, that did not get to happen. However, the group that I went with got to see Sonson's family's tent (another translator who lives at the mission) and that was awesome! His mother was so gentle and kind to the few of us who went to see her. We sang a few songs for them, and headed out to the mountains of Port-Au-Prince (which seemed to be more fancy than downtown). When we got there, we ate lunch with the rest of our group we met up with, visited a couple of shops there, and headed back down the mountain. We got back to the mission and just chilled for the rest of the day. It had been an overwhelming day and we were all exhausted.
UNTIL! Kendall (who used to be an EMT) and Megan (who is a nursing major at UWG) announced that two women are in labor at the OB/GYN clinic right next to the mission. When they said that, for some reason, I said, "Oh hey, can I come?" And Kendall said she would ask. So, we went down to the clinic and right when we walked in I head a women scream in pain. I waited outside and Kendall shortly came back out and said I could come, but that I should go change into closed-toed shoes, pants, and an old shirt. So, I ran up to our room, went through Megan's dirty clothes to find another pair of her scrub pants, and threw on an old shirt and my TOMS. I ran down the stairs to the clinic and Kendall handed me some gloves, mask, and safety eye glasses. She said, "Don't lock your knees, just in case you pass out." Right away, I was thinking, "OH CRAP." I work at an OB/GYN office, so I hear horror stories of the delivery room all the time, and with my step dad being one of the doctors there, I felt some-what prepared to see what I was about to see (even though hearing stories about it, and actually seeing it are two totally different things). I walked in behind Megan into the delivery room (which was a little bit bigger than a normal exam room you would see at any doctor's office). I saw the woman having her contractions and my heart broke for her pain. See, in Haiti, they don't really have any pain medications. They have some type of medicine they can inject into an IV, but it apparently doesn't even touch the pain. So, during their labor, it's basically like taking advil, can you imagine? She kept saying this phrase over and over again that meant, "Why?" in English. A few times she even said, "Deliver me!" It broke our hearts so badly to see that hurt. When the baby finally came out we saw a beautiful, baby boy, a true gift from above. I almost felt like it was my child I was rejoicing so loudly. The nurses even looked at me and laughed. The nurse put a clamp on the umbillical cord and grabbed the scissors to cut, right before she did, I muttered, "Could I do it?" I never thought I would be able to do such an amazing act, but again, to my surprise, the doctor nodded her head, and pointed the scissors in my direction. I'm sure my eyes looked like I had seen a ghost. I took the scissors and angled them away from the mother and child and began to cut (which was really tough, by the way). When the cord had been cut apart I held the scissors and giggled like a little school girl from so much happiness. I'm really surprised I did not cry, but I guess I was full of so much joy, it was hard for me to. I was so excited I ran back up to the mission and walked into the dining room where mostly everyone was and shouted, "ITS A BOY!" Everyone clapped and yelled and I told them he was healthy and well, as was the mother. Then told them we had to get back to the clinic to delivery another baby. We went back down stairs and helped them prepare the next mother who was ready to deliver. She seemed to be in a lot more pain than the other woman was. During delivery they took the heartbeat of the child and could tell it was a very weak beat, which frightened us. When she finally pushed the baby out, which was another beautiful baby boy, he was not breathing. Megan and I tried to stay strong and help the doctors any way that we could, but we eventually both broke down in tears and sobbed the entire time. The doctor gave him CPR through an oxygen device that I had never seen before. Kendall had to pump his chest, and it felt like she said, "one, two, one, two, one, two" during the pumping of his chest, probably a thousand times and it never seemed to helped. Then, the power went out (which happens a lot down there), we all panicked. One of the nurses grabbed a suit-case like thing from under one of the tables and there were two switches there with two long cords connected to two strong led lights. She handed them to me and I held them over the baby as they continued to do CPR. Whatever they prepare you for when it comes to a baby not breathing, could not ever fully prepare you for the actual situation that we had before us. As I held the lights, Megan and I both continued to pour tears from our eyes as we sat and watched the newborn baby lay on the table, without breathing, getting his little chest pumped with oxygen. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare you for something so horrific. I finally couldn't take anymore, so Megan and I went upstairs and asked those who were around to pray for the newborn baby who was fighting for his life. After our prayer, I went back down to the delivery room alone to see if they needed any more assistance, there had not been any progress, and it was about 11 p.m at this point, and I still had not packed to leave out the next morning. I told Kendall I was going to start packing up and I would be back. I went back and began to pack, then John, Kendall's boyfriend came running back up a little later and told us that they baby was responding to his reflexes and breathing on his own. Megan, Brennan, and I ran down the stairs to check on this strong little baby, and, again, to our surprise, there he was, on the table breathing on his own, making these goo-goo noises that a sweet, healthy, perfect baby would typically make. All I could do was smile. I left thinking, "Wow, God...Wow." I felt extremely thankful for my life at that point, and nothing nor anyone could take away that moment.
Friday:
We all packed up, ate our breakfast, and ended our time at Haitian Christian Mission with a short walk to the local orphanage there. When we walked in, the children were so happy. The girls greeted us with kisses on our cheeks and the boys with hand-shakes. Our hearts were filled with so much gladness, yet bitterness at the same time at the thought of leaving this incredible country in just a few short hours. We took a few pictures with the children, let them try on some of the pillow-case dresses a lady from Bethany Christian Church had made for them, said our goodbyes, and walked back to the mission to prepare our goodbyes to some of the loveliest people we had ever met. Tears rolled down our cheeks as we hugged and said I love you to those that, we truly do love. It was a bitter-sweet day. We loaded up and headed to the airport, landed in Miami, had a lay over, and landed in Atlanta around 9:45 that evening. Kyle and I hugged and embraced each other after our long absence apart from one another. During the car ride home I was very quiet and not responsive to most of what Kyle was saying. Finally, I told him, "If I seem out of it, it's just because I'm..." and I got choked up.. "just feeling bittersweet." I lost it. Completely lost it. Kyle listened to me sob the entire way home and when we got to my house and ran into my mom's room, woke her up, and just cried in her arms for 10 minutes straight. She knew why. She didn't have to ask. My heart was breaking at that exact moment for the beautiful people of Haiti. The Lord has done so much good there, and will continue that good, I believe until the last minute of this world.
So, to sum up my experience? Astounding. Incredible. Breathtaking. Joyfull. Completely Christ-filled. I really cannot sum it all up in just one word or phrase. All I know, is I am going back to that amazing country. I cannot come back to America, a country where most of us take nearly EVERYTHING for granted, and simply forget about Haiti. I cannot and will not forget. Haiti has grabbed my heart by the strings and, even if I tried to get, the Lord would not let me. He knows the transformation my heart has had the past few days and I don't believe he is finished with me and what I have left to do in Haiti. There is a song called, "Always" that says, "I will not fear the war/I will not fear the storm/my Help is on the way, my Help is on the way/(chorus) Oh my God, he will not delay/my refuge and strength always/I will not fear, His promise is true/My God will come through always, always." I believe my God offers his grace and mercy to everyone who are willing to become passionate followers of his son, Jesus Christ. The Lord has a love so profound, so strong and powerful that no human will ever be able to fully comprehend. I know that we have tough times, financial struggles, marriage problems, belief issues, physical boundaries that hold us back, and more. But, our Lord... man, what a powerful Saviour. He offers us help during those tough times that we inevitably have every day. I cannot sit back and not take full advantage of that help he offers. His promise IS true. And the Haitian people believe that. Even during such devastation and hurt, they still remain steadfast in the Lord and his riches. I hope we can all take away a little bit of faith the Haitian people have shown us, and realize that the Lord never fails us. His grace and mercy remain. Always.
