Day 2 (and 3) in Haiti

Johnny typed yesterday's post, but I have a little to add :) As of 3 days ago, the director of the school decided to begin classes for the few students still in-country. A handful of teachers are here teaching 65 students from Pre-K to 12th grade. School is the best way for them to begin getting back into a normal routine (even though school is very very laid back). I have been able to sit and talk with them--to hear their stories and to encourage them as they deal with the emotional aftermath of the earthquake. While I will never be able to completely understand what they went through that day and what they have dealt with since then, I do understand them as a friend who experienced Haiti BE (before earthquake). It has been a privilege to serve them in this way, and Johnny and I are working on ways to help relieve them so they can get some rest. Johnny is pretty good at comic relief and the school has asked him to do a chapel service on Monday (the kids always asked me when he would come back to do another chapel!).

When I am not at the school helping with random errands, counseling, or stress relief, I am translating as needed. Last night I rode up with a team of Dominican doctors and a few American nurses to guide them to where they'll be staying. The driver spoke Spanish but he did have a Haitian translator with him who spoke Creole and Spanish. I spoke to him in Creole and he relayed the directions in Spanish. It was quite an experience! We got to the house (my friends Tim and Paola's house) after dark and I helped them unload their supplies. It was hard being back in Tim and Paola's home knowing they had to leave soon after the earthquake (Paola is 7 months pregnant!). I slept at their house the first night after Katie died, so there were a lot of memories there.

I realize that living in Haiti I have experienced a lot of tragedy. I know that this is a hard place, but at the same time I can really see the Lord moving here. Haiti is a very spiritual place indeed, but not a completely lost one. There are forces of darkness because of the voodoo, etc, but we know that Jesus has power over all of it! The believers here know it too, and they know who to thank for their blessings. I've been told that the night after the earthquake that you could hear Haitians singing and crying out to God. The director of the school told me that the people in the ravine near his home were singing "Count Your Blessings." What an amazing example of faith in the face of terrible tragedy.

Please keep praying...that is the number one need in Haiti right now!


Kim

PS--I will get pictures up asap. We borrowed a computer the first night in Jacmel and this morning I thought I loaded pictures on a jump drive so I could leave my laptop at the missionary's home we are staying at. Apparently I didn't...I'll get them posted soon!

Day 2 in Haiti

We woke up this morning to a great sunrise. We were in Jacmel waiting for our ride to Port-au-Prince. He showed up at 7 o’clock, just in time to grab a little breakfast before we were off. I forget our drivers name (he didn’t talk much at all) but our co-driver was a guy by the name of Junior (all I could think of in my mind was cool runnings). He was awesome and almost talked to us the whole ride in. Kim would ask Junior about certain places she remembers from living hear before. His answers were usually either “It’s flat” or “it is there but it is very badly damaged.” We talked about the future of Haiti and what his story was and we even talked about why the Canadians were so mad (we don’t know if they this is true but he said that the Americans kicked out the French and the Canadians and took over the Port-au-Prince airport and that’s why our Canadian neighbors didn’t give us a ride…there is no way we can confirm this but it made a lot of great jokes as the day went on). Junior lived in New York City during 9/11 and lived in Haiti during the Baby Doc’s departure, all the riots and coup d’etats, the school collapse, the bad hurricane season, and now the earthquake. Needless to say he had several amazing stories.

The ride over was …. I don’t know if you can put it into words. To me its like explaining to someone the Grand Canyon--how big and massive it is—but you are only able to show them a picture of it. They walk away thinking they know but you can only feel the “realness” of it when you are there in person. I had heard reports and seen pictures and video on TV but when it is something you hear and smell and breathe and it encompasses you it takes on a whole new form.

It is only maybe 25-35 miles (as the crow flies) to Port-au-Prince, but crows can fly over mountain ranges. We had to drive through one, which made the ride three hours long. The road was damaged the whole way, but as we got closer to PAP it worsened. In some parts there were hummer-sized boulders that had broken off the mountain and rolled down to block the road. In other parts there were mountain slides and some areas where the road had cracked and dropped up to 2 feet. Junior tells us that everyone knows this road will someday break off and slide down the mountain. It is the only (passable) road between Jacmel and PAP.

As we moved through the mountain you could see some houses reduced to rubble and some that were heavily damaged but miraculously still standing. Once we started to hit heavily populated places it was unbelievable. It was the Grand Canyon affect on me. About 60% of the houses were completely destroyed. Another 20-30% were damaged but still standing. We drove through Leogane, perhaps one of the hardest hit areas. It is just a few miles from Carrefour, the epicenter of the quake.

In my minds eye when I think of a building collapsing I think of bits or pieces falling or maybe half of it but that was not the case here (only a very small percent had minimal damage). The most common way I saw how building were crushed was this. Picture the ground and foundation then about 1 foot of rubble then the concrete roof on top of that. It seemed that the walls just disappeared and roofs where staying intact but had compressed everything below to the floor. You would see a 2-story building that was once 15-20 feet high; the roof would be intact only 3 feet high. The roofs are also not like ours. They are made of heavy concrete—perfect for hurricanes but deadly in an earthquake. Those that survived the collapse of their homes are now making tent communities. Anywhere there was a park, there is now a tent city. The Prime Minister’s home in Bourdon, the large parks in downtown, and the Petionville golf course now serve as refugee camps for the displaced.

I could go on a lot about all the disaster but we need to move on to the school. We arrived at the school and there we finished the day doing a several random errands for the staff. The first task that was given to me was to find a box of underwear….still haven’t found it. The army is also using half of the compound as a base so it looks very impressive. I believe there are over 250 medical personnel working out of the school. So much to say but we will cut it short there and say that even though it has been crazy it has also caused me to question God. Which is good. On the way down here I read A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis. In it he talks about our faith in God and how real it is to us. He likens it to rope--he says if someone asks you if you believe rope can tie a box shut, of course you would have faith in that rope. He goes on to say but suppose someone asks you to hang over a precipice? Would you have that same faith in that rope? I really believe as Christians we need to ask ourselves questions about our faith and what do we do with suffering when we are confronted with it. I don’t believe there is a set answer to this but I do believe I can point you in the right direction, and that direction is Jesus. I can never relate to these people and what they lived through. Right now as I speak I am in a house and the Haitians we are with won’t sleep in it even though there is room. They are sleeping outside for fear of another earthquake. The bible does say though that we do not have an unsympathetic high priest. Who better knew pain than Jesus? In the garden we see agony. On the cross we see questioning but through it all he didn’t sin and he ended victorious. That’s the key: he ended victorious (and it so happened that he got victory after death, is the same for some of us also? I believe so) Let us not forget we were promised hard times.

Let me leave on one more thought. I think back to my very good friend who said this in his testimony once. I find it comforting to me and a good reminder to keep things in perspective. He said, “God calls all of us to be a Bull that is ready; whether it is for the altar (laying our lives down) or the plow (a life long journey of ministry) is up to Him. So let me ask you, are you ready for either?

Johnny

Back in Haiti AE (After Earthquake)

After 2 weeks of trying to get into Haiti, we finally made it. It wasn't without it's challenges (of course). Almost all of the supplies we brought to be loaded on the plane in Addison had to stay on the ground. Why? Well to make a long story short, the wonderful pilot that came to pick us up already had a plane FULL of med supplies bound for Haiti (including an X-Ray machine). We grabbed what we could and hopped on our PC-12 bound for Fort Lauderdale. The only seats on the plane were the co-pilot seat and one seat surrounded by cargo. Yep...I got shotgun :)

Our pilot was a wonderful 6'7" English man from Vancouver. He handed me maps and had me help navigate for him. I got to wear the headset and everything! Arriving in Fort Lauderdale was easy enough. We stayed with Johnny's friend (Uncle Tony) for the night and had a wonderful time trying to stay awake chatting.

This morning we left for Jacmel (yes...we were originally supposed to fly into Port-au-Prince, but things aren't super organized right now). Richard also assumed we'd be able to get a ride with the Canadians on their helicopter back into Port-au-Prince. More on that later...
I took the copilot seat again excited at my newfound understanding of aviation (very very limited understanding). Our pilot, Richard, told me once we got close to Jacmel we'd be flying VFR. Not sure what that stands for, but it basically means flying without relying on air traffic control to keep you from hitting other planes. Yes, that means I was looking out the window watching for anything that could pose a threat to our little PC-12. Sure enough, a huge cargo plane started turning towards us. I saved the day of course by pointing it out to Richard who promptly took evasive action. Eh, we dropped in altitude a bit. Nothing fancy.

When we arrived in Jacmel (after the sketchy air traffic control warned us of the 'dark spot' on the runway to avoid), there was no helicopter. Instead we were greeted by several Canadians in camouflage. Canadian flags were everywhere...I was definitely kicking myself for not wearing my Canada shirt Heather sent me. We asked if we could get on the helicopter coming to take the medical supplies. "EY, ah, we can only take Canadian citizens or people who need emergency medical care, EY". Yeah...neither qualification applied to us. So, we were stuck at the airport without a sure ride to Port-au-Prince (or place to stay in Jacmel). Dang Canadians.

After I asked everybody and their mom about getting a ride back to Port-au-Prince (and while Johnny juggled rocks), we basically found out we would not get a ride today. Sometimes American helicopters land, and maybe they'd be able to take us. But no one knew when or if they'd come back. Dang Americans. Oh...wait. I then went into asking about a place for us to stay tonight. Johnny guarded our stuff by giving stern looks at anyone who came close. He was also in a bad mood about the whole Canadian pride thing.

We found a place not too far from Jacmel and will stay here until tomorrow morning when our ride comes. The earthquake definitely affected Jacmel too; large parts of the downtown area collapsed. We passed a few homes that were destroyed along the way. I've been able to talk with a lot of people here who have told me their stories. Many have lost family members and friends, but still have a positive attitude about what the Lord is doing here. Please keep us in your prayers and check back tomorrow for another update!

Kim & Johnny

Gonaives, DC, National Palace...

So the last time I 'blogged' was in January. That was 2 months ago. I'm good at updating facebook....so be sure to add me on there if you haven't yet. So what have I been up to the last few months? Well, I finished the school's yearbook with my students, visited Gonaives, took 6 students to Washington DC, took 21 students to visit the National Palace in Haiti, hung out with Johnny on his quick 3-day visit to Haiti, and recently had an all-night campout with 75 middle and high school students.

So here is a summary of everything from the past couple of months:

I went to Gonaives with Pam because her brother works with an NGO out there involved with disaster relief. Gonaives was severely damaged by the hurricanes this past fall and recovery has been slow. It was neat to be able to visit another part of Haiti and to see the efforts of so many people working to get the city back on its feet. We toured projects that the UN and IOM were working on and saw the damage left from the storms.


The trip to Washington DC was exciting because my students and I were able to get an inside look into the US government. We met with an official from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who talked with us about how the US is working with Haiti. The students learned a lot and were able to see how open our government really is. We visited museums, the Library of Congress, monuments, and were able to sit in on the House in session. Hopefully the students will learn from the experience and become more engaged in their own government.



In fact, I was able to take my government class to visit the National Palace (Haiti's White House). We took a tour of the palace and met with the Secretary General and learned a lot about how the Haitian government works. We also visited the national museum and saw some neat artifacts from Haiti's past. The students loved seeing the personal belongings of their revolutionary heroes. That was the first time most of them had ever seen the inside of the Palace or visited their nation's history.









Just a couple of weeks ago, Johnny was able to visit for a couple of days and see a quick glimpse of Haiti. He spoke at school chapel on Wednesday morning and had all of the kids rolling in the aisles. They loved his message and still ask me when he's coming back to speak in chapel again.

Lastly (for now), we just had an all-night camp out for the middle and high school students. We 'locked' them in on campus for the night. We played capture the flag, soccer, basketball, kick the can, and a variation of hide-and-go-seek. Each kid was to bring a can of soup or bag of Ramen, which we mixed all together in one huge pot. Our 'soup surprise' was actually very good!! We also built a campfire and made s'mores. We did have to explain s'mores-making again as last year there was some confusion as to whether the chocolate needed to be roasted with the marshmallows :)

There are a lot more activities coming up and I'm super excited about them. Currently, I am planning a girls' retreat for the young ladies in high school. My goal is that the seniors will mentor the younger girls into becoming strong leaders at the school next year. Keep that in your prayers as the details come together :)

Happy New Year!

Well I'm back in Haiti after a nice, restful time back in Texas with the family. The first semester ended well, and I enjoyed spending two weeks in colder weather. Well, I enjoyed a couple of days of it...then I decided I needed my tropical heat back!  School started up on Monday and it was great to see my students again. We swapped Christmas break stories and reviewed some from last semester. I also have a new roommate! Pam, a fellow teacher and friend that lived in the apartment next to mine, is now living with me. We are sharing a one-bedroom apartment and loving it! She and I get along great...well, at least for now! haha. We'll see how well we do after being together 24/7. 

Today we had a picnic out at a family's house in Croix de Bouquets. We had great food, fellowship, and plenty of Guitar Hero World Tour!  We also had the opportunity to visit Double Harvest, a ministry here in Haiti that is involved in conservation and reforestation projects. They grow all sorts of plants--from ornamental to vegetables and trees. Pam and I bought tomato plants and marigolds to plant in our little flower bed.

When we got back home, we decided we needed to go ahead and plant the tomatoes before they died. Without proper gardening tools, we had to improvise. Pam came out with a soup spoon and bread knife and started going to town in our less-than-fertile dirt pile.  Our guard just watched and laughed. He then gave me this big stick, as if I knew what to do with it. I just gave him that "I'll stick with my silverware, thank you" look and kept digging. He broke the stick and started digging his own holes--twice as fast as me of course. I realized the broken stick was a much better gardening tool than knife and spoon, so together we all finished planting the tomatoes. Our cat, fiendish as he is, thought it was his job to dig up the tomatoes after we planted them. Needless to say he got squirted with water.

Overall it was a great week. The weather is beautiful here this time of year and our garden is off to a great start. Oh, and my new year's resolution is to update my blog more regularly :) 

Happy New Year!

school collapse survivors

Miquette and a little boy from the school

Me with Danilove and her mother

A few weeks ago a school collapsed in Haiti, killing 90 and injuring a hundred more. I had the incredible opportunity to visit L'hopital General in Port-au-Prince with Miquette Denie and Denise Blesh, coworkers and friends of mine at QCS. Together we were able to bring bottles of water, stuffed animals, cookies, crackers and candy to the kids recovering from the collapse. We saw nearly 20 kids spread in 4 different rooms. Many of the children lost friends, teachers, and siblings in the collapse. Miquette was able to organize over a thousand dollars in donations for the families of the victims to help with hospital bills and, if necessary, funeral costs. We had the families come two weeks after our visit to the QCS campus. Here they received $500 HTD each (roughly $65 US). Many of the children were still recovering in the hospital. The families were thrilled to have help in the midst of such an awful tragedy. 

The Aftermath Part III

Better late than never...

When we were leaving Cabaret there was a young woman in the back of one of the trucks. One of the other missionaries asked why she was there and he was told that she needed a place to recuperate and eat good food.  He said the orphanage was full so Pam and I offered our house.  We found out that the night Cabaret flooded, she woke up and ran for her 3 month old baby. As she was trying to get to higher ground, the flood waters came. A banana tree washed by and knocked the baby out of her arms. She was swept down the raging waters and into a tree where she fought through the night. She was found the next morning in the tree, alive, but her baby was not. 

She was 17 years old.

We brought her home and got her some soup. She had no energy and was bandaged from the many cuts on her body. We set up a bed and table for her in the living room. Later, however, we discovered she didn't just need a place to recuperate from the trauma, and it wasn't only food she needed. When we felt her forehead, we discovered that she was burning up. After fighting with her to let us take her temperature, we discovered she had a fever of 104.3.  We immediately tried to get the sheets off of her and put a cold rag on her head. She refused. We tried giving her tylenol, but she refused. After nearly an hour of trying to calm her fears of foreign medicine and wet rags, she finally let us get her temperature down. Little did we know that the next few days of our lives would look just like this!

The poor girl was very, very sick. On top of losing her baby and getting stuck in a tree during a flood in the middle of the night, she was daily fighting a nasty cough and an even nastier fever. We took her to a clinic that diagnosed her with pneumonia and prescribed anibiotics among other things. Of course, more pills. From day 1 she refused to take any pills, so Pam and I had to smash the pills and put them in various beverages. One day it would be sprite, another day coke, and still others, just water.  She was very, very picky and changed her mind constantly. We decided it was a combination of her age (teenage girl!), recent trauma (losing a baby), high fevers (delirious) and the foreign environment (different house with 2 foreigners taking care of her). After 4 days of battling with her to have her take her meds, eat healthy food, and bathe, we decided it was best for her to return to her family. We were able to get her back to her village where her sister took over nurse duties.  

I am happy to report that a week after staying with us she was regaining her strength and doing much better. I am waiting to find out the most recent update as to her mental, emotional, and physical condition.