Monday--
From here on out, our trip was spent contributing to Haiti's economy. [: The first day of the week, we went to a metal market and we headed out to a resort area called Wahoo Bay. There was a lot of fun had by all. The only downfall to the whole thing was how much garbage was floating around in the ocean. Either way, we enjoyed ourselves. The metal market was really neat. There were so many beautiful pieces. I find bargaining really awful, but I got a piece for Hannah's birthday. This is also the day we went to the beach. Woo! That was some fun times! After the beach, we stopped at a place offthe main road where bodies were dumped after the earthquake. This was one of many burial grounds that were made right after the earthquake. There were black crosses everywhere to represent just a fraction of the people who are buried there. This was one of the moments when you finally realize that so many people lost their lives in the earthquake. So many people have yet to hear from friends and family are only left to assume that their loved ones are in these mass graves. This was real and so many people are still hurting from it, while so many people outside of Haiti have moved on to some other event and put them in the back of their minds. I'm not saying I'm not guilty of this, I too am one to live in the moment, but this was convicting. It's important for us to see a problem or people in the midst of devastation and find a way to help. Don't just sit there and talk about it anymore, do something!
Tuesday--
Early morning hike to a waterfall!!!! Absolutely beautiful. We hiked a ways down a stream that opened up into a waterfall area. Some of the group headed up a cliff-thing to some more waterfalls, but my awful fear of falling kept me safely on the ground. After the waterfall, we headed to downtown Port au Prince where the palace is and we had a tour of a Haitian Museum. We saw the anchor of the Santa Maria! WHOOP WHOOP. Our next stop was the Baptist Mission. We were able to simulate the economy a little more. On our way back to the campus, we stopped at look-out where you can see all of Port au Prince. It was swarming with Sri Lankan officers from the UN. Apparently, their delicacy was there, so they were having dinner. There's a really hilarious story that came out of this... Basically, we're pretty sure that Brent might be taken in and questioned by the FBI/CIA at some point in the near future about his interactions with the Sri Lankan army. (:
Wednesday--
Our last day in Haiti. Of course, we spent the majority of the morning playing one last game of Trivial Pursuit. It was kind of weird because only ten out of eighteen of us were leaving, so some of us were packing and preparing to say goodbye, while others were only halfway done withtheir time in Haiti. Note to self: never book a seat on the last flight out of Haiti again, it will probably be cancelled. That's what happened to us, at least. Luckily, we were at the airport three hours early, so we just barely caught the earlier flight. Later that day, we found out that the next flight out wasn't until Friday. Talk about a God thing, huh?
-K
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, Saturday, Sunday..………
Friday and Saturday were spent on-campus working to get ahead of where they were when we arrived. It was a pretty successful two days, minus a total lack of energy Friday, so a day of rest was self-implemented. So needed. Sometimes, your body knows exactly what it needs, and I needed the rest. Saturday, I met two guys from Alabama. One guy, Ken, was really interesting. I'd explain him more, but I'm bored of typing, so I'll just let you know that I admire his dedication to God's plan for him to help an show love to people around the world. "One more trip, just one more trip…"
Sunday, today, we had our service in the new church. Surprisingly, there weren't as many people in the church as we had expected. I figuredthere wouldn't really be room forbus, but there were some empty rows! We sang a few songs for them and Brent slowly gave a small sermon. Translated sermons are annoying. After the service, we distributed school supplies (total chaos) and met with the church board. It was beautiful. Ask me about it when my feet aren't the size of hot air balloons and I'm not coughing a lung up constantly. I promise the real story will be mch better than these posts. (:
-k
Sunday, today, we had our service in the new church. Surprisingly, there weren't as many people in the church as we had expected. I figuredthere wouldn't really be room forbus, but there were some empty rows! We sang a few songs for them and Brent slowly gave a small sermon. Translated sermons are annoying. After the service, we distributed school supplies (total chaos) and met with the church board. It was beautiful. Ask me about it when my feet aren't the size of hot air balloons and I'm not coughing a lung up constantly. I promise the real story will be mch better than these posts. (:
-k
THEINCHWORM
So, last night, the 25th, my tent-mate and I put on a shadow puppet show on the wall of our tent. If you disk know what was happening, the large crowd of boys surrounding our tent probably looked super suspicious. Also, I'm awesome an made a little man out of a paper just by ripping. I'm neat. (:
If you haven't noticed, my theme for these blogs has been a statement of where I've seen God through the course of my time here in Haiti. Each night, we've been encouraged to reflect on our days and who we've encountered and find God. The other night, some people in our group made a comment about seeing God in the work we were doing. They talked about funking about all of the Christians on this nation now and to come who will sit on that seat. Some others talked about the pulpit and how many sermons will be spoken from that spot. I really didn't think about it that way, until it was brought up by someone else, but it's definitely a good way to look at things. Well, in my own way today, I saw the further of God and this church through one thing, this short, snaggle-toothed man who has been at this church for 30 years. As we began to see the church finally coming together, I was on window paint duty, so I had a nice view of the inside of the church. As I'm working on the window, I watch as this small man takes a moment to look at this beautiful Hiuse of God that has been built for him and his ministry. He walks up to the front where his pulpit will be and looks out where his congregation will be seated, taking in the wonderfulness that will occur every Sunday morning. That is my place where I saw Gid that day, but trust me, there was so much God at this place, there are so many stories that could still be told.
-k
If you haven't noticed, my theme for these blogs has been a statement of where I've seen God through the course of my time here in Haiti. Each night, we've been encouraged to reflect on our days and who we've encountered and find God. The other night, some people in our group made a comment about seeing God in the work we were doing. They talked about funking about all of the Christians on this nation now and to come who will sit on that seat. Some others talked about the pulpit and how many sermons will be spoken from that spot. I really didn't think about it that way, until it was brought up by someone else, but it's definitely a good way to look at things. Well, in my own way today, I saw the further of God and this church through one thing, this short, snaggle-toothed man who has been at this church for 30 years. As we began to see the church finally coming together, I was on window paint duty, so I had a nice view of the inside of the church. As I'm working on the window, I watch as this small man takes a moment to look at this beautiful Hiuse of God that has been built for him and his ministry. He walks up to the front where his pulpit will be and looks out where his congregation will be seated, taking in the wonderfulness that will occur every Sunday morning. That is my place where I saw Gid that day, but trust me, there was so much God at this place, there are so many stories that could still be told.
-k
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Out in the middle of nowhere...
On our way to Pernier, there were many people who we waved at on the streets. Some were excited to see us and waved vigorously, some scowled or simply looked perplexed, and some shouted things at us...positive or negative, I do not know, and I'm okay with that. One woman caught my eye as we were drawing closer to our destination. She was elderly and sitting off to the side of the road. As we drove past her and waved, she held out her arms in an embracing manner, blew kisses, and blessed is. God was in that woman on the side of the road. She was simply the beginning of the beautiful children of God we would encounter the next 48 hours.
So, here's a little backstory on the town where we were working:
Technically, it's Pernier two...in creole. There are two cities with the same name, so the one close to Port Au Prince in just Pernier and the one farther is two. This place is on a mountain in the middle of beautiful scenery. The pastor is a short man with not many teeth. He was married previously and has an older son, but that wife passed away, so he remarried and has four more kids. Their "house" is right by the new church building, but it's looking pretty rough. Most of the houses, which I'm really not sure where they're located, were more like brick huts. The old church is totally metal, besides the floor. They nicknamed it the over because it gets so ridiculously hot in there. They're now using the building as the school for the local kids who can't afford private education. For the work & witness teams to come work on a project, the church mist put forth an effort into getting the project started. Usually, churches are asked to provide the sand and rocks to makerhe cement and feed the masons for six weeks. When Frantz, the guy in charge, visited the church to discuss the project, the pastor was honest with him and let him know that the church simply did not have the money for this project. He offered the rocks in the creek behind the church and to feed the masons for five weeks, but there was no way the church could afford 13 trucks of sand for $100 a load. Frantz just didn't think he could. Help the church out, but something made him feel that he needed to make this happen. The pastor had been in this church for 30 years and the church members were beginning to attend less and less, so Frantz decided to make it happen he would find the money and make it happen, so off they went. The whole church would get up early to drag rocks from the creek for their new church. Technically, the church only had enough food for the masons to be there for four weeks, but they successfully lasted five weeks and ended with a roofless, unpainted church building. That's when our part of the story begins. We were there to add a much needed roof, build pews, and paint. Plus, spread a little happy Jesus here & there. I think we managed quite well, if I do say so myself. (:
-k
So, here's a little backstory on the town where we were working:
Technically, it's Pernier two...in creole. There are two cities with the same name, so the one close to Port Au Prince in just Pernier and the one farther is two. This place is on a mountain in the middle of beautiful scenery. The pastor is a short man with not many teeth. He was married previously and has an older son, but that wife passed away, so he remarried and has four more kids. Their "house" is right by the new church building, but it's looking pretty rough. Most of the houses, which I'm really not sure where they're located, were more like brick huts. The old church is totally metal, besides the floor. They nicknamed it the over because it gets so ridiculously hot in there. They're now using the building as the school for the local kids who can't afford private education. For the work & witness teams to come work on a project, the church mist put forth an effort into getting the project started. Usually, churches are asked to provide the sand and rocks to makerhe cement and feed the masons for six weeks. When Frantz, the guy in charge, visited the church to discuss the project, the pastor was honest with him and let him know that the church simply did not have the money for this project. He offered the rocks in the creek behind the church and to feed the masons for five weeks, but there was no way the church could afford 13 trucks of sand for $100 a load. Frantz just didn't think he could. Help the church out, but something made him feel that he needed to make this happen. The pastor had been in this church for 30 years and the church members were beginning to attend less and less, so Frantz decided to make it happen he would find the money and make it happen, so off they went. The whole church would get up early to drag rocks from the creek for their new church. Technically, the church only had enough food for the masons to be there for four weeks, but they successfully lasted five weeks and ended with a roofless, unpainted church building. That's when our part of the story begins. We were there to add a much needed roof, build pews, and paint. Plus, spread a little happy Jesus here & there. I think we managed quite well, if I do say so myself. (:
-k
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Prep Work
These next few posts will be a little different because we began journaling as a group in devotions to discuss where we saw God during the day. I'll put in some extra details of the days to give some more juiciness to these posts. (:
"Today, God was in our motley crew. We all have different skips that sometimes aren't so easily brought out in things like construction, but we were able to find a few things we were pretty decent at throughout the day. Some did well with using large powertools or sanding or organizing. Even though none of us are really experts at what went on today, we were all able to see how these smaller things would become apart of something even bigger and more fantastic than we could imagine."
Besides painting benches, organizing tools and supplies for the next days of work, and putting a backrest for the ridiculous "cage," which drove us to our worksite the next day we also sorted a massive amount of school supples for the place we went the next day and another group of kids. This time, I stayed up later than 8. (:
-k
"Today, God was in our motley crew. We all have different skips that sometimes aren't so easily brought out in things like construction, but we were able to find a few things we were pretty decent at throughout the day. Some did well with using large powertools or sanding or organizing. Even though none of us are really experts at what went on today, we were all able to see how these smaller things would become apart of something even bigger and more fantastic than we could imagine."
Besides painting benches, organizing tools and supplies for the next days of work, and putting a backrest for the ridiculous "cage," which drove us to our worksite the next day we also sorted a massive amount of school supples for the place we went the next day and another group of kids. This time, I stayed up later than 8. (:
-k
Haiti arrival
What a long day. We left Nashville at 940 in Port-au-Prince at 430. The airport isn't much of anything. You get off of your flight into a hallway, then you walk down the stairs to a bus, which takes you to the customs part of the airport. One Of the weird, eye-opening things at the airport was the sight of the old airport through the windows of the hallway. It's been totally abandoned and you can see into the windows where rubble has fallen and the earthquake made it totally unusable. Once we finally got through customs, which was very similar to the customs we went through in the Bahamas (many lines that lead to windows where they simply stamp your passport and tourist thing and let you go on through). The baggage claim was pretty similar, too, in that they simply throw everyone's bags into a giant pile and it's a total free-for-all. After we all found our super ridiculously heavy luggage, it was time to head to the campus! The drive was not very far, but the driving and traffic was so ridiculous that it took us an hour-plus to finally get to the school! When we arrived at the campus, a group from SNU was celebrating their final night in Haiti. Due to the long day of travel, I wasn't really up for the festivities, so I headed to bed...by 8. (: Luckily, this wonderful woman named Elise, who lives in the house we're staying at, made us a fabulous feast of Haitian food and wonderful fruit.
-K
What a long day. We left Nashville at 940 in Port-au-Prince at 430. The airport isn't much of anything. You get off of your flight into a hallway, then you walk down the stairs to a bus, which takes you to the customs part of the airport. One Of the weird, eye-opening things at the airport was the sight of the old airport through the windows of the hallway. It's been totally abandoned and you can see into the windows where rubble has fallen and the earthquake made it totally unusable. Once we finally got through customs, which was very similar to the customs we went through in the Bahamas (many lines that lead to windows where they simply stamp your passport and tourist thing and let you go on through). The baggage claim was pretty similar, too, in that they simply throw everyone's bags into a giant pile and it's a total free-for-all. After we all found our super ridiculously heavy luggage, it was time to head to the campus! The drive was not very far, but the driving and traffic was so ridiculous that it took us an hour-plus to finally get to the school! When we arrived at the campus, a group from SNU was celebrating their final night in Haiti. Due to the long day of travel, I wasn't really up for the festivities, so I headed to bed...by 8. (: Luckily, this wonderful woman named Elise, who lives in the house we're staying at, made us a fabulous feast of Haitian food and wonderful fruit.
-K
Monday, May 16, 2011
nephews, slugs, and other such adventures.
Day Five-
Today I had lunch with some pals at Cedar Hill Park. If you'd like to feel really depressed, head down to that park and see the lonely slide waiting to be replaced with some new equipment. I sure hope it's not plastic! Next on the schedule, was a trip to see the fabulous Morgan Wallace. He's up to 9lbs and he's doing pretty well. The hope is that he'll be at Vandy soon for his heart surgery. Maybe he'll be home and healthy by the time I get home from Cali! [: It was pretty rainy this afternoon, so as we arrived home, I found a friendly leopard slug. whoop whoop! He didn't have the little ear things, though, so I second guessed myself and may have thought he was a fish for a second. Don't judge.
Day Six-
Today I did what my friend Avery and I do best, looked through old yearbooks! Somehow, we always end up looking at the yearbooks. It's funny how that happens. [: I was supposed to visit with a family that I usually spend quite a bit of time with in the summers, but our schedules didn't work out, so I guess I'll have to catch them the next time I'm in town. I'm hoping our inability to get together is simply bad planning, not a lack of desire to see one another. That would simply break my heart.
Day Seven-
Church. Laundry at the best friend's house. Smoothies with one magnificent teacher, who means more and more to me every time we get together. Rapunzel with a cutie-pa-tootie!
Day Eight-
TODAYISMONDAY. Mondays usually aren't that great, but this Monday, was wonderful! I spent the afternoon with a wonderful lady and her baby, then went for a bike ride with the best friend. I'd say that's a pretty good Monday, wouldn't you?
PEACE.
-K
Day Six-Today I did what my friend Avery and I do best, looked through old yearbooks! Somehow, we always end up looking at the yearbooks. It's funny how that happens. [: I was supposed to visit with a family that I usually spend quite a bit of time with in the summers, but our schedules didn't work out, so I guess I'll have to catch them the next time I'm in town. I'm hoping our inability to get together is simply bad planning, not a lack of desire to see one another. That would simply break my heart.
Day Seven-
Church. Laundry at the best friend's house. Smoothies with one magnificent teacher, who means more and more to me every time we get together. Rapunzel with a cutie-pa-tootie!
Day Eight-
TODAYISMONDAY. Mondays usually aren't that great, but this Monday, was wonderful! I spent the afternoon with a wonderful lady and her baby, then went for a bike ride with the best friend. I'd say that's a pretty good Monday, wouldn't you?
PEACE.
-K
Sunday, May 15, 2011
It's Summertime and the Weather is...hot, humid, and rainy.
Well, this is my second go at the exact same blog. I made this thing at the beginning of the week, but it disappeared, so I'm having to start all over again. For the first week of summer, I'll do a little re-cap, so it's not terribly overwhelming:
Day One-
Today entailed spending $100 on three shots for Haiti and spending some time with wonderful friends from high school. We played this ridiculous game called Mars 2020. It's funny to think how different my groups of friends are. One group watches Jerry Springer and talks about all girl stuff, while the other group holds semi-intelligent conversations and plays board games that require actual knowledge to play. They're both great for their own reasons, but I wouldn't dare mix the two! [:
Day Two-
Hello, lazy day. Today I simply caught up on t.v. shows and lounged around the house. I did take a shower, though! [:
Day Three-
Today I baked with my best friend. We made delicious pineapple upside-down cupcakes! I also visited a family at church, while they were working on some homeschooling stuff. Oh, we attempted to make my favorite Mexican dish for dinner: chicken with peppers, onions, and delicious queso! It wasn't the same, but it was still pretty great.
Day Four- If you don't know me, then you wouldn't know that I absolutely adore tiny humans, or children as they're often referred to as. I think they're pretty fabulous, so here is Miss Delaney, who I spent the day with going to a park and the children's museum. Her little brother was with us, too, but he wouldn't sit still for a picture. I've been in quite a financial bind recently, so I've put an offer out to a lot of families asking if they need a sitter while I'm in town. Amazingly, I received three takers! For only being home a week-and-a-half, I sure made bank with these little gigs! I'm so very thankful for the wonderful people in my life who help me out and care about me. I really wouldn't be where I am today without their compassion and love.
I'll have to do a second post for days 5-7, because someone misplaced the camera cord and I'm unable to upload picture of my sweet nephew and the slug I found. [: Until then! Peace.
-K
Day One-
Day Two-
Hello, lazy day. Today I simply caught up on t.v. shows and lounged around the house. I did take a shower, though! [:
Day Three-
I'll have to do a second post for days 5-7, because someone misplaced the camera cord and I'm unable to upload picture of my sweet nephew and the slug I found. [: Until then! Peace.
-K
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