Some of you have
asked for more details on what I have been doing these first couple of weeks so
here they are:
After spending some time visiting relatives in Florida, on Thursday, May 24th I got to meet some of the other interns at the hotel and met most of the others the next morning bright and early at 4am. When I went through security at the airport, my skirt set off the scanner because of the sequins on it. J I never knew that sequins could be a threat to airport security. J Don’t worry too much though, because they let me on the plane and I even got to have my guitar as a carry-on instead of a checked bag, which was fabulous!
We arrived safely in Port au Prince, flew a small plane to Port de Paix, then road a tap tap to St. Louis. It felt sooooo good to be back in Haiti! We spent the evening settling in and getting to know the staff and campus. All the staff with NWHCM are amazing!! I was definitely overwhelmed the first couple of days by how much bigger the St. Louis campus is compared to the Mole campus, but I now I am feeling at home here.
We spent Saturday getting to know the campus and programs. On Sunday we went to church in St. Louis which was hot. I brought Miss Sabrina with me who lives here in our Miriam Center. She is a cutie! Later in the afternoon, Survivor Haiti began! We were split in to two teams, by the staff throwing paint filled water balloons at us. I am a proud member of the Green Goblin camp! We had our first Reward Challenge that afternoon after making arm bands, a flag, and a chant for our team. It was sooooo close, but my team lost. The reward was the bigger tent and being able to chose where you put your tent as well as where the other team had to put their tent. Dife(the other team) was very nice and I actually think that our spot is much better than theirs. J
Monday we started training and headed out into the community. We did Grocery Ministry, which is when you go to the market and fill a cloth grocery bag with food, charcoal, and a tract that you take to a family as a surprise blessing. It was really cool! We also did a couple of Hut to Huts as well as visiting the brothel and jail. My favorite part of the day was when we were doing a Hut to Hut and visited an older man named Darius. When we asked how he was doing, he said that he was waiting for God to take him home. Melonnie told him that if he believed in Jesus and had asked the Holy Spirit to live inside his heart that he would go to heaven. Even before Edril(our translator) had a chance to translate, Darius knew exactly what she was talking about and had so much hope and joy in his eyes. His passion and yearning for heaven was so inspiring.
On Tuesday, we went to Ansefelour. Ansefelour is the voodoo capital of Haiti. There are even people from other countries that come to visit Ansefelour. We hiked up the mountain where there used to be a concrete cross monument that was built by the Catholic priest around 150 years ago, but the story goes that it was struck down by a lightning bolt. All that remains is the base of it and a little bit of the stump. All along the trail up to the monument there are places where people will offer voodoo sacrifices. The story also is that there was this porcelain doll, named Saint Anne, who fell down from the sky during the same storm that destroyed the cross. There is a voodoo temple in Ansefelour where they keep this doll. After we walked back down the mountain we walked through the temple. We weren’t allowed to go up to the room where they keep the doll, because the temple was very busy. It was so heart wrenching to see sooo many people hoping and praying to something that will only hurt and disappoint them.
After the temple we got to eat lunch at an amazing restaurant. Fried plantains are one of my favorite things to eat here! So yummy! We also got to spend some time swimming at the beach before we headed back to St. Louis.
On Wednesday, we got to hike to the waterfall! It was long and hot, but very pretty. Our interpreter and security didn’t let us stay very long, because it started raining, but it was still a great trip!
Thursday, we went to Port de Paix to visit the prison and Papa Yos. There are more than 300 people that are in the prison in Port de Paix. Only about 14 of them are women and then there are guys who are as young as 15 and as old as like 70. You would think that visiting a prison in Haiti could be scary and intimidating, but all the prisoners are very friendly and are so excited to hear from God’s Word. Melonnie, who is in charge of the prison and brothel ministry here as well as organizing the groups, has just ordered enough Creole Bibles for all the prisoners. When we told the prisoners that they would be coming soon, they were all so excited! Meeting Papa Yo was my favorite part of the day. Papa Yo is a DJ who owns his own night club. He used to also run a brothel as well. But God has done huge things in his heart and there haven’t been any girls working in the brothel for months and he actually started caring for some boys who would else be left on the streets. Melonnie goes to Papa Yo’s every week to do Bible Study with the boys and others in the community.
Friday we got to go on a boat ride to Tortuga! It was so much fun! I loved the boat ride! When we got to Tortuga we did a Bible skit for David and Goliath, which was awesomely hilarious! We also had fun playing jump rope, soccer, and other games with the kids. We got to end our time on Tortuga with swimming with the kids! The kids had a blast! At one point I had four girls hanging on to me. It was a lot of fun!
Saturday we headed out West to Beauchamp, Salines Mayette, and La Baie. My back and bum were very bruised after over five hours in the truck, but it was great getting to visit all the other campuses. As well as getting away from the main campus and having time to hang out and get to know each other better. Both Salines and La Baie are campuses where NWHCM has orphanages. Salines has over 100 kids and La Bail has around 20 kids. We spent the night in La Baie and I saw my first shooting star!
Sunday morning we went to church. It was so fun, for part of the worship service a lady in the church led a song where you had to stand up then sit down at one point. So, she had our translator tell us that we were going to sing it again, but that the first time the guys would stand up and the second time the girls were suppose to stand up. It was so funny when one of the guys accidentally stood up when it was the girls’ turn. After church we got to go to the beach which was so refreshing, because it was hot! After the beach we packed up and headed back to St. Louis.
Monday through Wednesday we finished up training and had a lot of free time to hang out in the Miriam Center and with the gran moun as well as exploring the town more. We had another Reward Challenge. Our challenge was to see who could come up with the longest list of things teams could do around campus on rainy days. The Green Goblins won!!! Our reward was delicious pizza! Wednesday evening we got to eat out at the Breeze. It was very delicious!
Thursday morning we finished getting ready for the teams to arrive. We put bunk beds together, straightened up around campus, and painted. The first group who flew in arrived around 5 and the rest of the teams got here at 10.
Friday morning we had orientation and did campus tours. I am working with a group of 12 from Missouri this week with another intern, Sinclair. In the afternoon our team finished the painting job that we started Thursday. I got to do a lot of climbing tall ladders to reach the high spots. It was pretty fun even though my arms are still sore from it. J
Today our team went to Ansefelour. We did Vacation Bible School with over 100 kids. It was a little crazy at times, but a lot of fun. Our interpreters and security, Joseph, Simone, Jack, and Lunes, did an awesome job working with the kids. After VBS, we hiked up the mountain to see the cross monument. After our hot, hot hike we got to relax and eat yummy food at the restaurant! We went to the voodoo temple after lunch. It was a lot less busy then when we visited during training, so we were able to go up to the room where they keep the doll. Actually being in that room and seeing people pray to her was really hard. Spiritual warfare is all around us, but when it is right in front of your face it just breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to see people who are so lost and are looking in the wrong place. After we finished walking through the temple we headed to the beach. It was nice to be able to relax after such a crazy afternoon. I was also able to catch back up on my Bible reading. It is so easy to get so busy that you forget to sit down and eat the Word.
That has been my time in Haiti thus far. I have learned and experienced so much about Haiti and about myself. I am excited to see what else God has in store for this summer and the future.
After spending some time visiting relatives in Florida, on Thursday, May 24th I got to meet some of the other interns at the hotel and met most of the others the next morning bright and early at 4am. When I went through security at the airport, my skirt set off the scanner because of the sequins on it. J I never knew that sequins could be a threat to airport security. J Don’t worry too much though, because they let me on the plane and I even got to have my guitar as a carry-on instead of a checked bag, which was fabulous!
We arrived safely in Port au Prince, flew a small plane to Port de Paix, then road a tap tap to St. Louis. It felt sooooo good to be back in Haiti! We spent the evening settling in and getting to know the staff and campus. All the staff with NWHCM are amazing!! I was definitely overwhelmed the first couple of days by how much bigger the St. Louis campus is compared to the Mole campus, but I now I am feeling at home here.
We spent Saturday getting to know the campus and programs. On Sunday we went to church in St. Louis which was hot. I brought Miss Sabrina with me who lives here in our Miriam Center. She is a cutie! Later in the afternoon, Survivor Haiti began! We were split in to two teams, by the staff throwing paint filled water balloons at us. I am a proud member of the Green Goblin camp! We had our first Reward Challenge that afternoon after making arm bands, a flag, and a chant for our team. It was sooooo close, but my team lost. The reward was the bigger tent and being able to chose where you put your tent as well as where the other team had to put their tent. Dife(the other team) was very nice and I actually think that our spot is much better than theirs. J
Monday we started training and headed out into the community. We did Grocery Ministry, which is when you go to the market and fill a cloth grocery bag with food, charcoal, and a tract that you take to a family as a surprise blessing. It was really cool! We also did a couple of Hut to Huts as well as visiting the brothel and jail. My favorite part of the day was when we were doing a Hut to Hut and visited an older man named Darius. When we asked how he was doing, he said that he was waiting for God to take him home. Melonnie told him that if he believed in Jesus and had asked the Holy Spirit to live inside his heart that he would go to heaven. Even before Edril(our translator) had a chance to translate, Darius knew exactly what she was talking about and had so much hope and joy in his eyes. His passion and yearning for heaven was so inspiring.
On Tuesday, we went to Ansefelour. Ansefelour is the voodoo capital of Haiti. There are even people from other countries that come to visit Ansefelour. We hiked up the mountain where there used to be a concrete cross monument that was built by the Catholic priest around 150 years ago, but the story goes that it was struck down by a lightning bolt. All that remains is the base of it and a little bit of the stump. All along the trail up to the monument there are places where people will offer voodoo sacrifices. The story also is that there was this porcelain doll, named Saint Anne, who fell down from the sky during the same storm that destroyed the cross. There is a voodoo temple in Ansefelour where they keep this doll. After we walked back down the mountain we walked through the temple. We weren’t allowed to go up to the room where they keep the doll, because the temple was very busy. It was so heart wrenching to see sooo many people hoping and praying to something that will only hurt and disappoint them.
After the temple we got to eat lunch at an amazing restaurant. Fried plantains are one of my favorite things to eat here! So yummy! We also got to spend some time swimming at the beach before we headed back to St. Louis.
On Wednesday, we got to hike to the waterfall! It was long and hot, but very pretty. Our interpreter and security didn’t let us stay very long, because it started raining, but it was still a great trip!
Thursday, we went to Port de Paix to visit the prison and Papa Yos. There are more than 300 people that are in the prison in Port de Paix. Only about 14 of them are women and then there are guys who are as young as 15 and as old as like 70. You would think that visiting a prison in Haiti could be scary and intimidating, but all the prisoners are very friendly and are so excited to hear from God’s Word. Melonnie, who is in charge of the prison and brothel ministry here as well as organizing the groups, has just ordered enough Creole Bibles for all the prisoners. When we told the prisoners that they would be coming soon, they were all so excited! Meeting Papa Yo was my favorite part of the day. Papa Yo is a DJ who owns his own night club. He used to also run a brothel as well. But God has done huge things in his heart and there haven’t been any girls working in the brothel for months and he actually started caring for some boys who would else be left on the streets. Melonnie goes to Papa Yo’s every week to do Bible Study with the boys and others in the community.
Friday we got to go on a boat ride to Tortuga! It was so much fun! I loved the boat ride! When we got to Tortuga we did a Bible skit for David and Goliath, which was awesomely hilarious! We also had fun playing jump rope, soccer, and other games with the kids. We got to end our time on Tortuga with swimming with the kids! The kids had a blast! At one point I had four girls hanging on to me. It was a lot of fun!
Saturday we headed out West to Beauchamp, Salines Mayette, and La Baie. My back and bum were very bruised after over five hours in the truck, but it was great getting to visit all the other campuses. As well as getting away from the main campus and having time to hang out and get to know each other better. Both Salines and La Baie are campuses where NWHCM has orphanages. Salines has over 100 kids and La Bail has around 20 kids. We spent the night in La Baie and I saw my first shooting star!
Sunday morning we went to church. It was so fun, for part of the worship service a lady in the church led a song where you had to stand up then sit down at one point. So, she had our translator tell us that we were going to sing it again, but that the first time the guys would stand up and the second time the girls were suppose to stand up. It was so funny when one of the guys accidentally stood up when it was the girls’ turn. After church we got to go to the beach which was so refreshing, because it was hot! After the beach we packed up and headed back to St. Louis.
Monday through Wednesday we finished up training and had a lot of free time to hang out in the Miriam Center and with the gran moun as well as exploring the town more. We had another Reward Challenge. Our challenge was to see who could come up with the longest list of things teams could do around campus on rainy days. The Green Goblins won!!! Our reward was delicious pizza! Wednesday evening we got to eat out at the Breeze. It was very delicious!
Thursday morning we finished getting ready for the teams to arrive. We put bunk beds together, straightened up around campus, and painted. The first group who flew in arrived around 5 and the rest of the teams got here at 10.
Friday morning we had orientation and did campus tours. I am working with a group of 12 from Missouri this week with another intern, Sinclair. In the afternoon our team finished the painting job that we started Thursday. I got to do a lot of climbing tall ladders to reach the high spots. It was pretty fun even though my arms are still sore from it. J
Today our team went to Ansefelour. We did Vacation Bible School with over 100 kids. It was a little crazy at times, but a lot of fun. Our interpreters and security, Joseph, Simone, Jack, and Lunes, did an awesome job working with the kids. After VBS, we hiked up the mountain to see the cross monument. After our hot, hot hike we got to relax and eat yummy food at the restaurant! We went to the voodoo temple after lunch. It was a lot less busy then when we visited during training, so we were able to go up to the room where they keep the doll. Actually being in that room and seeing people pray to her was really hard. Spiritual warfare is all around us, but when it is right in front of your face it just breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to see people who are so lost and are looking in the wrong place. After we finished walking through the temple we headed to the beach. It was nice to be able to relax after such a crazy afternoon. I was also able to catch back up on my Bible reading. It is so easy to get so busy that you forget to sit down and eat the Word.
That has been my time in Haiti thus far. I have learned and experienced so much about Haiti and about myself. I am excited to see what else God has in store for this summer and the future.
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