02 Feb Haiti Report: Thursday and Friday

Follow the link below for Joan Sider’s reports from last Thursday and Friday in Haiti. She is part of a team of Canadians doing medical and other work in Haiti. Joan is from the UB church in Toronto, Ontario.

Thursday, January 29
There are two reasons why you are not likely to get this report tonight (Thursday night). I’m very tired and don’t think I can stay awake long enough to write it all. Secondly, the internet is down and so it won’t go out.

Just for the record–everyone was hoping for a very good night’s rest last night in the air conditioned hotel rooms. But many, including myself, did not sleep well at all. Go figure? Maybe Friday night will be better. We head up north tomorrow.

Coming back to Port au Prince took a little over 6 hours. Why? We encountered more traffic once hitting PauP. The preparation for the beginning of Carnival has begun.

The temperature in my room is presently 30 C. This is a little after midnight when it does cool down some. You can imagine what it is like in the daytime. I finally brought along a thermometer–for interest sake. I guess most of you are wishing for a little of our warmth–we can’t say we are missing the snow you are getting.

Our day began with the hotel serving us a good breakfast–an omelette, toast (sort of), and juices, coffee and tea.

Clockwise from top left: Pastor Oliam Richard conducting the wedding. Neil Cudney accompanied Scherly, Pastor Richard’s secretary. The wedding kiss. Pastor Richard praying over the couple.

We headed off for the wedding and arrived late–the wedding was to start at 8:00 a.m. but we arrived before the bride and groom. I think we may have begun the service around 9. This was a totally new experience and we were delighted to attend.

This was Pastor Oliam Richard’s first trip back to the hill church (right) since his fall last year. With his cane and the able assistance of the men on either side of him, he arrived in good shape. I’m not sure this bridal couple were thrilled with all the Canadians or not!

Leaving the wedding, the bus almost got stuck getting back out to the main road. Some of these side roads are no more than animal paths–well a little wider, but not much! After about 4 attempts going back and forth, we made it.

We went to our Laurent church (outside of Cayes itself) to do the four usual ministries. Neil had the coolest location outside under some trees. His group today was pretty well all pastors. Expressions of appreciation continue for the great teaching and the potential of the material he is using.

Audrey got another two quilts made–and after an almost riot doing the contests to determine who would receive them, one woman and one man went home with a quilt. Yes, a man–in fact the second quilt was done by all men except for one woman. They were fast workers and the chap that won it had determined he was going to win it–so I think a little cheating happened!

The medical team worked well again. I believe there were fewer this time–around 70. Ron was back on triage today. The most serious case I think, was a guy who had pneumonia. As Don and I were praying we felt him falling–he got to a chair and was drenched. We had him lay down on a bench and put a damp cloth on his head. Fortunately, he was able to get up and with support got taken to his home. Thank God for the antibiotics we were able to give him.

The children’s ministry was great again as usual. However, it was a small crowd–maybe 20 children. The girls are great and the kids continue to swarm around them when the program is over.

Meanwhile, Pastor Richard had gone back to the motel to pay our bill and get some lunch for us. Jeff and the bus driver, Benedict, went to have bus repairs done. I think the radiator needed repair.

We ended up staying a little longer at Laurent than we had intended.
The trip back to Port au Prince was uneventful. We stopped at our usual oasis place for a toilette break and were given some delicious ice tea. Upon our arrival back here, there was a special kind of porridge waiting–it is delicious.

Well, I made it to the end. We leave at 7:30 for St. Mark. Tell you all about it tomorrow. We know you are praying for collective needs–and we are grateful for you and God’s honouring those prayers.

Friday, January 30
It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our journey in Haiti.

We traveled to St. Mark to our Camp Mary church (right). It was quite the journey. The road for the last hour or so was horrendous! There are major road works happening in places–but in others, there are major “holes” that leave the bus driver no option but to weave from side to side. What becomes scary is while we are going through these, someone is passing us or we’re passing them. It is not unusual to see two vehicles driving beside each other. It truly is a wonder that we don’t see more accidents.

It has been two years since we’ve been up here, and I was amazed at the building that has taken place–new resorts in the making, new roads, more homes in general, and significant increases in people.

When we stopped at our hotel, Xaragua, to let them know we wanted a night here, we discovered that the bus radiator was leaking still. Work had been done on this problem in Cayes, too. Benedict and Jeff headed off for another repair while our ministry teams were at work in Camp Mary church.

Each team worked well. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with each worker and ministry. We had a smaller number than usual in the clinic, and a higher number in each of the other areas.

We came back to the hotel around 3:00 for lunch–salad, plantain, chicken in a white sauce, fish–never know what kind, and of course rice and beans.

After lunch we were on our own until 6:00. Many enjoyed either a swim in the ocean or pool or both. Michelle, who can’t swim, jumped in the deep end. Kelly rescued him thankfully. I’m not sure why he thought he could just jump in like that.

At 6:00 we headed for Camp Mary again for a service. Don and Dr. Clifford gave their testimonies, Scherly sang, Sarah and Kelly sang, I prayed, and Pastor Richard preached. The attendance grows as the sound of activity in the building spreads. There were a lot of children in this congregation tonight.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw a bus with the only light out the front of it coming from someome holding a flashlight. That’s a new one! Makes our having no tail lights a rather insignificant problem. I don’t think our rad problems are solved yet–so I suspect another repair job will have to happen before we head back to Port au Prince.

When we arrived at the hotel, it was almost 9:30 and we had supper–salad, pork, spaghetti with meat sauce, and of course rice and beans. We had chocolate cake for dessert. Having a dessert was a surprise to us.

We did our debriefing around the tables. Each table’s members shared an impression of our time in Cayes and then prayed for that area. One other nice thing about this hotel is that there is wireless internet–which I’m using right now.

After our ministry at Camp Mary again–different churches are to come (we have 12 in the north)–we will head back to PauP. By the way, I just killed 4 cockroaches of various sizes–a first for me! I hope I don’t see any more!

Again, it has been a privilege to get to know our interpreters better and to have fellowship with them. I will be telling you another time of two new projects that may come out of working with Dr. Cliford Renaty and Wilfred St. Amour.

Oh, I wanted to let you know the church schedule of Evena, our children’s ministry translator–she is not UB. On Monday, they have Ambassadors–20 to 30 of their number visit homes. Tuesday afternoon is a main prayer meeting, but each afternoon, many gather for prayer. Thursday night is Bible Study and Friday is an all-night prayer meeting. Sunday, they have morning and evening services. I think their congregation is about 60 people.

I believe I need to go to bed now–morning will come early.

We continue to feel encouraged by your faithfulness in sharing our journey by your prayers.