04 Feb 2013 Canadian Work Team to Haiti

A team consisting of UBs from Canada and from King Street UB church in Chambersburg, Pa., arrived in Haiti on January 25, 2013. This is a construction team which will work on building a new church in Limbe, in northern Haiti.

A medical team will come to Haiti February 5-12. They will be joined by three ladies from Mission of Hope and Dr. Robinson Germain, a Haitian doctor. This team will go to Les Cayes, in the south, to hold several medical clinics.

Joan Sider (right), from the UB church in Toronto, has visited Haiti numerous times, and participated on both of these teams. And, as she always does, she sent back regular reports. What follows is an account of the first group (you can read about the medical group here). Unless otherwise indicated, all of these daily reports come from Joan.

Friday, January 25

We have arrived safe and sound with all 24 pieces of luggage. We arrived earlier in Port Au Prince than we thought we would. We left Toronto with a temperature of minus 10, and came to one of 32 celcius–warm indeed, but pleasant.

There was a lot more scrutiny with the luggage this trip. When we picked up the bags off the carousel, we noticed several bins had been opened and inspected; they had a tape around the bin saying it had been opened for inspection. I guess that happened in New York. Customs officials here in Haiti opened up a number more. We’re not sure if they were looking for anything specific. One did ask if we had any drugs.

We need to pray now that the next team’s meds all get through without any difficulty.

The airport is amazing–the changes made since even December when I came with Hermmy are quite remarkable. They are truly trying to make it a first class airport. There are still many porters who all want to help you–and get your tip–but even that is better organized.

Our American friends came in earlier than we did and were here waiting to meet us.

The big task of sorting all the materials we brought was next on the agenda. Everyone pitched in, and all is now in readiness for tomorrow’s journey up to Limbe. It is a 6-8 hours trip. We know the highway up as far as Gonaives is good.

I tried out my Magic Jack, a device that connects to my computer and allows me to call anywhere in the US or Canada for free. Well, it costs $29 per year. I’ve talked with two people. The connection wasn’t too bad. It depends on the strength of the internet coming in.

We had a time of sharing before going off to our various rooms and bed. It was good to begin to know each other better. Already I sense unity amongst us. We are even able to make our American friends understand our “about” and “eh.”

Saturday, January 26

On Saturday, January 26, the Haiti team loaded into a bus at 7am and drove 5.5 hours north to the town of Limbe—through fabulous mountains, lush greenery, rice fields, road side markets; around sharp bends and sometimes bumpy roads, close to the edge at times and in between trucks and motorcycles. But they made it.

Sunday, January 27

Kara, a member of the team, wrote the report for Sunday, January 27.

Today ‘s main events were a morning church service, a trip to Cap Haitian, and an evening church service.

The day began with breakfast of something akin to spaghetti with a sausage or meat of some sort. Then we participated in a lively church service. There were approximately 65 Haitians who attended. The service today was held here at the hotel, but is usually held in a building on the site where we will begin work tomorrow. The music in the service was outstanding.

Joan Sider shared greetings from the Canadians and Americans. Pastor Kyle Bushre delivered the message about Jesus and Barabbas, and challenged the attendees to live for Jesus. At the end of the service, one young man came up and gave his life to the Lord. The service was beautiful and powerful. Seeing the Haitians worship is humbling because they have so little but such great passion for the Lord.

After lunch we departed for Cap Haitian. It was not too far from our hotel, and we arrived there inside an hour. The drive there was stunning. We drove through mountains and villages and into Cap Haitian. The land is so rich and breathtaking, and the culture so deeply ravaged by poverty. So far we have not seen anywhere that hasn’t been fully infiltrated by poverty. It is heartbreaking and overwhelming.

While in Cap Haitian, we saw the shore. The beach was not really a beach, but instead was infiltrated with a plethora of litter everywhere. There is no infrastructure to support waste disposal, as we see piles of trash everywhere. In many places, like near the airport in Cap Haitian, the goats are climbing all over the trash piles and enjoying the selection. (Speaking of goat, we’ve been served goat a few times now!)

We traveled up a precarious road in the bus to overlook the Cape. On the way up, I was on the outer side. The driver drove right up against the edge of the road. Basically, he was driving on the edge of a cliff the entire time. On the way back (we got to a point where it was too treacherous to continue), Joan was on the outer side of the bus and expressed some concern regarding the proximity to the edge! Our driver, however, was fantastic and we were safe the entirety of the trip.

Cap Haitian is preparing for Carnival, which is coming up soon. Because of that, there were men who were dressed in costumes and masks. Some of them had slathered used motor oil over all of their exposed skin. Gross! When we asked one of the Haitians with us about it, he responded that it is fun (but then confessed that he has never done it).

After returning to Limbe, we went to the site where we will be working on Monday. We are excited to begin our work here. We then returned, thinking we would be having dinner, but were surprised to find that there was another church service. This one was scheduled to be two hours, but lasted about 90 minutes instead. Joan shared a message with them about chickens and chicks and following Christ, and connected it to Pastor Kyle’s message from this morning. oan made sure to add sound effects of “clucking” during her message, so that the translator also had to cluck. She had the attendees and translator laughing.

We closed our day with dinner and fellowship followed by our team debrief of how we saw God today. Many will continue to fellowship. It is raining here, and the sound on the metal roof is divine (being bit by mosquitoes is not!). We have been so incredibly blessed with a safe trip, great fellowship, new friends, and the beautiful witness of the Haitians and their love of the Lord.

Monday, January 28

Kyle Bushre, Pastor of Outreach at King Street UB Church in Chambersburg, Pa., wrote the report for Monday, January 28.

The team began work on the building today. We arrived at 8:30 and joined a group of Haitians who had already assembled for the work. Most of the construction crew moved blocks and helped the Haitians begin forming the wall.

The ladies set up shop in the make-shift church building and taught the ladies how to quilt. Eventually, a bucket brigade formed to fill in the foundation. Haitians handed buckets to Canadians who handed them on to those from the States. It was a team effort all around.

The purpose of the US team is four-fold: To build a partnership with the Haitians, to learn ministry principles from the Canadians, to consider next steps for our involvement in Haiti, and to help with the building project. All of these purposes were advanced today.

Perhaps the most exciting moment of the day was the arrival of the generator. When the team arrived and hoisted the portable generator down the hill, the church let out with cries and cheers of joy. The gift of a generator was a great blessing to the church.

Tuesday, January 29

Jim, a member of the team, wrote the report for Tuesday, January 29.

We had an awesome day today at the site of the build! The four walls of the church are close to having six rows of cinder blocks on them. Most of us spent time on the “bucket” brigade moving two dump truck loads of fill by using five gallon buckets. At times there were more women than men, at times more of us than them, but the best was when the young people (under 11 years old) were pitching in. You want to see kids work, they were awesome!

Wayne’s right arm is longer as he is the one who was mostly throwing the buckets up the four foot difference from the pile to where the fill came inside. Jeff, Ron and Ted worked the shovels and Mark and I, much to the amusement of the youngsters, whistled while we worked. DJ and Rodney worked many different jobs today filling in where there was a need.

I’m not really sure what the ladies (Joan, Audrey and Roberta) did today. There was a lot of hootin’ and hollorin’ coming from inside of the church “building,” and in between all of that they had time to have a devotional and to make seven quilts. Absolutely amazing! A lot of happy ladies left with quilts and sewing packs.

Wednesday, January 30

Unhappily, we’ve come to the end of our construction and quilt making here in Limbe. It isn’t that the church is finished, but we’ve run out of time. We’ve had a wonderful experience here in Limbe. The enthusiastic participation of the men and women of this church has been so contagious.

The building is about 24-by-14 in size. The existing church is inside part of the structure and will be torn down when they begin using one side. The amount of fill still needed is going to require much effort and time on their part—not saying anything about the money they’ll need to pay for the dirt.

We were able to see 6 courses of block laid. Today, we were able to get the columns boarded, new rebar added to each column, and cement poured for the majority of them–the height of the 6 blocks. We’ve been able to supply them with more blocks, enough to finish the walls.

Today’s work was hard slugging. The cloud cover, like the two days before, was not there so much. This of course made the workers, both North Americans and Haitians, pretty warm.

The temperatures have been quite good overall. Yes, when the sun is blazing down, it is indeed hot, but I think the temperature has been in the high 80’s (F) and consistently 76-78 at night. In the guest house, our room is consistently 82 at night.

While there have been mosquitoes, and some of our team members have been bitten more than others, it hasn’t been as bad here as in some other places. Most of us have used insect repellant, and some have slept under mosquito nets at night. This place has nets in some rooms.

The team of guys from Ontario–Jeff, Jim, Ted, Ron, Mark and Wayne–were so willing to do hard work, but they took the time to have fun and interact with our Haitian folk—men, women, young people. They maybe couldn’t speak the same language, but there was lots of good natured kidding and teasing. The US team–Kyle, DJ, Rodney and Kara–were all out there too working alongside and sharing in the antics. There was great unity amongst us, and it was expressed several times each night as we shared “How did you see God today?”

It wasn’t all work, though. Jim taught some of the kids helping us how to do the Macarena. His hips sure can swivel, but those Haitian boys–there’s just no comparison, they are far superior.

Two young men working with us are in need of help with their education. One needs $200US and the other $140US to finish their last year of high school. Would you pray that God would supply? You might say, aren’t there many in this same situation—and the answer would be yes. But God impressed these two upon Pastor Oliam Richard’s heart. I met one and was very impressed.

We made 22 quilts in all—6 on Monday, 7 on Tuesday, and 9 on Wednesday. What groups of women we’ve had—a lot from the church of course, but many not from the church, so some good connections were made.

The joy on the faces of the women who won the quilts was something to see. And the happiness of the others for the winners was something to behold. A couple quilts were given away. One was given to the woman who was our sewer. The other went to one of the elderly ladies who did not win one but worked like a trooper; when she wasn’t tying a quilt, she was out lugging water, or carrying cement, or helping with food preparation for the workers. We felt she deserved something for her efforts, and there was loud clapping when she was told she would receive the last quilt.

The sewing kits that Roberta prepared for us last trip and then again this trip were very well received. It was so exciting to see Roberta’s face as she watched the delight on the faces of the recipients. We weren’t able to give any away today, since we ran out. There are more for next week’s trip to Cayes, but we only had about 100 kits with us this week.

The quilting boards, stands, and sewing machine will remain in Limbe. Quilt material was left for them to make one quilt. Our thought is that if they sell that one, they can buy material to make another and so on—helping to grow a little business, and money which can be used for their church. We’ll see if this happens. Sometimes the immediate needs take precedence.

I spoke with the leader and his wife. He isn’t an official pastor, but has worked here in Limbe for 13 years. There are 105 registered attenders (members) with many more coming each week. They have great musical groups—Tuesday is choir, Wednesday is rehearsal, and on Friday a prayer gathering begins at 8 and lasts until past midnight.

As has become our custom, we were able to give away three sets of tools to workers on site. The three men—Wilner Pierre, the mason; Bernard Francois (the one who became a Christian on Sunday), and one other chap named Reginald Francois, the church’s sound man—came to the hotel tonight to receive their bin of tools. They were so appreciative. Thanks to all who helped supply these tools.

Our bus driver, Panel, is to be commended for his driving. Sometimes the edge as you looked out the window seemed mighty close—especially on the road we snaked up to get over the mountain to Limbe. His assistant, Brinel, has been a valuable assistant, not only to Panel but to the quilting group. He and Wilner Blanc, one of our translators, did a great job. They really enjoyed helping too—it was so obvious. The young ladies were very taken with these two eligible bachelors. It was fun to observe.

I need to mention Hans Fortunate Michel, our translator, whom we have come to rely on heavily any time we’re in Haiti. He worked outside with the guys, often having to go off somewhere to find equipment that was needed–sewing machine needles, shovels, etc. etc. He could hop on a motorcycle taxi easily to go wherever he was sent. He translated for Pastor Kyle on Sunday morning and did an excellent job.

We’ve seen improvements in our stay here in our hotel. I think the owners haven’t had a lot of experience in this business. They had to learn how much food was necessary for a team our size who have been working hard all day. I’m happy to say that each meal has seen an increase in the amount and more variety. We were told to wait until our breakfast tomorrow—it was going to be something. The plumbing has improved also.

Originally, we were going to send the US team home tomorrow and we Canadians would stay until Saturday. However, the cost and distance travelling twice was too much. Our men will work for a couple days at the Delmas 33, where there is no lack of needed work.

Thursday, January 31

What a day we’ve had! Thanks to the generosity of the team members, the money for the two students I talked about in the last report was given. Pastor Richard called for the young men to come to the hotel to receive it. Only one was able to come, since the mother of the other student passed away last night. That sure was sad. The student thanked us in a most heartfelt manner.

The leader/wife team who act as the pastor of our church in Limbe (13 years now) came also with a written speech to deliver. It was a letter of appreciation and the giving of thanks to us for what we have been able to accomplish. They felt badly that they had nothing to give us. When he completed his speech, I assured them all that what they gave was more than they could realize—they blessed us richly and you can’t measure that in “things.”

Finally we got on the road and headed for Port au Prince. We made a couple of stops along the way.

The first was a Salvation Army centre that Pastor Richard was checking out. He is having a retreat next weekend. The churches all arrange something special for their young people during Carnival time. This facility will meet their needs perfectly. Pastor Richard’s background is Salvation Army, so he has many connections with them. The place was just up from the water, so we spent a little time walking along the shore line amazed at the number of conch shells that were washed up on the shore. It was fun, also, to watch a couple fishing boats come in. Pastor bought a bag of fish; I have no idea the kind, but I expect they may be our lunch tomorrow.

The next stop was further south in Archaie. We were here for a service back in October 2011. Pastor Mamassion is a lawyer, engineer, and the pastor of this tremendously growing church. The church they have been renting is not available any longer, and the rental contract has passed. They are in urgent need of property, which they have found nearby and are seeking help to purchase. We walked to the site. Indeed, it is well suited for their needs and just off a main road, which is always a great asset.

When we visited last, the pastor’s wife was pregnant. We asked about the child, who is 13 months old now. We were quite amazed to learn that the child has a hole in her heart. My heart did a major flip flop upon hearing this—as did the rest of the team who knew about Hermmy. Perhaps the Lord prepared us with helping Hermmy so that we might be involved in helping this child. Was it an accident that we learned about this? I don’t think so! We will talk about this with Dr. Germain next week, and who knows, you may hear of baby Mamassion coming to Toronto. Hang on for another ride!

Traffic from Archaie was pretty heavy the rest of the way. One thing that stood out to some of our group, especially on the side of the bus which was closest to the oncoming traffic, was the UN convoy that came past. There were 4 UN SUVs, with a vehicle in the middle that appeared to be being guarded by these UN men. They had their guns pointed directly out toward the crowd. Since our bus was about level with these guns, it was quite disconcerting.

We arrived safely at the guest house around 4 pm and were quite ready for the meal that had been prepared.

The rest of the evening was spent in a variety of ways. The international phone plan that Pastor has, was well used by several. The US team reorganized their suitcases in preparation for their journey home tomorrow, prep for the expected work for tomorrow, and of course lots of chatting and interaction with one another plus frequent trips to our snack bin. Several also had a look through the picture book I prepared to give to Hermmy when I see her Monday or Tuesday next week.

We had our usual debriefing time and shared the many ways in which we had seen God today. It was likely one of the best times of sharing. Prayers were offered for several requests by different members. We sensed good unity and know we are Christians working together—not Canadians and Americans separately.

The temperature here in Port au Prince is significantly warmer than up north. I think our room before going to bed was about 82. In Limbe, it was 76. We all felt the difference pretty quickly. You take a shower, and within minutes you feel like you haven’t had one at all. For the moment, though, it does feel wonderful.

Thursday, February 1

After breakfast we took group photos and then took out the various bins and cases, ready for the vehicle taking us to Delmas 33 for the comforters and construction work. After the US group had a look at Delmas, they went on to the airport.

Kyle’s last experience leaving Port au Prince was not a good one—having to wait outside in a line for over an hour, with people shoving and trying to get ahead of the others, almost making them miss their flight—so he wished to get to the airport in plenty of time in case anything like that happened again.

We thought it was good to be able to see the kids in school. There are 5 grades now. When it began in October 2011, there were just the four grades. There are definitely more students now in each grade. At recess time, Kyle and DJ joined the boys in their soccer playing.

There were not as many ladies to tie comforters—the word did not get out soon enough. But the ones who came enjoyed doing this.

Some might wonder the validity of this particular ministry. Blanc, one of our interpreters, explained that since many of the women have not had an education, any skill they can learn is educational for them. It is also free for them, making it even more attractive. These women also have an opportunity to receive a sewing kit, which includes 1.5 meter of fabric, needles, thread, a pair of scissors, buttons, safety pins, straight pins, elastic tape, ribbon, lace, and a tape measure. This gives them the means to begin a little business if they so desire.

The men didn’t work as hard as they had expected. They did some sifting of limestone in preparation for cement making. Some assistance was given to the men doing the framing for the roof supports. The men will work hard getting the cement up to the roof to pour in the prepared wooden structure.

A roof is being put on the office which is located at the side of the church platform. The other side, which is similar in shape and size, will be a washroom, I believe.

We thought we were going to do some shopping and souvenir buying this afternoon—but it didn’t happened.

Saturday, February 2

We’re happy to report that our US team members made it safely home. I don’t think it all went according to plan, but the main thing is–they’re home.

Our day began with breakfast at 7:00 and then off to the church to do our work. It turned out that the men headed for Delmas 33 and the women went shopping for material. The traffic was pretty heavy and, being in a smaller vehicle (not the bus), we felt closer to the vehicles travelling around us; it seemed like they were coming at us in all directions. If a road is designed for one lane, there is sure to be at least two lines of cars and even three at times. It is something you have to experience—hard to describe. I think we may have even had a vehicle hit our mirror when there were four cars making U turns in different directions.

Audrey and Roberta were really the only ones doing what they expected to be doing. Five comforters were done today, 4 yesterday. The men had really hoped to be doing quite a bit of construction at Delmas 33—working at the pastor’s office and the general church office, and pouring cement for the roof. It didn’t happen. They tried to find helpful things to do, but they were few and far between. It seems that communications broke down on what work there was to do and the materials needed.

There was no school today, but the children’s program happened as expected. The children after the program enjoyed playing with the guys. There also was great interest in my pictures as I worked at my computer. I made the mistake of showing them that we could take pictures of them as they gathered around. They crowded in to be in the picture. At one point, I couldn’t see where to press the button on the laptop or the screen, they were so pressed into me.

Pastor Richard told us we will be staying in another hotel in Cayes. Since Carnival was held there last year, several new places have been built. So we are waiting to see what our accommodations will be like. We wouldn’t mind some cooler weather either.

Since our midafternoon meal, we have been doing a variety of things again. A major task was getting the material bought earlier today sewed up for quilt backings. Roberta’s expertise sure was an asset. She just zipped through all that material and made 5.

Our team member who has not been feeling the best, especially today, is on the mend. We are grateful.

We’ve had a man named Joseph here at the guest house since our return from Limbe. He will be leaving next week to become part of the diplomatic service as first secretary in the Haitian Embassy in Germany. The amazing thing about this gentleman is the way he has been serving and helping—making meals, seeing to our needs in a variety of ways, helping Pastor Richard. We’ve all been so blessed by his humility and servanthood. Tomorrow, he wishes to take us to a place, but we don’t know what kind or where the place is. We’ll be able to report that next time.

Our debriefing tonight was very special. We’ve become a tight group, and the camaraderie has been such a blessing. We ended by praying for each other around the circle. God is good.

I’m going to stop now—it is time for bed. Church begins at 7:00 am, so we have the alarm set for 5:15 so we can have breakfast at 6:00.

Sunday, February 3

Ron, a member of the team, wrote the report for February 3.

We had a 7 am service today, and it’s always a great privilege to share worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters. We arrived at 7:05 am, which is really good as we usually run on Haitian time, meaning there is no set time. The roads were eerily quiet, but the day was just starting.

We were assigned our usual seats of honor in the front row. The congregation sang a couple of songs and then sister Joan was asked to come up to speak. Joan called everyone up to the front to introduce the team. We sat back down, but pastor kept Jim up to sing for the congregation. He had discovered a couple of days ago that Jim has a voice and had arranged this with Jim. He sang “Someone Cares” and did an awesome job. Everyone felt blessed by it.

Pastor gave his sermon on Job 39:1-12 and then shared communion with our friends. After the service, everyone got up and started hugging each other. They truly are a very loving people.

When it was time to go, the men climbed into the rickety van to go back to the guesthouse. Just as we were about to leave, a group of women and children came up wanting a ride. We thought it was only for 3 people but it turned out to be 3 families, 10 extra people.

We returned to the guesthouse and had a delicious lunch of French fries, conch stew, black rice with beans, salad and baked pasta with ground meat and cheese. The rest of the afternoon was spent in fellowship or napping.

Dr. Robinson Germain came to check out Mark and prescribed some meds for him and already he is feeling better. The doctor is a very humble man and so appreciative of what support we can give him. He loves his people and he loves his Christian brothers/sisters. Of course we asked about Hermmy, and he joyfully declared that she is doing very well.

We were saddened, though, upon hearing that a young girl, 7 years old, is dying of cancer. Her parents didn’t have the money to get a proper diagnosis when her belly started to swell, but now it’s too late to do anything for her. Please pray for Wezlin and her family, for comfort and healing. May it be God’s will.

The guys were all thrilled that they were able to catch the Super Bowl on Joan’s laptop. All in all, it turned out to be a more eventful day than we had expected.

One more sleep and we will be on our way back (except for Joan and Audrey) to our loving families and our hectic lifestyles. We will all take with us fond memories and changed attitudes about our own lives.