February 1, 2012
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The Canadian work team in Haiti.
Joan Sider, New Hope Community Church, Toronto, Ontario
A team of eight persons from Canada is currently in Haiti, the latest of a long string of work groups from Ontario over the years. Joan Sider, a member of many of those teams, sent back this report about their first full day in the country, Tuesday, January 31.
Our day began very early. Pastor Oliam Richard wanted us away by 6 am, so breakfast was at 5:30.
Packing up the van took some time–we had 10 bins, 1 generator, and all our personal belongings, plus 11 people to fit into a 15-passenger van. The roof was loaded as you can imagine–and the items were held down with rope and a tarp tied over it all. I can’t begin to imagine the weight we carried.
What a privilege for us to have Michel along on this trip north. He is our interpreter, a very good one at that, but also a brother in the Lord. We were thrilled to learn that Michel has a job in the field of his interest. He is on probation for a three-month period I believe and if successful. will have the job permanently.
Our trip to Gonaives was interesting–the road north is indeed a great improvement over the last number of years. We were slowed in traffic in towns, as would be expected. People are everywhere holding markets.
One sad thing was, a man carrying some wood was hit by a car. Fortunately, people dragged him off to the side of the road so he wouldn’t be hit by other traffic. He appeared to have at least a broken leg. Hopefully the Doctors Without Borders vehicle that we saw had someone who could help him.
We were fortunate at one point on the drive to have missed hitting a cow crossing the road. The cow sped up and just made it off the road in time. It would have been a bad thing for us if it hadn’t.
We saw many rice fields in varying stages of growth. They have high quality rice grown in Haiti. Most of it is exported, since it is too expensive for Haitians to buy and use. About 90% of Haiti’s rice is imported from the US.
Arriving in Gonaives, we went to the church site to figure out what our schedule would be. Then we headed for the recommended hotel “L’Eternal Est Mon Secours Hotel” run by a Christian couple known to Pastor Weed Maarce (I’ve seen this name spelled 3 ways, so don’t know which is correct). It is a lovely place–and we are so glad we’ll be here for the 4 nights. The couple are bending over backwards to serve us and make our stay a good one. We had a lovely supper tonight and will have our first breakfast at 7:15 tomorrow morning.
Driving back and forth from the hotel to the church site, we nearly hit a dog one time and a pig another. The animals roam all over–goats, chickens, as well. The drivers don’t seem to slow down at all, so if they can’t manage to get out of the way, game over. No, I haven’t seen much road kill, so they must be successful.
We had sandwiches for lunch at the hotel after getting settled into our rooms. Then it was off to the church work site. Block laying is the stage they’re at, so our guys jumped in right away and began carrying cement and blocks as well as laying blocks on top of the first row which was already in place. The building is about 80-by-40 feet. Unfortunately, after getting several more layers in place, it was discovered that the first row of block was not level. It was tilting inwards. Our guys were very glad they hadn’t laid the first course of blocks. It meant that much of what some of them had laid, needed to be torn out. Once all was made right, they were able to manage laying 4 more rows–6 had been the goal for the day.
Around 3, Audrey, Michel and I headed over to the old church to set up the quilting frames for the first session of quilt tying. Thanks to James Jackson’s great construction of stands, we were able to set up the quilt in record time. James had a great design and they worked well.
At 4:00, 6 ladies came over a period of 30 minutes or so. It was a good start and since we weren’t really ready until 4:15, they were finished in record time by 5:30. That was the leaving time for us to get back to the hotel, have supper–and then get back to church for a service.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the church with them. Four different musical groups sang and Pastor Richard gave a brief message. The people were enthusiastic in their worship as we have come to expect. I brought greetings and introduced the team. Just as amen was said, the lights went out and it was DAAAAARRRRKKKKKK! Flashlights were on within seconds–obviously, this wasn’t a first experience of this kind of happening.
Arriving back to the hotel, we spent a few minutes debriefing, sharing with each other God moments from the day. It was interesting to hear the various things mentioned.
The team is jelling and working together well. We are sensing God’s using us to bless, but we are being blessed so much more by our Haitian brothers and sisters.
Our day began early–and nothing like a cold water shower to get you up and at it. The shower was good, but it is still a shock when that first cold water hits. I’m not complaining, just giving you the facts.
Matt McKeown (right), associate pastor of First UB church in Holly Hill, Fla., does a lot of song-writing. He does full-blown church musicals, individual songs…and jingles. The NFL has used his stuff in the past.
John W. Paff (right), Vice President for University Relations, Huntington University