(Written Friday morning but we left in a rush to the airport so it didn’t get posted until now … oops)
Well it's nice and early here and I decided to give a brief update that will not satisfy my soul to get it all out. But we had an extremely long day that was draining on the heart and soul and overwhelming for the mind to soak it all in.
We finally were able to talk in all times yesterday in "ish" form ... so our flight was supposed to leave at 1 and left at 2:30ish. We flew into Port au Prince, landing before 4. From the plane you could see all the tent cities and piles of rubble. We hopped into vehicles and started traveling thru the streets of Port au Prince. From the minuste we landed, UN trucks were present everywhere. We even saw them in Port au Paix on Wednesday. But here they were, driving thru the streets of Port au Prince. We saw Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Japan represented within the UN soldiers. There were piles of cement ready for mixing, a lot of cement blocks beautifully fashioned, and a lot of traffic as we traveled to the property Pastor Exante is hoping to purchase for a church building. A couple of the neighborhood kids came to see us and hoped for a picture to be taken and some food. Since it was so remote and they were the only ones around, we gave them some snacks as we pulled away.
Our drive from the property site to the soccer stadium was long, overwhelming, and exhausting. With the windows down and sitting in traffic for 2 hours, it felt like all we were breathing in was exhaust fumes from surrounding vehicles. “Party” tap-taps (taxis) littered the streets with loud music and bright lights into the darkness of the night. After the sun went down is when we reached the center of much of the earthquake damage. The palace looked as if it cracked down the middle and folded into itself. Tent cities were located directly across the street of the palace as a reminder of the amount of devastation. Remains of buildings looked like they collapsed like an accordion … floor on top of floor. Sidewalks and streets were cracked with rubble and stone everywhere making driving even more difficult than it already is. We pulled up to the soccer stadium with its bright lights illuminating all of its surroundings with people swarming around everywhere in hopes to hear what was happening inside its walls. We quickly rushed out of the vehicles and ran into the stadium to catch the last few minutes of the soccer game (professional … it was awesome!). With only a few cracks, the stadium stood strong through the devestation that surrounded it. Pastor Exante, Don, and Rich spoke with the director of the stadium about the capacity and what the crusade in January may look like. It was loud and crazy with the intensity of the game but we were surrounded by security protecting us. After only a few brief moments and quick conversation we were rushed out before the game ended so we didn’t get caught in the rush.
We returned to the vehicles to drive off into the night to a local hotel that Exante is planning to hold the other conference seminars for pastors during the crusade. We walk in to seeing a lot of white folks along with some good looking military men (I’m single … I can say it!). The manager was a white French man with a flamboyantly french accent. He took us into the manager quarters which were air-conditioned with some sort of satellite television. They discussed numbers of rooms, sizes of conference rooms, and group pricing. Within 10 minutes, the conversation was over and we were back in the vehicles feeling accomplished for the day.
We finally got to the hotel around 8pm that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere … its high walls protecting the view only so much before you stood on the top floor balcony and overlooked crumbled building remains and another tent city. We met with the president of Mission Discovery and snagged a late dinner in the hotel’s restaurant that included ham and cheese sandwiches with friend plantains and lots of water. We headed back to our rooms to clean up from the exhaust fumes and dirt we were covered in and to get a few hours of sleep before an early wake up to get to the airport on time.
The morning was good with a brief goodbye to Rich and Murray (Don wasn’t feeling well so he slept in) and off to the airport we went with Pastor Exante and Laurie. It’s funny because we really underestimate the presence Pastor Exante carries and the networking he has. Thursday night he was scheduled to meet with one of the Haitian presidential candidates at our hotel and at the airport he somehow got thru security although he was behind us in line and he had a security guard with him while he awaited boarding his flight to Miami. We sat among about 2 dozen air force medics that were headed back to the states. They were there for about 2 weeks doing some basic preventative medical care. It was a sweet time to just hear from them a little bit, share our journey, and let them know how thankful we are for all they do.
We made our flights on time on the way home and had time to rest over the weekend ... so fantastic.
A couple of thoughts:
- Haiti has not been abandoned. The UN presence was strong along with non-government organizations (NGO’s) seen everywhere we went.
- There is no easy fix. Building new homes and providing work just isn’t there yet … now knowing there is a fault line there, they are having to put into place international earthquake guidelines that must be followed for housing now. This means strategically thinking how to reorganize the entire city so if another earthquake takes place, preventative measures have been taken.
- There is a livelihood in the city. People were out, enjoying the soccer game, singing, dancing, and moving forward with life. It wasn’t completely desolate and they weren’t just looking for handouts. They are hard-working and the market and local shops prove that. Even in the tent cities they are trying to rebuild their lives on their own.
- There is plenty of work to still be done. And it’s going to be the Haitians that set the tone for the integrity that is needed. If anyone remembers the Night of 2 Wells … how the war-lords came and took all the food the aid workers dropped off and then sold it for their profit? That is real life in Haiti right now. One cup of rice is $4. The average person makes $1-2 a day.
- The funds will be put to good use … just maybe not right now … and that’s o.k. You have to look to the bigger picture … we can’t just throw them billions of dollars and tell them to do whatever they see fit. It’s going to take a group effort to figure out the best not the easiest way to bring hope to the devestation.
- God is working. His Word is being preached. His people are praying. Church attendance has gone UP. Pray for those spreading the Gospel in Haiti because what they are doing is making an eternal impact on the Kingdom of God. The crusade Jamie will be speaking at in January will continue to strengthen those in leadership and preach the gospel to the masses.
Once again, this trip was beyond eye-opening and has sent us home to process and pray thru the next steps. But God is good … our world is broken … but at the end, we win because of who He is.
I’m sure Jamie will be writing his thoughts and be keeping this updated about January’s crusade so keep checking back for updates!
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