My decision to sign up for the Haiti mission was totally impetuous.  I have always had a bias that there is so much that needs to be fixed in our own country that my time and my money were better used trying to deal with those problems. That is why I opted to teach in alternative high schools and  why I have worked as a court appointed special advocate for neglected and abused children. I hope my decision to go to Haiti was prompted more by a God Wink than latent adolescent rebellion at hearing the State Department said Americans shouldn’t go to Haiti.

I no longer believe that the work that needs to be done in our own country is more important. The work that is being done in Haiti, in the Dominican Republic and other undeveloped countries is vitally important not only to the quality of life for these people but for life itself. My week in Haiti has been one of the most joyful, thrilling and exhilarating experiences of my life. I hope I can return soon (Maybe in April).

The adventure really started when we landed at the Port-Au-Prince airport not speaking a word of the Creole language. We were instantly surrounded by a throng of men wanting to help with luggage. We were finally able to convince our very persistent helpers that we did not need their assistance. We were met by a group from the Haitian Baptist Convention and were eventually successful in leaving the airport terminal and loaded into vehicles for our ride to the Florida Guest House. This is a guest house run by the Florida Baptist Convention to house missionaries coming from all over the world to Haiti.

Once we left the airport, the real excitement began. That adventure was driving through the streets of Haiti.  I learned to drive in the city of Boston where traffic signals are only a suggestion. Boston cannot begin to compare to Haiti’s driving chaos. There are very few paved roads, no lane markings, huge potholes and very determined drivers. I quickly learned that 2 beeps of the driver’s horn means you better stop because I am not going to stop. Everywhere there were more vehicles, pedestrians, roadside stands selling various things, people living in fallen down cinder block houses and tents, and people and sounds and smells all over.

Our arrival at the Florida Guest House where we would be staying was another total culture shock. It was a walled compound with a locked solid steel gate. The most startling part for me was the guard, armed with a shotgun. That amazement dissipated as we traveled through Port-Au-Prince in the next few days. Walled compounds and armed guards seem to be a way of life in Haiti. Even grocery stores have armed guards.

The single most impressive element of my trip was the people that I met and worked with.

The people of Haiti have a history filled with hardship and deprivation since they were first brought to Haiti as slaves captured from Africa more than 300 years ago.  But!   Despite the hardships they have endured, first from plantation owners, then tyrannical dictators, dreadful economic conditions, and natural disasters, there is a spirit of optimism among the Haitians I came to know.

The first person I would like to mention is my driver, a man named Bennes. He is a middle-aged man with a large family. He has no regular job. He has a lot of faith that God will take care of him and his family. His dream is to come and live in the United States and have a permanent job of some kind. He is trying to learn English to improve his chances of getting work in Haiti and maybe eventually emigrate to the U.S. Through his association with the UCC’s Ways group he is now enrolled in private English lessons.

We also worked closely with a woman named Delarus. She is an American Baptist missionary who works at the orphanage. She grew up in Puerto Rico and trained as an Occupational Therapist. She then moved to Boston for a few years to attend Andover Newton. She has been in Haiti for several years, working with the kids in the Source of Light Orphanage. When we visited the orphanage it was obvious how much the children loved her. The children at this orphanage were also thrilled with the clothes that area churches have sent them and wore them for us to see one night when we visited.  I can’t begin to describe the joy these children shared with us as we played simple games with them, their excitement at blowing and chasing bubbles and their enjoyment of singing and dancing with us despite the language barrier. One of our team members had brought a Polaroid camera and took pictures of each child that they could keep. Delarus and her work are supported by our American Baptist Convention.

Pastor Ronel Mesidor is the pastor of Concorde Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is also headmaster of the school associated with that church. He turned both his home and church into shelters for those devastated by the earthquake the very day of the earthquake. Recently he and his family have been forced to move because of vandalism and threats from gangs that wander his old neighborhood. We visited his new home for dinner and were graciously entertained by his adolescent daughters singing for us. The normalcy of his family life despite the destruction all around him was inspirational.

The Haitian Baptist Convention, with the help of aid from around the world, built a school that offers an orphanage, a day school, a sewing/tailoring class, a computer class, a class in tiling, and a center providing physical and occupational therapy for physically handicapped children. In addition, a healthcare pilot program has begun in five churches, each headed by a parish nurse. The Monday we were in Haiti was the first day of classes for a brand new nursing school.  The work of the Haitian Baptist Convention is supported by teams American Baptist missionaries.

Our mission was to start a chicken farm. Our first sight of the worksite was daunting. I was very skeptical.  I didn’t believe our eight member team could possibly accomplish this task in only five days. I was wrong. We had to start by clearing the land. We had two Haitian workers, Alex and Victory working with us. We built a chicken coop large enough for 500 chickens, although right now it only holds 100 chickens. The eggs these chickens give will be used to supply more protein in the diet provided to the children in the orphanage. As more hens are acquired some of the eggs will be sold.

I was awed with the work accomplished by the United Church of Christ Workdays for Adult and Youth in Service teams that have been to Haiti and the UCC groups who will continue the work in Haiti and impressed with the work that is being done by our American Baptist Missionaries.  Trinity, being a dually aligned church, has twice the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to this very impoverished country.