Friday in the Capital
Well, looking back over my blog, I realized that I've yet to make it out of Port au Prince, and much past day one in Haiti. Guess I better speed it up and get this story told. :)
On Friday, July 21st, Abby told us to enjoy the hotel and its luxuries; she forewarned me that "this" was NOT the "real" Haiti, as I would see tomorrow. So, I took her up on it. This woman, Abby, is so amazing. I'm not even sure how to describe her, other than just that...amazing. Her heart, her spirit...I can't wait til I feel like I need write about her and the impact she had on me in just a few short days. She also told me that when I got back home, most people wouldn't really care how my trip was; all they wanted to hear was "Haiti? Oh! It was great!" like I was on vacation or something. So, for those who are like that, here's my ONE DAY of vacation. (I say that tongue-in-cheek.)
Friday began with what is very easily the best breakfast I've ever had in my life. Haitian coffee is something to write home about, let me tell ya. Watermelon juice, the sweetest pineapple I've ever sank my teeth into, and the best ham and cheese omelet this side of heaven. But again - the coffee. For goodness sakes. I almost wish I had never put that stuff in my mouth. It makes every other coffee taste like garbage. I learned that when they are grinding the coffee beans, they infuse sugar into it (somehow) to give it a much sweeter taste, but it's so...smooth. I bought a few bags to bring home with me, and it's GREAT, but somehow, that first cup of Haitian coffee I had at the Marriott was pure, simple, bliss. The omelet was really good too. The guy who made it asked me if I wanted it "hard or soft." My answer was "Hard. Please." only because I had no idea what a "soft" omelet was. Well, I didn't know what a "hard" omelet was either, but it all turned out ok...
I poked around the hotel for a couple of hours, trying to lay low and stay out of trouble until around 10:00 am. Then, I had all I could take. If you know me, you KNOW I love SUMMER and SUNSHINE. The pool beckoned me...paradise found out back behind the Port au Prince Marriott for a few hours....at least until it got so hot that I couldn't breathe. There's no shade in Haiti, in case you're wondering. Even the palm trees were hot, I'm sure.
After sunning and lounging by the pool for a few hours, I went back inside and wandered around. Not lost, I walked up and down halls, onto the rooftop, up stairs and down, just taking it all in. Still in disbelief that I was actually finally in Haiti - a place that I knew barely anything about but I knew I was supposed to be there - I just explored and took it all in. Getting onto the elevator, I saw this. It stopped me in my tracks for some reason.
You know those moments when you know you know something, but God just kinda brings it all full circle for you? When you have to stop and say, "yeah, God. I get it. I get it." That was one of those moments. Listen - I know this may sound crazy stupid to you, but you have to realize - looking back on it now, God was opening my eyes to things I had no idea would leave lasting impressions on me, even with the sight of a bride in Haiti (which is common in the US - I'm a photographer, for goodness sakes! I see brides all.the.time!). While it may seem so insignificant to you, it taught me that people in Haiti have lives too. They live, they experience, they love, they share. They're just like me and you. Our LIVES aren't different at all. Our circumstances can very obviously be different - but GOD made us ALL in His image. We all want the same things out of life...to be loved. And this bride was getting ready to start her life of what I prayed would be life-long love.
Below are some random pictures from throughout the day of areas around the hotel in Port-au-Prince. I wanted to be alone that day. I wanted to just pray and...be. Be still and know that He is God. So, I walked around and prayed, thought, and took some quiet time to be alone.
The street view from my room. Vendors selling, people walking, cars driving by.
The street view from my room, looking to the left. Notice all the houses on the mountainside. The concrete building in the center left of the picture has no roof - I'm not sure if this building was damaged in the earthquake or if it was just incomplete in the building process.
Hotel parking lot view. There was a gate and wall that surrounded the hotel with armed guards allowing (or not) people into the lot.
View from the backside of the hotel roof. I would have loved to been able to get better photos of the houses, but alas....just iPhone photos...
Rocks. Piles and piles of rocks were everywhere. Here is a street vendor that I believe was selling food of some type.
After pool time and wandering around, I went back in to rest. It had been an emotional day - let me back up and explain.
Right after breakfast, I met a young man, Samuel, who has been an interpreter for the ministry for a while. He stopped by to say hello to Abby and to explain that he would not be going along on this trip, as he was staying in PaP to teach bible school to children the following week. He had recently gotten married to his wife in February. His new wife is a medical student in "the Dominican" (which for some strange reason seems hip and cool to say - "the Dominican" is the Dominican Republic, which neighbors Haiti to the right and the two countries make up the island of Hispaniola.) Anyway. Samuel is a 29 year old follower of Christ who works for Medic Samaritan in Haiti. He is a contractor and builds houses for widows. He was SUCH a blessing to just listen to! His sweet spirit was full of Jesus and it showed through the way he spoke. He gets paid to build houses, and then with his money, he personally feeds 14 widows out of his own pocket.
Who does that? When you risk starving yourself and your family, when you already live in poverty? Seriously. WHO? Gosh. To have that kind of heart and faith!!
Samuel was kind enough to answer all of my questions about medicine and healthcare, education and children. He explained to me how a lot of Haitian women have baby after baby. I asked him what his plans were with starting his own family. He told me that he only wants one child and he prays that God will bless he and his wife to become parents one day. He said that he wants to be an example to the people of Haiti. One child. More than one and it's hard. It's hard to feed them, hard to educate them. He said, "life in Haiti? It's hard here."
Samuel and I. Ignore the red crying face I have. Keep reading to find out why....
As the morning passed and our conversation continued, Samuel began telling me about an 11-year old boy who is a restavek.
A restavek (or restavec) is a child in Haiti who is sent by his or her parents to work for a host household as a domestic servant because the parents lack the resources required to support the child. The term comes from the French language rester avec, "to stay with". Parents unable to care for children may send them to live with wealthier (or less poor) families; often their own relatives or friends. Often the children are from rural areas and relatives who host restaveks live in more urban ones. The expectation is that the children will receive food and housing (and sometimes an education) in exchange for doing housework. However, many restaveks live in poverty, may not receive proper education, and are at grave risk for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The restavek system is tolerated in Haitian culture, but not considered to be preferable. The practice meets formal international definitions of modern day slavery and child trafficking, and affects an estimated 300,000 Haitian children. The number of CDW (Child Domestic Workers) in Haiti, defined as 1) living away from parents' home 2) not following normal progression in education 3) working more than other children, is more than 400,000. 25% of Haitian children age 5-17 live away from their biological parents.
He told me that he is personally trying to help this boy escape this life. I cried as I listened to him speak. I apologized to him for my tears - I wasn't sure how "acceptable" it was to cry in front of someone in this culture - would I offend him? What would he think about me? Jesus, I thought, please toughen me up! What on earth am I doing??? It's just a conversation between me and a stranger! But then I remembered the prayer I'd prayed before when I asked Him to break my heart in ways that would change me. Lesson: Be careful what you pray for. He is faithful and will give us the desires of our hearts. Even if it means you cry and act a fool sitting in a hotel lobby with a guy you only met an hour earlier. Trust me on this.
When I apologized for crying, Samuel softly touched my arm and leaned in close to me as he said, "there are two things you can do for crying. Either take some meds - do you need meds, Christy?"
Pause.
Uhm....maybe? I waited patiently for him to continue...
"Or get used to it. You'll hear a lot of bad stories here."
Not quite the answers I was expecting, but so full of truth that it knocked the wind out of my sails for a moment.
A long moment, actually. For several hours, even sitting by the pool later in the day, the tears seemed endless. I sat in 100° heat and cried tears from what seemed like they were coming from my feet. Deep, hard tears that hurt me physically as I thought about life in Haiti.
My prayer for the day was asking God to please allow my tears to motivate me into loving people through His eyes and with His heart. I had no idea that this STILL wouldn't be the last time I cried over Haiti. Many, many tears would follow (and still do, 3 months later).
Dinner that night was spent with the entire team who had finally made it in. See the man in the red shirt? That's Lowell. More about him later - he is SUCH a blessing, and I had NO idea how God would use him - and CONTINUE to use him - in my life when I took this photo.
Ain't that just like Him? :)
Tomorrow, we would head out of Port-au-Prince and the Marriott and see the "real" Haiti that Abby had been preparing me for. She advised us to get in bed early: tomorrow would be a long day.
