Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Time
Today we had some great French toast for breakfast and then pretty much just hung out with the kids all day and they got to unwrap their presents. We got to eat with the kids and we also had the feeding program. It was a great last day here. We leave tomorrow.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Warning: Shoots flaming balls with reports
This was the warning on one of the fireworks we set off today. Today we hung out and got ready for Christmas and practiced some stuff for the postponed Christmas outreach on Monday. We went to Christmas Eve service which was really great. Some of the kids performed a dance that Alicia taught them. The kids all love the candles and some of them always end up with a little bit of hot wax on their hands. Then we had a great turkey, ham and mashed potato dinner with some type of chocolate jello pie for dessert. As we were eating, the neighbors were lighting off fireworks. Christmas Eve is a big time to do fireworks. If you research the history of fireworks you will see they have nothing to do with Christmas, but it's still fun nonetheless. We then took a look at our fireworks. We had a bunch of "rockets" and some type of fireworks with German instructions. We headed off to the boys home for the safest out of country fireworks display I have ever experienced. They can get pretty crazy, but this one was pretty calm. We only have one day left and I am sure going to miss it here.
On a completely unrelated note: The Haitians have what to me is an odd sense of humor... But it's funny still because I have an odd sense of humor too. Here are the responses to I've got to when I've called a person crazy here:
I'm not crazy because I don't have a rock in my hand
I'm not crazy, I'm a refrigerator
Yah. In other news my camera keeps showing an Err message when I take a picture. I guess that means I need to send it in for repair. Ugh.
On a completely unrelated note: The Haitians have what to me is an odd sense of humor... But it's funny still because I have an odd sense of humor too. Here are the responses to I've got to when I've called a person crazy here:
I'm not crazy because I don't have a rock in my hand
I'm not crazy, I'm a refrigerator
Yah. In other news my camera keeps showing an Err message when I take a picture. I guess that means I need to send it in for repair. Ugh.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Due to rain, Christmas has been cancelled
Today we woke up cold. This does not happen very often. The wind was loud last night and it was rainy. It was about 70 degrees, which is just kind of ridiculously cold here. I've never seen it rain like this here, normally it seems like it rains for 10 minutes or maybe an hour but no it rained the entire day so we couldn't do our Christmas outreach and there isn't a way to have it on Friday. It looks like the outreach is postponed until Monday which means Alicia and I won't be here to see it. It's sad, but we know it's time to go back at least for a little bit now. Hopefully next year it won't rain on our parade. It was a slow day. Tomorrow we just have Christmas Eve service planned.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
My Princess calendars were kept safe by a man with a shotgun
Today we practiced for our big Christmas outreach tomorrow. It's really coming along great. After that we played the waiting game. We waited and waited for the big white truck so we could finish taking the kids to Delmas 2000 and buying for their family. I think we waited for 5 hours. That's just part of life in Haiti, waiting. It was kind of a lazy day and then at 5 the truck returned. We packed 30 kids into the truck and headed out to Delmas 2000. Once again, we were in and out in about an hour or so. Thank you Lord everything went so smoothly. Last year we took smaller groups and could easily spend 3-4 hours with one group. So I guess I am kind of recognizable... The guy who is kind of I guess the manager of the story, I say hi to him. I was pretty sure I had talked to him when we did this last year. So after passing by him a couple of times he calls to me "Sir!" I figure I must have dropped something, but he says "I want to give you some calendars, but put them in your car... don't show anyone" What kind of calendars are these, I think to myself. Anyways he gives me the calendars and I go out the door and realize I have no way of getting in the truck. He is close to the door, so I tell him I don't have the keys to the car, and I put the calendars outside real fast so I can get the keys. He whistles to a guard with a shotgun and instructs him to stand guard in front of my bag of Princess calendars. That has to be one of the most hilarious moments I have had in Haiti. He also gave us more calendars as we left that are shown in this blog. I look forward to going there again next year!
Tomorrow is our big outreach program, so looking forward to it!
Tomorrow is our big outreach program, so looking forward to it!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Delmas 2000: All the stuff made in China 20 years ago you could everwant
After some painting, some website updating, the arrival of some new people to the guest house some of us ventured out to Delmas 2000. This store is stocked full of some of the most obscure stuff and some of it the prices are ridiculous. There was a giant sword for 70 dollars, a corded telephone for at least 20. You can find fake flowers, fans, bags that say New York on them, clothes (BUT NO SHORTS! only jeans... because it makes sense to wear jeans in Haiti whereit is nice and cool). But then there are the deals. Each kid is given 10 dollars to buy for the family they have. They really are experts at making it go a long way. We only had two hours there and we took 15 kids. The kids were done before we even needed to leave and none of them tried to do the whole "hey i'll buy this for you if you buy that for me". Maybe it was my speech before hand that they wouldn't get to buy anything if they did that. Anyways it was a great time and I hate to push American consumerism on them like they HAVE to buy something for people for Christmas... but I really think there's a whole other side to it. One they get an economics lesson in how to stretch 10 dollars and maybe a bit of a math lesson as well. And it's just great that they can have the opportunity to bless someone else, even if the gifts aren't really expensive. They all seemed to love it. It's hard walking out of that store because there are kids begging outside and they see me with all these Haitian kids with shopping bags and I'm like a target... I wish I could help everyone, I really do. God has me here helping these kids who were just like those ones on the street though. Tomorrow, we will venture to Delmas 2000 again.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Totalli Goo
Today we went to church. I am really going to miss it next week... We are starting to say oh this is our last such and such in Haiti. Thankfully we still have our Christmas Eve service to attend for church. After that I took a nap and had a nightmare I was back in America and was thankful to wake up in Haiti.
After that, we hung out and played some tetherball and danced. Then we went to Dominos - all the kids who are first in their class get taken out. It is the only real fast food place in Haiti... every other place takes so long to do anything, but I think our pizza was ready in ten minutes. We say things are Totalli Goo because Li goo means it's good, so obviously the next step is Totalli Goo. Anyways Dominos in Haiti is sooo Totalli Goo - it taste like pizza in America. It was fun to hang out and I am always down to go out and take pictures and just be outside of the house and little area we are staying in.
This week somehow we are cramming a Christmas program taking fifty kids to Delmas 2000 and a million other things preparing for Christmas and the Christmas outreach. It's going to be an awesome week and I am excited for it. I love this place and the people here!
After that, we hung out and played some tetherball and danced. Then we went to Dominos - all the kids who are first in their class get taken out. It is the only real fast food place in Haiti... every other place takes so long to do anything, but I think our pizza was ready in ten minutes. We say things are Totalli Goo because Li goo means it's good, so obviously the next step is Totalli Goo. Anyways Dominos in Haiti is sooo Totalli Goo - it taste like pizza in America. It was fun to hang out and I am always down to go out and take pictures and just be outside of the house and little area we are staying in.
This week somehow we are cramming a Christmas program taking fifty kids to Delmas 2000 and a million other things preparing for Christmas and the Christmas outreach. It's going to be an awesome week and I am excited for it. I love this place and the people here!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
I saw a guy with a gun at a market today
I'm actually surprised this is the first time in Haiti I have seen someone walking around with a gun. It really didn't phase me, probably because it wasn't pointed at me. I wonder if you bring a gun to a market, if you get better prices?
Today we practiced for the Christmas program. The first big rehearsal for the Christmas program this Wednesday. I've heard that we are going to have about 400 people there.
Each kid here has a set amount of money to spend on an outfit. We took all the girls to the market today, a market I had not been to. All the merchants quickly found out that Fritz was the man with the money and I think everyone was yelling Fritz! Fritz! the entire time we were there. The merchants found it funny and so did I, but I'm not sure how Fritz felt haha. At about 5 the lights went out which kind of makes it hard to shop so we came home.
I must also say I am surprised that more people do not get run over here. We are in this crowded market and trucks keep driving through. Most of the time driving here is like trying to drive down Main Street at Disneyland on a busy Saturday.
Today we practiced for the Christmas program. The first big rehearsal for the Christmas program this Wednesday. I've heard that we are going to have about 400 people there.
Each kid here has a set amount of money to spend on an outfit. We took all the girls to the market today, a market I had not been to. All the merchants quickly found out that Fritz was the man with the money and I think everyone was yelling Fritz! Fritz! the entire time we were there. The merchants found it funny and so did I, but I'm not sure how Fritz felt haha. At about 5 the lights went out which kind of makes it hard to shop so we came home.
I must also say I am surprised that more people do not get run over here. We are in this crowded market and trucks keep driving through. Most of the time driving here is like trying to drive down Main Street at Disneyland on a busy Saturday.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The kids smell like gasoline
Last night I was looking at pictures of some of the kids here at the orphanage when they were on the street. It is amazing to see the change that has happened in five years both physically and spiritually. The lady who was showing me (Lauren) the pictures was talking about how she was going tomorrow with one of the boys (Junior) to minister to street kids. I am all for that, and told her I wanted to come and take pictures.
So at about noon today Markenson, Junior, Lauren and I piled into the car. It was full of presents for the kids and my legs barely fit in the front seat. Our first stop was Church on the Rock which is a really large Haitian church. After unloading some gifts we waited for the main worship pastor who was coming with us. As we were waiting, the noon service started. The worship was amazing and after awhile they started singing something like "We worship you God"... People were roaming the aisles, hands lifted high. I noticed I was probably the one white person standing around in that room out of hundreds of Haitians. This seems to happen a lot and I am kind of becoming used to being in the minority. One lady who was worshiping then looked at me, stopped and gave me a handshake. I really don't know what the message communicated between us was, but I found it somewhat humorous. Anyways they kept singing the same thing for about ten minutes and I thought I could just stay here all day and listen to this.
Then, it was time to go. As I left I could still hear them in the street singing that same song... I walked with Markenson and the worship pastor through a market, up some stairs and into a small crowded room where a Haitian man was preaching to some kids. There was a belt on the table in case someone got out of hand. When that man was finished, Markenson gave a passionate message little of which I could understand. Junior did the same. As I was standing there and the room kept filling up more and more I noticed the smell of gasoline as the kids moved around. Lauren told me she had tried to wash their clothes, and wash them well and it still wouldn't rid their clothes of the stench of street life. Pastor Gary tells me many of these kids struggle with drugs. For many of them, it seems like there is little or no hope... But then you can look at Markenson and Junior. Preaching to these kids who are in the place they were 5 years ago. Amazing. Then the message was finished. Lauren tells the children their only hope is Jesus... They don't have to pray to Jesus to get a Christmas gift or food, only if they will truly and want to accept Him. Many kids prayed, please pray for them that their faith would be authentic. We then hand out gifts which - with so many kids crammed into this little room it could have easily been much more chaotic than it was. Food is served. It's time to go home.
Time for the feeding program and then a birthday celebration for one of the kids who came from the place I was just at... Many of the kids at the orphanage lived lives like the kids I saw today, some of them are even from that same street I was on. Running through the streets, begging, malnourished. Until God rescued them.
It's hard for me to think where those kids I saw today are right now at 10pm. Are they dodging traffic? Doing drugs? Kids like this only have one hope.
So at about noon today Markenson, Junior, Lauren and I piled into the car. It was full of presents for the kids and my legs barely fit in the front seat. Our first stop was Church on the Rock which is a really large Haitian church. After unloading some gifts we waited for the main worship pastor who was coming with us. As we were waiting, the noon service started. The worship was amazing and after awhile they started singing something like "We worship you God"... People were roaming the aisles, hands lifted high. I noticed I was probably the one white person standing around in that room out of hundreds of Haitians. This seems to happen a lot and I am kind of becoming used to being in the minority. One lady who was worshiping then looked at me, stopped and gave me a handshake. I really don't know what the message communicated between us was, but I found it somewhat humorous. Anyways they kept singing the same thing for about ten minutes and I thought I could just stay here all day and listen to this.
Then, it was time to go. As I left I could still hear them in the street singing that same song... I walked with Markenson and the worship pastor through a market, up some stairs and into a small crowded room where a Haitian man was preaching to some kids. There was a belt on the table in case someone got out of hand. When that man was finished, Markenson gave a passionate message little of which I could understand. Junior did the same. As I was standing there and the room kept filling up more and more I noticed the smell of gasoline as the kids moved around. Lauren told me she had tried to wash their clothes, and wash them well and it still wouldn't rid their clothes of the stench of street life. Pastor Gary tells me many of these kids struggle with drugs. For many of them, it seems like there is little or no hope... But then you can look at Markenson and Junior. Preaching to these kids who are in the place they were 5 years ago. Amazing. Then the message was finished. Lauren tells the children their only hope is Jesus... They don't have to pray to Jesus to get a Christmas gift or food, only if they will truly and want to accept Him. Many kids prayed, please pray for them that their faith would be authentic. We then hand out gifts which - with so many kids crammed into this little room it could have easily been much more chaotic than it was. Food is served. It's time to go home.
Time for the feeding program and then a birthday celebration for one of the kids who came from the place I was just at... Many of the kids at the orphanage lived lives like the kids I saw today, some of them are even from that same street I was on. Running through the streets, begging, malnourished. Until God rescued them.
It's hard for me to think where those kids I saw today are right now at 10pm. Are they dodging traffic? Doing drugs? Kids like this only have one hope.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Hand Paint: Cite Soleil comes to us
Today was an interesting day... I was doing my normal updating website/calendar thing and decide to venture over to the boys home to see what is going on with Christmas outreach prep and perhaps take some pictures. I hear something going on in the Bins and notice there are a bunch of kids there. Someone tells me they are from Cite Soleil. Someone else tells me many of them have never been outside of Cite Soleil. If you don't know what Cite Soleil is you can google it or I can tell you that it is a pretty crazy and dangerous place that most people didn't go to (although it has improved from ridiculously dangerous I hear)... Susette then grabbed me and asked me to take pictures which (sarcasm) really takes some leg pulling to get me to do. Well pretty much I hung out with these kids all day. Their bright smiles were captivating. Some of us had 5-15 kids hanging on us at once. I didn't really know what to do... My Creole is so limited this is one of the times I really wish I practiced more. I still had a great time laughing and hanging out with these kids and they got to play and sing worship songs and do hand painting. They loved the camera, almost to the point where I would have to take a break from taking pictures to keep from getting mobbed. I really hope to be here if and when this happens again...
Here is some worship the kids were doing today:
Here is some worship the kids were doing today:
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Marbles
Now that the kids are out of school, the Christmas outreach preparations have begun. Dancing, singing and other great practicing is going on. I can't believe we only have 9 days left. I've been working on the Child Hope Website and the calendar for 2010 which you can order now.
http://www.childhope.org/about/calendar.html
The proceeds from the calendar sales will go to a birthday fund to take the kids out for their birthdays to Dominos, their favorite birthday place.
http://www.childhope.org/about/calendar.html
The proceeds from the calendar sales will go to a birthday fund to take the kids out for their birthdays to Dominos, their favorite birthday place.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
He's just doing his job
If your job is throwing people's merchandise in the air and scaring people half to death, this guy was doing his job pretty well. Today we went to the Petionville market, I had high hopes of buying some more shorts because I planned for ten days in Haiti and brought three pairs of shorts and one pair has a hole which renders them unusable. Another pair is much too hot. Basically I am down to one pair. So we get to the market and we are walking down the hill and we see a man throwing stuff wildly and other people running. A guy next to me who followed us around the entire time we were there tells me "He's just doing his job" I don't know what job that is, but maybe somebody can clarify for me. It didn't look like he was having a good time or that anybody was happy with his job.
If you are looking for cargo shorts, don't go to the Petionville market. They don't have any.
If you are looking for cargo shorts, don't go to the Petionville market. They don't have any.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Posing as journalists
Yesterday Troy and I went around Port-Au-Prince taking pictures. To look more official, I found a vest at the store room here. We started off in beautiful PAP traffic. We went to the end of the road on Delmas pretty much... don't know exactly how to describe it. There were these shacks there that looked like a great place to take pictures:
After about 2 minutes of standing there some Haitian guy started yelling at us. The only way I can tell people are mad about me taking pictures here is the tone of the voice and the fact that the word photo is somewhere in there. I don't even think I took a picture of that guy, so he really had no reason to get angry.
Then we went to this super crowded market where apparently people buy things for other markets. Two white guys with cameras... we didn't stick out at all! Anyways... my favorite thing was the huge piles of salt, but I don't have a picture of that.
I'm pretty sure it was because of my journalist vest we got to go behind these gates and take pictures of the boats...
After about 2 minutes of standing there some Haitian guy started yelling at us. The only way I can tell people are mad about me taking pictures here is the tone of the voice and the fact that the word photo is somewhere in there. I don't even think I took a picture of that guy, so he really had no reason to get angry.
Then we went to this super crowded market where apparently people buy things for other markets. Two white guys with cameras... we didn't stick out at all! Anyways... my favorite thing was the huge piles of salt, but I don't have a picture of that.
I'm pretty sure it was because of my journalist vest we got to go behind these gates and take pictures of the boats...
Then we kind of went all around that area taking pictures... here are some of my faves:
The above image kind of captures Haiti at Christmas in my mind. The guy standing up hanging on to the truck just added to the picture for me. This is the National Palace or Haitian White House.
For the image below - I didn't know what the graffiti said until it was explained to me: There is no election without Fanmi Lavalas. The English even had to be explained to me, and then I saw an article in the Washington Post today that explains it: Click here for that article
Then we decided to go to the village Troy used to live in. Before we did he asked if I wanted to go to Cite Soleil. So we pretty much made a left hand turn and were there. I think I was kind of in awe, looking all around me so I didn't get a huge amount of images - plus we were driving a little fast.
After about an hour drive and almost hitting a cow, we made it to the village
We sat down in this old lady's house, bought some sodas and Troy carried on a full on conversation with the people in Creole, while I tried to listen and understand and take pictures.
Then we went to a nearby school... I couldn't stay in there very long because when I came in most of the kids stood up. Then all eyes were on me so I felt like no one could be productive while I was there...
This girl the people seriously call her Crazy Crazy... because she has some type of mental handicap. She had one of the biggest and most radiant smiles of the people there...
And then it was time to go home...
There are more pictures up on my flickr starting with http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/4172493469/in/set-72157622920290252/
There are more pictures up on my flickr starting with http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/4172493469/in/set-72157622920290252/
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
A few of our awesome Creole teachers
Yesterday some of the neighbors invited Alicia and I over to learn some Creole... we just went inside their gate and we had flash cards and they taught us the words. Except no one knew the word for farmer so everytime that flash card came up they said mange pomme because the guy had an apple in his hand... time to go take pictures of PAP
Monday, December 07, 2009
i had a great time at the feeding program today. the little kids were really hyper, which is good to see. Sometimes they come in and kind of don't react a lot because (i assume) they are hungry... but today I was chasing them around and they were screaming and laughing like kids should.
after that I found Alicia hanging on the street with some neighborhood kids learning some creole from flash cards. She says the kids were way more excited about teaching her Creole than about learning English...
after that I found Alicia hanging on the street with some neighborhood kids learning some creole from flash cards. She says the kids were way more excited about teaching her Creole than about learning English...
Rest In Peace Baby Chick Alfalfa
Baby Alfalfa was not doing that well the past few days. Baby chicks are not very nice to the weak chicks. Alfalfa couldn't walk, so Alicia attempted to rescue it by removing Alfalfa from the abuse that it was receiving. Last night was his last. Rest in peace Baby Alfalfa.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
today
today we went to church. it was definitely a good word. then we got to go celebrate Israel's birthday and have some REALLY good ice cream. I realized today I think the thing that bothers me the most about being in Haiti is that my feet seem to itch a lot and I haven't had Japanese chicken and rice in awhile... oh and peanut toffee buzz clif bars I miss you. Please come visit me. Other than that so far it's been pretty stellar.
One of the kids today thought my job in America was making the street lights go green and red. Yellow, I don't know I guess I don't control that. But I can work from Haiti... I hope I haven't caused you any traffic jams lately.
One of the kids today thought my job in America was making the street lights go green and red. Yellow, I don't know I guess I don't control that. But I can work from Haiti... I hope I haven't caused you any traffic jams lately.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Quisqueya Christmas Bazaar
Today was a pretty uneventful day in Haiti. We sat around and waited for the tram to leave to the Quisqueya Christmas Bazaar. OK there's really no tram, but I think someone good make money off shuttling people like me with no car around.
We mostly just hung out and ate. The ice cream here is weird compared to what I am used to. It was like 2.50 for a cone and apparently there is some different sugar I am not used to so then I spent like 50 cents on a Pepsi which left another bad taste in my mouth so I had to get a 7-up or sprite (because here I guess there isn't a difference when you ask for a sprite you are brought 7-up). Finally after the 7-up I had eliminated the weird taste I paid 2.50 for.
Also, Alicia claims to have purchased all of our Christmas gifts there which I will be very surprised if that is true... We did not win a motorcycle or airline tickets unfortunately.
We are back at the guest house. We celebrated Israel's birthday tonight. I am always very happy to let someone else be in charge of cake. Everyone goes crazy over cake and ice cream. It's always I NEED ANOTHER PIECE OR SCOOP. and then OH SO AND SO DIDNT GET A PIECE OR SCOOP. Well maybe if everyone else hadn't eaten all the original pieces, so and so would have got a piece haha.
We mostly just hung out and ate. The ice cream here is weird compared to what I am used to. It was like 2.50 for a cone and apparently there is some different sugar I am not used to so then I spent like 50 cents on a Pepsi which left another bad taste in my mouth so I had to get a 7-up or sprite (because here I guess there isn't a difference when you ask for a sprite you are brought 7-up). Finally after the 7-up I had eliminated the weird taste I paid 2.50 for.
Also, Alicia claims to have purchased all of our Christmas gifts there which I will be very surprised if that is true... We did not win a motorcycle or airline tickets unfortunately.
We are back at the guest house. We celebrated Israel's birthday tonight. I am always very happy to let someone else be in charge of cake. Everyone goes crazy over cake and ice cream. It's always I NEED ANOTHER PIECE OR SCOOP. and then OH SO AND SO DIDNT GET A PIECE OR SCOOP. Well maybe if everyone else hadn't eaten all the original pieces, so and so would have got a piece haha.
Friday, December 04, 2009
backwards day
Today was the second backward experience in Haiti at the airport. Monday we said goodbye to the team and Susette and today a few of the older guys went to America to study English. The fact that three of them got visas to go was totally a God deal. Pictures of that and more are available on flickr... also check the full blog post for some videos from today.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
The team has left
Hi Everyone!
The team has left and has returned home... that happened on Monday. I decided at last minute to stay for the month instead of leaving and coming back. That was quite a strange experience saying goodbye to the team... Dave Beck and I posted a bunch of updates on our team blog at http://khchaititeams.blogspot.com/ and I have pictures from that trip on my flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/sets/72157622569340017/
And so we're here for the next month... Updates will be coming semi-frequently at http://lucastheexperience.blogspot.com and there will be plenty of pictures on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/
Lucas
The team has left and has returned home... that happened on Monday. I decided at last minute to stay for the month instead of leaving and coming back. That was quite a strange experience saying goodbye to the team... Dave Beck and I posted a bunch of updates on our team blog at http://khchaititeams.blogspot.com/ and I have pictures from that trip on my flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/sets/72157622569340017/
And so we're here for the next month... Updates will be coming semi-frequently at http://lucastheexperience.blogspot.com and there will be plenty of pictures on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/
Lucas
priyee
I love the feeding program here. It's one of the reasons I wake up early to finish work. Yesterday some of the older guys from the orphanage got visas to go to the US for a few months - thank God! - so the kids at the program prayed for them... they also said thanks to all the people that came to help out. I couldn't help but reflect on how much I stick out here... Alicia and I used to go to a homeless feeding in America and would repeatedly get mistaken for homeless people. I don't know why that struck me as so funny yesterday but it did. Last night we also went out to celebrate the visas and Whitney's birthday... you can see pictures from that by clicking on the pictures in this post - hopefully you can find the rest from there.
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