We left Ft. Lauderdale at 6:30 am and arrived in Cap-Haitien at 9:15 expecting our luggage which contained the new computer, many bags of candy for the children, and other essentials to be off loaded from the plane. Instead we were told that luggage would arrive a few hours later on a cargo plane. OK. Not a serious problem, just a minor inconvenience. Sure enough, after arriving at Pastor Andre’s house, we received a phone call from the airport an hour or so later that the luggage was here. He and I went to the airport to get it. On the way we got two other phone calls asking where we were. It was alright to make us wait to get the luggage, but not alright for us to make them wait a half hour for us to drive back. First problem solved.
We went to the Cap-Haitien church early afternoon and it was mobbed with children and widows. They were expecting us and surrounded us when we arrived. Fred immediately set up his video camera and began recording. The school was in session, but the teachers lost control when we got there. Well, I guess it was controlled chaos. All the children wanted to be in the video. Melissa was immediately surrounded by one of her new fan clubs. In each church she was mobbed by children. When the candy was passed out, wrappers were flying.
We went home after going to the only American hotel and restaurant in Cap-Haitien, the Mont Joli Hotel. It is the only place Pastor Andre will let us eat. Even he gets sick eating the food anywhere else. After returning to Pastor Andre’s house Fred went to work on setting up the new computer . He hit a brick wall. He could not log onto the internet. The satellite modem wanted a username and password which the technician who installed failed to provide. OK. Fred finally figured out the password, but without the user name, it didn’t help. Methelus, our administrator in Haiti, contacted the technician and arranged for him to come on Thursday at 4 PM.
At just about 6 PM, the power went off in Cap-Haitien, so we sat on the roof for a few hours, nodding off a few times. After being awake for close to 40 hours, sleep was welcome. Fred decided that the roof was his bedroom. The breeze coming down from the mountains was cool.
Thursday:
We got an early start to Dubre. Both Fred and Melissa were shocked at the condition of the “roads”? What passes for roads are far worse than anything you have ever driven on. There are more pot holes, gullies, holes, rocks and other obstructions on any given stretch of road than there are level places. Melissa closed her eyes and laughed at the way everyone drives there. I think she screamed a couple of times. Absolutely no traffic control at all. Cars have the right of way there, not pedestrians. If you are walking, look out.
School was in session in Dubre, but unlike Cap-Haitien, the children were quietly sitting there learning. They had been forewarned not to act up. After taking video for a while, candy was passed out to the children. We were ready to go when Melissa called me to where she was. She was kneeling beside a mother holding a small baby boy only 19 days old. He had a hole in his head that was severely infected. My heart sank. This child could not live without immediate help. I called Pastor Andre over as he was calling for us to leave. He saw the baby and his expression changed immediately. “Pastor John, pray,” he said. I gently touched the baby and prayed, knowing that unless God intervened this sweet baby would not survive.
The next thing we knew, another mother came to us with her daughter who had an abnormally large swollen belly and feet. I prayed for her, with my hand on her stomach. Another mother came to us with a daughter that had growth inside her mouth. We prayed for her. Adults came with eye, head, feet, and hand problems. I laid my hands on each of them and prayed. Many came for touching and prayer. If I never understood the words “moved with compassion” before, I did at that moment. I now have a complete understanding of what the words “moved with compassion” mean. It was a scene that brought out deep emotion. Since the mother only had dirty water to clean the wound, Melissa was trying her best to clean the wound with bottled water. She used some antibiotic she had to try to reduce the infection. I was praying for many others. Fred was videoing. He told me afterwards that he was crying through the entire time. Most of the problems they are experiencing are due to bad water. It is filled with bacteria that causes untold misery. The next day Melissa went to the pharmacy to buy as many supplies for cleaning and health as she could. There was not nearly enough money to purchase all that was needed. She spent a few hundred dollars.
Yet, in spite of the major medical issues there, Dubre is a joyful church. The singing and worship bordered on heavenly. Their church building is nowhere near complete. Only a third of the building has walls and a roof. One side needs a wall and two thirds needs a roof. The wall can be completed for only $1,000. That is our first building project for them. Then the roof needs to be put on for approximately $2,500.
They have no water, so they also need a well. We met a missionary in Ft. Lauderdale airport who gave us the name of an organization in Haiti who drills wells for free. We are waiting to hear back from them. They also will repair the well in Bas Limbe that has been broken for a long time now.
Then on to Robillard (pronounced oh’ bee are) where school was in session again. The children were well behaved and enjoyed their candy. Since they do not own their building or land, we will not consider drilling a well there. They need their own land and building, but it is such a poor village, that purchasing property is completely out of the question unless God’s people help them. The toilet facilities there are a hole in the ground about ten feet deep. It is used by anyone who needs it. There is no lye to use afterward, so you can imagine…
Back to Cap-Haitien across gullies and massive craters in the road. We took a side track to Milo to find Water of Life, the organization we heard of from the missionary we met in Florida. We finally found it, but the pastor who runs it was not available, so we spoke briefly to his wife who told us we had to speak to him. We got his phone number and Pastor Andre called him and left a message. To the hotel for a meal, then back to the house where we expected to meet the technician. He was not there. After a few phone calls we located him and he finally showed up at about 8 PM. But, the power had gone off again at about 6 PM. Pastor Andre had started the generator he had, but shortly after the tech got there, it ran out of gas. The tech did not know the user name but told us he needed to contact Port Au Prince to get it. OK. He’ll be back tomorrow. We packed it in for another night.
Friday:
We left in the morning for Bas Limbe to visit the church and school there. If a church does not have a school, no one will attend. Schools are an important part of churches in Haiti. Only about 10% of children attend government schools. That leaves 90% of the children to be educated by churches. Government schools are free, but churches must charge tuition, however little it may be, for a child to attend. In Bas Limbe we had a reality check. Felix (in blue shirt), the head master of the school, spoke to us after Fred videoed the children and passed out candy. He asked us to come into a private room. He then emphatically spilled his guts to us. He has lost many students to government schools because the parents have political contacts that enable their children to attend free school. Because of the free schools, no one is paying tuition and the teachers are working for nothing. They all are discouraged. They are working hard and sacrificing to teach the children but they are not being compensated. Not even a little bit. But they are faithfully fulfilling their ministry. We did our best to encourage him and the other teachers. They will stay with their school even with no pay. They have no other place to go.
Back to the hotel for our afternoon meal. Then back to Pastor Andre’s house to meet the technician. Oops! He can’t make it today, but will be there tomorrow. Are you beginning to see a pattern here? 6 PM the power mysteriously goes off again. It has been going off for two months now at the same time every day. No one knows why, and it seems no one really cares. It’s just a way of life in Cap-Haitien. But, on the hill where the hotel is, there is power. Go figure.
Since the Cap-Haitien church was holding revival services, Pastor Andre asked me to preach that evening. He gave me about 30 minutes to prepare. So, I had to wing it. But, God honored my effort and the people were blessed. As was I. Being able to preach the Word of God is always a blessing and an honor.
View the short video tour of the four churches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apH_-BiP5Xs&context=C30c9d16ADOEgsToPDskIpuGl-IyH57vLES8B_Lp05
Saturday:
The North Haiti Bible Institute starts today. The students arrived from the villages and across the city at 8 AM. They wait for us to show up. We get there by 8:45 and start indoctrination. I welcomed them and give them the guidelines for their study. They are really excited to think that I have actually kept my word to them. I promised them back in July that we would begin this Bible institute. So for six months I have been writing courses for them. What has happened to them in the past is that others have gone once to Haiti, made promises, and never returned.
We were there until after 2 PM and the students left to go back to their villages ready to study. Felix, the head master of the school in Bas Limbe, told me in broken English that when he finished the courses, he wanted to be a pastor. I, of course, encouraged him, although he did not understand much of what I said.
We fed the students two meals while they were there. Only one woman said she was not hungry and put her second meal to the side. It was not difficult to know the reason. It was going home with her to feed to her children. We also paid all their transportation costs. We began with 18 students, but very easily could have more. There were pastors from four hours away who wanted to take the courses. We just do not have the funds to be able to do so at this time. It is totally free to them. We pay for everything.
Our Bible institute is fully accredited and accepted by the Haitian government. It takes years to achieve this, but Pastor Andre has worked for years in Haiti and has met all of the requirements for acceptance by the government. It is under the umbrella organization of Christian Mission to Restore Haiti (English translation).
Again, to the hotel and back to the house to meet the technician who we just knew would meet us there. Really? OK. Tuesday for sure. The day after we leave to come home. Sorry Fred. We just can’t get it all done this trip.
We were blessed with some singing that evening. Destiny, a 14 year old girl sang a couple of songs for us. Here are the links. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAlnM0NGDy0
Miloude, our secretary in Haiti also sang a song for us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCD1QXI1UbY
Sunday:
I was expecting to preach in Bas Limbe in the morning and Cap-Haitien in the evening, but Pastor Andre told me just before we went to bed Saturday that he thought we should be at the 7 AM service in Cap-Haitien, then travel to the 9 AM service in Bas Limbe, then again at the evening service in Cap-Haitien. He wanted me to preach all three services. So, quickly, I had to come up with a sermon for Sunday morning in Cap-Haitien. I had one prepared to preach in both Bas Limbe and the Cap-Haitien evening service. God was faithful. He gave me another for 7 AM.
In Bas Limbe, a men’s singing group sang. The minute they opened their mouths, we knew we were in for a real treat.
At the evening service in Cap-Haitien a young man about 20 years old received Jesus as Savior. That made the entire trip worthwhile. That is what missions is all about.
Our needs:
You can see that the needs in Haiti are great. Yes, there are many organizations at work there, but with most of them, there are administrative costs that eat up a lot of the donated money. We all pay our own way. We are all volunteers.
There is a company in Chicago who will donate a 20 foot container filled with food to us. We need to pay transportation costs from Chicago to Miami, then pay to have it shipped to the docks in Cap-Haitien. Care to help with that?
We need pedal sewing machines for some ladies so they can make dresses, shirts, scarfs, etc. that we can give to those who donate to us. We will pay them for their time so they can have an income. We need to obtain a Toyota or other Japanese pickup truck that we can convert to a Top Top, the primary means of transportation in Haiti. It will give a couple of men work and also be used by us when we return. Our transportation cost is $100 per day plus gas plus feeding the driver. This trip was nearly $700.
We need medical professionals who will go with us for clinics. Haitian people have little means of paying for medicine or doctors, so as Christians, we need to help them by providing for them. We are not advocating giving them everything indefinitely, but we need to help them in the short term with medical issues and train them to support themselves. That is what we are trying to do.
Please help us to help them in any way you can. Di ou mèsi ak Bondye beni ou.
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