Natural Hairstyles of the Haitian Children
I love the way the Haitian mother’s braid their children’s
hair. The styles are neat and creatively
designed. The styles are simply
beautiful, the children are BEAUTIFUL!
Physical and Political Earthquake: If should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Well last night we had a 4.6 earthquake. I was asleep when it happened and Katie to
wake me and tell me what just happened.
She was a little shaken up because she was in Haiti 2 years ago during
the major earthquake. You could feel the
slight tension outside in the community.
People were talking differently than the usual laughter and conversations. There was no music. playing. Our neighbor, the Dominican Republic, have been
experiencing several small earthquakes, from about 3.0-4-4, for the past 3 or
so weeks.
Plus we have some political upheavals going on. There is a group challenging Presidan
(Haitian spelling) Martelli’s Haitian
citizenship (hmmm, sounds familiar) and another group protesting for the former
presidan, Aristide, to take back the Presidancy. We were told to stay home until we hear from someone
from CONASPEH. One of the employees came
home and stayed with us for a while because the streets leading to and by her
home have been closed and she cannot get home.
After we heard the news of Pres. Martelli proving his citizenship, she
decided to go home. We are waiting for
her to call when she gets home. She made it. Praise God!
I pulled together an emergency bag and will do weekly
emergency drills so I can try to be ready.
I don’t feel bad or scared. It is,
what it is, in Haiti. I know where I am
and earthquakes as well as hurricanes as well as political upheavals can happen at any time. I’ll just try to be prepared the best that I
can and say the prayer of my childhood. In
Haiti, it is more meaning to me: “If I should die before I wake, I pray the
Lord my soul to take.”
CONASPEH Congress
The CONASPEH Congress (basically a conference) was held
February 24 – 25, 2012 on the land of the CONASPEH office. Since the earthquake, they have not had a
place that could hold 5,000+ people. I
surely did not think it could happen at CONASPEH. But it did and it was wonderful! People from the 8,000 churches that are part
of CONASPEH, people from the community and travelers from America attended this
Congress. Julia Brown Karimu,
Co-President of Global Ministries, was the guest speaker on Sunday. Wonderful speakers from Haiti as well as the
United States gave inspiring presentations. Ministers and Bishops (for the first time)
were ordained and the first year nursing students were capped. The conference was free
and each attendee received lunch and morning and mid-afternoon snacks. All FREE.
The only money involved were the T-Shirts which cost $3. All of this was held outside. The food was cooked and served outside. It was a WONDERFUL Congress! CONASPEH, may God continue to bless you as
you continue to follow God’s leading.
Amen! Nursing students; a pastor that is also a midwife in his community, his church is 4 hours outside of Port-au-Prince and he has delivered over 100 babies in 20 years! When the baby is coming, he tells the mothers to shout HALLELUJAH!!; CONASPEH Congress; Rev. Felix introducing some of us to a woman pastor, who had and still struggles with being recognized as a pastor. Sounds familiar doesn't it sisters in ministry.
Thank you!
Thank you to all who sent their address to be part of my
newsletter mailing program. I hope you
received it by now and it is OK. I do
not have a copy of the newsletter. Those
who sent their address too late will be put on my list and hopefully receive
the next newsletter in September. Thanks
again! Love y’all!
My Apartment, Finally!
In December 2011, I finally got an apartment and spent
most of the month preparing to move. I
had to purchase a refrigerator, stove, an inverter, 8 batteries, 2 beds, 2
mattresses, and 2 pillows for me and Katie-the intern. There is a small space for the stove so I had
to buy the smallest stove I’ve ever seen or used. I live on the second floor. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and is very
spacious. My landlord and his family live downstairs and they are very nice. Before my stove and fridge were delivered,
they would invite me to have meals with them. I moved to my apartment on
January 2, 2012.
The topography in Haiti is very different. To the left of the apartment are my neighbors
who live in a wood house with a tin roof.
In fact, there are a many houses like that mingled with concrete houses throughout
the neighborhood. Haitians get up early
in the morning to cook, wash dishes and their clothes outside. When I get up in the morning, I can hear the
women preparing food for their families.
They take a variety of fresh seasoning and smash them together to be
used for whatever they are cooking. They
also smash coffee beans to make their own coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker but the homemade
coffee smells so good. Oh yes, there is
a mango, avocado and a cherry-looking tree in front of the building. I can almost pick a mango off the tree from
my front balcony.
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!
Hope you are having a
wonderful blessed Christmas with your family and friends. I have been
trying to contact my family since this morning and cannot get a
connection. Oh well, I am in Haiti.
It is a very
interestingly different Christmas for me. First, I am not bombarded with Christmas
spending, materialism, commercialism. You do not hear about toys,
gifts-cheap/expensive and absolutely no advertisement on what to buy. I
was told that if there is any money available it is use to buy food for the
family. It appears the Haitian understanding of Christmas is in sync with
the biblical interpretation (NO Santa Claus).
Second, they celebrate
Christmas on Christmas Eve like we celebrate New Year’s Eve--fireworks, loud
music, various street celebrations and more fireworks, all night long into the
morning. In fact, I woke this morning at 6am to the song, "How Great is Our God." That song truly kept me focus on what this
blessed day is all about. It felt wonderful to my spirit. I
attended a church a few steps from the guesthouse and I didn't understand the
message, but I love the singing.
Funeral
I attended my first Haitian funeral in December 2011. It was similar to a basic funeral service in
America. However, it began at 6:30AM!
That’s right, in the morning. I got
there at 6:45AM and some family members were wailing. I haven’t experienced wailing at a funeral
service since I was a little girl.
Wailing is a public display of grief usually done by women in the family
or women in the community. Some countries/cultures,
hire “professional Wailers” to be part of the service. The wailers at this funeral were members of
the family. They wailed from 6:30am to
7am and during the service.
Psychologically speaking, wailing can be considered a way of dealing
with releasing emotional as well as spiritual grief. It helps the community
share the grief of the family and be with the family as they journey through
their healing process. I did not know the deceased, but the wailing helped me
to feel the emotional pain of the family as my eyes filled with tears and I begin
to quietly pray for them. The service
started at 7am and surprisingly lasted for 45 minutes. They immediately left for the burial. I did not get a chance to attend the burial.
Serving at CONASPEH
At CONASPEH, I serve as a teacher of Theology and the
English language, and host groups from our denomination (DOC and UCC)
interested in visiting and doing mission work in Haiti. I teach English language classes to the
terminal students (high school seniors), nursing students and the theology
students. All the students are excited
to be learning English. The terminal
students feel that going to college and learning English will better prepare
them for their future job search in Haiti. These students have such a strong desire to
continue their education. The sad news
is that most of the seniors will not be able to go to college because of
limited family finances.
Classes are held outside under a tent. Not a full tent but a tent covering. The ground is not flat or paved. It is very
dusty and rocky. And the first time I
taught, a rooster walked across the ground in front of me. I am a city person, so you know I
jumped. I am going to try to get a
picture of the roosters cutting across my classes.
It is a very busy week, but I have a wonderful time when
groups come to visit and learn about CONASPEH and Haiti. CONASPEH is a grassroots national
organization of 8,000 poor Protestant churches supported by Church World
Services, Global Ministries and committed churches of the Disciples of Christ
(DOC), and United Church of Christ (UCC). CONASPEH believes in liberation through
education and therefore, provides an opportunity for all children to go to
school in spite of their family’s financial status. Majority of the students at CONASPEH would
not have the opportunity to receive a formal education.
Some of the churches
connected to CONASPEH have orphanages.
When groups come to Haiti, they visit the orphanages and mingle with
children that are always happy to see visitors.
After the earthquake, many children were left without parents or a
home. My mother use to say, “God can
make a way out of no way.” That is what
these poor churches do for homeless children.
