Anyway, he has been sort of "logging" some journal entries from each day of the trip. And he graciously has allowed me to share them on here, to update loved ones and to share what God is up to in Haiti...
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Day 1: MIA
Well, the trip started out with a bang... Quite literally. Except, the bang happened two days before we left for Haiti at the Miami airport when lightening struck a fuel tank sending huge balls of flame and smoke billowing into the sky. It may seem minor, but that "act of God" created a microcosmic fuel shortage that temporarily created third world conditions at the airport and led to the final leg of our trek being cancelled. So here I am stranded in an over priced Best Western, 20 minutes from the airport, praying that the a.m. flights won't also be cancelled. Did I mention that my bags were getting to spend the night at the Miami airport free of charge. Despite the best attempts of the ticketing agent in Greensboro to heroically save my bags from this fate, they were in fact not rerouted off the plane in Miami, but were instead detained somewhere in the bowels of MIA. The not-so-helpful agent informed me that on a "regular" day they would have been able to pull the bag for me, but due to the current situation that would be quite impossible. That was right after she told us that the airline had no intention of helping us out with lodging, meal, or any other expenses we could incur because they were not "at fault" in this situation. I'm not quite sure about anyone else, but when I pay over 800$ for a plane ticket, I kinda expect them to have some sort of contingency plan for "fuel shortage type situations." I guess I'm expecting too much. It does, however, throw into sharp refrain the plight of the people in Haiti and many other places like it. I pondered that as I sat munching on a number 1 combo, "stranded" at a Chick-fil-a one block from our hotel. It just made me feel a little guilty about whining over the fact that I would likely still be wearing these same clothes this time tomorrow. God is Lord over all, and I know His ways are higher than mine. It will hopefully motivate me more to make every moment count, and not to turn a blind eye to those less fortunate. As I sleep in my nice air-conditioned room tonight, I pray that the other 10,000 "stranded" passengers will draw a little closer to the God of the universe. To Him be all Glory, even in my inconvenience.
Day 2: Arriving in Haiti
Haiti is so different than I imagined. I guess I had to imagine something, but it certainly wasn't based on reality. The reality is as follows (based on the few hours I've been here, so it's definitely subject to change): the airport is chaos just like everyone said it would be. The plane landed right on time. I was still brushing the crumbs from my shirt, remains of the snack served on the plane, when I descended the jet way stairs listening to the five-piece live band playing for tips. The "band" consisted of a banjo and various other percussive instruments that made me feel like I was actually entering the tropical paradise Haiti should be. Customs wasn't nearly as scary as it could have been, and the 200 or so people searching through the piles of luggage ended much better than I dreamed it would... Praise the Lord, forgive me for doubting, and I thank Him for bringing all my luggage here completely intact! Walking out of the airport, there were at least 60 desperate men scrambling to "help" with my luggage. I was comfortably pulling my two bags down the sidewalk, clearly the only possible way to go, as one man insisted he was there to show me the way out. We were waiting for the other SP volunteers for quite some time, and he just stood there looking slightly pitiful at my side until I felt compelled to give him a couple dollars. I'm hopeful he will make better use of it than I could.
The van ride to the SP compound was more like an amusement park ride than anything else. Bikes kept darting across the road from behind piles of rubble. The road was in such bad condition that driving on the right or left side of the road seemed equally acceptable. As long as no large trucks were coming straight towards you. We got here safely... again, praise the Lord. On a superficial note, Haiti is quite arid, and there are very few trees. The beaches are beautiful, but I didn't see anyone out enjoying them. There are goats everywhere... someones future dinner I'm sure. We got to the compound at about 10:45, so the medical teams had already gone out for the day. SP has a huge presence here, and they are doing so much more than just medical things. It's really cool to see. God is surely at work here...
Day 3: Cholera
© Julie Dermansky
Cholera stinks. Well, actually, it didn't seem to have much of a smell. It is an incredibly bad disease, though. I have learned that Haiti never had cholera before the earthquake. Supposedly it came in with the UN relief workers. I think it was Satan. In His usual fashion, God is using it for good. People are coming to know the Lord daily at SP's clinics, and these are a people who desperately need Him. On my first day in the cholera treatment center (ctc), I saw children lose more than a liter of fluid in a single episode of "toilet," as the Haitians say. I also witnessed the Lord bring a few children from utter lethargy to happy playful boys and girls within a few hours. The doctors and nurses would laugh at these mischievous little half-dressed rascals and say "man, that kid needs to go home!". The next minute they would be back at the "toilet", which was actually just a hole cut into the wooden bunk they were laying on with a bucket underneath. ( I guess I should apologize for the graphic nature of this entry, but I'm actually holding quite a bit of detail back.). Samaritan's Purse has done an unbelievable job of hiring, training, and incorporating Haitian nationals at every level of it's operation here. I'll list a few categories of positions the nationals are employed in by SP (for more detail: see Adam Williams' post on fb dated 3/28/11). Here goes: doctors, nurses, translators, security, water treatment, drivers, rubble removal, lumber processing (for the temporary shelters), cooks, housekeepers, chaplains, even water spigot operators (people at the clinic who turned the water spigot so we could wash our hands with bleach water and bar soap). I can't say enough about the full time SP staff either. They are sold out for the Lord. Most of them have committed to a year or more of cold showers (no hot water here). They may not start out as experts at what they are doing, but the Lord quickly changes that. He is so good. His mercies never cease. May His holy name be praised forever. More to come tomorrow. I'm exhausted!
Day 4: Harsh Reality
It has truly been a pleasure to work alongside Haitian nationals and to take care of the humble, friendly Haitian families. It is a bit unsettling to think about their reality. There are interpreters that work in the clinic that really make the place work. They have helped me communicate with patients and nurses, taught me some Creole, answered cultural questions... the list goes on. These guys are extremely intelligent and have basically taught themselves English by reading books and "watching American movies". One of them, Namarre, told me today that he lives in a tent, and rides to work on a tap tap (a Haitian taxi... basically a pick-up truck with way too many people in the back) or on the back of a motorcycle. The motorcycles are more expensive. The other man is "the only person in his family who has a job," so at age 28, he has to support his entire family (parents and siblings). Praise the Lord for these men!
Unicef
Somehow with so little in the world to call there own, the Haitians all have cell phones, and apparently fb pages too! If you see an unused electrical outlet in the clinic (or anywhere for that matter) it will have a cell phone plugged into it. Somehow this place functions...
Praise the Lord that He is on His throne... Even now, even here.
Day 5: Harsher Reality
I was reminded today of a very disturbing story about Haitian history. In the 1800's, at the time of the Haitian slave revolt against the French colonists, the leaders of the revolt got the people together and supposedly they sold their souls to the devil in order to win. Voodoo is still a big part of the culture here. One of the articles I read prior to coming here said that Haiti was 70% Catholic and 90% voodoo. One of the interpreters today told us a story of how a whole town in Haiti has cursed each other to have one large foot. Another story involved a voodoo priest who died and supposedly the TV news ran a story showing pictures of 150 zombies that were at his house. The news told people to come pick up there family members and "rehabilitate" them. Yet another was about how the people commonly believed that the priests could turn people into animals. If you purchase meat in the market and it bubbles when cooked, it probably used to be a human. My good friend Adam posed the question as to whether God "punished" the evil behavior with the earthquake or whether it was more of a "natural consequence". We couldn't come up with a good answer for that; however, I am sure that what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good. He has used this earthquake to open the doors for organizations like SP to come in and share the Gospel, and he has opened the hearts of many Haitians to receive Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. I commented to one of the chaplains that I couldn't imagine some of the stories of danger and violence to be true of the wonderful Haitian people we work with in the clinic. He said there are "two" Haiti's. Their are 14 major gangs in City Soleil. Murder is common and no one will go out after dark. In fact, none of the families we treat will leave after about 4 pm because they might not be home before dark. SP has hired a few former members of each of the gangs to work as security. They have given their lives to Christ and can open even more doors into the darkness that is "the other Haiti".
So please, dear Lord, let your Light shine into the darkness...
Day 6: Kids really are the same everywhere...
Gary Martyn
I solidified that thought in my mind today as I pulled a button out of a 2 year old Haitian girls nose. It also confirmed Gods sense of humor since I had done the exact same thing the week prior in the USA. Today I was in the "general" clinic in Cite Soleil. I saw quite a few ear infections, a couple pneumonia's, a few stomach viruses, and the rest of what I saw made me think I should go back to medical school. Mumps! I mean... Come on. There were also quite a few kids with moderately high fevers who I would have gently dismissed back at home... Here I put them on malaria medications just in case. There some very practical differences too. At 6 am about 150 people were lined up outside the clinic to be in line for the 8am start. They waited on concrete benches with no air conditioning until their names were called. Since it was only me and a Haitian doctor, the staff decided to limit the line at about 2pm (clinic closed at 3pm). This caused a little scuffle as people tried not to be excluded, but if that had happened at home, I probably would have been assaulted and then sued. One of the other cool observations about 3 year olds in Haiti and the US is the universality of "giving five," it almost always makes them smile. Anyway, these similarities brought to mind that we all share the imprint of our maker... The Alpha and Omega, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. I am reminded that we are citizens of His Kingdom just living in enemy occupied territory, and one day soon He will return to reclaim that which was His from the beginning.
Day 7: Dogs and elections
Every Haitian I have met has been consumed with one topic of conversation...the pending election results. A few weeks ago, there was a run-off between "the woman" and " Sweet Mickey.". The woman is the wife of a former president of Haiti, a lawyer, and a professor. Sweet Mickey is a Haitian compa singer (equivalent to American pop singers) who was known for dressing in a skirt and bra (did I mention he is a man?) and frequently used lyrics laced with profanity. The "woman" represents the entrenched, corrupt government establishment, and as one well educated Haitian woman stated: "if there had been a dog on the ballot, the people would have voted for the dog before this woman.". In their minds, she represents the source of all of Haiti's problems. It seems that the outgoing president is equally opposed to Sweet Mickey. He has vowed that he will not relinquish power to the compa star. The current president hasn't done himself any favors, though... In typical corrupt fashion, he has doubled the price of fuel and food in the weeks prior to the election (perhaps to pad his wallet in anticipation of being ousted). Also, the initial election results didn't even include Sweet Mickey for the run-off... Those results were already declared "tainted" because a significant number of people reported their ballots were "filled out" before they had received them. A non-partial recount put Sweet Mickey back on the ballot. I heard a story today about how all of the local stores were pilfered of machetes (long ominous knife used for hacking at things). The rumor is that the Haitian people will slaughter the establishment government leaders if "the woman" wins. If Sweet Mickey wins, the machetes will be returned, and there will be celebration in the streets. God is sovereign, and there is no leader who can overcome His will. Praise be to Him, may His Kingdom come.
