Tomorrow marks the end of my third month in Haiti. I'll attempt to give a summary of my experience here. Obviously a lot of what has happened has been affected by the whole meeting my wife-to-be scenario, but I'll try to look beyond that a little for this post.
The first few months here have left me with mixed emotions about a lot of things. I love the people I work with here, whether they be volunteers from various places, or the Haitian workers who put up with us volunteers. I hope that as I work on learning Creole I can get to know them better and better.
I enjoy my work in the school as well. There are times of frustrations with not having the supplies that we need or not being able to run as "tight" of a school as I am used to, but nothing that is overwhelming. I spend most of the school day working with the kids individually on things they are struggling with, and I find that fulfilling, and even fun at times. This is not to say that I do a great job explaining things clearly to them, but I'm working on that.
Then there are the kids..........what to say about the kids? I love them. I truly do. They drive me nuts. They truly do. As individuals I like every one of them. They each have their own personalities and quirks which are really fun to learn. On the flipside of that is how they occasionally act in groups. Attempting to do devotions or Sunday School with the younger boys is not pleasant. Therein lies the difficulty of attempting to be friends with the kids, but at the same time being able to discipline. Up until now I have attempted to go the friend route, but it may be that I need to start doing more disciplining. At times things can be incredibly frustrating when the kids show no respect for the workers here or each other. For example, last week we had one of the little girls get hit in the eye with something thrown by one of the boys. She is currently in Miami receiving medical treatment and may not regain sight in one of her eyes. It's an extreme example, but you'd be amazed at how many times I've had to tell the kids to stop throwing things even since this incident.
Teams that visit for a week or two don't experience the negative side of dealing with the kids for the most part. I anticipated that there would be challenges, but it has probably been more trying for me emotionally than I had expected. It makes me wonder if I am truly cut out to do what I'm doing. I hope that by the time next summer rolls around I can answer that question.
That's all for now I suppose. I've noticed that my blog has become a little humorless so I'll try to remedy that with the next post. Perhaps a post of my overall odor and how I don't even notice it anymore.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Chapel in the Cafeteria
Sunday morning church was a tad interesting this week. With the chapel currently serving my classroom we had to hold the service in our dining hall. It actually worked out splendidly since we had government power to run the ceiling fans. Anyhow, we crammed into the dining hall and went through a fairly normal service. Things got interesting as things wound down.
An older couple from the community came forward because they wanted to be saved. Obviously an exciting moment. As they began talking to Pastor Henri it became clear that they had been living together (for 28 years) and weren't married. They aren't exactly breaking new ground there, but for Christians in Haiti that is unacceptable. Sexual immorality is a huge problem here, not only from a spiritual standpoint, but also on a life or death level, since so many people live in poverty and have trouble supporting children, even in a home with both parents. Pastor Henri simply told them that he couldn't pray with them until they had resolved the living together situation. The obvious solution was for him to marry them first. So in front of 70 kids, a few members of their community, and a visiting team of guys from Florida, this couple got married. Approximately 20 seconds after saying "I do" they also prayed with Pastor Henri and were saved. Big day.
Of course the fun didn't stop there. As soon as the couple turned and went back to their seats Pastor Henri set his sights on Bobi and I. Bobi was more than willing to play along and had already come over and was standing by me with a fairly sizable smile on her face. Pastor Henri began to speak of another couple in attendance who may want to seize the opportunity to join together in holy matrimony. Now let me say that I gave some brief, but alarmingly serious, thought to taking care of business right then and there. Pastor Henri asked if anyone would object to Bobi and I getting married, and was met with only a weak "yes" from Jojo, one of the younger boys. However when he asked if anyone was in favor, he was met with resounding cheers and the banging of tables. Peer pressure at its best. Despite the excitement and rare opportunity to go ahead and marry the woman I love, I simply said "pa kounye" (not now) and the service ended. Such is life here in Haiti.
An older couple from the community came forward because they wanted to be saved. Obviously an exciting moment. As they began talking to Pastor Henri it became clear that they had been living together (for 28 years) and weren't married. They aren't exactly breaking new ground there, but for Christians in Haiti that is unacceptable. Sexual immorality is a huge problem here, not only from a spiritual standpoint, but also on a life or death level, since so many people live in poverty and have trouble supporting children, even in a home with both parents. Pastor Henri simply told them that he couldn't pray with them until they had resolved the living together situation. The obvious solution was for him to marry them first. So in front of 70 kids, a few members of their community, and a visiting team of guys from Florida, this couple got married. Approximately 20 seconds after saying "I do" they also prayed with Pastor Henri and were saved. Big day.
Of course the fun didn't stop there. As soon as the couple turned and went back to their seats Pastor Henri set his sights on Bobi and I. Bobi was more than willing to play along and had already come over and was standing by me with a fairly sizable smile on her face. Pastor Henri began to speak of another couple in attendance who may want to seize the opportunity to join together in holy matrimony. Now let me say that I gave some brief, but alarmingly serious, thought to taking care of business right then and there. Pastor Henri asked if anyone would object to Bobi and I getting married, and was met with only a weak "yes" from Jojo, one of the younger boys. However when he asked if anyone was in favor, he was met with resounding cheers and the banging of tables. Peer pressure at its best. Despite the excitement and rare opportunity to go ahead and marry the woman I love, I simply said "pa kounye" (not now) and the service ended. Such is life here in Haiti.
Monday, September 28, 2009
My apologies for the lack of recent posts. Things have been a bit crazy with my recent trip to the States. I returned yesterday with a bunch of stuff for Canaan and a fiance as well. Bobi and I officially got engaged on Wednesday the 23rd, so needless to say our trip went well. Hopefully I'll have time later this week to post again. Farewell.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A little concrete work
Marcus is tired. Today we poured some concrete on a new roof which will expand the living quarters for some of the older girls here. Pouring concrete here in Canaan is quite an experience. Everyone gets up early and a mixer is brought in. Almost all of the kids make a line so they can pass these old, rickety buckets full of concrete. I had the honor of being one of the guys filling the mixer with buckets of sand, concrete, and gravel. As far as I can tell that was the worst possible job. My coworker was the other American male missionary, Josh. Needless to say we aren't used to such work in the Haitian heat. We survived, but just barely.
School started here on Monday. Things went fairly well. I'm having a little trouble figuring out exactly what my responsibilities are. I'm a little concerned that the staff turns to me too quickly, but that is somewhat normal for visiting missionaries (or CCV's......Cross-Cultural Volunteers) from what I can tell. I get along well with the staff and I'm confident everything will work out.
School got out early on Friday so I spent the afternoon helping Bobi in the clinic. The clinic has two local nurses who do a fantastic job with limited resources. Bobi has been helping manage the clinic while Elsie (who usually does it) has been away. She also helps in the pharmacy a fair amount. I helped sort through medication and update a few records. The clinic handles 40-50 people a day. People generally come very early to get a good spot in line, but some sit outside the clinic all day waiting to be seen. Sometimes they get a bit impatient and the nurses have to put the smack down a bit. It's fun to witness those times.
So all in all things are going well. I will actually be flying back to the States on the 19th to spend some time with my family and Bobi's family. I know I won't be able to see all of you, but hopefully I'll catch up to a few of you.
Until next time......
School started here on Monday. Things went fairly well. I'm having a little trouble figuring out exactly what my responsibilities are. I'm a little concerned that the staff turns to me too quickly, but that is somewhat normal for visiting missionaries (or CCV's......Cross-Cultural Volunteers) from what I can tell. I get along well with the staff and I'm confident everything will work out.
School got out early on Friday so I spent the afternoon helping Bobi in the clinic. The clinic has two local nurses who do a fantastic job with limited resources. Bobi has been helping manage the clinic while Elsie (who usually does it) has been away. She also helps in the pharmacy a fair amount. I helped sort through medication and update a few records. The clinic handles 40-50 people a day. People generally come very early to get a good spot in line, but some sit outside the clinic all day waiting to be seen. Sometimes they get a bit impatient and the nurses have to put the smack down a bit. It's fun to witness those times.
So all in all things are going well. I will actually be flying back to the States on the 19th to spend some time with my family and Bobi's family. I know I won't be able to see all of you, but hopefully I'll catch up to a few of you.
Until next time......
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Day in the Life
Several people have asked what I do on a daily basis. I wish I had a good answer, but it is never the same. Here is a rundown on how I spent my Monday.
Woke up at 6:30 to go down and do devotions with some of the younger boys. They are somewhat attentive, but generally end up chit-chatting with each other while we talk, which is completely normal for kids their age. After devotions we had breakfast, which was bread and eggs. After breakfast Bobi decided that she needed to go to St. Marc to buy supplies for making Medika Mamba. Usually she gets shipments of the mamba from a factory in the northern part of the country, but they have been late for the last month or so which has forced us to make the mamba ourselves.
At 9:00 Bobi and I went with Jean Wesseley (one of the older guys here at Canaan) to Saint Marc. It takes about 30 minutes by tap-tap. A tap-tap is a pickup truck loaded down with people traveling to and fro. It can occasionally be an uncomfortable ride, depending on how many people are jammed together. On this trip I set up shop on the back bumper, so it was a good ride.
We arrived in Saint Marc and jumped on a motorcycle taxi which took us further into town. We went to the local cell phone store and then to the grocery store. At the store we cleaned out their supplies of peanut butter and vegetable oil. We threw it all in a couple bags and jumped back on a motorcycle. The motorcycle I was on had the driver, Bobi, me, and our huge bag of peanut butter weaving through city traffic back to the tap-tap station. We jumped off the motorcycle and climbed back into the first tap-tap we could find heading back home. We were the first ones on so we had a little sugarcane while we waited.
When we got back to Canaan we mixed the peanut butter and the oil with sugar and milk to make the medika mamba which gets passed out to malnourished kids. We had that done by dinner. After dinner I put in a movie for the kids, which happened to be Little Giants. A fine choice. I sat with the kids and watched the movie for awhile before heading up to Bobi's house with Josh (an Ohio native) to get on the internet for a bit. Two hours and three sent emails later it was time for bed.
So that is a somewhat typical day. Admittedly not the most exciting thing I've ever written, but hopefully it gives everyone a bit of an idea of what happens around here. If I'm not hitting on the interesting stuff please let me know.
Thanks for reading everyone.
Woke up at 6:30 to go down and do devotions with some of the younger boys. They are somewhat attentive, but generally end up chit-chatting with each other while we talk, which is completely normal for kids their age. After devotions we had breakfast, which was bread and eggs. After breakfast Bobi decided that she needed to go to St. Marc to buy supplies for making Medika Mamba. Usually she gets shipments of the mamba from a factory in the northern part of the country, but they have been late for the last month or so which has forced us to make the mamba ourselves.
At 9:00 Bobi and I went with Jean Wesseley (one of the older guys here at Canaan) to Saint Marc. It takes about 30 minutes by tap-tap. A tap-tap is a pickup truck loaded down with people traveling to and fro. It can occasionally be an uncomfortable ride, depending on how many people are jammed together. On this trip I set up shop on the back bumper, so it was a good ride.
We arrived in Saint Marc and jumped on a motorcycle taxi which took us further into town. We went to the local cell phone store and then to the grocery store. At the store we cleaned out their supplies of peanut butter and vegetable oil. We threw it all in a couple bags and jumped back on a motorcycle. The motorcycle I was on had the driver, Bobi, me, and our huge bag of peanut butter weaving through city traffic back to the tap-tap station. We jumped off the motorcycle and climbed back into the first tap-tap we could find heading back home. We were the first ones on so we had a little sugarcane while we waited.
When we got back to Canaan we mixed the peanut butter and the oil with sugar and milk to make the medika mamba which gets passed out to malnourished kids. We had that done by dinner. After dinner I put in a movie for the kids, which happened to be Little Giants. A fine choice. I sat with the kids and watched the movie for awhile before heading up to Bobi's house with Josh (an Ohio native) to get on the internet for a bit. Two hours and three sent emails later it was time for bed.
So that is a somewhat typical day. Admittedly not the most exciting thing I've ever written, but hopefully it gives everyone a bit of an idea of what happens around here. If I'm not hitting on the interesting stuff please let me know.
Thanks for reading everyone.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Hot Seat......Special Edition
Today we will not be introducing you to one of the kids here at Canaan, but instead you will meet one my fellow workers here in Canaan. Bobi has many roles here, including girlfriend (of me if you hadn't guessed), so she obviously needs a lot of prayer. Let's begin.
Me: Hey Bobi.
Bobi: (giggles) Hi.
Me: How long have you been in Haiti?
Bobi: 11.5 months.
Me: And what have you been doing here in that time?
Bobi: Working with a malnutrition program that currently helps around 60 families...........and meeting the man of my dreams.
Me: Tell me more about that...... so when did you know I was Mr. Right?
Bobi: When I picked you up from the airport. (laughs)
Me: When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Bobi: Several things.....a teacher, an actress, and a fashion designer.
Me: What are three words I should use when describing you to people?
Bobi: Outgoing, content (her choices), and magnificent (my choice)
(at this point in the interview we almost accidentally kissed in front of around 30 impressionable children)
Me: What is the biggest challenge to dating here in Haiti/Canaan?
Bobi: There are always people around and you feel a little bit like you are in a fish bowl, or a zoo cage.
(at this point in the interview a little boy named Winchel came and sat on Bobi's lap)
Me: How do you feel about baseball?
Bobi: I happened to play some t-ball and was even good enough to be put in the outfield. (she's cute when she's delusional) I like going to games to watch other people watch the game. I also like the chocolate frosties.
Me: You often refer to yourself as an otter, tell us about that.
Bobi: There are different animals for different personality types. The lion, the otter, the owl, and the golden retriever. The otter is the one that likes to be the center of attention, likes to make people laugh, and likes to be the life of the party. They are usually extroverts and aren't always as funny as they think they are. I happen to like you because you aren't an otter, but are still genuinely funny. (good point)
Me: What has been your biggest struggle living here in Haiti?
Bobi: The constant emotional stress, which comes from always trying to handle situations that are beyond what I feel comfortable handling. (she does a great job helping in the clinic and fearlessly handles those situations.....and always with a great attitude......in other words, she doesn't let the stress affect her demeanor when working with the local people)
Me: What's your favorite color? (We haven't covered this yet)
Bobi: Green........color combo is brown and pink
Me: You have beautiful eyes.
Bobi: (looks away....giggles) (I'm good)
Me: Last one, and thanks for coming on..........how excited are you to meet all of the strange people that read this blog?
Bobi: (opens arms wide) I'm really excited!! Really!!
So there is a little about Bobi. She is special in a thousand different ways, and I look forward to many of you getting to see that first-hand.
Monday, August 24, 2009
A.C.E.
The school here at Canaan will be occupying most of my time over the next few months so I suppose I should give a quick rundown on how it operates. As I mentioned in my last post, we had a week-long training session here last week, so I have a decent grasp on how things work........I think.
The Canaan Christian School uses a program called Accelerated Christian Education, or A.C.E.. This program uses small segments of curriculum called Paces which allows students to work at their own......well, pace. The students come into the classroom and report to their own "office" where they work on their Paces for the rest of the day. When they have questions or want to check their work they raise a little flag and the supervisor or assistant goes and helps them. Given the environment that we're working in here in Haiti I think this program works fairly well. I'll report back after working in the classroom for awhile.
During the week of training I got to work with some of the older guys here at Canaan while we served as supervisors. I was glad to finally get a chance to bond with them a little bit. One thing I have found in my few weeks here is that my mood is strongly affected by my interactions with the kids on a day to day basis. I can have a craptacular day and have it salvaged by a brief bonding moment with one of the kids. On the other hand, I can have a great day by most standards, but if I feel like one of the kids is upset with me I can get really down. Hopefully I will learn to handle those sorts of things better as I am here longer.
This weekend marked the first time I had been somewhat homesick. Obviously I have missed family and friends throughout the past few weeks, but this was the first time I had an urge to be home and live a typical American day. I suspect those days will pop up from time to time and that's ok. Overall it has been a good month here in Haiti and I feel good about where things are headed.
I promised a special Hot Seat appearance and it is forthcoming. For a preview of the participant you are welcome to follow the link to Bobi's blog which is directly to your right.
The Canaan Christian School uses a program called Accelerated Christian Education, or A.C.E.. This program uses small segments of curriculum called Paces which allows students to work at their own......well, pace. The students come into the classroom and report to their own "office" where they work on their Paces for the rest of the day. When they have questions or want to check their work they raise a little flag and the supervisor or assistant goes and helps them. Given the environment that we're working in here in Haiti I think this program works fairly well. I'll report back after working in the classroom for awhile.
During the week of training I got to work with some of the older guys here at Canaan while we served as supervisors. I was glad to finally get a chance to bond with them a little bit. One thing I have found in my few weeks here is that my mood is strongly affected by my interactions with the kids on a day to day basis. I can have a craptacular day and have it salvaged by a brief bonding moment with one of the kids. On the other hand, I can have a great day by most standards, but if I feel like one of the kids is upset with me I can get really down. Hopefully I will learn to handle those sorts of things better as I am here longer.
This weekend marked the first time I had been somewhat homesick. Obviously I have missed family and friends throughout the past few weeks, but this was the first time I had an urge to be home and live a typical American day. I suspect those days will pop up from time to time and that's ok. Overall it has been a good month here in Haiti and I feel good about where things are headed.
I promised a special Hot Seat appearance and it is forthcoming. For a preview of the participant you are welcome to follow the link to Bobi's blog which is directly to your right.
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