The Haitian Hot Seat......Part I

Today is the first installment of "The Haitian Hot Seat." The hot seat will be occupied by Wesh this evening. Wesh is a very precocious 11-year old who is fond of asking me very interesting questions about American history. He is an extremely smart kid and actually helps as a translator down at the clinic. He has agreed to answer all of my questions as honestly as he possibly can. Let us begin.

Me: Welcome to the hot seat Wesh, how are you feeling?
Wesh: Good, I'm feeling good.

Me: Question #1. What is your favorite movie, and why?
Wesh: I have many favorites, but one of them is "The Forbidden Kingdom." It is very funny and I think Jackie Chan is cute.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Wesh: I want to be a pilot. When I first saw an airplane I thought it would be super cool to be a pilot.

Me: What is your favorite Bible story?
Wesh: David & Goliath. (he said this right after joking that it was David & Bathsheba)

Me: What is your favorite thing to do at Canaan?
Wesh: Eat. Especially mashed potatoes.

Me: Do you have any bad habits?
Wesh: I occasionally lie and cheat. (Have to appreciate his honesty)

Me: Who is your favorite actress?
Wesh: Angelina Jolie.

Me: What about Disney princess?
Wesh: (with enthusiasm).....Princess Jasmine

Me: Why should the people love Wesh?
Wesh: Because I am so smart and a cool guy. I am also romantic and fabulous.

Me: If you could have one superpower, what power would you choose?
Wesh: The power to make women fall in love with me. (Seriously, that was his choice)

Me: What animal are you most scared of?
Wesh: Tarantulas......well, all large spiders

Me: Finally.........who is the coolest American you know?
Wesh: You. (this answer was not coerced in any way)

So It Begins

We are coming to you from the multi-purpose (eating, working, general loitering) building here at Canaan. I arrived without incident on Monday night and have had a good couple days since. It's been good to reconnect with some of the kids that I got to know in February, and also get to bond with a few new ones. They are helping me with my Creole, and making fun of me while doing it, which I find totally acceptable.

I will indeed be helping with the school here, but I'm not exactly sure what that will look like. Apparently Canaan is being looked at as a model for several other schools in the country so I will be involved with that somehow. My feeling right now is that I will be doing more administrative tasks than I had expected, which is fine with me.

Yesterday I helped out at the clinic. Tuesday is Medika Mamba day which means the people who are in the program bring their kids in to get weighed and measured. It's a little startling to see some of the kids. The kids at Canaan are well fed and well taken care of, but things down at the clinic are quite different.

Internet is a bit fickle tonight so that's it for now. Thanks for reading and thank you to those of you who are praying for me.

Soon, Very Soon

This blog will become more interesting next week. I make the move to Canaan a week from today, so my next post will come from Haiti. Many thanks to those of you who have been so supportive over the past few months........which would probably be all of you.

My Viking Heritage

If things don't work out in Haiti I may have to move to Norway.

The family and I got back from our cruise last night. Here are the highlights and lowlights.

Highlights:

• Weather: We had sunshine the vast majority of the time which isn't the norm in Norway.
• Family Game-time: We owned the game room on the ship. I think its fair to say that several fellow passengers will be purchasing Settlers of Catan when they get home.
• Scenery: Pretty unbelievable.
  
• The Policeman in Honningsvag: He drove us around in his cop car while listening to Guns n' Roses. He also commented that "tourists are annoying......just like the reindeer."
• Animals: We saw reindeer on a hike and had a porpoise go underneath our kayaks.
• The British: Good people as far as I can tell.
• The Puppet Show: This is one of those deals where the guys dress in black and stand there controlling puppets. I didn't just like the show......I loved it.

Lowlights:

• The pool area: Let's just say that it's best to avoid the pool area on a cruise primarily made up of Europeans over the age of 65.
• Lack of darkness: Is it a little bit cool to see the sun for 50-60 straight hours? Maybe. Is it good for your sleeping habits? No.
  
• The French & Italians: I don't care if you do make decent salad dressings, I don't like you. (admittedly this feeling is based on a small sample size)

It was an excellent trip.

Mission Tidbits

One of our classes at HEART had to to with cross-cultural studies. We learned a few things about culture shock, language acquisition, and cultural distance. I thought I'd share a few of the main points, since I found them pretty interesting, and this is my blog and all.

Would anyone care to guess the three most important characteristics of an effective long-term missionary? Did someone say "compassion"? No, that's ridiculous. Here they are......

1. Sense of Humor: The ability to laugh at yourself and your situation is extremely important.
2. Low goal/task orientation: This one was a little hard to understand, but I think the idea is that you can't be hung up on reaching certain objectives, either on a day to day basis or more long-term. The frustration and discouragement could be too much to bear for some people.
3. Fear of Failure (the lack of): I'm in trouble on this one. I generally don't like to get into things where the outcome is uncertain. I'll have to get over that. I think I can.

Phil, one of the leaders at HEART, just moved back to the States after 20+ years in Haiti. He says that only 10% of the people who commit to a stay of more than a year in Haiti actually fulfill that commitment. Let that soak in a little.

There are a lot of reasons why people leave the field. One of the major issues is culture shock, which many people have a tough time getting over. Culture shock generally hits twice. The first time is around the 6-8 week mark. Many people on short-term trips think they have experienced culture shock, but they have really only experienced cultural disorientation. The second, and more severe shock, comes during the 8th or 9th month. This second shock is where many people give out and end up leaving the field. Phil described it as a time where he just wondered what the heck he was doing in Haiti. I'm sure at some point I will have to deal with these issues, but when those times come I'll at least know that I am not alone and that they will pass. (I hope one of you is copying this and making a note to email it to me next March)

That's all I got. Hopefully it gives a little insight into some of the struggles that missionaries face. Turns out they mean it when they say they covet our prayers above everything else.

H.E.A.R.T.

Yesterday I wrapped up my time in Florida at the H.E.A.R.T. Institute. Good times were had by all, except for Chester and Lambchop. Chester the goat and Lambchop the rabbit (confusing I know) sacrificed themselves so that my cohorts and I could learn the process of butchering. Speaking of my cohorts, I shared a cabin with Bob, Camren, Ryan, and a festive group of bats. The bats were annoying, the rest were not. I feel very fortunate to have been put together with such a great group of guys.

Here is a quick list of things I did at HEART that I had never done before.
1. Drilled a well, followed quickly by playing an Irish drum with the Mahoney girls.
2. Helped a baby goat learn how to get milk from it's mother.
3. Drank some of said milk (colostrum actually).
4. Made mint-scented bricks.
5. Ate goat liver and enjoyed it.
6. Drove past a clown museum. (that has nothing to do with HEART but was so creepy that I thought I'd mention it)
7. Became very fond of compost piles.
8. Scolded baby chickens, lovingly of course.
9. Attended a deaf church.
10. Put stitches in a severed pig's foot.

The list could go on, but those are some of the highlights. Like most great experiences, it wasn't the things I did that mattered but who I did them with, and the people I met at HEART were all great in a lot of different ways. Their hearts and hard work have left me better prepared for what lies ahead. I'm very thankful for that.

But who will eat the cinnamon rolls?

This Friday will be my last day of work at Marquis Energy. Over the last six years I have been able to work with a whole herd of family members and another smaller group, a pack perhaps, of people who may as well be family. I count myself very fortunate. I have enjoyed my job 96% of the time and am very thankful for the things it has allowed, and is allowing, me to do.

Along those lines, I have been very humbled, even a little embarrassed at times, by all the support I've received over the past couple months. A lot of people have told me that I'm doing a great thing, but in reality I am on the receiving end of great things. I can only do this because people are willing to sacrifice on my behalf. That fact will not slip my mind anytime soon.

(Abrupt Topic Change)

So I was in Boston over the weekend to advise Vinny Del Negro on how to defend the pick & roll. What you saw in Game 7 was not what I advised. On the bright side, my sister-in-law Minhee happened to be graduating from Harvard Medical School while I was there, so that was nice. Also, my multi-talented brother managed to put together a delightful breakfast spread and prepare an excellent sermon on the same day, so the trip was not a total loss.

No more posts for a couple weeks, as I will be doing a little training in Florida. I hope your lives can proceed as planned.