“The air is so
heavy it could drown a butterfly, if it flew to high”- Grace Potter
That is an accurate description of the air in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When driving down the street you can’t decide whether
you should cover your mouth, hold your nose, or just not breath at all, because
it is inevitable to get the dust from the thick air in your body somehow. And
once it enters your body, it typically comes out of your nose. Hence the title
of this blog: Black Boogers. It is always an interesting surprise to blow your
nose. That might be weird to tell everyone that is reading this blog, but I’m
just speaking the truth.
Port-Au-Prince is very dirty. Everyone drinks their water
out of little plastic bags. Whenever you are finished drinking your water, the
Haitian way to dispose of your bag is throw it wherever you are standing. So as
you can imagine, the streets are lined with little plastic bags (plus any other
trash that one might feel necessary to get rid of). So basically, the streets
are filled with trash. Throughout the city there are canals that lead to the
ocean. So obviously everyone throws their plastic bottles, Styrofoam plates,
etc. into those canals, which late flow right into the incredible dirty oceans.
Any body of water in Port-Au-Prince is truthfully, disgusting, and the people
here use it to drink, bathe and wash their clothes. One of the most important
issues in Haiti right now, in my opinion, is establishing a waste disposal
system that works. I never realized while in the US why we are so strict about
littering and trash disposal, but now I KNOW it is muy importante!
So you’re probably wondering…. what is Haiti like after the
earthquake? Well, since I had never been to Haiti before the earthquake, I’m
not sure I can paint an accurate description. I will try my best. Last week, my
team was able to take a ride into downtown Port-Au-Prince. Before this ride, I
had seen no evidence of an earthquake. Boy, was I mistaken. Things are broken.
Houses are fallen. Full communities are rubble. Tent cities are everywhere.
Even the palace has yet to be rebuilt. Basically, the pictures you saw after
the earthquake are still the reality. Seeing the destruction in Haiti is so
hard. I came to help. But what can I do? Probably one of the biggest lessons I
have learned while being here is the only thing that I can do while I’m here is
love on people. To show them that Jesus loves them, because they are surviving.
There are no luxuries, just love that comes from the Father.
My first week of ministry was absolutely amazing. Three
missionaries from Texas came to stay in Pastor Jean Claude’s home with us.
While they were here, they organized to run free small medical clinics. So, for
three days me and two of my teammates, Laura and Leah, helped with the clinics.
I was the official pharmacist for those three days. It was small, so we only
had the essentials: Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Antibiotics, Anti-Acids, etc. But
during those three days I was able to interact with a lot of people, and learn
a lot about what the needs of the people are in Haiti.
This weekend, 4 people on “Team Crash” became ill (two with
dehydration, two with poison ivy). So I traveled up the mountain to Fond Blanc
(an orphanage that pastor founded) to pick up our squad mates. Eventually the
whole team decided it would be best to move here with us where water and
medical care are readily available. We are so excited to have Team Crash here
with us, they definitely bring much needed humor during a time of readjustment. To read more about our journey up the mountain check our my team mate Rachel McGuire’s blog @ rachelmcguire.theworldrace.org
As for this week, my team has decided to work at the local
school. I am so excited to get to know the children.
Please be praying specifically for:
1)
The people living in the tent communities (there is some shady
stuff going on).
2)
The health of my team.
3)
The community of people living in Pastor Jean Claude’s house.
4)
That my team would continue to feel like we have a purpose for
our time in Haiti.
5)
That the Haitian government will team with it’s people and
change this environment.
