Mission Haiti

Pastor Kevin, A Jay and I (Tammy) were going to head back to the mission from the orphanage before the rest of the group so that Pastor could start editing the video footage. Pastor Lex drove us to the tap-tap depot in Leogane to meet Edmonde who was supposed to bring us to Grand Goave in the bus and then come back for the rest of the group. However when we got there, Edmonde was still in Ti Goave. We were going to go on a regular tap tap but Pastor Lex decided that Pastor Kevin could just drive the box truck Grand Goave and have someone at the mission and drive it back.
So we started off, PKG (Pastor Kevin) and I in the front seat and A Jay in the back. We came into the down town area in Leogane and inquired at the gas station for diesel for the truck but they were out. (We were almost on empty.) So we prayed that we'd find some gas or make it on what we had and headed out again.

As we came through the area where all of the businesses and markets are there were policemen in the road stopping vehicles as they passed. They waved us to stop and asked Kevin for his drivers license or passport at which point he realized he didn't had it. He tried to explain that he hadn't planned to be driving, that it was an emergency situation and he left his license at the mission in Grand Goave. We found that I had my license and asked if I could drive but after much debate they said since he was already driving without a license that he had broken the law and we needed to turn around and follow him to the police station. So Kev turned the truck around and started following the policemen on the motorcycle.

By this time we were getting a little worried because we had no cell phone, A Jay was the only Kreole speaking person with us and he couldn’t remember his mom or dad’s phone numbers. PKG told A Jay to be brave and sit up front between us and look out the window for anyone he knew. A minute or two later he spotted Richard, who had been at the mission the day before to fix the 4 wheeler, (before he got frustrated and left in a huff.) Pastor called to him and he turned around and pulled up next to us on his 4-wheeler. Pastor quickly explained with A Jay’s help, that we were in trouble and asked for him to come with us to the Police Station. He said “No problem” and that he knew the Police. When we got to the police station Richard was already talking to the chief.

They made A Jay and I get out as well, so I told A Jay, "Don't be afraid, just pray!" At that point one of the officers recognized A Jay as being Pastor Lex's son but they still wouldn't let us go. After more debate and explanation in broken English/Kreole the officer told Kevin that he had broken the law and he couldn't drive. Kevin said he knew he broke the law and he was sorry. He asked what he had to do, pay a fine? The officer said no, he was supposed to go to jail and wait for his trial! Now, we were really getting concerned. Richard talked to them some more and they came back and said that we could go but I had to drive the truck!

So, I climbed in the driver's seat and pulled it way up. The box truck is wider in the back than in the front and the side mirrors are weird so it was interesting. This is the busiest part of the town with people, bikes, motorcycles, carts and speed-bumps in the road and deep ditches on either side. We decided to go back to the tap-tap depot but we missed the turn and ended up just going back to the orphanage, which wasn't too far. I drove very slowly with the police watching us go, trying to avoid oncoming traffic and Pastor saying,"Stay in the middle. Don't drive into the ditch!"

When we turned off the main road, I pulled over and heaved a sigh of thanks and relief. Pastor drove the rest of the way. You should have seen Pastor Lex’s face when we pulled into the gate at the orphanage. I never thought I would be happy to be back there! We told our story and the MOH youth group all had a good laugh. The girls were all proud of my driving the big truck and gave me high-5’s. Pastor Kevin told Pastor Lex under no uncertain terms that he was buying a cell phone when we got back to the mission! The funny thing is, pastor always has his license with him, this was the first time he had forgotten it in the rush to leave.

Anyway, once again God's grace and mercy comes through and we are spared from disaster. I wonder what a Haitian jail is like... but I'm glad I don't know from experience!

Today is Monday. I’ll be attending Renee’s adult English class in a few minutes. Hope to learn some english before I leave. Ha ha. Too much sun.   Anyway, yesterday we had church morning and evening. They are all so excited about our churches coming together even more than before. Pastor preached a great message about reaching out like the Youth did at the orphanage. We had time for some lunch, a short rest and a swim between services.Today we have been at the office. I have been making copies of exam papers for the school, which requires hand feeding the copier one at a time so it takes a while. Renee and Pastor have been working on the sponsor child data base and other office programs that Renee needs. Pastor Lex was at the school all morning administrating and is now working with a couple guys trying to fix the sound board for the church out in the courtyard.The victory of the day is that they were able to fix the 4-wheeler so Pastor Kevin has a new toy and we have a quick and easy way back and forth from the house, through the mud, river,ocean etc. Renee drives with Pastor Lex on the back, PKG drives with me on the back! (much easier in shorts than a skirt, duh). If we thought we were a spectacle before, now the people in town really think the “blans” are nuts.

Hello all! This is Tammy. I have about 10 minutes before we have to leave the office for church.Yesterday was such a busy day. We went to the orphange in Leogane. It was worse than the video. The kids were in such bad shape. Dirty, sad with filthy, torn clothes that we wouldn’t use for a rag. Many kids were obviously sick, runny noses, open sores, Scabies. You want so badly to hold them but you can’t. You see a six year old wearing a size 2T overalls unsnapped as a shirt with no pants. There are over 200 kids with only a few people to cook, wash clothes, bathe kids. The kids don’t smile or play. Its not our orphanage (at this point) so there is only so much we can do especially with our already limited resources. We did bring food for them.  The up-side is that the youth from the Mission of Hope Church were ministering to the kids big time. They were braiding the children’s hair, playing music and singing, reading to them, playing games, serving food. These young people have grown so much in the Lord. They did everything they were asked with great attitudes. They were out in the hot sun all day. Their home situations are pretty bad but they could see that these kids were much worse and they wanted to do all they could to help. We were so proud of them. 

Greetings! It is Friday morning. After spending a full day yesterday troubleshooting internet issues I am finally able to blog.We had a smooth trip here, other than an hour sitting on the tarmac in Miami waiting for a fill-in co-pilot. We arrived in Port au Prince a couple hours late and were retrieved by our comrades-in-faith. We traveled quite comfortably in the box truck which was shipped down earlier this year. We sat in chairs in the back and had a nice breeze blowing through. Nicest ride yet.We spent time yesterday figuring out and setting up a finance tracking system. It gets interesting when your vendors are guys in the street with a wheelbarrow of wood or charcoal instead of Walmart or Home Depot. We decided to designate them “merchant”.This system will be very helpful in producing reports that show exactly how much money is being spent on things like repairing vehicles, cooking fuel for the school etc.With the huge food shipment that came in January the mission had to build a storage depot at the Cyber Cafe. They enclosed the far side of the court yard that wrapped around the side of the building and put a roof on. It has a locking door so it’s really great.Today they will feed the school children early. They will have a short day because they need to use the church/school building for a funeral. It is for the son of a woman from the church who had been in the hospital.Tomorrow we are going to the orphanage with a team of youth from the church to give the 200+ kids baths! Good times! We will also play games, sing and give out little prizes and candy. Pastor and I are both feeling well. My cold disappeared by thursday. A little sunshine does wonders! Other than chasing two cockroaches and a spider in our room/bed last night we’ve been sleeping pretty well too…well actually…Wednesday night it absolutely poured, the roof decided to let go right over Pastors’ head, soaking his face and pillow! We jumped out of bed and moved our mattress into the middle of the room, put a plastic container under the big drip and woke up with little puddles all around the bed. So yeah… Hey, what do you say we start a Jeep fund to buy a “new one”. The one we’ve been using for the past few years (the one that died in Jacmel “on vacation” last year is literally falling apart with us in it! The back doesn’t latch so you’re always waiting for the stuff to go flying out the back into the river.(They don’t have the right tools and parts to repair things properly).  When you stop the back seat cushion slides forward onto the floor! And the rust around the seat enables you to have a clear view of the road through the hole, oh and the windows don’t work. The mission spent over $6000 last year just keeping it running. It really makes the most sense to raise the money and buy a vehicle here rather than trying to ship something used, wait for it to come and have to pay to get it through customs.  Well, it’s time to eat fresh pineapple - one of many perks, and head to the school for feeding time!Write back! Love, Tammy aka Madame Paste Kevins 

Some more narrated video clips. Read More »

PKG & Pastor Lex have gone to Leogane this morning to visit the Sri Lankan Colonel at the UN base and then go talk to the man who has motorcycles to sell for the micro business. Renee and I are catching up on office work and blogging.

We all got a good sleep last night and Read More »

Slideshow (roll over the image to see options, or click to go to the album):

Video clips for a glimpse of everyday life in Haiti. Read More »

Greetings friends! Last night was the first service of the conference. It was so much fun! The new “favorite song” at MOH is “Trading My Sorrows”. We sang “Yes Lord” and “La La” all night. The service went til after 10pm. We danced up a storm, actually a sweat! You should see Pastor Lex dance, he’s great!

Pastor Kevin and I are the ONLY missionaries here, so it’s PKG every service. Morning, noon and night. We’ll see how long he lasts. Please pray for his ankle, he twisted it last night before the service, it’s quite swollen.

A women came to Pastor Lex during the service to tell him that a large group from the mountains was on their way on foot and would arrive this morning. Pastor says they will have walked for 8 hours to get here. They will sleep and eat at the church through Sunday.

I have a new responsibility during conference. I get to put the lyrics on the screen during worship, using the computer. This is quite humorous as most of you, who know my lack of computer skills, can imagine. Just to make it more fun, I am also training Gertha to do it. She only speaks Creole but she knows all the songs and what the lyrics look like. She points to the little picture of the song and I attempt to retrieve it. Then she does the buttons for a bit but every once in a while she hits the wrong arrow button and goes to a different song. Then I start madly pushing arrow keys trying to get back to the page we’re on. The only problem is every time I hit the button a different page flashes on the screen so everyone can see. I am not making my husband very proud. By the end I think we got it. I guess we’ll find out tonight.

One cool thing is that almost all the songs are ones we sing at home so its the same tune, just different words!