Well, patience has definitely become our specialty as we continue to wait for things - tasks, schedules, routines - to develop... Meanwhile we're trying to be as proactive as possible without knowing the language well enough to really converse, or having a car to get around. We've been looking into getting motos, and have been spending some time each day to learn the language (actually the most simple to learn that i've encountered, its understanding them thats impossible), and i'm finding i'm getting a bit lazy as far as settling with the little english that they do know, and feeling good about 'helping them' learn english, when really I need to be making a strong effort to learn their language, so i can speak in their culture.
The past few days, while we haven't felt like we've got much done, it's been hardly uneventful. In our lack of assigned tasks, tyler and I have began to wander a bit more. This has led us to a few awesome places, one being Child Hope orphanage which is right down the stinking street from where we're living! Child Hope is the organization Tyler and I had been talking with for several weeks about coming and helping, until three days prior to our departure they said that 'they didn't need us'... enter esperanza, who on saturday, two days before we left, said we could come help. Anyway, I could literally throw a rock from our house to theirs its that close! We got to talking with some of the volunteers there, played some basketball with the boys, then went home all gitty at the prospect of being able to come and hang out with the kids when we have downtime. Sooooo I got an email that night saying they wanted to talk with us tomorrow about the possibility of teaching there on a temporary basis while they find more long term personell! Ha! So... tyler and I have a second get together with them today to discuss starting on monday. Hahaha.. and you should see these classrooms, with TINY teacher desks.. we decided we're going to go all out if they want us.. suits, pocket protectors, bi-focals.. Don't worry people... the highest grade we'd be teaching would be a 7th grade equivalent, and just reading, writing, arithmetic. CNN is at the orphanage for a few days as we speak gathering content for a documentary they're going to be airing on this place (it is really sooo cool.. www.childhope.org). I'll keep you posted here as we know it..
So then two days ago, a day after our Child Hope discovery, we decided to wander onto the UN headquarters and look for a meeting we were meant to attend for esperanza regarding the cooperated effort to distribute food packs. Anyway, what an experience! We pretty much walked right on in past security (apparently pasty white skin gets you places in this country), and were free to wander pretty much wherever we wanted.. i say pretty much because at one point we may have gone a bit too far, and an arab soldier made sure we understood this. Ha.. While this place seemed like chaos defined, it was pretty sweet being a bystander and just observing globalism at its finest.. ha. We probably saw at least a dozen nations represented on the base.. and the arab guy, not sure exactly where he was from, he just said in scratchy english that he was arab.. creepy. Anyway, if you haven't figured it by now, the meeting was cancelled, hence the reason we wandered around for what seemed like a few hours.
We tried to go back the next day for another meeting, but the traffic would have put la rush hour to shame as we turned what should have been a 7 minute drive into 45min, making us already 30 min late, so we decided to turn around. We TRIED to leave earlier, but again, communication is key and our driver doesn't speak but a lick of english.
Yesterday was pretty crazy as we've since turned our home into a hostel for NGO workers... we have two volunteers from Rainbow International (a team of surgeons that goes into diseaster areas after everyone has left and operates for free on anyone that needs it) who are evaluating hospitals for future involvement. Also late last night we had two guys from another water filter company come by and are going to be shacking it here for the next two weeks or so. This is so cool! One of the guys is the inventor of the technology (totally different from the other water purification i spoke about earlier). They brought 10 or so filters... now I only know a little about these systems, but they're large weighing 900lbs, and can provide 5,000 gallons of clean water down to .02 microbes, also cleaning viruses (key). Great stuff! I think he's working with GE on this project, or their funding it. I still have more to learn here (duh)... Excited to learn/help though.
In my down time I've also been working to understand the coordinated effort to begin excavation. I've talked with Catepillar logistics, as well as their philanthropic department, and then their head guy in Miami who is responsible for the efforts on the ground in Haiti, Juan. They've donated a butt-load of money, but only 5 pieces of equipment! And sure, they don't own the equipment being a manufacturer, but certainly have relationships with dealers to move equipment. They have one dealer in Haiti, and are running steep discounts on rentals, and then donated 5 pieces for two months at no charge. They're not interested in getting good press out of any efforts to help, they just want to help. They re-routed a shipment of loaders and excavators that was meant to unload in panama, to the DR, and trucked them to PAP. Since this they've been granted access to Seaboard, a port to the north, and will hope to get equipment in through there. As it seems, there isn't any sort of activity on the ground as far as excavating goes, and the purpose of my calling them was in imagining how powerful (from a hope standpoint, as well as marketing) it would be to run a fleet of 50 Cats through the streets of PAP making unbearable amounts of noise, clearing all the crap that right now is being broken and moved with nothing but hammers and shanty wheelbarrows. Long story short, this lead to a conversation with CHF (the largest NGO in haiti), who has a pretty close relationship with CAT and is currently occupying the majority of their equipment. The point in calling them is to figure a way to get my good ol' buddy Branton down here moving concrete around, and they might just have a spot for him! Ha.. oh man.. branton in a tractor powering through the streets of PAP.. thats hope if i've ever seen it!
So, as you can imagine, it seems that finally the storm is forming over the hills and we're about to see a load of work sent our way, whether its setting up water filtration systems and learning how to install them after the GE guys leave, teaching our classes of 6-7 each, continue to distribute the loads of food packs we have coming in soon, or just simply wander around UN headquarters, we're sure to moving! Whohoo! Oh, the storm i was speaking about metaphorically, but its also quite literal as the rains started up about two days ago, turning the tent cities into disease infested mud cities. With the rain came a whole new wave of desperation and helplessness... please pray the rain would hold off, and that the people in the areas most affected by the rain would use their resoursefulness to get out, make better tents, or something so they aren't sloshing in 3 inches of mud. Gahh..
Thats gotta be it for now...
More as it comes!
Shalom,
luke
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The beginning...
It's now been just over a week since I last threw up a blog, and not sure how I'm going to, but I'd like to at least catch you up to speed with where we're at. So lets see, I arrived in santo domingo late the night of the 8th after all three of my American Airlines flights were delayed (whoohoo), as it turns out, if ALL your flights are delayed, it works quite nicely. haha. Tyler arrived tuesday, and we spend the next 24hrs getting ourselves acquainted with Esperanza, the organization we were to be working with... we also made some time to tour the city a bit, seeing the first church of the new world, as well as Columbus' house.. I also shared a few beers with a one legged jamaican man, would like to share that story later. ha. Thursday morning we were loaded onto a bus pointed towards the long awaited port-au-prince. Half of the 8 hour drive was on the dominican side, although it was 3/4 the total distance... arriving at the border, or should i say shanty gate, it was immediately clear the cultural disconnect. We waited at the border for just over an hour while they looked over our passports which they had taken at the bus station (i know, i broke the cardinal rule of traveling, to NEVER let go of your passport (sorry dad!)... i apparently had no choice. believe me, I asked around and wasn't happy about it). So as I said, crossing the border it was immediately obvious that we were in a 'different' place. The border areas were crowded as we'd expected, but they were also inhabited. The roads, not meant for the amount of traffic they'd been experiencing, were less than impressive even for a third world country. It took over 4 hrs to travel from the border to pap. The trip was never boring as the roads were scattered with groups of people, groups of the displaced most likely working their way toward the border, toward hope? We arrived in pap late, after passing by the US embassy, which let me just say how rediculous it was. Still standing (duh) this place was nothing short of an oasis... I had to blink several times as we'd gone from destruction, destruction, PARADISE, destruction etc.. It's all marble, palm trees everywhere, soldiers, hummers, and all sorts of other impressive military equipment littered throughout. The place cost 90 million to build.. seeing the embassy made me want to learn more about it and our involvement later.. oh, and puke.
Finally arriving we were met by our friend Joel who took us to the place we would be staying. It wasn't until the next day that it hit me... Driving around in the light, man (even re-living this day sucks)... We drove all over the city, visiting the most effected areas of Port-au-prince, carrefour, leogane, and jacmel... we drove up to the mountain sides to see it from another angle, we drove down to the port to see the military handing out food. This day, friday, marked the beginning of the three day fast for the people of haiti. See normally these three days were days of celebration, partying, and thanksgiving... instead, in light of the circumstances, as a nation they decided to fast for three days. Apparently to do this they need to block off the good majority of the streets, shut down the gas stations, eliminating any chance of our doing much of anything for this time. So we wait...
I'm glad I didn't blog friday night... I'm not sure I've ever felt such a deep depression in my gut as I did after driving around all day. It was like watching a real life slide show in fast mode showing nothing but depressing images. I was overwhelmed to say the least... SOO much NEEDS to be done it makes me sick to think about. Generously, I would estimate that maaaybe 5% of the damage has been cleared, and a lot of the times its not even cleared, just swept off into a less intrusive spot.. if the death count to date is 250,000, it'd be a safe bet to 'at least' double it.
I just don't know... I have such a 'macro' minded approach to things usually, that I couldn't possibly do anything but lose hope for these people. Lose hope for them because they don't seem to have any interest in helping themselves, instead taking the historical route and relying on international aid. Teach a man to fish people! And while it sounds bad, I fear that while our american efforts appear strong now, they just won't in the long run. And thats just it, they 'appear' strong, when in reality they're all just sitting in the port handing out food, addressing the immediate need sure, but attacking the 'big' needs.. no. I haven't seen a single piece of excavation equipment. Long story short, I lost hope, was depressed, and completely lost sight of 'why' i came, and that was for the person in front of me, the micro. A few timely reminders and words of encouragement from precious family and friends, and I was back in the game.
I'm sorry this seems so jumbled (as it usually does to me), I just wish i hadn't waited this long to update you guys. I need to go to blogging school...
Before I sign off, I'd like to share just a little about the organization we're with... they're doing some really great stuff! Esperanza (Hope.. in espanol) is a micro-finance plus organization that seeks to build sustainable lifestyles for the poorest of the poor. They're supporting over 15,000 families in the DR, and 4,000+ in Haiti. Since the quake, their efforts in Haiti have been focused more on the coastal/border towns. They are NOT a diseaster relief organization, but have in their own uniqe way stepped up to the plate in light of the circumstances. In PAP now, our main focus is working with the network of churches they've built relationships with. We place responsibility in the hands of the pastor, giving them the food packs and water filtering devices, and then keep them accountable as to their proper distribution. Tyler and I have been working with a water cleaning system (pure water foundation). Basically, its a device that turns salt water into concentrated chlorine by running electrical currents through it. A one liter bottle of chlorine (which takes about 7 minutes to make) can clean 500 gallons of water! So cool imagining the possibilities! And because we're giving them out to the churches, people have to come to the church (most are anyway) to get the water(life!). So cool. Empowering the haitian people to sustain themselves.
Prayers. Pray that we would be put to work, that we would be patient and flexible. That hope would be found in the most unlikely of places. Prayers also for safety (they've already got us driving in this crazy city! aaand there's talk of renting motorbikes for 'better mobility' ut-oh :)).
I better go... hope to dive into more detail later! Love to you all!
Shalom!
luke
Finally arriving we were met by our friend Joel who took us to the place we would be staying. It wasn't until the next day that it hit me... Driving around in the light, man (even re-living this day sucks)... We drove all over the city, visiting the most effected areas of Port-au-prince, carrefour, leogane, and jacmel... we drove up to the mountain sides to see it from another angle, we drove down to the port to see the military handing out food. This day, friday, marked the beginning of the three day fast for the people of haiti. See normally these three days were days of celebration, partying, and thanksgiving... instead, in light of the circumstances, as a nation they decided to fast for three days. Apparently to do this they need to block off the good majority of the streets, shut down the gas stations, eliminating any chance of our doing much of anything for this time. So we wait...
I'm glad I didn't blog friday night... I'm not sure I've ever felt such a deep depression in my gut as I did after driving around all day. It was like watching a real life slide show in fast mode showing nothing but depressing images. I was overwhelmed to say the least... SOO much NEEDS to be done it makes me sick to think about. Generously, I would estimate that maaaybe 5% of the damage has been cleared, and a lot of the times its not even cleared, just swept off into a less intrusive spot.. if the death count to date is 250,000, it'd be a safe bet to 'at least' double it.
I just don't know... I have such a 'macro' minded approach to things usually, that I couldn't possibly do anything but lose hope for these people. Lose hope for them because they don't seem to have any interest in helping themselves, instead taking the historical route and relying on international aid. Teach a man to fish people! And while it sounds bad, I fear that while our american efforts appear strong now, they just won't in the long run. And thats just it, they 'appear' strong, when in reality they're all just sitting in the port handing out food, addressing the immediate need sure, but attacking the 'big' needs.. no. I haven't seen a single piece of excavation equipment. Long story short, I lost hope, was depressed, and completely lost sight of 'why' i came, and that was for the person in front of me, the micro. A few timely reminders and words of encouragement from precious family and friends, and I was back in the game.
I'm sorry this seems so jumbled (as it usually does to me), I just wish i hadn't waited this long to update you guys. I need to go to blogging school...
Before I sign off, I'd like to share just a little about the organization we're with... they're doing some really great stuff! Esperanza (Hope.. in espanol) is a micro-finance plus organization that seeks to build sustainable lifestyles for the poorest of the poor. They're supporting over 15,000 families in the DR, and 4,000+ in Haiti. Since the quake, their efforts in Haiti have been focused more on the coastal/border towns. They are NOT a diseaster relief organization, but have in their own uniqe way stepped up to the plate in light of the circumstances. In PAP now, our main focus is working with the network of churches they've built relationships with. We place responsibility in the hands of the pastor, giving them the food packs and water filtering devices, and then keep them accountable as to their proper distribution. Tyler and I have been working with a water cleaning system (pure water foundation). Basically, its a device that turns salt water into concentrated chlorine by running electrical currents through it. A one liter bottle of chlorine (which takes about 7 minutes to make) can clean 500 gallons of water! So cool imagining the possibilities! And because we're giving them out to the churches, people have to come to the church (most are anyway) to get the water(life!). So cool. Empowering the haitian people to sustain themselves.
Prayers. Pray that we would be put to work, that we would be patient and flexible. That hope would be found in the most unlikely of places. Prayers also for safety (they've already got us driving in this crazy city! aaand there's talk of renting motorbikes for 'better mobility' ut-oh :)).
I better go... hope to dive into more detail later! Love to you all!
Shalom!
luke
Sunday, February 7, 2010
~ Haiti Bound ~
Leaving in 12 hours for Haiti, what’s going through my head? People have been asking me this all day, and you'd think I would know. Not so much. It helped me to re-read my blog entry I wrote the night before I left for Peru... the condition of my heart is in a similar spot. I don’t know how to describe whats going on really, i DO know that I’m ready. If you’ve talked to me at all these past weeks, especially the past couple days, you would surely know how providential this whole journey has been, a journey that's led me to quit my job and buy a one way ticket to this beautiful place of suffering... He is so good, so present, so real! I’ll later share the story of how the holy spirit has had his finger slowly stirring the events of my life, all for His glory.
Fear... excitement... joy... anticipation... nervousness... uncertainty... all words I could use to describe how I feel. Some a bit contradictory i suppose, but there’s certainly an underlying confidence in it all, a confidence in His providential hand having a firm grip on my heart, my salvation, my life, wherever that may lead. None of this makes sense, i know... it just doesn’t. I might be a bit crazy... But for the glory of God...
As I said in my first ever blog before leaving for Peru..
“I’ve in sitting here decided that given the unknown audience, nothing would be more appropriate than to on this journey be completely transparent and real with you all along the way. If there’s one thing i can’t stand its writers block, a subject i’ve unleashed pages of disgruntlement towards. I want you to know what I see, but whats more I want you to know what I feel, and for this I need to let down my guard and just be...”
The hope would be to effectively bring you all, my family, my dear friends, into the experience... I want the raw nature of working with these people to drip down and touch each one of you. I pray that, while i’m not the best writer, my words might be more than just words, that they would maybe evoke in you something more, that they might cause you to really beg the holy spirit to speak to you as He has me... and that you might listen, and then act.
I have such a heavy heart right now, all good, just heavy. I hope to share in more detail with you all later the story of these past weeks... although i'm sure it will be outweighed by my experiences there. However, its a story worthy of nothing less than all my capacity to give praise and thanksgiving to Him who orchestrated it all. And every day, I need Him more than i did yesterday.. its lovely!
Its late... I’m exhausted... but ready.
I would ask for your prayers... I feel them. The prayer support I’ve felt here has been unlike anything... friends/family laying hands on me in prayer, over the phone, or even through email... they are felt.
As my eyes fight a lame fight to keep me awake, I would leave you with this... a verse a dear friend of mine shared with me, one she held close to her heart as she traveled to Uganda, a verse which helps me make sense of this all.. it reads
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem (haiti?), not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:22-24
Shalom and love to you all!
luke
Fear... excitement... joy... anticipation... nervousness... uncertainty... all words I could use to describe how I feel. Some a bit contradictory i suppose, but there’s certainly an underlying confidence in it all, a confidence in His providential hand having a firm grip on my heart, my salvation, my life, wherever that may lead. None of this makes sense, i know... it just doesn’t. I might be a bit crazy... But for the glory of God...
As I said in my first ever blog before leaving for Peru..
“I’ve in sitting here decided that given the unknown audience, nothing would be more appropriate than to on this journey be completely transparent and real with you all along the way. If there’s one thing i can’t stand its writers block, a subject i’ve unleashed pages of disgruntlement towards. I want you to know what I see, but whats more I want you to know what I feel, and for this I need to let down my guard and just be...”
The hope would be to effectively bring you all, my family, my dear friends, into the experience... I want the raw nature of working with these people to drip down and touch each one of you. I pray that, while i’m not the best writer, my words might be more than just words, that they would maybe evoke in you something more, that they might cause you to really beg the holy spirit to speak to you as He has me... and that you might listen, and then act.
I have such a heavy heart right now, all good, just heavy. I hope to share in more detail with you all later the story of these past weeks... although i'm sure it will be outweighed by my experiences there. However, its a story worthy of nothing less than all my capacity to give praise and thanksgiving to Him who orchestrated it all. And every day, I need Him more than i did yesterday.. its lovely!
Its late... I’m exhausted... but ready.
I would ask for your prayers... I feel them. The prayer support I’ve felt here has been unlike anything... friends/family laying hands on me in prayer, over the phone, or even through email... they are felt.
As my eyes fight a lame fight to keep me awake, I would leave you with this... a verse a dear friend of mine shared with me, one she held close to her heart as she traveled to Uganda, a verse which helps me make sense of this all.. it reads
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem (haiti?), not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:22-24
Shalom and love to you all!
luke
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)