Notes on Day 2 from David

Well it is officially day 2 of Haiti.   We came in through the busy airport at Port-Au-Prince.   It has been a adventure to say the least.  This whole trip has been like drinking water through a fire hose.  I want to soak in every moment but they are coming fast and furious.   I went to sleep to the locals playing drums on a Friday night and woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the central Haiti.   With the sun grazing the topography with this wonderful warm light.  I shared this moment with my new friend as we both looked at God’s work.

While I have been here, I have not felt more blessed.  It will not be for the reasons a lot of you may be thinking.  I have not felt blessed with worldly possessions but truly blessed with some great people that have come into my life.  If it was not for this trip, I would not have meet some of the uniquely talented people I have ever come in to contact with.  I don’t even know where to start so let us start with first people who brought the idea of the eco-village to me Chris Calia and his wonderful wife Janine.  They have a deep faith in God and passion for service.   There is Mike Thurmond and his wife Loida who are great photographers and always on mission trips all over the world helping others.  There is Scott Grosse whose wisdom, insight and wry sense of humor is always appreciated in Creole and English!  There is  Patrick Murphy who every time I am around him, he shares some amazing story in his life and that adventuring man is amazing!  This passion for life and people is endless.  There is also Kristy Gordon who is my medical buddy and my wise and patient teammate and my partner in our art.  Then there is Mark our interpreter who is so patient with the blancs and has one of the most kind souls.  Then there is Nixon our driver who been driving his vehicle over the rough roads of this area and even getting his truck stuck on our first night trying to get our bags closer to where we are staying.  Then there is last but certainly not least Gordon French and his wife Carolyn.  They have such a deep conviction for the country and people of Haiti.  They are the ones with the vision for brighter future and making a corner of the world better.  Who could ask for more?

So yes I am tired and worn out but I am truly blessed with these people coming in my life.  I know at the end of the week I am going to go back to the love of my life my with Daphne and my great kids Dylan and Dan but I will come back a better person for knowing these people and sharing some time together.

I am looking forward to tomorrow and what it brings.  I am looking forward to worshiping with the people at the Haitian church.  I am looking forward to meeting the people in the eco-village.  I am looking forward to the seeing the ingenuity of the Haitian people.  Their passion for life and love they share with others.  I am looking forward to new experiences tomorrow will bring.

Reflections in flight to Haiti

Reflections during trip to Haiti, April 7, 2017

I’ve been spending time this past week listening to videos and reading about the Haitian Creole (or Kreyol) language. I’ve been memorizing word lists and phrases, hoping to be able to engage people in at least brief convesation. Why? What are my motives? How much is it a desire to connect with people and to show them that I care enough to try to learn their language? To what extent is it a function of my idyll curiosity and hobby of learning to speak a little bit of lots of different languages? Or, is it a matter of showing off my language-learning ability? Can we ever have pure motives, or do we always mix care for others with serving our own sense of self?

 

 

I am grateful for Chris and Gordon, who have organized this trip, and all ten people in our travel group who have committed to this week-long adventure. Jeannine organized the purchase and packing of gift packages for the women and children of the Eco Villages. We look forward to seeing the excitement on the faces of the moms and kids when they open their gift boxes. I also appreciate the folks who packed and figured out how to check large, heavy boxes containing a disassembled pedal-powered sewing machine. I trust that this machine will be put to good use to make school uniforms for the children and also as a source of livelihood for women in the villages.

Sitting alone in row 1, with a view out the window to my left as we fly over Georgia, looking down on the countryside and highways I feel detached. I read, then nap, then read and I listen to music, a video by a West African singer, Sona Jobarteh, and her ensemble playing traditional instruments. I read from the book, The Soloist, by Steven Lopez, and reflected on compassion. Lopez learned to develop compassion and understanding of mental illness and homelessness by befriending a street musician in LA. How can I, how can we, develop compassion and understanding of people in the countryside of Haiti who live their lives so close and yet so far from our privileged lives as affluent white people in Atlanta? Can we connect meaningfully with individuals in Haiti and help to share their stories with friends and family back home?

Scott Grosse

Last minute adjustments

Returning to Haiti conjures memories, images, concerns, excitement. Will the traffic really be worse than in Atlanta right now? Will it rain every day? Will we be able to communicate well enough to inspire children to create? Will the faces be as full of hope and resiliency as I remember? Will we make friends and build bridges? 

Hold us in your hearts as we discover questions and recognize answers and learn new ways of accepting Grace. 

Bridging worlds with art

Art is such an exciting and accessible way for people of all cultures and backgrounds to share their stories.  We are now in the process of implementing a very creative art project in our Atlanta churches and schools.  This project aims to allow young people in Atlanta and Haiti to share information about their lives, struggles, and dreams through drawing and conversation.  The work is now underway in Atlanta!  What an honor to be present as our young people in Atlanta tell their stories through art!  When we watch the children work on their art, and talk with them about their gifts and talents, we see the start of a bridge between these young people and their new friends in Haiti.  Thus far I have already heard stories about the significance of family connections, dreams fostered by a supportive adult's love, and how God brings happiness to those who love others.  It is our hope that these art pieces and heartfelt conversations will become the basis for a fresh experience of compassion across Atlanta and Haiti.  However, the work has just begun.  We can't wait to see what else God has in store! 

Kristy Gordon

Wondering about Palm Sunday in Haiti

Three weeks from today our group of 10 will worship together with Haitians in a church near Hinche. We will have been in country about 48 hours when we arrive at church. Tho we are learning some Kreyol and we are eager to absorb the resiliency and strength of the Haitian people, we are also aware we will be guests--strangers in a land with many reasons to distrust and be wary of Americans.  We will all be Christians and we will sing Hosannas in different languages and we hope they will know us by our steadfast love for each other.

Follow us as we blog from the EcoVillages. Pray for us and for the families we visit.

Looking Forward to Building a Bridge to Haiti

Hi, my name is David Diener. I am a Atlanta wedding photographer at www.atlantaartisticweddings.com.  Over the years I have heard about mission trips to Haiti.  My sister and my cousins who are ministers have been there on mission trips.  I was enthralled when they shared stories of the country and how different Haiti is from the rest of the world. For some reason I could always find a reason that I could not go.  The excuses that everyone else has--I have other obligations, I can’t get away from work, so you get the idea.

My church, Good Shepherd Presbyterian, has had people volunteer and work on mission trips to Haiti.  When they came back, they shared slide shows of the country and the people, and I could see that they had changed from the person they were before the trip.  Chris Calia, our neighbor, great friend, and leader in our church, did a minute for mission on Haiti.  I listened as he shared his experiences in Haiti and told us The Atlanta Church Group was organizing another mission trip to Haiti.  He also said they were looking for photographers to document their mission trip.  Well, when he said that, it was like a sign from God for me to go on this trip.   I looked at my calendar: the only free time I had was during the specific mission trip dates--another sign calling for me to go on this trip.  

I talked to Chris, and he knew I had an interest in the trip so he invited me to an informational and planning meeting.  I was so in awe of everyone there.  They came from many diverse backgrounds but shared a common passion for the people in Haiti.  They welcomed me and instantly I felt like I was part of a great team on a mission. 

I am going to do my best to bring a voice to the mission trip.  Hopefully this trip will build a bridge from Atlanta to Haiti to plant seeds of hope and a better future for the people there.

Now I need to ask everyone who reads this post for a favor. Please pray for our group and our mission trip.  Please say a prayer for the people we are going to see.  Thank you so much for your support which is essential for a successful mission!

Brainstorming to build bridges

On January 14, 2017 thirty five people, mostly educators, gathered to consider the following issue:  How can we bridge the “connection gap” between Atlantans and the students, teachers, parents in our Haitian school.

Many great ideas were generated and most focused particularly on the power of storytelling through video, photographs and the arts. The evening was exciting and informative. 

Joanne Folger from Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church reports "The gathering at the French's was great!  Wonderful Haitian soup,  wonderful conversations around the table, and wonderful brainstorming. The evening was organized from start to finish, yet I never felt rushed. Meeting and talking with Sophia was fantastic. Her personal input about the Haitian situation gave such meaningful insight. The ideas each focus group listed for the best approach to connect with the Haitian villagers are great. I wish it would be possible to implement each one of them. However, I am excited to see which one or two receive the emphasis. To establish a relationship with one child, one family, or one classroom, would surely make this project come alive for all concerned. It would indeed fire the passion to complete that 10 room school building!"

"What a wonderful evening!  It was such a pleasure for Chris and I to spend time with this dynamic and dedicated group of people.  While we had contributed to Seeds of Hope in the past, Chris and I had not developed a full emotional connection with this mission.  This evening changed that for us!  Beginning with an amazing meal and overwhelming hospitality, we  immediately felt the love shared among those committed to this mission.  This meeting really opened a door for us to develop a better understanding of the work in Haiti and how we might play a role.  Gordon and the steering committee thoughtfully organized the meeting to foster an emotional connection by sharing a video and the history of the mission.  After learning more, we were all charged with brainstorming new ideas to further the goal of connecting the Haitian and Atlantan communities.  It was an exciting exchange of ideas fueled by the desire to build bridges with Haiti.  We are so excited to see these ideas come to fruition!  God was clearly present at the meeting and guiding all of us in the many ways that we might be a blessing to others.  Chris and I are grateful for the chance to learn more and look forward to continuing our involvement." Chris and Kristy Gordon

Donations for Hurricane Matthew victims

As we see the damage to areas of Haiti from Hurricane Matthew, we weep for the children of Haiti and we look for ways to help. We recognize help must be led by the Haitian people and that our help is in solidarity with the people of Haiti, not to rescue or offer charity. Haitians better understand their needs and the ways to address those needs respectfully within their culture.  Organizations and agencies that have a track record of working with the people of Haiti to solve the complexities of problems within Haiti are listed below. These are reliable agencies that are working Haitian to Haitian, providing on-the-ground support and relief.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) provided funds to MPP to build the EcoVillages in the Central Plateau.  Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), the emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., focuses on the long term recovery of disaster-impacted communities, involving affected communities in the identification of needs, priorities, approaches and mechanisms for response while reflecting their dignity and initiative, building relationships, strengthening effectiveness, and avoiding duplication and waste of time, talents or resources. http://pda.pcusa.org/situation/hurricane-matthew-response/

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) also provided funds to build the EcoVillages and to build the school.  UUSC is working with our on-the-ground partners to meet the humanitarian needs of marginalized groups overlooked by other relief efforts and to begin laying the groundwork for sustainable recovery from this disaster. http://www.uusc.org/hurricane-matthew-relief/

Cindy Corell, PCUSA Mission Worker in Haiti, writes, “Do your research before donating to any organization to make sure that they will not participate in unethical relief or development. All supplies that are needed can be bought in Port-au-Prince, where the hurricane had very little impact...:” Cindy also recognizes the following agencies as doing excellent work on the ground with Haitians.

This link will help you purchase goods for your Haitian partners from Haitian businesses. : 100kjobshaiti.org  This list allows missionaries, charities, NGO staff, and concerned individuals to purchase from stores in Haiti and not compete with Haitians by bringing in donated goods.

 

Safe and secure, with a clear vision of where they belong

When we traveled in Haiti in April 2016, I was caught off guard by the images of children along the sides of the roads.  Children of all ages, some as young as 5, walking hand-in-hand, along curving mountain roads, miles a day, to get to school.  These children were enthusiastic, they carried their bodies tall and confident, they were wearing a school uniform and they knew where they were going. They knew someone had sacrificed and cared and believed in them enough to dress them in the school uniform that said You Matter and You will have a future. These children walked in stunning contrast to the children along the side of the road wearing tattered rags and standing, staring, waiting, nowhere to go, no options for their futures. And I recognized the power of the school uniform in Haiti: tangible evidence that you belong and you have work to do.

Our children in Le Ecole Communautaire des EcoVillages de Colladere now have uniforms! They have a safe place to live, safe water to drink, a school to attend. Their families survived the great Earthquake, moved to build their homes in the EcoVillages, planted crops, and worked hard to be sure these children are safe and secure and belong.

Women to Women

In a show of love and concern, women’s groups at Good Shepherd Presbyterian and Emory Presbyterian assembled personal gift boxes for women in each of the 60 households of the EcoVillages. 

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These gift boxes contain a hand mirror, a colored bandana, a small box with soap, clothes pins, a pair of gardening gloves, a large colorful tablecloth, a solar stake light, a pair of oven mitts, a 2-sided sponge for scrubbing and wiping, two small colorful microfiber towels and 2 cloths, a small sewing kit with twine and needles, small notepads with sharpened pencils, and a chapstick.

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School opens with new classrooms and new library books!

School’s Open.  The school begins its third year with enrollment at 140 students in Pre-K through 5th grades. 

New Classrooms. Two more classrooms have been built this summer, funded by the $25,000 construction grant from Presbyterian Women’s birthday offering.  We are closer to our goal of having a separate classroom for each grade.

New Library. During August, members of North Decatur Presbyterian Church bought 120+ books written in Haitian Creole.  Ranging from pre-K to 4th grade reading levels, these books will supplement the 2 workbooks (one for math and one for writing) currently in use.  These books will enrich learning and start a school library.

 

Listing, listening, learning

A delegation travels to the EcoVillages next week to listen and learn. On Wednesday 13 April four representatives from the Atlanta Church Group arrive in Haiti. They will meet with the leaders of MPP to set goals for the upcoming period. They will see the school and meet with the school director and absorb the joy of children learning. 

Follow our News blog to see updated photos and posts as they travel. Hold the hopes of the community in your hearts as they seek ways to change the futures for so many. 

 
100% of your donation is tax-deductible and 100% goes directly to build and support the school. This PayPal link is provided by North Decatur Presbyterian Church, which acts as our banker.