All of the Above

Happy Good Friday everyone. Oh, how awesome to celebrate Easter in Haiti. Let's see...it's been quite a while. A week I suppose. I've moved my assessment project to Leogane (the actual epicenter of the earthquake) which is about a 40 minute drive everyday. I have a new team there that I really enjoy working with. The trip there makes a longer day, but it's totally worth it. Just being in Leogane, about 2 1/2 hours west of PAP, makes me feel like I'm doing something. I would say that out of 10 buildings, only half of one still stands. I would say in Leogane, most of the buildings look like this:



okay, so honestly, i started the beginning of my blog on Good Friday, about 10 days ago. Man, a lot has happened since then. So, yes, I have moved my team to Leogane, i like it there. i like getting to know the people in the community of Leogane too. Leogane is the voodoo capital of Haiti, interestingly enough.

my roommate jordanne and i went to go visit a site in Leogane where we could distribute tarp. while talking with the pastor, he began to tell us a story. a story of a girl named cynthia... she's 20 years old and her dad was a man very high up in voodoo. he nominated her to be a queen in voodoo which is extremely high up there. he married her off to a spirit in the form of a snake-which you can only imagine what happens there. I can't even repeat everything that he told me that happened. Turns out, January 12th, she was supposed to get something input into her arm that would transfer her to the spiritual world. She didn't want to get this done. and on the 12th of January, the earthquake happened. The next day, she became a Christian. since then, she's been tormented by these spirits that her father has sent. More things happened that I can't explain, but Jordanne and I definitely had our hearts go out to her from hearing her story. After we get things set for tarp distribution, on our way out, Pastor pulls back this tarp and we see 3 ladies sitting on the floor. One of these ladies, is Cynthia herself. She's shy and quiet. And then Jordanne and I both have the opportunity to pray for her as she's continually attacked by these spirits. Wow. What an amazing opportunity it was. Definitely top of my list of coolest things i've had the opportunity to be a part of.

Last week was probably the most hectic i've ever had. I was covering for finance for a couple of days as our finance guy was on r&r, doing office stuff-as our office manager left and we won't get a new one til tomorrow, along with attempting to still do my assessments. it got a little busy, i'll admit. but, one of the coolest things i got to do was see the Cash For Work when we went to do payroll for them. can you imagine trying to come up with a way to pay 490 people on the same day? without a bank? yeah, it was a little crazy, but it worked. my good friend andrew is the project coordinator for CFW and so i got to go with him up to the mountains to pay those in the mountains. Those who worked in the mountains made a car road out of a goat path on the side of a mountain. It was amazing to be the first to drive down these roads they made! And to see how hard they worked. They work overtime even though they are only paid for certain hours. i can't even put into words how awesome this road was! pics to come in the future. Also, to see the older people when we gave them payroll. Such a beautiful moment. They would come forward when we called their names, with their backs bent from years of hard work, and just smile and say thank you-over and over again.

On the way back too, Andrew and I saw the most beautiful sunset i've ever seen in my life. Andrew literally pulled the truck over and said, let's just absorb this sunset". Neither one of us had our cameras, unfortunately, but it was perfect. We sat and stared in silence for a while- i was trying to burn the image in my mind forever. A background of the sun setting behind the mountain and above the ocean. Absolute perfection. It was definitely a God wink moment. Where it was as though God just showed who He is. Perfection. Utter Beauty. Anything awesome that I could ever possibly say- He is All of the Above.

please remember to pray for Cynthia and for Haiti and for SP if possible!!! it would be much appreciated!!

love,
Patty

limbo and a bonfire

i've been back about 5 days now. been trying to get used to all the changes and there's a LOT of work to catch up on- so I've been stuck in the office since wednesday. but it hasn't been bad since it's been so busy getting stuff together. people started coming back from their R&Rs and will come back this week- so I'll finally get to see everyone that I worked with before that are still here.

Last night, we had a bonfire. But this was definitely the biggest bonfire i've ever been to. it was literally about 3 stories high. and apparently could be seen over the trees. that makes me laugh. so, it took a while to actually get close enough to roast marshmallows, cause it was so hot. but it was definitely fun. and then we got a game of limbo going. i was one of the top 4, but i lost pretty badly. i'm not as flexible as i thought i was. yes, i'm definitely going to have to continue with yoga. so i can win next time. one of our rubble removal guys, sam, is just the best person ever. he's always so happy- definitely southern- loves everyone and he's just so funny. and a grandpa of 3, going under the limbo stick he kept saying, "i got this, oh, my nose, it's touching, but it's not falling, no sir, i got this, you just gotta bend your knees this a way" the ENTIRE time making us all laugh like he always does.

surprisingly, i haven't felt a tremor since i've been back....until last night. that is odd- because before i left, we felt them every day-pretty much or at least every other day. so, it had been quite a while since i felt one, but this one woke us up at 2:10 a.m. it was somewhere around a 4.5 i'm guessing based on what we've felt before. so, i jump out bed and run to the door and usually it's just me and jordanne in the room and we sleep on the bottom beds. but since i've returned we got a new roommate gabby- who sleeps up top. so, since jordanne wasn't there and on r&r, i run to the door and get to the door and realise, oh no, "gabby!" so as I'm running, i'm in the middle of saying, "gabby, how are you going to get down" when she screams, "PATTY!" and JUMPS OFF the TOP bunk onto the floor and i just say, "okay...that works too" and open the door, but then it stops. we look at each other and just laugh hysterically. in the moment, you really don't know how long an earthquake is going to last...it's one of few natural disasters that you can't see coming and can't predict its intensity. so, we didn't know when it was going to end, which is why she jumped out of the top bunk. but oh, man. what a memory i'll never forget. hey, when you work here, you know God is keeping you safe, which is what lets you look back and just laugh.

-patty

guess who's back!

i'm back! it's good to be back. but it's been quite a while since my last post, so i have a lot to update on. well, my last night in Haiti ended with an epic failure of a round of chubby bunny with Elijah, but also teaching Jean Rene' one of or drivers how to SAY chubby bunny. oh that was funny.

i had a really good time at home. got to see my wonderful family and see people i haven't seen in a month- though that month definitely felt longer. got the word i was coming back and came back!

the flight in was definitely better than the flight going out. going out, the plane was delayed by 7 hours, (for no reason) thus making me miss all my connections. so by the time i make it to miami, there are no other flights, and american won't give a voucher- because it wasn't their fault- it was another airline's fault. on top of that- the miami airport, is the WORST to sleep in. i mean, i've slept in airports before, but this is the first one where every 15 minutes, a lady plays an alarm and then says what time it is. why do i need to know that it's 3 a.m.? so, after that i take my flight to dallas- turns out there are storms in dallas so we're re-routed to austin...then the storms move and we go back to dallas. but i'm quite sure i've missed my connecting flight to lawton by now. get off the ramp and see that my lawton flight was boarding in 4 minutes. i start sprinting....in the wrong direction. turn around and make it with time left to spare. yet, i made it home 22 hours AFTER i was scheduled to make it home....so, on that note- any flight would almost be better than that flight.

so, coming back in, i was headed to the bathroom in miami and heard someone call my name-it was richard- a guy that i met for a couple of days at our base that came to help with carpentry. he's headed back to work on my project. so, it was nice to not have to face Port Au Prince airport by myself.

we get to port au prince and i'm trying to beat all these people to immigration. when i'm stopped by hugh- who i worked with, but who was leaving. we chatted for a while about how things were going...and everyone and their mom passes me in line. so, i make it to immigration and to my baggage. well, the room is about 800 degrees C. it's SO hot and they just throw your luggage in the middle of a room and on an American flight- there's a ton of people. (might i add this was my first commercial flight into port au prince- i got spoiled on a charter plane last time). i'm sweating, richard is sweating, the guy that sat next to me on the plane is sweating, people i don't now are sweating and yelling which one is their bag. oh, it's chaos. so, we finally find my bag. and book it out.

well, then on the way to our compound near PAP (Port au prince) there is a big rig turned over blocking the road so we have to go through town and it takes forever. I go to the base there and see my old base manager - we talk and hang out- meet some new people and get ready for me to head out for my base the next day (today). while there, i saw a guy i'd met before, caught up on some stories- one about how food was taken from one of our trucks. well, mostly so. so, please remember to pray for security for our team as the US Army is pulling out. we definitely need it!

let's see. today- i got to take the helicopter over to the base i work at. it was my first helicopter ride ever and it was really neat. i came back and got to say hi to people i haven't seen in only 2 weeks but it had seemed like forever. i spent the day trying to catch up on all i had missed within my own project and will probably spend the rest of the week doing so.

so, i managed to talk to of the people i work with into doing yoga. i brought a yoga tape with me- so, julie and jeff and i did yoga. i was proud of jeff- he did so good!! but it was definitely funny and we were both sweating like it was our jobs. all in all, a good time so far!!!

patty

no title

my old bossman (that's what we call boss' in Liberia) from Liberia (well, of course) came down to visit Haiti. what a breath of fresh air! Kendell is definitely the best boss I think I've ever had. It's mostly because of him and his wife that I am here in Haiti- i feel like they taught me so much about development and just helped me to have the most amazing experience in Liberia, making me want to do what I do. (if you're reading this Bev, thanks mom).

it's been pretty chaotic here, and it just felt like kendell's presence brought some peace. it was so great to reminesce about old times in Liberia and even to talk to him about how much i feel like Haiti is so much like Liberia- to the point where my first day in the village i spoke to the kids in Liberian English. I forgot where i was!

my favourite thing though is when he came down to our base. we had another earthquake. it lasted a little longer than normal, so we started to get up to get out of the building before it stopped. it wasn't bad, but it was kendell's first earthquake here in Haiti. Well, as i was sharing my new earthquake I.Q. which has increased, i was mentioning how you can hear the earthquake coming, and i was doing such a good job of telling it, that we felt another super small aftershock, i freaked myself out and started to run and everyone else that was listening was running too- and everyone else in the other part of the room- was wondering what we were doing. they all blamed me- i agreed- it was cause i freaked myself out. it was actually really funny though.

yesterday, saturday, i was walking out to a couple of IDP camps that had asked me to come. i've been walking lots of places because of logistical issues- and so i'm becoming quite popular within Grand Goave. people come up to me and ask me to come to their camp. and i really do try to make time- i think it's really awesome that they'd ask me and it helps me to get an idea of future places we may be able to work. so, we go to one camp and on the way back, we see this man in the mountain, Adam, my translator knows him and i say- "what's he doing up there?" Adam doesn't know. "Can we go up there?" I ask. "sure" he says. It was Adam's pastor making a new place to live because as the waters come in the future, they will sweep away his temporary house". we talk for a little and climb back down. adam showed me where he was staying before the earthquake. although it's still standing, it's not safe to stay in. Adam is the same man who lost his fiance' in the earthquake. i flat out cried in front of him when we were talking about her and he just said, "i lost my heart". i don't really understand much about love, but i can't even explain yet what that statement did to me. i think i'm still processing what those 4 words mean. especially to adam.

patty

i drove myself and jordanne out on the ATV to the beach. we met the rest of the team out there and it was just really pretty. i really like the ATV. i feel like i have now lived my life.

epicenter

it was about 5 a.m. and the ground starts shaking. you can usually hear it coming like a train. i was sleeping pretty hard and we've had aftershocks before, but this was unlike anything i've ever felt. i could feel my bed rock back and forth. my heart started racing- especially going from 0-about 200 in a split second. i couldn't find my glasses and it was quite the rush. with all of the other aftershocks- i could never manage to move. this was completely different for sure. i could hear the sound of the bricks pulling apart, and ran out of the door. by the time i made it out the door, it stopped shaking as hard. i ran into a co-worker and all I could do was just hug her and then climb back into bed right after it stopped. a couple of hours later at breakfast, someone found out that it was a 4.8 or something like that. we couldn't believe it because we've felt 4.8s before. turns out that we were the epicenter of the earthquake. that's never happened before. we found some new cracks in the walls that morning.

that happened a couple of days ago.

today, at lunch we had another small one. it was my first time experiencing an earthquake with haitians. all of them ran for the door as quickly as possible. my co-worker and i stayed sitting and some staff who have quickly become friends made fun of us- saying that we were crazy for staying seated. we, don't move as fast as the haitans.

we have also resorted to teaching some of our haitian staff american slang and lingo- like "read my lips", "ttyl" and i think my personal favourite, "talk to the hand".

oh, yes, and another first is that i have experienced my first real true sunburn. before, i've had moments where i felt somewhat warm, thinking maybe- it is a possibility that i am sun-warm. not this time. we went as a team for a couple of hours- and i put on one layer of sunscreen. everwhere except for my legs. i mean- do your legs really get sun? i didn't think so either. so we get back and one of the other girls in the other stalls says, "oh, i hate scrubbing when you have a sunburn". i recall saying, "oh, that sucks for you". right after i say that, i make the mistake of taking the loofah to my legs. and i start screaming, "what is this!?!?" it felt like i just got done dry shaving my legs and then i rubbed sandpaper on them. oh, it hurt so bad. my legs were a little pink. i didn't LOOK burnt, but yes, all, i think i burned myself. actually, i know so- because it still hurts today. getting better- but i do not enjoy this experience. so, i have learned my lesson on the sunscreen.

and to end on a really funny story for me that reminds me of where i am and what i do: we are learning kreole right now and we were going through this phrase book that has a bunch of different phrases in english, french and kreole. i'm getting pretty good if i say so myself. my national staff think so too. it's funny to hear them squeal with delight as i learn more and more words and phrases. so, we get to one phrase in this phrase book that says, "i have diarrhea". one guy i work with, caleb, says, "oh! i need to know that one, because i have it every day of my life". i haven't laughed that hard in a long time. yet another thing you learn after you've been on the field for about a week. :)

patty

a child brings a moment of peace

on sunday we had a pretty cool beach day. we rented this boat but calling it a boat-is kind of a stretch. it was a long, wide lipped, rickety, tilted, wooden boat- that i'm pretty sure had a hole at the bottom because there was tarp at the bottom of the boat. we took it to the other side of haiti where there is a really nice beach. i took swimming lessons from one of my co-workers and floated! it's a lot easier to learn to swim in a calm ocean-and i am determined to learn.

when we came in, we bought some coconuts and began to hear stories from the people. they would complain about the government. they were telling us that the government is corrupt. that certain countries and agencies want to build shelters and help people, but the government will not let them do so because they will not get a kick back from it. you see this often. those who may have something charge other people for things that are supposed to be aid. you see bags that say, "not for re-sale" being sold for double the price and ships stuck in customs. it saddens me. today i got a little upset because one man has a well and is charging people for water. he kept saying, "can you fix my water? b/c he knew that it was not clean" i said, we cannot help you when you charge people. it just made me angry. righteously so i figure. unfortunately, there is a disaster tax, people profit off of disaster.it makes me realise that without Jesus, what we as humans are truly capable of.

what i really like about my job is that i get to go out in the community and see their problems. it's kind of a pro/con thing. unfortunately, i know i can't help everyone and everyone wants your help. sometimes it can be overwhelming. sometimes people are mad at you because you don't provide them with their every need. sometimes, people just like to flat out be angry with ex-pats just because they are tired of seeing them. so, no matter where you go, especially when you go out in the community, you get yelled at. a lot. especially by children. sometimes, you just want to be invisible- and i've never been one to enjoy lots of attention brought to me by other people.

i was coming back from a camp one day, walking back to base, when i saw a little boy walking next to me. this was kind of weird. the children here are like a lot of 3rd world kids- taught to scream, "white woman" or "hey you" with their hand outstretched maybe in hopes that they'll get something. so it was odd that i almost did not even notice this boy come next to me. i looked down at him and smiled. he looked up at me and smiled too. i stuck my hand out and he grabbed mine with his right hand as he held a container with cornmeal in his left. we walked in silence as i watched his feet walk without shoes next to mine. after a bit- he let go of my hand and went back to his family and as i passed other kids- i heard screaming resume once more.

if you haven't worked in development, i don't think you'll understand the depth of that story. why as i type it, it brings tears to my eyes. to me, that was probably one of the most beautiful moments i've had the opportunity to experience.

patty

and the rains came down

i went back to an IDP camp that i had visited yesterday in order to get some coordinates. it felt cool today- we thought it was going to rain- but no according to the nationals, because it's not time yet. we get the coordinates and this one camp has a special place to me. i know these people need help. i see their beds, i see them cooking- i've held their babies and have played with their children. and most of them only had bedsheets as their protection.

later tonight, it rained really hard. there was so much commotion- apparently, it rained so hard that there were mudslides and people were running out of downtown Grand Goave. you just don't know what to do in cases like this. but pray. so, please remember them in the rainy season.

also, please remember Chile and the pacific. SP has sent a team to Chile. A good friend of mine is on that deployment team that was sent from Bolivia. we have much to do.

patty