2014 CUMC Mission Team Log
Jan 14 : Travel Day
Flight to Ft Lauderdale from TC via Detroit. Left TC at 1:30 pm arrived in Ft Lauderdale at 8:30pm. Stayed at the Hilton Airport Inn because it has a 24 hr shuttle. We were joined there by Irene Lundby and Paul Beckman from Minnesota who will fly to Haiti with us. The IBC plane leaves at 6:30 which means we have to be on the 4:00 am shuttle to the airport. Not much sleep tonight.
Jan 15: Our First day in Haiti
My Impressions as a 1st timer….
The beauty of sharp angled mountains rising out of Atlantic;
The blast of humid air and curious smells when jet door opened;
The passionate push and pull of humans pressing together;
The fine tuned dance of near collisions on every road;
The image of God on every child’s face;
The spirited drumming and dancing at Pentecostal revival tent;
Stench of river paired with enterprising coffin maker’s shop;
Legions of goats strolling unimpressed by busy roads;
Boy with Huck Finn adventure letting Mike clean his bloody knee;
Another boy dancing buck naked full of joy at water pump;
Giving and receiving respect across language barrier;
Passion to serve in Joshue, Hanania, Gabo, Nana.
By: Chris Lane
Jan 16: Thursday
Up at 6:00 a.m. First cup of coffee was great! Chris was not too familiar with the percolator but between us we figured it out. Staton was quiet and deep in thought at breakfast and broke the news that he may have been pick-pocketed while on a walk last evening. We are still hoping and praying he just put the money someplace for safe-keeping and will remember where soon.
After another fascinating drive through the heart of CapHaitien, and a couple stops at the Health Department and to buy bricks, we arrived at the clinic at 9:30 carrying 15 people in the truck. A busy day was spent on different tasks. The masons are finishing putting up the walls for the new room being added to the Clinic. Staton and Mike worked on the water system, diagnosing the problem and figuring out how to fix it. Many parts are needed and shopping for them takes longer than you think it should. I taught an English class for two hours. I had not been planning on doing that, but Juvenal, the regular teacher, talked me into it. The students said they liked my teaching because I laughed a lot. They are used to a more formal style of teaching. I think they are coming back for more tomorrow. Everything was pulled out of the storage room and sorted through, which was a big job!
Dinner was on the table when we arrived back home at 5:30. Nana made a Haitian style meal with chicken legs and beans in sauce over rice, fried breadfruit, mangos, tomatoes, and spicy coleslaw, which the Haitians call ‘picklee’--delicious. During devotions we discussed mentors, or people who have had an influence on our lives. Learn more about each other.
Time to shower off the dust and sweat, and get ready for another full day tomorrow. We are going to start on the culvert and ditch project tomorrow, so that a bridge or ramp over the ditch can be built. Staton and Mike will work on the plumbing.
By : Carla Roberts
Friday, Jan 17 Haiti Day 3
Our day starts at 6 am. We are ready for our car pool ‘truck’ by 8 am. We settle into our commute from Dorothy’s House to the clinic. The drive thru the city is always an adventure. There are no traffic lights! The one or two traffic lights that are still in place do not work or are shut off. Driving is more like a dance or rhythm. Thank God we have a great driver.
A couple of great memories already: Carla teaching the students. Their eagerness and energy to learn is refreshing. Chris was using the hand water pump to help a very young Haitian girl fill her water pails. In the background were two cows and a goat drinking the runoff. It is a blessing to work with these people. Everyone you meet is very kind. Blessings are certainly going both ways.
By: Michael Conlan
Sat, Jan 18 Vacation Day
Since we had accomplished so much work yesterday….
· finished emptying the ash pile and hauling all trash to the dump
· cutting the door into the new storeroom
· cleaning and sorting the Lab
· digging the caked dirt out of the culvert
· building up the area on top of the culvert to prepare for a bridge/sidewalk
· progress on the plumbing repairs
….we headed out to Comer Plage, a nice resort, restaurant and beach on the ocean. After a few stops
for errands and to buy Dorothy a new phone, we drove over the mountain on a very steep road with
many switch backs. Hanania and Joshue came with us. Beautiful views of CAP and of the ocean from the mountain roads. What a great improvement in the road since the last time I made this trip! Staton and Chris went snorkeling in the ocean near a coral reef. Beautiful weather. Nice swim in the ocean. Good food and friends. God is good.
By: Linda Poindexter
Jan 19, 2014 Day 5 Sunday
Even Sunday begins at 6 am. Chris is the first to rise at 5 and make the first of 2 pots of coffee. Another sunny day and pancakes with guava marmalade or syrup.
Mike is finally feeling like his real self, reporting a good night’s sleep, but Chris put in his order for a sleeping pill to overcome the din of dogs fighting over a chicken wing somewhere.
We left for church at 9am arriving just in time for us to hear the end of the male choir’s beautiful hymn. We were greeted warmly by the two pastors and listened to a vigorous 45 min sermon. The congregation was younger than I remembered from years past. When the young boys began leaving for the bathroom the pastor seemed to get the hint it was time to “wrap up” his sermon— preached with no notes.
Home again for lunch of Sloppy Joes, fruit cup and chips and then arranging chairs for perhaps 20 guests for pastor Chris’ leadership lesson which was to last 3 hours…and it did! Pumpkin soup, hot chocolate, banana bread, yellow cake and frosting, water and juice—a real Methodist meal for all.
Chris took his message from two books: Jesus CEO by Laurie Beth-Jones, and Leading Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard. He challenged everyone to pick an action to act on this week using one of the nine principles he discussed. Most everyone is planning to return next Saturday to share the results of their ‘action plan.’
Chris, Carla and Staton took a brief walk around the neighborhood in two directions as the sun began to set behind the mountain with some clouds giving a hint of the first rain in nearly 4 months.
By: Staton Lorenz
Monday, Jan 20 - Teachers Manifestation
The teachers were demonstrating in the streets of CAP by the bridge so we had back track and find another way to get around the city. Took at least another half hour for that and we found some very bad roads that were like I remembered from past trips. Bud, Iren and Paul came with us to the clinic. Irene helped Carla teach English class. Bud wired up the solar—now it works OK.
Samuel, an English student of Juvenal’s is a plumber and he volunteered to help us install a vent pipe on the chatadeau to allow proper water flow. He showed up with fittings, some tools and Make, Staton, and Bud all played a role in getting the plumbing fixes made.
In the afternoon, Chris, Carla, Dorothy, Paul, Juvenal, Jean Mary, Carlos and a few others went to Bor de Mer, where Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti. Nothing to mark the spot though. It is a fishing village and we watched some sailing boats come in and unload their catch. A man walking on the beach wanted to sell us octopus.
One of our jobs has been to dig out the ditch and culvert in front of the clinic. At first Chris worked alone, bur soon the elder of several 20-30 yr old men told him in broken English/Creole there was a problem that there are so many of his friends in need of work but no one was hiring. Chris consulted Hanania who negotiated with the man. Chris offered approx. $3 US dollars plus
100 goudes. Somehow that was acceptable for 2 men to work an hour with Chris. It seems we’d shown them dignity by negotiating over their time, even though it was far less than wages in US (ie approx. $2 per hour) We moved much dirt. The hired men were thorough. We worked wordlessly alongside each other being equals as common laborers.
By the group
Tuesday , Jan 21
Another ride out to the clinic after a stop at Staton’s favorite hardware store for some materials, including a very long 2 x 4 that we tied down for the ride. We also had a very large box with the
incinerator in it, making it quite cozy in the back of the pickup. I enjoy it though. So many things to see and hear and smell as we travel through the heart of the city, across the bridge, and out in the countryside where the clinic is located.
Staton and Mike continue to fine-tune the plumbing. Mike built some frames for the window screens. The incinerator was installed and tested, and we played with the hoards of children.
The highlight of my day was the motorbike ride to different villages to deliver school supplies to the
children in the school sponsorship program with Chris and Mirlene. Our ne the University I saw a dead cow on the side of the road. When we came back through, the cow was completely butchered, only the head was left.
At Tru du Nord it was market day and we circled through the marketplace a few times trying to locate the school. It did not appear there was enough space to ride a motorbike through it, but we did it, occasionally ducking under the tarps hanging quite low overhead. The motorbike drivers are very skilled. It turned out the school was closed because the teachers have not been paid, which seems to be an issue at many schools.
By: Carla Roberts
Wed, Jan 22 Airport Day
We picked up Laura at the airport at 8:30 am and took her to Dorothy’s. After making school packs, we then took Chris and Carla to the airport at 11:30 to leave at 1:40pm. Staton, Mike and Mirlene took a tap-tap to Hanania’s house to meet Bud Dennington in order to scan the codes in the Ford truck parked there.
Hanania lives about 4 miles in the opposite direction of the city when leaving Dorothy’s road. Her home is very nice, single story with beautiful gardens in the front yard—tall plants of a great variety.
The Ford truck has a flat tire and a flat spare and it started right up but it made a loud popping sound
and would not reveal any codes for us. We looked at her roof which continues to leak on winddriven
rainy days.
Returning to Dorothy’s we had lunch with Nana, Madam Ovian (Mirlene’s neighbor), Mirlene and
Renaud—scrambled egg sandwiches on Haitian hamburger buns, oatmeal cookies, and fresh squeezed juice. Today Renaud packaged beans, rice and maize for the nutrition program.Once Chris and Carla were safely on their way, Linda, Laura and Dorothy returned home so we all could head right out to shop for building supplies—plywood, 2x4s, 1x4s, paint, brushes, roofing tin, and roofing screws—were obtained in 11/2 hr (a record) and just as the 16 ft lengths of lumber were loaded it began to sprinkle. Mike and Staton donned slickers and kept the load secure. We had to tip the men who felt they had played a role in securing our cargo—also a first. We rode the 15 miles to the clinic at 25- 28 mph to avoid a cargo shift. Once there we checked on the mason’s progress, secured the new room and jumped in the truck just before it began to rain hard. All in all-- a pretty good day. Linda had devotions and most in bed by 9.
By: Staton Lorenz
Thursday, Jan 23
It’s good to be back in Haiti, with this wonderful group of people on the Mission Team and Dorothy as our host. I (Laura) started the day at the clinic assisting with the English class of 7 students. It was a class of eager students who wanted to learn anything I wanted to teach. They asked very thoughtful questions and enjoyed practicing their proper pronunciation of words and sentences. Linda joined in the last half hour or so, as I was there longer than I anticipated (until about 12:15).
In the morning we stopped at a number of places on the way to the clinic looking for a part for the
chatedeau/cistern to no avail. The guys fixed the generator and got it working in the AM.
Staton and Mike worked on building the trusses for the new room. Linda and I also painted the 3 screen frames and attached the screen material to the frames so they are ready to install after the plaster/stucco dries on the new room walls and painting is done. The clinic staff saw a few patients today and distributed food and it was nutrition day (rice, beans, sugar, evaporated milk).
We got stuck in a traffic jam on the way home at the end of the day. The police were directing traffic. I added an extra half hour travel time. We had hot dogs, fried taro, tomatoes, Haitian potato salad with beets, and oatmeal cookies. Mike had devotions.
By: Laura Larson
Friday, Jan 24
Light, fluffy pancakes for breakfast courtesy of Mike—yummy! Picked up some more lumber, a big white plastic barrel for trash and a water dispenser pump for the house on the way to the clinic. Couldn’t find the right kind of screws for the roof, so Hanania had some at her house that we were able to buy from her, as installing the roof on the new room was a priority today. Mike said his day was a “lot of ups and downs”(the ladder)-- pun intended.
Linda and I took measurements of the new room to plan for shelving. We cut 9 shelves, sanded, painted, all with the help of many darling children onlookers, full of curiosity. I think it’s part of the fun and meaning of coming to Haiti—the children. It seems like they know more English than last time I was here 4 years ago. Many say ‘good morning’ and ‘good job’, among other things, that always brings a smile to my face. Sometimes they surprise you on what they know. They surprise you on what they know. The railing was ordered for the porch, estimates for the sidewalk extension and posts for the new gate were received, workers were paid. Linda’s doing a nice job keeping it all straight. Staton’s also doing a wonderful job keeping it all moving along!
Pasta & meat casserole, mango, tomato, banana bread, and cherry pie for dinner. The team said I had
better write about the “pie incident”, so here goes: Towards the end of dinner, Mike passed me the pie and said I have the honors, meaning I should cut the pie. So while I was cutting the pie with a
sharp knife, Dorothy started saying that she hoped I didn’t need a buzz saw to cut through the crust as Nana’s crust are always so hard. So we all started giggling and passed the pie around to get our slices, making silly jokes. When I started to eat my pie and got to the crust I used the edge of my fork to try to cut through but a big chunk of pie slipped off the plate, and somehow shot under my arm and behind me and landed on Dorothy’s recliner. Mike said all he heard was me saying ‘oh, oops’ and then Dorothy laughing louder than he had ever heard her. Everyone was almost on the floor laughing so hard. Luckily the cherry pie didn’t stain the recliner and no one was injured in the “cherry pie crust incident.” Oh, the memories on trips like these! All in good fun! I led devotions.
By: Laura Larson
PS: We improvised and made washers for the roof screws out of an old rubber blood pressure cuff
bladder. Linda cut little squares and we poked holes in the middle and put one through each screw.
Ingenious!
Saturday, Jan 25 Sight Seeing Day
A bright sunny morning. Dorothy saw the sunrise and commented on it. We decided yesterday that if work went well those who wanted to could go to the Citadel (castle/fort) high atop a 970 meter mountain near the village of Milot. Linda’s ankle was swollen so she chose to stay home with Dorothy. She sorted dozens of boxes of stuff that arrived in Oct –shoes, clothes, pillowcase dresses and school supplies—down to a ‘fine sort’ in order to find items easily. Dorothy did some laundry.
Juvenal and Joshue arrived at 8:30 am as promised and Laura, Mike and Staton joined them for the ride to the Citadel—Haiti’s most famous tourist attraction. The road is paved then dirt then flat cobblestone for the intense climb to midway point where we parked the truck and were immediately besieged by vendors selling hats, flutes, wooden boxes, beads, artwork, some t shirts and horseback rides to the top.
The King’s palace ruins and a historic domed church were at this location as well. We paid the $15 entry fee for ourselves and the $5 fee for our Haitian friends and were assigned a guide who was quite good and apparently only receives income from tips according to him but not Juvenal. The palace was also the home of Christoph’s wife who has a Carraia marble bust of herself looking up the pristine valley toward the Citadel and away from a very old tree that was used for hanging.
The young men who tended the horses were quite sure that at least Laura would need a ride before long and one followed us half way (22minutes) before deciding to ride ahead and look for a more desperate person. The ride by truck to the parking lot was a series of severe switchbacks, all cobblestones that was cemented in place in the late 1980s. The mountains were covered with banana palm trees and very thick—homes were built on the slimmest of parcels perched on very steep carveouts. Laundry was hung on nearly every cactus bush and rock to dry.
A look backwards revealed a serpentine river that wound its way to the sea-the “Grand River”—the very same one we get our mortar sand from near Limonade. Another smaller river, the Artibonne was also visible. The view was magnificent—reminding me of the Smokey Mountains but with more
mountains visible behind mountains, hence the title of Dr Paul Farmer’s book, ‘Mountains Beyond
Mountains.’ The climb was steep but not impossible and the occasional vender would pop up selling very heavy drums and/or bamboo tubes that made a deep sound—the music stopped the minute the prospects declined to buy—a tough life for sure. A lady breezed past us—our guide said she was housekeeper at the Citadel and lived in Milot and walked the trail every day to work.
We were all amazed at the scale of everything about the Citadel. French cannon, weighing tons were
displayed near portals pointed to the sea—capable of reaching ships anchored there though several miles away. Cannonballs remained stacked in pyramid formation. Molasses and the blood of animals were used to mix the mortar at times when water was scarce—the entire castle was made of stone, concrete, brick and the lives of over 10,000 slaves who died in the construction years. Truly a marvel of engineering—vaulted ceilings, cisterns, latrine, living quarters for Christoph and is wife— cooking, baking, and vast storage for black powder required great thought and planning.
The Citadel was built on no foundation and only one major crack exists due to an earthquake long ago. The view is spectacular, mountain ranges, rivers, small villages, Labadie, Cap Haitien and the route to the interior of Haiti. Above all it’s beautiful and worth seeing sooner rather than later if you visit. The trip down followed a ‘shortcut’ that Mike and the guide took on the way up—a goat trail of loose stone and rocks set in wet clay that made for potential twisted ankles. We were very careful and no injuries resulted.
The same folks who greeted us at the starting point were thoroughly disappointed that we didn’t buy from them on our return—they are polite, firm, friendly but the merchandise is mostly of not of much use. Staton bought 2 flutes for his grandsons near the midpoint though.
Now we were hungry—ate some power bars—headed back to the clinic to pick up some wood, check
on the masons’ progress on our gate posts—a surprise for Dorothy—and then a quick visit to the new
school so Laura could see it before heading to CAP to pump soccer balls up, buy roofing screws, a
starter rope and fuel line for the generator and a snack at the Boulangerie (bakery).
We did all this in time to arrive at Dorothy’s 4 pm Saturday Leadership class which was attended by 10 men who stayed just past 7 and had a variety of interesting questions about the lesson and then discussed Pastor Chris’s two challenges he laid out for them last week.
We ate chili on spaghetti or macaroni, pickled beets, banana bread, mango, juice, and sliced tomatoes. Devotions and shower put this writer to bed at 10:30—latest night yet.
By: Staton Lorenz
Sunday, Jan 26
We arrived at church (Methodist) earlier than last week—9:15—but found out that they started at 8—
so we were late again. Did not have any choirs this week or we missed them. We were out at 10:30 then headed for the village of Vodray (spelled Vaudreille in French) for lunch at Villa Cana, a resort and restaurant south of CAP. An hour and 1/2 later we got the food we ordered! The food was good and the resort was really lovely and a surprise at this location. The waiter did not speak any English.
Then we went to Hanania’s house (turn left at the ASAP sign). We met her whole family—3yr old
Hanisha (who seems to be getting over her malaria quite quickly), Hulda-- her sister, Hanania’s mother and dad, 3 step children ( 2 boys and 1 girl), and 4 nieces and nephews.
Staton and Mike went to work trying to analyze the Red truck problems. They spoke on the phone with the mechanic in Mass. Finally they decided on a plan of action for the truck involving the Haitian mechanic.
Hanania brought us fresh coconuts with a hole cut in one end. We drank the coconut water and the scraped out the soft coconut from the inside with a spoon and ate it. Very good—my first fresh coconut! We sat and relaxed in the shade of her beautiful trees and talked. Carol, Dorothy’s friend from high school, was there too visiting.
After driving home, Staton and Mike started sawing wood for the gate. We ate the stew Nana had made for us yesterday. Then the guys went to work putting the clinic gate together. They stayed up late working as the rest of us went to bed.
P.S. We did find out about the Living Water well drilling program. Samuel, who was related to the lady in white at the Methodist Church, is involved in this. It is different than the Life Water International program where Edrick works as a driller. Many water drilling programs are needed here.
By: Linda Poindexter
Monday, Jan 27
Our second to last day of our mission work. I am not sure we will be able to complete all our tasks? Our commute was uneventful. I am still thankful for our former tap-tap driver, Joshue. On our ride out we had 17 people in the back of the truck—a record. We had some students hitch a ride for a while as the teachers are on strike-- “some teachers have not been paid for 6 years.”
Laura and Linda spent time painting the six 1”x 10”x 16 ft shelving boards which are to be used for the new room. Then they painted the interior of the new room—2 coats for both projects. Staton was busy working with everyone to make sure things continue to move along smoothly. He was able to wire the plugs and a light today.
The masons’ worked on the new sidewalk to the dirt road. I was able to finish the tin on the roof and side walls.
In the evening after dinner Staton and I continued to work on the gate “new”. We will try to hang it
tomorrow if we can find the correct hardware—always a challenge.
I am happy to have the chance to meet the people of Haiti and work with them. I pray that they will be able to provide for themselves. They want to learn and work.
By: Mike Conlan
Tuesday, Jan 28 Last workday!
Shopped for cement screws and padlock with a long neck—couldn’t find either one. Gave up after 5 tries at different stores. Sent Joshue back for the screws after we got to the clinic—late as usual. A few patients were still waiting—3 small children and their moms. One baby was only a few weeks old.
We resumed our work. Laura and I painted the old storeroom walls and about 1 1/2 sides of the outside walls—the sun was so hot on the outside today. We also finished painting the window blocks. Used almost all of a 5 gallon pail of paint. Left the other 5 gal. pail for the staff to finish the outside walls.
Staton and Mike worked on installing the gate. We took pictures outside the new beautiful gate and sidewalk over the ditch. We paid the masons and arranged to have them come Thursday to finish a sidewalk widening project around the gate.
Staton and Mike fixed problems with the wiring in the storeroom and installed the screens and many of the shelves. The rest will be left to Joshue to finish.
I taught Joshue how to use the incinerator properly. He is to burn trash daily and empty the ash into the barrel the next day before burning a new batch. The incinerator is a great improvement over the old burn barrel—it is hot enough to burn needles up or into a clump with plastic. I am so happy with the incinerator.
I also installed the second doorknob set and made sure Joshue knew how to do the other 2 sets. He is very eager to learn anything and is going to be a great handyman for Dorothy as he gets more experience.
Staton finished the tool rack in the depot and closed off access from the guard’s room. We finished all but 1 1/2 items on the TO DO list before leaving for Dorothy’s for supper. We are all tired but are glad we were able to get most of our tasks done. Everyone has worked so hard. We gave away a lot of toys and balls today just before leaving. So long clinic!!
By: Linda Poindexter
Wed, Jan 29 Good bye, Haiti!!
We are all packed and ready to go. Left for the airport at 10:30—too early… Went through check in
procedures and paid our exit fees of $60 US. Their airport security is much better than in previous years—but still not as stick as in US. Had nearly 2 hours before our flight. Surprise they decided to leave early by about 1/2 hour. We even got a soda and a bag of chips on the plane—that’s new! Customs in Ft Lauderdale was totally empty when we arrived—was a breeze. Had to walk to the Delta building for our next flight home. Found out that Atlanta was having ice problems and all flights there were cancelled. Irene and Paul had tickets with a stop at Atlanta-- so they changed their tickets to our flight to Detroit. We left them in Detroit to wait for their flight while we went to our other gate for Traverse City only 1/2 hr. between flights. All was well and we made it home at 10:40pm. Later I found out that Irene and Paul spent the night in the Detroit airport -- their connecter to Minneapolis did not fly because they did not have a crew--probably stuck in Atlanta. They flew out in the morning. It was a big shock to go from 88 degrees in Haiti to 0 degrees in TC! But we are glad to be home.
Linda