Finding the strength to keep going

Jeff and I are volunteering in Haiti for just 47 days.  Yes, we're counting.  We have less than two weeks to go before we leave for the US.

Being a "short timer" is making me appreciate even more the people who are here to stay in Haiti.  And I wonder how they keep going.

The people in the photo above are all longtime, dedicated servants. 

Jamalyn (above left)  lived in Haiti for two years beginning in 2003, and has been coming back ever since.  She has two small children and a big job in a church in Indianapolis.  Surely it would be easier to let someone else lead teams.  But here she is, in Fondwa again this week, with a big smile on her face as her latest group of 22 experiences Haiti.  She shows amazing fortitude.

Rich (above middle) has been coming to Haiti since the late 80's.  Over the years, the organization he founded, Partners in Progress, has tried a variety of approaches, in Fondwa, and elsewhere in Haiti.  I'm sure he's had plenty of ups and downs, but still his idealism, his determination and his hope shine through.  He keeps on going, planning, organizing, contributing what he can.

When I contemplate Kathy (above right) and her work with her husband David and Family Health Ministries, I know about many of the valleys as well as the mountain tops.  Kathy and David have had many successes, but all at a price.  When they're in those valleys, they don't lose faith, but they keep trying to find solutions. 

Over the years, Kathy has continued to support Haitian partners through times of wonderful achievement and moments of head shaking.  I am guessing that she has been frustrated and discouraged as many times as she have been delighted. How does she do it?  Why does she do it?  Will she be able to keep on doing it?

Luke 5 tells the story of Jesus at the Sea of Galilee, calling his disciples to be "fishers of men."  Usually we focus on the second part of the story, when they leave everything, and follow Jesus.  I think it's also useful to think about the earlier part where Jesus says to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.  But because you say so, I will let down the  nets."

Simon is already tired, probably exhausted.  He and his fellow workers had already worked as hard as they knew how, all night along, without catching a thing.  Surely they were ready for a break from their physical toil and from what must have been a discouraging time.  And they do not really know this consultant Jesus.  Is he a fishing expert?  What could he possibly know that they don't?

But somehow, when they take heart and find the strength to let down their nets again, they are hugely rewarded.  They caught so many fish that their nets began to break and they had to call for help.  They were in new trouble, because their boats were beginning to sink from the weight of so many fish.

We can't tell from Luke's description how forcefully or authoritatively Jesus told them to go back out to fish some more.  We know that Jesus and the men who became his disciples were early in their relationship.  They hadn't had time to build up a deep and trusting friendship.  Jesus may have even spoken softly, perhaps quite casually, in a suggestive tone.

We might also note that Jesus didn't tell the the fishermen to stay close to shore where getting back again would have been easy.  He directs them to deep water, where they could have encountered wind, heavy seas or even a fierce storm.

These men chose to listen, and then to follow the counsel they'd been given. They go out far enough to be in dangerous waters.  They leave in spite of their fatigue and with near certainty that the counterintuitive advice from Jesus is going to be faulty, a waste of time and energy and potentially, of valuable resources.  They find enough strength to have enough hope.

As I think of  Jamalyn and Rich and Kathy, I have prayers for them as they also keeping letting down their nets.  May they find enough strength to keep going.  May they know when to call for assistance. May they find partners in nearby "boats" to help them.   And may they and their companions be "astonished" at their "catch."

Jeff and I don't feel as we've been in deep waters.  We have been living in a lovely facility here at the FHM guesthouse, with wonderful staff caring for us daily.  Yes, we've had many challenges and no, it hasn't all been fun.  We have had to do some things we really didn't enjoy doing, but we haven't been exhausted by anything.

At this point, we're not sure it's our role to venture out in the boat.  But we know we can make a contribution here on shore, repairing the nets, caulking the boat, and grilling the fish for supper. 

Sometimes you need to squint a little

Squinting a little, to blur the focus and see the big picture is often a good idea. 

Here in Haiti, it helps me to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery and to ignore the less savory parts of the landscape.  It's a strategy that I need to remember to use every day.

Here's an example.  Our new gardener, Junior, wanted to get the new wheelbarrow reinforced before he started using it.  And he had no way to get the wheelbarrow to the welder to attach rebar to the edge as he thought we should do. 

We could have been dismayed that Junior was not satisfied with the new tools Kathy had just purchased for him.  Or we could squint.  Squinting helps me celebrate his forward thinking and ingenuity.

Here he is, first contemplating the problem, taking a shot at it, and then trying again.

Hmmmm

Nope

Maybe

It seems to be working!

 

 

We walked by a voodoo establishment this morning.  The artistry was quite amazing.  But I needed to squint past the flaking paint to really enjoy it.

 

 

 

How about the very large billboard across the street from the guesthouse.  Is it incredibly ugly, staining the neighborhood?  Or is it showing business progress in Haiti? 

 

 

"Kè kontan" can be translated as "happy heart." 

 

If you look closely, you can see a number of young people hanging out the back of a crowded taptap. 

How can they be content with where they are? 

We know they're hot and sweaty, and certainly not comfortable, even if they are drinking a malt drink.

 

But squint a little.  Isn't it sending us a message that we need to see every morning as we greet the day?

 

 

Early morning light

Because we were up early on Tuesday to wash our clothes (we have to run the washing machine when the generator is charging the batteries), we decided to go for a walk around the guesthouse property. 



The sun was just coming up

You can see the limits of the FHM property in this (old) Google Earth shot, with the guesthouse corner in the shadow of the airplane wing.  Look for the tan, trapizoidal outline around the property, with the wide road, Route National #2, as the boundary on the left side.

Number the corner in the lower left as Corner #1.  This is where the guesthouse now stands.

 

Lower right is Corner #2.  Upper right is Corner #3 and the upper left where the shadow and the corner of the FHM property and the road all come together is Corner #4.

 

The Carrefour (crossroads) Deviation Cassange, part of our address here, is the dominant intersection on the left side of the photo.

It hadn't rained, so it was fairly easy to walk without getting our feet wet.  Over 50 animals were grazing, mostly dairy cows, a few horses and several calves and foals.

The guesthouse has mountains on two sides.  The view above is between the guesthouse, Corner #1, and Corner #2.

The photo below is looking back towards Corner #1 from Corner #2

 

As we continued our walk, we looked from Corner #2 to Corner #4, across the long diagonal of the 10 acres.

 

Looking back towards Corner #1 from Corner #3, another long diagonal across the trapezoid.

 

 

Along the fence line between Corner #3 and Corner #4, there are many banana trees. This is the property line that we share with Yoleine Gateau of M' Petit Village.

 

 

Not sure this was the type of mother and child that the Walmers envisioned when they bought this property for a women's and children's health care center

 

Rounding the last side of the property, along the street, with cleome in the foreground.

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By the time we got back to the guesthouse, it was 7 am.  The early morning light had faded and the sun was making its presence known.

 

 

A double rainbow inspires us

We've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions we recall


 

 

 

 

 

with apologies to Joni Mitchell

 



 

 

 

Block Making and Other Sites in Jakmel

For those of you who don't know Jakmel, also spelled Jacmel, it's a formerly lovely town on the south coast of Haiti.  It's basic "fabric" is spectacular, reminding US visitors of New Orleans, but it's suffered terribly over the years, economically and from the earthquake.

The Haitian government has fairly recently made it a focal point for development, particularly the waterfront.  Everytime we go there, we see new mosaics on the walls and streets.



There are quite a few artisan shops with paintings, paper mache, for which Jacmel is famous, and other crafts. 

Fondwa valley view

To get there from Leogane, we have to travel a steep and twisty road up and then back down the mountains.  The views are spectacular getting there.







Instead of going shopping for crafts, Jeff and Nicole Larrier and I went wandering.  We heard noise, peeked in through a fence, and were gestured inside.

We got to watch a group of men making concrete blocks.  It looked like terribly difficult work. We were really impressed with the production rate - they were cranking them out!



Grinding limestone quarried in the nearby mountains

Loading the crushed stone.  You can see the mixer and the extruder under the roof.

 

It took three men to free the new blocks from the extruder.  Then they carried them off to dry.

 

Here are more men working, this time on the Jacmel waterfront.  It's going to be finished soon.

 

Finally, the beautiful Cvadier Plage Hotel, a bit of heaven.  If you look closely, you can see Jeff bringing me coffee.

 

 

Most Exciting Day so Far!

 

What would make Sister Simone (left above) of Fondwa smile this broadly? 

 

Those of you who know her know that she's quite stoic.  But we saw more smiles today than any of us can remember. 

 

Because - the new Fondwa school is open, almost complete, and it's wonderful.  It's roomy, has windows with great views, with lots of new furniture, some of it still being delivered as we watched.

Here's another shot of Se. Simone with another  broad smile, in front of the new building.

 

A longer view - with one of the temporary buildings at the back left

 

Gorgeous wood doors (downstairs they are metal)

 

Lots of new furniture

 

Lots of room for lots of students, too - 3 stories of classrooms

 

Beautiful view from the third floor

 

Here's another smile from Se. Simone, with Kathy Walmer, FHM Executive Director

 

It's taken years of hard work, diligent fundraising, lots of patience, but it's here - providing schooling from over 600 Fondwa children, ages preschool through Philo and Reto - grades 12 and 13. 

 

Congrats to everyone who made it possible.  Seeing it finished and beautiful definitely made my day.

 

See some of the links below to watch the school getting built, including a video featuring the temporary school buildings:

• St Antoine School  including a video
• February 2013 progress
• November 2012 construction report
• Another November report
• September 2012 construction report
• December 2010

 



 

 

 

 

 

Visiting Team Adds Interest to Our Lives

We were here for almost week without a single visitor, since our last guests left last Friday morning.  We've about run out of things to do, and the staff has been idle as well. 

You don't need to mop the floors too frequently in rooms where noone has been, and Jeff and I don't eat enough to keep our cook busy.

Having 17 guests for lunch is the most fun we've had in a while!

The group is the FHM annual October medical team and includes many people from Westminister Presbyterian Church.  They are blogging and tweeting and posting on Facebook, so you may be following them already.  They have been working at the Blanchard Clinic this week, and are on their way for a bit of R&R at a Jakmel Hotel, the Cyvadier Plage.

I'm looking forward to seeing old acquaintances from back in 2009.  If I remember correctly, I worked with this group at the only public health clinic FHM ever had upstairs in Delson Merisier's Ob/Gyn clinic building.  The second floor of what was then a joint FHM- Merisier facility collapsed in the January 2010 earthquake.

Yvette even baked a cake for our Friday luncheon.  Good old Duncan Hines with a Haitian flare - marachino cherries and raisins in the bottom of the pan for decor.  Yvette's sister came in from Port-au-Prince to help - it's a lot of work cooking for this many people.

Cooking chicken

Chopping by hand

Guests arriving in the FHM van

Relaxing as the final touches are made to lunch

Lunch!