Prayer Requests:
*Pastor CJ’s father’s eye.
*Trisha’s sister who just had a baby.
*Oklahoma Baptist disaster relief team… we flew in with them to Haiti.
6/14/10 Day 2:
Today was our second day in Haiti. We woke up early, around six, to get our day started. After a devotion time with Pastor Harley we went down for breakfast. We had what I thought was an excellent meal. Eggs with peas and corn in it (YUM), croissants, fruit, and ham and cheese. After the meal we split up. We needed a lot of people to stay at the guest house to sort through all the supplies we brought with us. A few of us went to downtown Port au Prince to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions we needed. I went to the pharmacy with the nurses and doctors. Downtown was a different side of Haiti that I had never seen. The streets were flooded with people, so much so that the bus would barely squeak by. When we arrived, those of us that were not doctors or nurses stayed in the main area of the building. The medical people went into the back to gather up all the medicine we needed. They bought around $15,000 dollars worth of medicine, so we were standing in the lobby for about three hours. We were able to talk to different Haitians and see how their market system works. When we finally loaded up, we began our drive to a grocery. On the way was where I saw the first signs of real earthquake devastation. Massive buildings reduced to rubble, piles of rebar and concrete filled the streets. There were also large neighborhood like groups of tents for those whos houses suffered damage during the earthquake. The number of tents was too numerous to count. They were pretty much as far as the eye could see. This type of tragedy makes you stop and think about how great we really have it. It also was a sad statement towards the fact that the devastation was terrible, but in a lot of places you don’t really notice a difference. That’s how bad they have it. This was a sad site that I and the others will not soon forget.
Besides those who went downtown to get supplies, those who stayed at the compound sorted through luggage which contained clothes, toys, balls, food, crafts and games, and certain medicines. There were tons of pillow case dresses for girls and cars for boys. About 10 of the girls got their hair braided and twisted by 3 Haitian women. It was a cool experience to see Haitians talents put to work in such a dynamic and similar way of those in America who possess those same talents. As many were getting their hair braided a group was downstairs getting to know a couple of our translators. They quickly started listing songs that were familiar to both them and the translators. They sang together for almost two hours and it was beautiful to hear them harmonize together not just as two different ethnicities but as one in a sense in concordance as God’s children. As that group waited for the downtown group to return, they figured out their specific tasks for the next day at the medical clinic. After the group returned we prepared for dinner and a crusade. Dinner consisted of rice, cole slaw, barbeque chicken legs, plantains(basically bananas), and fruit. After dinner we headed out to the crusade. The crusade was held in a tent camp but many outside of the camp came also. There were about 150-200 people there. At first you could tell many in our group were very hesitant to interact with the Haitians, but quickly you could see each individual become more and more comfortable with their surroundings. Many people started to flock and many of us experienced a new type of worship. Both women and men danced and threw their arms in the air in praise and adoration to God. It was so beautiful to be within such a broken country and witness such peace and happiness in the middle of it. Many of our group also had their first interaction with Haitian children. They danced, held, sang, and took pictures with the children. Pastor Harley spoke with C.J. as his translator. He shared the story of Nicodemus and the sending of Christ for our sin. (John 3:16). He also assured the crowd that the only way to heaven was through Jesus Christ. It was neat to see such a unique group of people interact with the word of God in so many different ways. After Pastor Harley spoke and goodbyes were given, we loaded the bus and headed and back. As we rode the bumpy streets back, many sang hymns. We passed many Haitians on the street and hopefully they could hear our group singing the hymns. Maybe even a few seeds were planted. Well, we are going to celebrate with one of the Haitian house ladies for her birthday. Marylynn is 30 today. Continue to keep all of us in your hearts and prayers. Until next time Cya!
Ryan Poirier and Ashlea Hollon
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