Sam's Haitian Mission Journal
Excerpts from Sam’s Haiti Journal
Saturday, May 11
Today is the day. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. to leave our hotel for JFK Airport. Parking and travel seemed to go smoothly until it was time to check into the airport—that’s the first time we learned when Haiti is involved, nothing is ever easy. First off, Cara’s passport was expired and we didn’t realize it until it was too late. She had to stay behind and hopefully will make it by Tuesday.
When we landed in Port-Au-Prince apparently the airport had many renovations. We got off the jet way to a live band on string guitars and Congo drums. Baggage claim was a zoo. Many Haitians swarmed everyone looking to help you find your luggage. It’s not as innocent as it seems though…they’re always looking for tips. We made our way out of the airport and found Andrew, the leader of the trip. After waiting for an hour for our bus, we learned the battery was dead and we would have to wait longer. In this time I learned instead of water bottles they have water bags and Haitians are always trying to get your money. After four hours the new battery arrived and luckily members of our team are mechanically savvy, so we put in the battery and we were on our way. Then things got interesting.
There are no rules on the roads in Haiti. People blow by stop signs and pass whenever they want. Our ride was about two hours long, so we got to see a lot of the country. We passed many tent villages and the extreme poverty was evident. Dirty, slummy, smelly, open sewers. Everything is very unorganized, animals wandering wherever they want. Also the cows were extremely famished, just skin and bones. One point during the drive we backed into another truck and just continued on like nothing happened. I tried to rest my eyes for a little, but had no chance of sleeping due to the constant blaring horns and array of strange smells. After our two-hour ride I felt a little car sick and was ready to get off the bus.
Once at the hotel we unloaded the bus and found our rooms. The hotel is right on the ocean at the base of a huge mountain range. BEAUTIFUL. We took a swim before dinner and the view from the water back toward the land it stunning. We had a large dinner with the whole team and the food was really good. We played some pool at night and hung out. Once it gets dark there is not much to do so we went to bed around 10.
Sunday, May 12
I woke up today at 7 for a 7:15 breakfast. The food is still good. Today is the first day at the orphanage. We went to church at the orphanage which lasted from 8:30 to 12, luckily we didn’t have to stay the whole time partly because the service is in Creole.
Today’s main project was the basketball court we are making for the kids. We had to level off the area where the court will be by wheel-barreling rocks and dirt over to the court. Haitian girls helped by carrying buckets of rocks on their heads. Macauley and I also began putting together the basketball hoop we are going to put on the courts. All the projects are tough because we don’t have the adequate tools. The orphanage is hot and dusty, there are really only two shade spots.
The kids are so cute. They all want to help with the projects and most of them seem pretty bright. Sometimes the language difference makes communication difficult. The kids laugh and smile and love to play with us.
The ride back to the resort was an adventure. I rode on a tap-tap, which is a Haitian taxi, but we were sitting on top of the truck while huge cars whizzed by me. Very scary! Then the police pulled us over and made us get down while the officer was sporting an AK-47. From there we walked back to the resort which was about 200 yards. Just me, Macauley, Jeremiah K. and translator Nicholas.
Monday, May 13
The kids were in school today when we arrived around 8:30, so we got right to work. The basketball court got leveled out and I continued helping with the basketball hoop and I helped Uncle Steve with the soccer nets. At recess I was swarmed by the kids, at one point I had 10 or more kids hanging on my arms as I ran around and chased them. A good way to get them to run is to spray water and they all scurry—it’s funny. We also taught some kids to swing and hit baseballs. Also today we walked into a classroom without a teacher so we got a translator and taught the fifth-grade class ‘Heads Up 7 Up.’
By noon it’s almost too hot to do anything. Once kids got out of school we sat under the one tree and drew pictures and painted. Some kids were very good artists and they would all hand their finished pictures to me. A little girl named Elemmia always follows me around and holds my hand. It is very cute.
Tonight, back at the resort, I led the debrief. Bible study using Romans 5:6-8 and Titus 3:5. It went well.
Tuesday, May 14
I did not feel well this morning when I woke up. Walking through the village towards the orphanage, a young boy walked up and grabbed my hand to walk him to school. When we got there everyone was in the street staring up at the mountains. We found out that they were looking for an escaped convict or a spirit; the story kept changing. Macauley, Mike and I climbed high in the mountain to find out what was going on and take pictures. We ran into a Haitian who spoke Spanish, so we could communicate with the Spanish I remembered. When we got back I really didn’t feel good, so I took Advil and a 20-minute nap in Izak’s bed.
Today was cloudy and cold for Haiti until about 1. We began laying concrete for the basketball court and carried a 500+ lb. power generator up to the fish (Tilapia) pond. I played a silent game of door basketball with an orphan, just smiling and laughing. A new team also came today and the other guys seemed to be cool. Also both soccer nets are finished.
Back at the hotel, Cara finally arrived. I was still feeling off, so I didn’t eat much dinner. I felt very wiped out and (sick) all day.
Wednesday, May 15
Today was market day in the village of Williamson. The streets were very busy and crowded. The most lasting images were the goat slaughterings. Goats were tied to the same table where their ‘friends’ would be slaughtered. The Haitian women would hold the goat between their legs and their head over a bucket and then slit their throat. Making it more uneasy was the goats crying and sounding like humans. The cry of goats echoed through the whole market.
The kids were amazing again today. Berlando made me a bracelet out of yarn that says ‘SYRACUSE47.’ I really connected with one 10-year-old boy named Rikki. We played door basketball for the second day and agreed to play baseball tomorrow. He always calls for me to play in his Haitian accent. Another five-year-old girl named Milanja followed me around and kept reaching her arms up for me to pick her up, so I sat with her and gave her my sunglasses with her on my lap. During recess the kids lined up for me to toss them in the air. It’s sad not being able to get to all of them before school starts again.
It was another fun time back at the hotel, swimming and I snorkeled today, looking at all the fish. We had cheeseburgers and Jeremiah K. led the debrief/ Bible study A few fathers in the group mentioned how touched they were seeing me be a gentle giant with my new friend Milanja.
Thursday, May 16
This morning we went to Kim and Mrs. Lynn’s orphanage called ‘House of Grace.’ It is in walking distance of our hotel. The ‘House of Grace’ is much cleaner and nicer-looking than the ‘House of Hope.’ We listened to Kim tell the story about the orphanage and baby Josiah, how they found him at four pounds, nine months, and being left to die. Since his twin brother was healthy, his parents left Josiah to die. I got to play with him today at the orphanage and he is three years old and doing well.
Today, at ‘House of Hope’ we laid the wires to get stronger electricity to all parts of the orphanage. I had another day to hang out with the kids. During recess I was able to play baseball with Rikki. I also taught Elemmia when I said hug she puts her arms out and gives me a hug.
Later I looked through a Sports Illustrated with Rikki and told him about all the sports. His eyes got real big when I told him I played futbol American. I also gave him a pair of Nike shoes. We continued to talk and he told me he plans to become a musician (he also played some drums for me). We made a handshake and it will be hard to say goodbye tomorrow.
Tonight Mrs. Lynn told us all her story about opening up her house as a hotel and moving from Florida back to Haiti. If God has a plan, he will make it happen. And also that God has a plan when unexplainable things happen in your life.
Friday, May 17
Last night was eventful. It started with Macauley not feeling well as we were going to bed. After his sixth time throwing up he threw up some blood, so I took him to see Andrew. We then had to go wake up Alex because she had the pills we needed to stop the barfing. At this point, I was sick also and had thrown up once. I ended up sleeping for maybe two hours and throwing up twice. It was the beginning to a rough day.
We went to the orphanage quick in the morning and it was amazing to see the kids playing on the basketball court. It was really frustrating to not have any energy to play and feel so sick. I said goodbye to Elemmia and was able to spend time with Rikki. I prayed with Rikki before I left.
The bus ride to Port-Au-Prince was miserable—hot, smelly, bumpy, along with being sick. Once we finally got to the hotel, I was able to nap for a while.
At 4:30 p.m. we took a walk through the city and saw the place where the palace used to be. Andrew also showed us the place where he lived for his 30-day, $1 Poverty challenge. All the streets are covered in garbage and everything seems to dirty. It’s unimaginable and unexplainable how gross and disgusting the streets are.
Later that night Andrew led our final Bible study and challenged us to think of our story and how we will tell people about our experiences. Everyone went around and shared stories. We had such a great team and everyone worked to well together. We went up on the roof of the hotel and we could see the city of Port-Au-Prince. It looks almost better in the dark because you can’t see how dirty it is. There aren’t many city lights, especially where the tent cities are—just darkness—although you know there are people there.
Saturday, May 18
I’m on the plane now, headed back to New York City. Today was pleasantly uneventful. I woke up feeling much better and went down with Phil to eat breakfast and saw other team members. We took our time eating and enjoyed the nice Plaza Hotel. The bus ride to the airport was about 20 minutes and seemed too easy for Haiti. At the airport we said goodbye to Izak and Aswood and also Jillian, Kaitrin, Jackie and Cara since they’re staying longer. There seemed to be a million security checkpoints in the Haitian airport, but we arrived in plenty of time.
What a week it was in Haiti filled with loving orphans, dirty and smelly streets, heads buried in toilets and most of all, serving God and showing his love with family and friends.
Saturday, May 11
Today is the day. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. to leave our hotel for JFK Airport. Parking and travel seemed to go smoothly until it was time to check into the airport—that’s the first time we learned when Haiti is involved, nothing is ever easy. First off, Cara’s passport was expired and we didn’t realize it until it was too late. She had to stay behind and hopefully will make it by Tuesday.
When we landed in Port-Au-Prince apparently the airport had many renovations. We got off the jet way to a live band on string guitars and Congo drums. Baggage claim was a zoo. Many Haitians swarmed everyone looking to help you find your luggage. It’s not as innocent as it seems though…they’re always looking for tips. We made our way out of the airport and found Andrew, the leader of the trip. After waiting for an hour for our bus, we learned the battery was dead and we would have to wait longer. In this time I learned instead of water bottles they have water bags and Haitians are always trying to get your money. After four hours the new battery arrived and luckily members of our team are mechanically savvy, so we put in the battery and we were on our way. Then things got interesting.
There are no rules on the roads in Haiti. People blow by stop signs and pass whenever they want. Our ride was about two hours long, so we got to see a lot of the country. We passed many tent villages and the extreme poverty was evident. Dirty, slummy, smelly, open sewers. Everything is very unorganized, animals wandering wherever they want. Also the cows were extremely famished, just skin and bones. One point during the drive we backed into another truck and just continued on like nothing happened. I tried to rest my eyes for a little, but had no chance of sleeping due to the constant blaring horns and array of strange smells. After our two-hour ride I felt a little car sick and was ready to get off the bus.
Once at the hotel we unloaded the bus and found our rooms. The hotel is right on the ocean at the base of a huge mountain range. BEAUTIFUL. We took a swim before dinner and the view from the water back toward the land it stunning. We had a large dinner with the whole team and the food was really good. We played some pool at night and hung out. Once it gets dark there is not much to do so we went to bed around 10.
Sunday, May 12
I woke up today at 7 for a 7:15 breakfast. The food is still good. Today is the first day at the orphanage. We went to church at the orphanage which lasted from 8:30 to 12, luckily we didn’t have to stay the whole time partly because the service is in Creole.
Today’s main project was the basketball court we are making for the kids. We had to level off the area where the court will be by wheel-barreling rocks and dirt over to the court. Haitian girls helped by carrying buckets of rocks on their heads. Macauley and I also began putting together the basketball hoop we are going to put on the courts. All the projects are tough because we don’t have the adequate tools. The orphanage is hot and dusty, there are really only two shade spots.
The kids are so cute. They all want to help with the projects and most of them seem pretty bright. Sometimes the language difference makes communication difficult. The kids laugh and smile and love to play with us.
The ride back to the resort was an adventure. I rode on a tap-tap, which is a Haitian taxi, but we were sitting on top of the truck while huge cars whizzed by me. Very scary! Then the police pulled us over and made us get down while the officer was sporting an AK-47. From there we walked back to the resort which was about 200 yards. Just me, Macauley, Jeremiah K. and translator Nicholas.
Monday, May 13
The kids were in school today when we arrived around 8:30, so we got right to work. The basketball court got leveled out and I continued helping with the basketball hoop and I helped Uncle Steve with the soccer nets. At recess I was swarmed by the kids, at one point I had 10 or more kids hanging on my arms as I ran around and chased them. A good way to get them to run is to spray water and they all scurry—it’s funny. We also taught some kids to swing and hit baseballs. Also today we walked into a classroom without a teacher so we got a translator and taught the fifth-grade class ‘Heads Up 7 Up.’
By noon it’s almost too hot to do anything. Once kids got out of school we sat under the one tree and drew pictures and painted. Some kids were very good artists and they would all hand their finished pictures to me. A little girl named Elemmia always follows me around and holds my hand. It is very cute.
Tonight, back at the resort, I led the debrief. Bible study using Romans 5:6-8 and Titus 3:5. It went well.
Tuesday, May 14
I did not feel well this morning when I woke up. Walking through the village towards the orphanage, a young boy walked up and grabbed my hand to walk him to school. When we got there everyone was in the street staring up at the mountains. We found out that they were looking for an escaped convict or a spirit; the story kept changing. Macauley, Mike and I climbed high in the mountain to find out what was going on and take pictures. We ran into a Haitian who spoke Spanish, so we could communicate with the Spanish I remembered. When we got back I really didn’t feel good, so I took Advil and a 20-minute nap in Izak’s bed.
Today was cloudy and cold for Haiti until about 1. We began laying concrete for the basketball court and carried a 500+ lb. power generator up to the fish (Tilapia) pond. I played a silent game of door basketball with an orphan, just smiling and laughing. A new team also came today and the other guys seemed to be cool. Also both soccer nets are finished.
Back at the hotel, Cara finally arrived. I was still feeling off, so I didn’t eat much dinner. I felt very wiped out and (sick) all day.
Wednesday, May 15
Today was market day in the village of Williamson. The streets were very busy and crowded. The most lasting images were the goat slaughterings. Goats were tied to the same table where their ‘friends’ would be slaughtered. The Haitian women would hold the goat between their legs and their head over a bucket and then slit their throat. Making it more uneasy was the goats crying and sounding like humans. The cry of goats echoed through the whole market.
The kids were amazing again today. Berlando made me a bracelet out of yarn that says ‘SYRACUSE47.’ I really connected with one 10-year-old boy named Rikki. We played door basketball for the second day and agreed to play baseball tomorrow. He always calls for me to play in his Haitian accent. Another five-year-old girl named Milanja followed me around and kept reaching her arms up for me to pick her up, so I sat with her and gave her my sunglasses with her on my lap. During recess the kids lined up for me to toss them in the air. It’s sad not being able to get to all of them before school starts again.
It was another fun time back at the hotel, swimming and I snorkeled today, looking at all the fish. We had cheeseburgers and Jeremiah K. led the debrief/ Bible study A few fathers in the group mentioned how touched they were seeing me be a gentle giant with my new friend Milanja.
Thursday, May 16
This morning we went to Kim and Mrs. Lynn’s orphanage called ‘House of Grace.’ It is in walking distance of our hotel. The ‘House of Grace’ is much cleaner and nicer-looking than the ‘House of Hope.’ We listened to Kim tell the story about the orphanage and baby Josiah, how they found him at four pounds, nine months, and being left to die. Since his twin brother was healthy, his parents left Josiah to die. I got to play with him today at the orphanage and he is three years old and doing well.
Today, at ‘House of Hope’ we laid the wires to get stronger electricity to all parts of the orphanage. I had another day to hang out with the kids. During recess I was able to play baseball with Rikki. I also taught Elemmia when I said hug she puts her arms out and gives me a hug.
Later I looked through a Sports Illustrated with Rikki and told him about all the sports. His eyes got real big when I told him I played futbol American. I also gave him a pair of Nike shoes. We continued to talk and he told me he plans to become a musician (he also played some drums for me). We made a handshake and it will be hard to say goodbye tomorrow.
Tonight Mrs. Lynn told us all her story about opening up her house as a hotel and moving from Florida back to Haiti. If God has a plan, he will make it happen. And also that God has a plan when unexplainable things happen in your life.
Friday, May 17
Last night was eventful. It started with Macauley not feeling well as we were going to bed. After his sixth time throwing up he threw up some blood, so I took him to see Andrew. We then had to go wake up Alex because she had the pills we needed to stop the barfing. At this point, I was sick also and had thrown up once. I ended up sleeping for maybe two hours and throwing up twice. It was the beginning to a rough day.
We went to the orphanage quick in the morning and it was amazing to see the kids playing on the basketball court. It was really frustrating to not have any energy to play and feel so sick. I said goodbye to Elemmia and was able to spend time with Rikki. I prayed with Rikki before I left.
The bus ride to Port-Au-Prince was miserable—hot, smelly, bumpy, along with being sick. Once we finally got to the hotel, I was able to nap for a while.
At 4:30 p.m. we took a walk through the city and saw the place where the palace used to be. Andrew also showed us the place where he lived for his 30-day, $1 Poverty challenge. All the streets are covered in garbage and everything seems to dirty. It’s unimaginable and unexplainable how gross and disgusting the streets are.
Later that night Andrew led our final Bible study and challenged us to think of our story and how we will tell people about our experiences. Everyone went around and shared stories. We had such a great team and everyone worked to well together. We went up on the roof of the hotel and we could see the city of Port-Au-Prince. It looks almost better in the dark because you can’t see how dirty it is. There aren’t many city lights, especially where the tent cities are—just darkness—although you know there are people there.
Saturday, May 18
I’m on the plane now, headed back to New York City. Today was pleasantly uneventful. I woke up feeling much better and went down with Phil to eat breakfast and saw other team members. We took our time eating and enjoyed the nice Plaza Hotel. The bus ride to the airport was about 20 minutes and seemed too easy for Haiti. At the airport we said goodbye to Izak and Aswood and also Jillian, Kaitrin, Jackie and Cara since they’re staying longer. There seemed to be a million security checkpoints in the Haitian airport, but we arrived in plenty of time.
What a week it was in Haiti filled with loving orphans, dirty and smelly streets, heads buried in toilets and most of all, serving God and showing his love with family and friends.
