13) Wendesday, March 13, 2013
Monday started out going check on John Louie, we had not
seen him at Mass Sunday or anywhere around which was unusual. When we inquired
we were told he was “malad”, sick. We knew from the past that he has ulcers so
FrJadotte and I went to visit him. When we go to his house,(tent/structure), he
greeted us in his yard. He looked terrible, his eyes were glazed and he was
feverish, with beads of perspiration on his head. Father questioned him about
his symptoms and declared he had malaria. I had some ibuprofen with me and
instructed him on dosage and importance of taking with milk or food because of
his stomach.
On our return to our compound a young man approached us and
FrJadotte introduced him to me as a mechanic that had repaired the generator at
Buchan Richard. It is an old Kabota brand. The carburetor was defective and I
had brought it back to the United States for repair. When I took it to the
Kabota dealer they informed me that the rebuild kit had been discontinued and
that a replacement carburetor would cost $700. That was beyond our resources so
I called Ken Drake, who has traveled with us here before and he volunteered to
repair it. He is very “handy” to say the least. Our kudos to Ken. It worked.
Anyways, now the pull rope on the recoil starter had been replaced and was not
recoiling properly. The young mechanic wanted to know if I could get him a new
spring. I suggested he follow us back and I would take a look at it.
As we headed back FrJadotte wanted me to take a detour,
there is a neighbor to us that grows coffee. We walked down a side trail and it
opened up into a small shaded area with several homes, it was a scene if simple
beauty. The early morning sun was filtering through the trees bringing all of
the details into sharp focus. As FrJadotte pointed out the coffee bushes an old
man approached us calling out greetings. A little further down the path I could
see several men moving in orchestrated activity. Upon asking he informed us
that the men were making lumber. I approached the men and asked “photo?” They
cheerfully agreed. They were in the process of setting up an above ground “pit
saw operation”. They were not very far along so the pictures I took do not give
justice to their work. One of the men proudly picked up the two man
saw and motioned for me to take his photo. I do have photos of similar
operations posted on facebook.
Turning back toward the cluster of homes a young woman was
coming out of her house, it was a traditional thatch roof structure surrounded
with lush tropical plants. The sun was illuminating her perfectly as it will
only do in the early morning. Again I shouted “photo?” and she readily agreed.
After snapping the picture she ran forward expectantly to see how she looked.
Seeing herself she broke into a big grin and laughed. Then the old man wanted
his picture taken as well and when he saw it he too grinned and laughed. It is
very humbling to be able to share these moments of simple joy. Again we started
back to our compound only this time FrJadotte spotted a young man among the
moto drivers hanging around the community water fountain that were waiting for
fares. He singled him out and had terse conversation with him. As we turned to
leave I asked him what had taken place. He told me that the young man was
supposed to be in school in Gonaives, but instead was driving a moto for hire.
As we walked away I told him how disappointing that was and how common it is in
the United States for youth to forsake their opportunity for an education also.
He paused and called the young man and the chastised youth cautiously
approached us. Now FrJadotte softly encouraged him to consider a compromise of
driving his moto in the early part of the day and continuing his education in
the evening. I hope and pray that his advice is taken to heart. Life here is so
difficult that any little advantage will make a large difference in his future.
As we finally arrived back to our compound I instructed the young mechanic to
wait for me by the workshop door. I needed to check on things with Denise. When
I had left earlier we had just discovered that we had no water and part of my
early venturing out was to see if there was water at other stations which there
was. So before I could help the mechanic, I carried water up to the apartment
and put our “solar shower can” out. Later will scale the roof and switch over
to our reserve tank.
I finally returned to the young mechanic who had patiently
been waiting. It is amazing when I think of how often I see this patience among
people here; it is such a contrast to the stress filled lifestyle we are so
used to back home. This patience is contagious and I now realize what a gift it
has been to me. It is very peaceful to
just accept the situation at hand, without the anxious feeling that I need to
make things happen right now.
When we entered the work shop I cleared a place on the
workbench and he started to disassemble the unit, I stopped him, removed the
pull handle and showed him how to increase the tension. He was very pleased. As
I thought about it I realized that he had done these repairs because they
needed to be done, not for pay. I keep an assortment of pocket knives and
multi-tools for just such an occasion. I had him wait again and went to my room
and retrieved a mult-tool. As I presented it to him he looked puzzled, but as I
started to demonstrate it his face broke out in astonishment and joy as he
recognized its purpose. I know this will become a treasured possession.
Now it time to start the day. Breakfast is ready and I have much to do to
prepare for leaving in the morning to return to the United States. Fr Gracia is
also coming today and will be spending the night.
The first order of business is hooking up the storage
cistern on the roof. As I get the ladder out, John Louie shows up, his fever
has broken and he insists on doing this. He still does not look well but he is
very stubborn. I consulted with Denise and got my malaria medication. I have four tablets left. I take one a week
and I am not due to take another one until Wednesday. I know I can cheat a day
and can get more in the US. When Denise got malaria several years ago she was
given this same medication and it was the turning point for her. Using
FrJadotte to interpret I was able instruct John Louie in proper dosage and instructions.
He has started to respond and my concern is that he will push himself too hard
and not give his body the rest it needs. The remainder of the morning I spent
disassembling our shade tarps, putting things in secure storage and packing for
my trip. Denise has been spending the morning packing and finishing a letter to
the Bishop here. The letter is an introduction of us and an overview of our
work here. We will need his approval and signatures on grants that Denise is
applying for. She has been working in the make shift office that we need to
restore to a bedroom for when FrGracia arrives. She needs my help with the
printer that we borrowed from FrJadotte and just as we are finishing FrGracia
arrives. Along with Fr Gracia is his maid Julia,(whom is his cousin), and
Johnny. They will all be spending the night and we will need all three guest
rooms so we hurriedly prepare the room.
We have much we want to do, so as soon as they are settled
in their rooms we are off again. We are traveling in the gator. It must be a
sight. We laughing call it our “tap tap”, which is the term used for
overcrowded trucks that are used for public transportation. I drive with
FrGracia riding shotgun. In the back, which is four ft. by four ft., we have
attached a plank right behind the front seats. Denise and Julia sit there, then
Johny, John Louie and another man that needs a ride to Buchan Richard cram into
and hang off of the remaining space. The gator does not seem to mind but I
drive very slowly.
Our first stop is close by, it is our nursery. This was
begun several years back and we have been using it to start trees. Fr Jadotte
has used these trees to start a forest on top of one of the mountains above
Riviere Mancelle. Now we are using it to start coffee. Last November we
traveled around northern Haiti visiting coffee processing centers. While we
were at a coffee co-op, we purchased a bag of seeds of a local variety. These
we are starting and they will be distributed cost free. We will be also
starting trees to distribute also. Coffee needs to be shade grown and our hope
is that the income for the coffee will encourage the people to maintain the
trees and help with reforesting the mountains. Less than 10% of the rainfall in
Haiti is absorbed into the ground; the rest runs off, eroding the soil further
and causing damage downriver with almost any heavy rain. During our visits to
coffee processing centers we also visited the center that has developed and
distributes “Hatiian Blue”. This is the premium coffee that grows here. While
at this center we purchased plants and these we have planted at the FrJim Bretl
Agriculture Center and we will use these for seed stock. When we have plants
available our plan is to sell these to select growers who are willing to work
to produce a premium coffee.
From there we traveled to Buchan Richard and the FrJim
Agriculture Center. This is the first time the FrGracia has had a tour of the
center. He is eager to understand the scope of the project. Denise has some
beans to transplant for Robert and she wants to see how things are going. As
part of the tour John Louie excitedly takes us to where our Haitian Blue coffee
plants are planted. This is exciting we are watching a miracle unfolding right
before our eyes. We are overwhelmed at what God is doing with the giving and
sacrifices that are being made for this project. Thank you for each of your
contribution.
We returned to Garcin with about 2 ½ hours of daylight
remaining. The first order of business was to set up the laptop and connect
with Google Translate. I have used it before, but using it for Creole, and that
is a beta version and is not 100% accurate. This time we are using it to
translate to French as Fr Gracia is fluent and Google Translate does an
excellent job. I have prepared an overview of our work and have outlined some
parameters our working relationship with him as the new priest. It was very
simple to go through the letter paragraph at a time, expanding on his questions
as was needed. This time was very profitable for both of us. It really helped
in establishing a strong foundation of mutual understanding.
This meeting had been time consuming and as the day grew
short we had to hurry to remove the solar electric panels and prepare for
secure storage. As darkness fell, John Louie retrieved the generator and hooked
up to the apartment wiring so that we would have lights for the evening. This
convenience comes with a price; the fuel is very expensive and the noise drowns
out conversation. We are so thankful that we have the solar. We shared a very
nice meal; we had splurged and bought a chicken to share with our company.
Haitian chickens are very skinny and chewy. The breast had about meat on it as
an average chicken leg we get here at home. I am not complaining, just want
share an understanding of what the reality here is. Many times when we are
served chicken, we only have “normal sized” chicken legs. That is because they
have come from the United States and they are inexpensive because they are
surplus from the “all white” chicken finger and nugget industry.
We retired early as are ride is coming at 7:00 and we must
be ready. Fr Gracia was planning on 7:00 am Mass, but on learning of our
schedule he quickly rescheduled for 6:30 promising a 20 minute Mass. Even
though I did not think a 20 minute Mass was possible. I was much moved.
In the morning I awoke about 4:30 and got up to spend some
time reading. I planned on getting Denise up at 6:00 to give her enough time
finish preparing to leave and 6:30 Mass. At 5:30 Fr Gracia emerged from his
room for Mass. Even though daylight savings time was last weekend no one here
had changed times. I ran and woke Denise and both of us quickly dressed and
were at the church in less than 10 minutes. Since it was still dark FrGracia
had decided that we needed electric lights, in the past FrJadotte used oil
lamps and candles, and John Louie was still hooking up the generator to the
church. He had brought in the medical exam lights that we are sending to the
dispensary into the church for lighting but was not having success in getting
the power to them. The generator was about 200 ft. from the church and he was
using two, one hundred foot extension cords. He determined that one was faulty
and moved the generator closer to eliminate the need for that cord. When he
finally was able to get power to the lights we realized that one of the lights
was glaring directly into the eyes of the parishioners who had made the effort
to share this early morning Mass with us. As soon as the lights were adjusted
the generator ran out of gas. While John Louie dealt with thus I glanced down
to power cord feeding the lights and saw four or five cell phones plugged in,
no one ever passes up a chance for electricity. John Louie quickly refueled and
Mass began, but now the generator was so loud it was impossible for anyone to
hear FrGracia. That was not really a problem for us as we really can’t
understand anyway. We are able to follow because we know the order of the Mass.
Just as the readings began we could hear the honking of our driver Tiden,
demanding the gate be opened. Denise and I decided to try and wait but as Tiden
pulled up in front of our apartment he kept honking. We looked to Fr Gracia and
he motioned us to go ahead and leave. We felt bad not only because of all the effort
put forth on our account, but also we were both looking forward to sharing
Eucharist before we left. We hurried to our rooms and brought our entire
luggage down and loaded up the Land Cruiser. Just as we were finishing FrGracia
rushed into the room with Eucharist for us. This simple act speaks so highly of
the value or our new relationship. This act was very humbling for me and
elevated my faith to a new level.
When Tiden is ready to leave, he is ready to leave, and by
7:15 we were packed up and pulling out of the gate. Tiden has been a friend,
driver and one man security team for many years. He runs a very tight schedule
and it and a lot depends on his very aggressive driving habits. Our trip to Gros
Morne was accomplished in 16 minutes. I have never made it in less than 30
before. Most of the road is very bumpy
bedrock and old lava flow. By the time we reached town I could feel the bones
in my neck as they compressed and were jarred together. I cannot even imagine
what this was doing to Denise. She has a collar that she wears when traveling
but I don’t think it was much help.
On our way out of town we picked up another passenger that
needed a ride to Port au Prince. He sat in the back with me and through limited
communication told us he greatly admired the “project at Buchan Richard”, The
FrJim Bretl Agriculture Center. As we traveled the man answered his phone and
handed it to me. Not knowing what to expect I took it and discovered Sr Pat
calling, she had not been able to reach me on my phone. I have had trouble with
my phone since I bought it with the charger and understanding the system used
for buying and using minutes. She had been talking to one of the community
leaders named Marcelle and wanted me to talk to him. He is very involved in
Caritos which facilitates the project of groups working together in the area.
He is also the president of the Peasant Society of Riviere Mancelle. He works
with the agronomist that the Sisters employ and is very excited about the new
agriculture center. She wanted me to explain the vision and different aspects
of the program to him so that he can relay this to the others in the area. She
told me that all of the people in the whole area, including the priest of the
surrounding parishes are very enthusiastic about what we are doing. I asked her
if Marcelle could be speak English, she said no, but that I should encourage
him to learn when he visited the United States in the near future. I told her
the best thing would be for me to put the information in an email that could be
translated and forwarded to him. I hung up the phone still somewhat confused. I
shared the conversation with Denise, and a light dawned on her face as she
realized that our fellow traveler was Marcelle. We had met him several years
ago when we installed our first solar oven. He was with a group of interested
citizens who wanted to see if solar ovens would work for opening a cassava
bread bakery. With Denise’s limited
creole and our dictionary we were able share a little our common desires.
As we proceed down the highway toward Gonaives a chicken
flew up on the hood of the vehicle and was wedged under the windshield wiper on
the driver’s side, Tiden was unfazed and the chicken took it in stride and we
proceeded at a healthy speed and drove another ½ mile before the chicken
slipped off. I think that this falls into the “why did the chicken cross the
road “jokes.
When we arrived in Gonaives we headed directly to the
Bishops house. Denise wanted to personal hand deliver the letter she had
prepared of introduction of us and our projects. There is no mail service in
Haiti and a personal delivery is treated with respect. At the Bishops house we
were greeted by the Bishops assistant, Fr Normil, he told us that the Bishop
was busy and could not see us. Denise explained that our intention was not to
see the Bishop but only to deliver the letter and asked if he would deliver it
for us. Fr Normil read the letter through several times and questioned us in a
little more detail. Denise told him that she had met the Bishop when he first
became Bishop. They had stayed at the rectory in Gros Morne at the same time
and had a lengthy conversation. Then FrNormil asked her if she was a personal
friend of the Bishop and she replied no, they had just me the one time. At this
point he reread the letter and asked us if we could wait for 45 minutes. We
told him it was up to our driver Tiden. He looked at Tiden and asked him.
Evidently Tiden said no and FrNormil asked if we could wait five minutes. We
said yes and he disappeared into the house. He returned shortly and apologized
but the Bishop had left for confirmation in the mountains. He told us he would
make sure that the Bishop would get our letter and that the Bishop would email.
Then FrNormil gave us his personal cell phone number and instructed to call him
at either 11am or 9pm and he would make sure we could talk to the Bishop. He
then told us he would arrange a face to face in April when we return to Haiti.
We were very surprised at this response; because of past dealings that FrJadotte
and SrJackie have had with him has portrayed him as very inaccessible. We are
very encouraged and see the hand of the Holy Spirit moving amongst us.
We left for Port au Prince, stopping briefly in St Mark for
carry out lunch. The road from Gonaives to Port au Prince is first class, paved
with concrete drainage ditches on both sides of the road. It even has traffic
lines painted with double yellow lines where necessary. This is amusing as most
drivers, and especially Tiden, completely ignore them. The remainder of the
journey went very smoothly and we arrived at Matthew 25 in record time.
There have been some changes at Matthew 25 since our visit
last November. Sr Mary Finneck who has been in charge for many years has moved
on. Matthew 25 is now run by Haitians with American volunteers. Our visit was
unusual as normally there are several groups staying. This time Denise and I
were the only guest. There were two American volunteers and because there were
just two of us they took the day off to do shopping and sightseeing. They
returned for supper and we had a wonderful visit. The time we spend at Matthew
25 is always full of meeting new people and hearing and sharing stories of
faith.
We left for the airport at 11:00 am to catch our 1:30
flight. We had only two checked bags and we were able to negotiate through the
airport without the help of the men who are constantly trying to help so that
they can get a tip. Many times we have many bags and this is very helpful, but
just as often the men are almost aggressive and are argumentative among
themselves as they fight for our bags. When they force themselves upon us, I
tip poorly and they argue with me and are scornful. It felt like a victory for
both Denise and I to circumvent this situation. One small step for us.
The rest of our journey home was uneventful and after a five
hour layover in Miami, we were in Nashville by 10:30 and home by midnight. We
will continue this blog during the coming days and share about the behind the
scenes work it takes to make the project in Haiti become a reality.
Thank you everybody and God Bless. Mesi Anpil
Bob
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