Elections in Haiti

In case you haven't heard, Haiti held elections yesterday. The people here want change. They wanted their votes to matter, and the people who planned to vote seemed excited to elect someone into office who will lead their country through the rebuilding process, create jobs, and find a solution to the displaced persons camps. Unfortunately, it seems that the election was not as "fair and transparent" as the Provisional Electoral Council claims it was.

I found a video online that highlights some of the problems at the polling stations. The people were upset about these problems, and rightly so. The majority of the presidential candidates called for the election to be canceled and postponed until it could be completed without fraud. The candidates asked the citizens of Haiti to peacefully protest the election. So, the people did just that. Many people took to the streets in Port au Prince calling for Preval (current president) to be arrested. From what I've read online, the protesting was peaceful and there wasn't any violence. Thank you, Jesus! It seems that the streets in the capital are calm this morning, and I'm praying it stays that way.

One thing is certain: Haiti needs a government that is not corrupt. How it's citizens go about obtaining that, I have no idea.

PS. I am safe on the mountain. The protests are far away from me, and my neighborhood was quiet all day yesterday. My neighbors had a little cookout and some compas music, but other than that there is nothing happening even remotely close to us.

Serious Stuff

Elections take place tomorrow, Sunday Nov. 28th, and tensions are running high. In the States we get up a little earlier than normal, stop at the polling station on our way to work, cast our vote, and then watch the results on TV that night. Elections here are a little different. First there are the manifestations to avoid, if you can. Then there's the widespread belief that it doesn't matter who you vote for because the system is so corrupt that whoever has the most money and/or connections will win. And there seems to be some fear of what will happen after the results are announced.

What they call manifestations here are basically disturbances that tend to turn into riots, and they are escalating in Port au Prince. Things are definitely heating up in the city. Enough that school was canceled Friday so the kids wouldn't be out on the streets. There's even talk that it could be canceled on Monday too if the manifestations don't calm down.

Please pray that the elections will go smoothly--without the violence and corruption that seems to plague Haitian politics. Pray also that people will not be afraid to go out and vote, that the person elected as president will lead the people well.

***Just a special note that there are no manifestations happening in my neighborhood. I am safe here on the mountain. The crazy stuff is happening in downtown PaP.

QCS Discipleship Group

Willem and Beth Charles (founders and directors of MTM) have two boys who attend a school in Delmas (between Port au Prince and Petionville) called Quisqueya Christian School. The American style Christian school wants to implement a more structured discipleship program with the middle and high school students, so they are piloting a structure for discipleship between now and the end of the semester. In order to keep the groups small they asked for parents and other volunteers (in addition to the teachers) to lead small discipleship groups on Friday mornings.

Since I don't have any classes in Gramothe on Fridays, I gladly volunteered to lead a group. While this ministry opportunity isn't through MTM, I'm pretty excited about investing in the lives of some middle school girls--especially since they all speak English fluently. I have three 7th grade students and three 8th graders. They are a fantastic group of girls! I wish I could spend more time with them outside of our discipleship time. They decided they wanted to study the book of Revelation, so we are tackling the end times and all the questions that come with it, together.

An added bonus to leading one of the discipleship groups is that Beth and I get to spend Friday mornings together. We've made it a tradition to stop for coffee and a pastry after we leave the school. It's a nice time for us to get away from daily life and just chat. I really value that time with her because in many ways she my unofficial mentor. Friday mornings gives me a time to ask questions about MTM, Haitian culture, and life in general. It's almost like my own personal discipleship class.

This Just In

Four cases of cholera have been reported in the village of Bonga. MTM has ministry friends who minister in that area that will be distributing a simple bucket-water filter system there on Monday to 50 families. Our concern: Bonga is geographically close to the Gramothe/Thomassin areas & MTM has students from Bonga. 

Please, please, please pray with us for this situation as we continue to monitor it closely.

Just Your Local Rock Star

There are advantages and disadvantages to being one of very, very few white people that live in the neighborhood. The distinct disadvantage is that I have a hard time blending in when I am trying to avoid certain people, like a particular student who has a crush on his English teacher. Another disadvantage to being white is that small children who aren't used to seeing white skin sometimes cry when I look at them. Not exactly a self-esteem booster.

But being the optimist that I am, I've found some pretty sweet perks to having white skin and living in Haiti. First, I love the fact that the preschool children find so much joy simply in saying good morning to me. My heart overflows with happiness every time they yell, "Blan" and then smile their cute little smiles at me. They also unabashedly race to touch my arms and hands before their teachers tell themt to get back in line.

But the little tykes aren't the only ones enamored with me. I also have some high school kids who are a lot like paparazzi. Today after my 9th grade class, I had to hide my face with a piece of paper because someone was trying to take a picture of me with a cell phone!

But school is not the only place I have rock start status. Often when I'm walking to school in the mornings there are little kids that will follow me or walk next to me for at least part of the way. They are content to smile at me shyly and say goodbye when they part with me. This morning, however, there were some elementary school girls, who I have never seen before (they attend another school), who were bold enough to squeeze my hand as they "accidentally" bumped into me. They just giggled when I grabbed their hands and squeezed them right back. I was sorry I couldn't walk with them for longer. I would have liked to ask them their names.

Anyway, I think I'll start practicing my signature tonight. That way I'll be ready for my fans when they gain enough courage to ask me for my autograph.

Prayer for the new year

I was flipping through my journal this morning, and I came across the very first entry for 2010. I thought I would share it with you. Remember, at that point I had no idea that I was going to Haiti for spring break, let alone a whole year!

Friday January 1st, 2010
Lord Jesus, I pray that this year would be one of falling more in love with you and of sharing the good news with many. I pray that you would clearly show me where you want me and that you would give me the strength to follow you there. May you be glorified in everything I do and say this year.

Golden Nuggets IV

Golden Nuggets is a term I am borrowing from my friend Sini who is spending her senior year of high school in Indonesia as a foreign exchange student. She calls all the random facts she's gathered about the country she's now living in Golden Nuggets. In that vein, I am going to periodically share Golden Nuggets about Haiti. 

• While every plot of land in the U.S. has a designated address, specific addresses don't really exist in Haiti. For example there is a main road leaving Petionville (kind of a wealthy suburb of Port au Prince) that goes up the mountain to another town called Kenscoff. That main road is called Rue de Kenscoff. It's a very winding road with turns every few hundred feet. In fact it feels like it's just a big series of S turns. Along Rue de Kenscoff there are areas, or neighborhoods you could say. The first area is called Pelerin. Every street off Rue de Kenscoff in this area is called Pelerin followed by a number. Evens are on one side and odds are on the other. The Pelerin roads start at 1 and go up to 9 I think. After Pelerin comes Laboule. The numbers in Laboule appear to begin at 9 and go all the way to 25. After Laboule comes Thomassin, where I live. However, Thomassin is a big area. It goes all the way from 25 to 60. But the thing is, the roads are not even spaced. Just whenever there is another road leading off Rue de Kenscoff it has the next number. Anyway, every plot of land has the address of their street name and number. So my address is Thomassin 40, but the other 8-10 houses on our very short street also have that address. Willem and Beth live at Thomassin 48, which encompasses a very big area. There are numerous streets leading off of Thomassin 48 and there must be 50+ houses/businesses with the address of Thomassin 48! Occasionally the people living on a street will employ the use of gate numbers, but I don't see that very often. 
• In addition to not having street addresses there is no postal system. Bank statements, utility bills, and the like are delivered by couriers hired by the businesses. Beth told me that if a courier doesn't know exactly where you live (you know, because the address is so specific), they just ask people on the street until they find your house.

Golden Nuggets III

Golden Nuggets is a term I am borrowing from my friend Sini who is spending her senior year of high school in Indonesia as a foreign exchange student. She calls all the random facts she's gathered about the country she's now living in Golden Nuggets. In that vein, I am going to periodically share Golden Nuggets about Haiti. 

• November 18th is a national holiday, I think it's like the Haitian version of Veteran's Day. Anyway, there is no school on Thursday. I am hoping to go to Laboule with Beth and work on some minor home repairs and of course English.

• Creole is a very non-specific language. The word for "here" is the same word for "there." And many, many words have more than one meaning. For example the word "koud" means elbow and to sew. "Men" is hand or but depending on the conversation. It can be frustrating because sometimes I hear a word that I know, but it doesn't make sense in the conversation. Then I find out it means something else entirely!

• Haitians do not know the concept of personal space. At church on Sunday they have no qualms about packing as many people in a row as possible. In taptaps (public transportation) they sit nearly on top of each other and it doesn't appear to be awkward. At school I often see students holding hands or with interlocked arms as they are walking. When they sit, they often drape arms over each other. I find it very endearing.

Update on the Creole

When I arrived in Haiti a little over two months ago, I knew approximately 10 words in Creole. Basically, I could greet people. After that I would just stand and stare at them.

Now, only two months later, I can have basic conversations with people and they understand me! Today I read Green Eggs and Ham, in English, to the Laboule kids after school. I was able to translate most of it into Creole for them, and what I didn't know in Creole we could generally see in the pictures. They were really excited about hearing an English book.

During our class Micka, my friend who leads worship at church, came in and asked me to investigate the location of a ball. Apparently at some point yesterday Dayley had a ball that belongs to someone else. The someone else went to Micka for help. She in turn went to Dayley to find out what happened to the ball. However, he won't tell her where it is. Since she's certain he knows where it is and he just won't tell her, she asked me to see if I could get him to tell me where the ball is. She has a lot of faith in my Creole skills! Under her orders, I had the following conversation with Dayley, my little boyfriend, on our way home from school.

Me: Micka monde ou, "eske ou konnen kote bol la?" Micka asks you, "do you know where is the ball?"
Dayley: Wi. Yes.
Me: Ou konnen ki kote bol? You know where is the ball?
Dayley doesn't answer.
Me: Dayley, ou gen bol? Dayley you have ball?
Dayley: Non! Mwen pa gen blah blah blah. No! I don't have blah blah blah in Creole.
Me: Ki kote bol la? Where is the ball?
Dayley doesn't answer.
Me: Bol a kay ou? Ball at your house?
Dayley: Non! No!
Me: Ki kote bol la? Where is the ball?
Dayley: Nan Gramothe. In Gramothe.
Me: Ki kote nan Gramothe? Where in Gramothe?
Dayley: He gave me the location, but I don't remember what he said.
Me: Ou pral bay bol la a Micka demen? You will give Micka the ball tomorrow?
Dayley: mumble, mumble, mumble. 

While it wasn't exactly a profound conversation, it's definitely an accomplishment for me. I am thankful that I am beginning to understand people when they speak in Creole and that they understand me. The Laboule kids seem to be the best at speaking slowly for me... well, most of the time. Sometimes they get excited and just prattle on, but Hyphania and Nerlande are both good about telling me one word at a time so I can understand.

Now if I can get the house helpers at Johane's and Willem and Beth's to speak slowly when they want to tell me something, I will have it made!

The Hard Part

I really enjoy being here in Haiti. The missionaries I am working with are fantastic, and I love my students. I am looking forward to skipping winter weather, and it's awfully nice to have so many people falling over themselves just say hello to me. It makes me feel a little like a rock star.

As much as I love being here, though, there are aspects of the culture that are difficult to deal with. This morning I was a bit overwhelmed by some of them. Awhile ago I began reading a book called Restavec by Jean Robert Cadet. It's a memoir written by a man who was a part of Haiti's socially accepted child slavery. While I haven't seen any evidence of child slavery in the two months I've lived here, last night I was talking to some friends about it. They told me stories about families in mountain villages who send their children to live with relatives or someone they (kind of) know in the city. The family is often told the child will receive an education, be well fed, and be generally taken care of. However when the families go to visit their children or to pick them up, they learn that the child has been forced into slavery. Sometimes the child has been sold or given to someone else and the parents can't find them. It's really very sad because it's a socially accepted part of the culture (at least for the wealthy who are using the kids as slaves).

My friends also explained to me that if a woman has a child from a previous relationship and marries another man, the child is treated as a slave to the rest of the family. For example, there's a woman in Gramothe who had a daughter. Her husband died, and she wanted to become involved with another man. She knew that her daughter would be treated like a slave to the man and any kids she had with him, so she made the tough choice to give her daughter up for adoption. My heart broke for her and the daughter she doesn't have to hold any more.

And then there's the whole corporal punishment issue. Corporal punishment is definitely alive and well in Haiti. Teachers have switches or belts they carry around with them. The principal frequently has a switch in his hand. Sometimes the students are made to kneel on the cement for periods of time as a punishment. I don't think anyone in Haiti has ever heard of positive reinforcement! It's no wonder my students are constantly telling me they like the way I teach. I don't use any of the classroom management techniques they are accustomed to!

I don't share this information with you to make you think poorly of Haitians or their culture. Not every Haitian approves of child slavery, just as not every American condones drug use. The Haitian culture is not bad or wrong. It just has issues like every other culture in the world. I share this information simply to give you a glimpse into what's on my heart. I also don't want to give the rose tinted view of life here. While I like being here, there are parts that are difficult.